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What some pet owners see as "Amazing" in their pets.

My first dog was pretty amasing, to me at least. He helped me get over my fear of dogs, he learned quickly and was eager to please, and was my best friend.

The truly amasing things included his ability to understand the rules of the game "tag", and his ability to detect seizures in my mom's dog. The tag thing was great though, because I became the unofficial Yard Duty at age 14 for an after school YMCA at the grade school near me. I'd take my dog there to play in the fields and the little ones would come and want to play too, and they loved to chase Aussie and throw balls for him. So one day we combined it, and it took one lesson of a kid 'tagging' him and me calling him to come and give me his ball for him to get the idea. After that, the kid who caught him got to throw the ball and once a child touched him he came right back and dropped the ball at my feet.

Mom's dog was more impressive. Shelby was brilliant, but cat-like. She wouldn't listen unless you used her weakness... people breath. How she hated people breath. We at first thought she was the dumbest thing on four legs. However, one day I was teaching Aussie to 'spin' and Shels was just getting in the way, so I breathed on her to get her to leave. Instead, she gave me this "oh, sorry!" look... and spun in a neat little circle. I tried some of the other tricks I'd taught my dog by that point (roll over, shake with both paws, high five, etc) and darned if she didn't know them all. She learned by *watching* me teach my dog.

She also had a cast iron gullet. She ate: the screen from the screen door, our deck, two 6-foot tall Birds of Paradise, a cactus, every rock and stick in the backyard, 3 books, the plastic handles off of 2 steak knives, my homework once, and an entire brand new bottle of her phenobarbitol. She was near dead when we found her, but she was home 3 days later from the vet and acting like nothing ever happened. She also was the gentlest creature that will ever live, and this always amases me when I remember it. Mom found a baby, unfeathered bird that she was able to put back in the nest. However, Shelby came to sniff it first and while Mom was fearing a "gulp!" was imminent, Shels gently licked it once, then sat down and watched it carefully. Best dog ever.
 
Amazing is in the eye of the beholder. If the mans last dog never house trained properly, then this dog would be amazing. Growing up, my parents always had terriers... so a lot of what my Golden does is truly amazing to me.

He seemed to come pre-house trained. He learns to respond to my voice without even trying (for instance, on a walk, he knows Riley wait, and I never taught him that....)

My grandparents watch him every Tuesday and Thursday while I am at work (hard to tell who benefits more, but I am thinking its them) and last summer, when he was about 16 months old, my grandma's neighbor came up to the fence with her 8 month old baby girl. My 65 pound dog, who had never before seen a baby, went charging down to the fence and before I could even call out, he jumped up at the fence, the baby reached a hand out and he was gently licking her hand and face... this is a dog whose normal mode of play is "rough" but he somehow knows that with kids and babies, you just can't do that. Again, I never taught him that, and to me it's amazing... to people who have always had Goldens, it's probably par for the course....

He is also exceedingly nice and gentle with my other animals. He doesn't bother any living thing, and I admit, when I compare this behavior to that of the terriers of my youth, there is definitely an appeal....
 
My first springer was pretty cool, she once found a baby squirrel who still had his eyes closed and barely any fur. She picked it up gently in her mouth, ran over to me and kind of barked (with her mouth full it sounded like a "MRRF!!!") and put it in my hand. We bottle fed and weaned it for a few months then let the little sucker go.

My second springer used to sit beside a big rock(sheltered from the wind) on top of a hill behind the house every day from about 3:30 to 4:00. She was waiting for that big yellow schoolbus all the way down at the highway to come and drop me off after school. As soon as it stopped and I got off the bus, I could see her haul arse all the way down the hill to come greet me. She sat on that spot so much that its been about 4 years now and there still isn't any grass growing there!

I miss them greatly and can't wait for my next bird dog!
 
I think he just loves his dog, I think it's sweet that he considers his dog amazing.
When you love something/someone your angle on things is biased, but in a good way :)
 
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