 Crystalcreek Alaskan Malamutes and German Shepherds | sitemap | log in
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Gipsy
Megan Sweet Protector
(Hausvald Dex x Sullivan Bed)
20/01/2000 - 11/09/2010
As Casey was getting older and at her peak at Agility, I had the urge to get another GSD to “bring on”. I was planning to get another puppy the following year (2001) and most of my friends were aware of this, but while at an agility show one day someone was walking around with a couple of young puppies looking for a good working home for one of them, my friends put her on to me and after seeing Gipsy and getting a friend to give a more "objective" critique and finding out her Grandfather was Laios Van Noort – a very famous import and top working dog, I was hooked and she came home with me. Gipsy was a fantastic dog she was so keen to please and loved to work. You only had to show her something once and she picked it up right away. She loved to pick up and carry sticks on a walk, it worried me when she carried it "cigar-like" and so on one walk I taught her to carry it "properly", sideways on. From then on if she picked it up like a cigar, I just said "properly" and she put it down and picked it back up the right way. She loved chasing balls, but didn’t like bringing them back to be thrown again, she just loved to carry things in her mouth. She never lost them and if one of the others lost a ball, I could send Gipsy to look for it and it was either her or Casey who found it without fail
She was a real mummy’s girl and not happy unless she was on the settee next to me. She was a really good example of the working German Shepherd, bold, outgoing, loyal with a need and drive to work. She excelled at agility and absolutely loved it. My big regret with moving to Scotland is the lack of competitive training clubs and the long distance to go to shows. This meant that we only really got to “play” on my own equipment and her agility career was tragically cut short as a result.
We had a go at tracking and true to form she picked it up straight away. After a couple of trial runs in a straight line, she followed a trail through a woods stopping when the trail ran out at the end, the trainer – an ex police dog trainer – was very impressed. Gipsy also ran in harness and I ran her with my young Malamute, Star. It only took one go for her to realise what was wanted and the next time I harnessed her up, she faced front and on the word flew off so quick that Star had a job to keep up. She loved it and really pulled well, they made a great team. Gipsy also worked on the pilot of Red Cap with Casey.
During 2010 I noticed that Gipsy was having trouble going to the toilet and noticed a lump on her rear end. She had it removed at the vets, but he advised that there were more lumps further down that he could not reach and they would grow fairly quickly and she would eventually not be able to go to the toilet. I was devastated, at 10.5 years old she was as fit and healthy as a dog half her age and still had all her faculties in spades and I was going to lose her to not being able to go to the toilet! She finally succumbed in September. Gipsy was the canine equivalent of a soul mate to me and helped keep the pack in order, to say she is missed is an understatement.
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