Your 4 questions to the verpinscht Family
You have asked and the verpinscht Family answers!
We regularly receive questions about us and the dogs via Instagram. So I decided without further ado to dedicate another blog post to ourselves. Together with Rafael I chose the best 4 questions.
- “Which dog has what strength or are they all relatively equal in everything?”
This dear follower explained her question a little bit. She wrote to me that in multi-dog keeping a certain strength is crystallized in every single dog and wanted to know if this is also the case in our pack. I can say: Yes! Every single dog has its very special strength…
Mojo is the geek in the pack. Doesn’t need a command for him. He always knows what I want from him. Like when I’m taking pictures. He sits right where I’m standing right now to take a picture. While he is already on the spot – ready for the photo – I have to position Rana and Mateo left and right of Mojo. There is a very special bond between Mojo and me. We hardly communicate with each other and yet he always knows immediately what to do. No matter if he should wait for me at a traffic light or I change clothes in the changing room while shopping: Without my having to say anything or give a hand signal, Mojo knows that he can make himself comfortable and wait for me. Mojo has the strength in the pack to pay attention to me and to assess the situation correctly.
Rana is very strong in communication. She always knows how to assess the situation correctly. I think this is due to her origin and past. (You can find out where Rana grew up exactly in this blog post.) She can read dogs very well and can assess the situation accordingly. She is the one who leads or protects the pack in tense situations:
A few weeks ago there was a less friendly encounter with a large poodle. This one immediately focused on Mateo and strutted towards him. Mateo, as he lives and breathes, is wagging his tail so wildly that his whole body is shaking. The large poodle blocks Mateo’s path and fixes him. By the way, this is the point where I would have intervened as a dog owner, because: There wasn’t much left and Mateo’s opposite would have dominated him. But my intervention was not necessary. Rana, who had been doing her thing until here and was paying attention to any smells, now joined in. Self-confidently she snaked between the poodle and Mateo and positioned herself in the so-called “T-position”. Rana made it clear to the grand poodle that he now had to piss off. …according to the motto: “So far and no further!” Promptly the situation is solved and we could finish our walk peacefully.
Mateo could actually wear a halo. He’s completely innocent and pure. I always admire him very much for his absolute composure in all situations. Especially when he comes into contact with dogs. Mateo radiates a certain weakness for some dogs due to his disablity. People like to take advantage of this. If I’m not fast enough, Mateo likes to be “buttered” – I don’t know if it’s good or bad – but he never minds. He just throws himself to the ground and waves his rod around. Well, what would we do without Rana at this point? On top of that we have Mateos extremely friendly nature. He loves everything and EVERYTHING. No matter who is coming, Mateo is delighted and always friendly. That’s why he is the heartbreaker, Casanova, ladykiller of the pack.
2. “What fascinates you about dogs?”
Basically I am an absolute animal lover. Four-legged creatures, whether big or small, have always made my heart beat faster. But dogs were (and are) always something special.
I admire dogs for their ability of unconditional fidelity and loyalty. They are always – really always – happy to see you. Dogs are never in a bad mood. They are not moody. They live in the here and now and always make the best of the day. Dogs are not greedy. They are happy with what they have. Except when it comes to eating, maybe. They always want more, always much, always everything! 😉
Dogs listen to you, even if they don’t understand you. They stay with you, even if they don’t have to. They give you love, even if you make mistakes. Dogs are great, dogs are wonderful.
“To be loved by a dog should fill us with awe, for we do not deserve them.”
3. “Which dog is most like you?”
Definitely Rana.
I am not a patient man. I always want everything and as fast as possible. I like action most of all. I love discovering new places and being on the road. Rana is just like me. She is an impatient dog. She always shows it when she is tricking. She doesn’t carry out commands properly. She prefers to play her whole assortment of tricks in fast forward to get the tasty reward as fast as possible. She is not a couch potato and would like to get out of the house right after a two-hour walk. New ways are her favourite. Rana is very determined and in principle is immediately involved in everything. She likes to try out new things. Like me.
4. “How did life change with three dogs?”
You can’t eat off the floor in our house. It’s always chaos, actually. If I clean up, 5 minutes later I find some dog stuff again that I should have just cleaned up. With three dogs, we always attract a lot of attention. With 3 dogs we have definitely become more organized. If the verpinscht Family plans a trip, at least one alternative is planned. It could be that 3 dogs at once are not wanted. This has never happened before – but you never know. I have become more alert on walks with 3 dogs. One dog runs to the left, the other to the right and the third in the bunch runs back. Sometimes I wish I had eyes in the back of my head… It would make things easier.) With 3 dogs we have 3 times more work, but also 3 times more love. We are not perfect, much more chaotic – perfect in our very own way.
Perfectly chaotic, that describes us quite well.
