A German Shepherd Never Forgets - Part 2

When Prince was a little less than a year old, he got his first exposure to fireworks.  At first, it didn't seem to faze him at all... a few times, he acted a bit startled, but as time went on, and he heard them more, he showed less and less reaction...until the teenage boy who lived across the street invited some friends over for a fireworks fest.

In spite of the large number of fireworks they were setting off, Prince still didn't seem to care (although my Chihuahua, who was inside, was shaking uncontrollably).  Then one of the boys came up with the idea of inserting fireworks into bottles and throwing them into the street.  Before I had time to get Prince inside, one of the boys threw a bottle directly at my yard, and it exploded in the street near my fence.

Understandably, Prince was frightened, and immediately hid behind me.  The boy who actually lived across the street then came to retrieve the bottle (and perhaps to apologize?) but he never got the chance.

Prince immediately associated him with the incident that had just occurred, and began to bark at him so ferociously that the boy gave up and retreated back to his own yard.  After the boy yelled at his friends, the fireworks fest ended, and I hoped that the incident was behind us.

Unfortunately, for Prince, it never was.



Mother's Day Weekend 2014

One of the results of walking Prince and exposing him to a variety of different people had been that, as he had grown older, he had grown remarkably tolerant of anyone we met in public.  Even if we passed someone in close proximity, the most he would do was sniff at them politely or, if they backed away from him, simply stare.  The permanent exception to this was the boy he associated with the explosion.

Almost a year later, when we were walking past the boy's house, I noticed Prince pulling back and staring at someone.  When the boy came walking toward us, Prince immediately began to growl and then to lunge at him.  Scolding him made absolutely no difference...Prince still associated him with the unpleasant experience, and nothing I did helped him to overcome this.  Interestingly enough, he also associated the incident with the boy's family, toward whom he displayed uncharacteristic aggression from that time on.

Years ago, I wondered why a lot people who tease dogs tend to be less likely to tease a German Shepherd.  I think now I know why.

A German Shepherd never forgets.