When we had Irish setters and Border collies they shared their loyalty and affection equally between the two of us. Our two Great Danes were more one person dogs -- and mine. Our two German shepherds are also one person dogs, with Del Doug's, and Major mine.
Del locked on to Doug from day one and proved to be the most difficult pup we'd ever encountered. At eight weeks of age, all previous pups have slept in a box beside our bed, with my arm dangling in for security. But not Del! She threw herself out of the box and went to sleep with our old German shepherd on the back verandah. As a 12 week old she was a delinquent and uncontrollable and is the only pup we've owned that's required the services of a professional dog trainer -- even though we've have had experience in training dogs to work sheep, perform in the show ring and compete in obedience trials.
Four years down the track and Doug has a loyal, obedient and tractable dog, but it's taken time and patience. Expertise in tracking and finding hidden objects are things that come naturally to Del, with hidden objects in particular providing the most fun. Del has stretched us to the limit and beyond, yet is totally stable with not a shred of aggression. And Doug loves her deliquent streak!
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