Well, we finally -- after 12 years of breeding -- have our OMG dog. What's an OMG dog? He's the dog you're walking when people stop their cars, roll down their windows and yell "Oh....My.....GOD!" Or, "Oh my God, how big is he?" Or, "Oh my God, how much does he weigh?" Or, my favorite, "Oh my God. He has to be German, right?"
Yes, it's Sundance, our 2-year-old, 140 lb. male Rottie. And, as imposing a physical presence as he is, he is also growing into his destiny to be a certified Therapy Dog like his granddad, Rowdy. Today, he spent 3 hours at a children's day care facility. He met over a dozen small children, helped educate them about how to meet large dogs and how to behave if a large, potentially dangerous dog should approach them on the street or in their yard. After the lesson, Sundance got to lay on the floor and get his belly rubbed by all the kids at once. His eyes were closed, his ears laying flat on the floor, all four paws up in the air and an enormous smile on his face. It was magical.
Because I can't wait any longer to share his April Calendar photo with you, I thought I'd use this as the prelude. I have never been more proud of any dog than I was of him today. Here's Sundance's Easter gift to all of you. If any image can be a window into a dog's soul, this one is for Mr. Sundance, our OMG dog. This image has minimal PS work on it.
BTW, my typical responses to the OMG exclamations:
1. Yup, he's a big 'un.
2. 26 3/4 inches tall; 140 lbs.
3. 140 lbs.
4. Yup, he's German all right. Then I put him through his sit/down/stay routines using German commands: setz, platz, bleib. Since all my dogs are trained to obey both voice commands and hand signals, it really doesn't matter what I say as long as I give him the hand signal. And, no, Sundance is out of 5 generations of American Bred Rotties on mom's side and 7 generations on dad's side. But folks think they can tell a "German" Rottie from an "American" one and who am I to tell them differently. There is no difference. Except the German standard requires a tail.
Anyway, here's my OMG dog wishing you all a Happy Easter a bit ahead of time. Enjoy.
Jim
