Does your dog trust you? REALLY trust you?

[wildo]

Great stories everyone! Thanks for sharing!

[coulter]

Those are great stories, i love seeing pictures of these dogs! Sage is only 15 weeks. So we are still trying to figure out the whole trust thing. But hopefully it will come eventually!

[Cassidy's Mom]

Originally Posted by KristiM

Great pics Cassidy's Mom! Havoc is like that too, uber confident will generally try anything and can leap and balance on stuff that you wouldn't think he is physically capable of.

Thanks! Forgot a couple more I had, here's Halo draped across a tree branch - you can't tell from the angle, but she was slightly above eye level when I was next to the tree (I'm 5 ft 5" and I had to step back and up a slight slope to get the shot), so pretty high off the ground:



Someone took this picture of me luring her up a tree branch - again, you can see how high up she is, she's over my head!



She was only 6 months old in that second pic.

[Zeeva]

Originally Posted by Cassidy's Mom

Thanks! Forgot a couple more I had, here's Halo draped across a tree branch - you can't tell from the angle, but she was slightly above eye level when I was next to the tree (I'm 5 ft 5" and I had to step back and up a slight slope to get the shot), so pretty high off the ground:

Similar picture of Smokey on a tree branch



Guess we got ourselves some cat-like dogs

[DJEtzel]

Today, at the park, Frag let me take him down two slides for the first time ever. One short, straight, and open. The other long, closed, and spiral, in the dark. He did awesome and I was honestly surprised he did it (even though there was a screaming fuss) when I asked. I knew he wanted to, he just didn't understand the concept, but he did both for/with me and I loved him for it. I'm sure other people in the park thought I was murdering him up there! :P

[TrickyShepherd]

I think it's a mixture of both.

Duke trusts me with his life. He shows this often. He goes where I bring him and is okay with the situations I put him in... as long as I am okay, he's fine. He watches me, and feeds off my energy. At training, if I send him for a bite... he trusts that I'll be there to "back him up". He will do anything I tell him to.... even if it will get him hurt, or take his life. He's also a fearless, ferocious protector.... I do believe he'd give his life for me.

However, with that... the breed is also designed to bond closely with it's owner. They are loyal and trusting by the nature of their standard. The level of the bond just concretes this fact.

[Debbieg]

Great stories. Benny I think trusts me to a good degree , but there are certain things he will not do. He loves to go down the slides at the playground but will not go down the twisty one where he can't see the bottom.

[wildo]

I don't personally think that the level of trust is what allows the dog to do the "scary" things (like going down slides and stuff). However, I accept that each person certainly has a different opinion about what defines trust in their own dog. For me, it's not about what Pimg will or will not do when I ask her. More so, it's about the bond. It's about the spirit of cooperation and comfort with each other. It's a lot harder to measure, in my opinion, than just how much the dog will do for you when asked. These stories have all been fun to read!