Sunny is a 6 year old Malinois, as her human companion I’m pretty sure I’m obligated to start off with that so you don’t call her a German shepherd.
We had a chance to go camping with some friends on their property over the weekend and she did great.
The first night temperatures dropped below freezing. I’m a firm believer that there is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate gear, and we managed to stay warm and cozy together in our tent overnight.
She got to spend almost the whole weekend off-leash, a rare treat for this suburban pup.
Her herding and guarding instincts got a bit of a workout, when some new (to her) friends arrived, she gave them a good barking-at until I caught up and greeted them, at which point Sunny saw that they were ok and immediately rolled over for belly-rubs.
The whole weekend Sunny would position herself around camp to make sure that she could see all of us, and if anyone wandered too far away from the group, she would go with them to make sure they were safe.
My friends’ property is large, remote, and provides some safe natural backstops to set up a shooting range. Sunny has never been the least bit bothered by fireworks or thunder, and I’m happy to report that she showed no signs of fear at the gunshots (from a hearing-safe distance) but was a little annoyed at it disturbing her midday nap, so we cut our shooting short. I’ll be getting her some hearing protection if we ever try that again.
On the ride home, my check engine light started flashing and my car went into limp mode on the highway so I pulled over and called for a tow, I’ve never been happier to have that premium AAA towing package. Sunny was not a fan of the tow driver strapping our car onto the truck, but again warmed right up to him. Unfortunately she was not allowed to ride in the cab with us and had to ride in the car by herself until we could catch up with our friends off the highway to transfer her into their car. She didn’t seem too bothered by that and I think she appreciated the higher vantage point. She got to ride the rest of the way home with her new friends and behaved very nicely in their car while I continued with the tow truck.
After an exciting weekend of hiking, meeting new friends, and new experiences, she spent most of the next day in our bed catching up on some missed naps, and I got to pay for new spark plugs and ignition coils.
Glad you had a good camping trip!
We took our then year old mal/lab mix(mostly mal) camping in August and he also did great, off leash the whole time happily responding to my call. Met other dogs, ran around with them, it was fun. Definitely a positive addition to the camping experience lol
I wish sunny did well with other dogs. Unfortunately before we got her she had gotten into a fight with another dog and it kind of ruined other dogs for her.
The one dog she does kind of alright with (coincidentally another male mix) actually belongs to the friends who own this property, but unfortunately that dog hates camping, so no chance to work on their friendship this weekend.
Yea, that can be a difficult situation to deal with. My father has a vizsla/terrier mix female that is so affectionate with every human, not shy or aggressive at all. But she really has a hard time with other dogs. He brought her by one time though and despite Ásgeirr’s excitability and her mildly aggressive standoffishness, after a little while and a lot of encouragement they ended up running and playing together. My father and I both spent most of the time sitting on the ground with our respective dog reassuring them, petting the others dog, shaking hands, stuff like that. And smiling and laughing. They take so many cues from us.
All that is to say, don’t limit yourself to one dog that yours has had a good experience with before. There’s a lot you can do depending on both dogs temperament to help them respond positively to a new experience, and showing your joy and comfort is a big one. As long as you trust the other owner and both understand dog body language, and how they play including nips and yelps, I have had a lot of success introducing less social dogs to mine and my friends. It takes more work than the essay I just wrote, but it’s hardly work if you love me like I do! I wish you lots of happy barks and wagging tails.
