Abby's Fast Facts

General Information

Call Name: Abby

Breed: German Shepherd
Height: 23.8" at the withers
Weight: 65 lbs
Color: Black and Red, a variation of black and tan
Coat: Stock coat, sometimes called a "plush" coat
Date of Birth: 21 May 2003

Microchipped: Yes, with HomeAgain
Tattooed: Yes - GM705

Titles:
CGC (AKC Canine Good Citizen)
HIT (Herding Instinct Tested)
TDI (Therapy Dogs International)

Jobs:
2006 - 2008 Army Recruiting Mascot
2007 - 2009 Therapy Dog

Honors:
Take Your Dog to Work Day poster dog, 2007
Dogster World's Coolest Dog & Cat Show winner, 2008



Pedigree Information

Because Abby was adopted from a local kill shelter where she had been surrendered by her owner (who supposedly "could not handle her"), she did not originally come with any pedigree information. I was able to find out more about her based solely on her ear tattoo, which was done at a kennel in Virginia that imports dogs from Germany and breeds dogs for sport and working use.

This is Abby's pedigree.

The kennel owner told me that Abby is out of a litter that was bred by a third person who had purchased one of his females, Beatae von den Blauen Bergen, and a male that was imported from Germany, SG Kuran vom Fiemereck. The ear tattoos on the litter were done at Von den Blauen Bergen kennels. However, it appears that the pups were not actually registered with the AKC, or at least the female pups were not (or so says the AKC in response to my inquiry, though they were less than helpful in answering my questions!).

SG Kuran vom Fiemereck pedigree
Beatae von den Blauen Bergen pedigree



Additional Information

Abby currently lives in northern New York.

Abby is a sweet-tempered dog who enjoys it when people pay attention to her. She is wonderful with all kinds of people, including young children, and will patiently stand still to be petted. The only thing she doesn't like, as far as people are concerned, is to be hugged. She'll back out of a hug, and we usually ask people not to do that, anyway, because it's pretty unnatural for a dog to enjoy hugs from complete strangers (or even their own families).

She does well with most dogs, particularly dogs that are smaller than she is. Maybe that has to do with the fact that we also have three cats and they definitely hold their own around the house. She does not particularly like hyper young dogs, or dogs, especially large ones, that are not under their owners' control and get into "her" space. (I don't usually like to put up with this either.)

Abby is relatively mellow, especially around her house, but she can be quite the bouncy little ball of energy outdoors. During the day she mostly enjoys loafing on her dog bed, the couch, or in her crate. She enjoys to run and hike, and when we're out in an area where she can be off-leash, she uses that chance to stretch out her legs. She's been known to trot for several hours straight at the park and to run circles around us when we're hiking the deserted trails on base. (On regular trails, she's not allowed to do that since we share the trails with many other people.)

She loves to play a good came of "catch me" with humans, which is more about the joy of chasing someone who is running than anything else. She will "tag" them by touching them with her nose and then running off in the opposite direction, although she's been known to "tag" by giving a nip with her teeth, too, which is the herding instinct in her. Abby herds and will try to get dogs and people into one spot if left to it. She has also been started on herding sheep to use that instinct in a more appropriate manner.

She is very, very vocal and has a wide range of moans, groans, whines, whimpers, and barks. She is not, however, a barker with the exception of her high-pitched play bark that sounds a lot like a Chihuahua. I've only heard a deep warning bark from her a handful of times, but I have no doubt that she can be quite scary if the situation calls for it.