Thanks.
His name is Max.
He's a brute. I understand why they're so treasured in the artic at pulling sleds and things. It's all I can do to hold him back even when he's just playing around. I doubt that I could hold him back if he was really determined to reach somewhere/something. He'd probably win that tug-of-war match.
His favorite game is fetch. If he wants to play, he'll even pick something up and shake his head and throw it his self, just so he can go pick it up and do it again.
very smart dog. And very protective and good with the little ones.
Funny stuff; my Shepherd is the same way. Just because I'm done playing fetch doesn't mean she is; she has figured out how to pick up the ball and then snap her head up while simultaneously releasing her jaws and "throwing" the ball.
She'll go fetch it and bring it to me to give me another chance to join in the fun (she figures everyone should want to play 24/7); and if I don't take it or pick it up within a few seconds, she'll pick it back up and throw it again herself. She has also established herself as a true member of the "family"; it's just us two right now. When it's time to eat, we eat together; when I put her bowl of food down, she will not eat until I have finished making my own meal and have sat down to eat... she will sit by that bowl full of food until I've settled in with mine.
That's not taught behavior, either, she just does that on her own; pretty funny, I know plenty of people with less manners and etiquette.
It never ceases to amaze me how smart Shepherds are; gotta be on your toes because they figure things out and retain that information.
I took Otto over to our beach house on Sea Island once for vacation. So on the first day we weren't sure how long it'd take for him to get acclimated to his new surroundings and if nerves might make him chew on something expensive and not designed for dogs; so before heading out for some entertainment I put him in the sunroom where the floor was tile and there wasn't anything to destroy.
Come back a couple of hours later and he's in the main part of the house laying across the AC vent and looking out the sliding glass door. I could've sworn I closed the door to the sunroom before I left; I thought oh well, must not have closed it all the way. Later on we're going out to dinner, so again I put him in the sunroom, pull the door firmly, and check to make sure it's secure.
Come back after dinner and yep, he's in the main part of the house laying across the AC vent again. I'm perplexed; and it's not like he was uncomfortable in the sunroom and in dire need of the AC, because the air goes in there too and the temperature is the same... he just likes the cold air blowing on his belly, and the vent in the sunroom isn't accessible for him.
The next day we're going to be going places a dog can't go; but this time I tell the rest of the family to go on ahead of me while I put Otto in the sunroom again. I do that, and then go and open and close the front door like I'm leaving; but actually sneak back to a vantage point where he can't see or smell me, but I can see him through windows... and I just watch. It doesn't take long to solve the mystery; he walks up to the door, grabs the handle with his mouth and pulls down on it, opening the door. He walks out and then boom, he sees me coming around the corner; his ears and head go down like he knows he just did something he shouldn't...I swear he looked just like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. But I was so impressed I didn't scold him and could only laugh.
That dog had never been to that house before, had only been there about an hour when we left the first time, and had only seen me open that sunroom door once to put him in there; yet he had obviously paid attention and watched intently when I did, and had learned how to operate the door handle. He didn't need anything from the main part of the house, but just didn't like being confined, no matter how comfortable it was. Fortunately for him, he had proven he was trustworthy both of the times he'd let himself out; so we didn't bother to put him in there again for the rest of the trip.