My most treasured canine companions out of all the dogs I have ever had the honour of living with.
Ali was one of the last real German Shepherd dogs with a super wonderful temperament. Even physically he was one of the last GSDs' with a straight back, saber tail and a large square head. All traits that the GSD Breeders only dream of. He was my best friend and mentor for all of 14 years. I still miss him to this day.
Ayla was also my mentor (if such a thing can be said of a Bull Terrier) and my best friend for 13 and a half years. It is because of her that we have a dog training school. When I acquired her we went about training and socialization as any other dog owner would but none of the dog schools wanted a Bullie in their schools for fear that there would be aggression. Thankfully one school accepted us and Ayla has turned out beautifully. It was only when we started with Agility that heads really turned as Agility requires the dog to do all obstacles off collar and off leash. The control and bond you need with your dog to achieve this has to be very strong. Ayla was trustworthy and very well socialised due to starting her training and socialising at 8 weeks of age, and did she turn heads. Soon people with GSDs', Labradors, other Bullies, came up to us and asked for help as they were struggling to train their dogs and as I had managed to train one of the most untraineable breeds, surely I could help them. And this is how our dog school came into existence.
Ayla's achievements list as follows:
Ayla proved over and over again that with the correct training & socialization, beginning as early as 8 weeks of age and using the correct methods, even the most stubborn breed can be successfully trained.