Max and Jack

When we knew we were moving out to the country and when we found out that there were bears, moose and coyotes all around, we realized we would need a farm dog to watch over things for us.

Our daughter found an ad for some pups and we responded. Before we even packed a box we had picked out our pups. We decided that since they would be strictly outside dogs it would be best if we got two. Two brothers. Friends from the start. Purebred German Shepherd Dogs. Best of all, they were born on a farm and have never been inside a house so they wouldn't be missing that part at all.

Paul and Athena built them a dog house from her old play centre wood, which was a deck before that. How is that for recycling? We bought a second hand kennel and Paul moved some sand and gravel from our land into their space with the tractor.

Even though they are brothers, they are so very different from each other.

Max. He is a tough guy. At least he thinks he is. He barks at robins and will challenge the biggest dogs that come around. When he gets close to these big dogs, he wimpers and rolls over on his back to show his submission. He craves attention and is always first to come running when we come out of the house. He also loves to chew and found a lovely jawbone of some long dead animal to chew on.

 

Jack. He is more independent. He is more stand offish when neighboring dogs come for a visit. He will back his brother when confronting a new dog but unlike Max he keeps his distance and is never really that comfortable with the intrusion. He is friendly but not so needy as Max is. He likes to dig and can often be found digging in the sand or dirt to find a place to cool off. He loves water and often splashes around in the doggy pool we got them. His coat is so long and furry and is forever filled with twigs, leaves and dirt. He howls like a coyote. He looks like a coyote. We wonder if he wasn't maybe sired by one too. He certainly doesn't look like a German Shepherd and his paws are HUGE.

The first few weeks after we got them they were inseparable but now that they are a bit older they do their own thing from time to time. Most often when one wanders into the bush, the other follows. When one pees, the other does too. They wrestle and growl and play just like real brothers do. It is hard to tell who is going to be more dominant but my bet goes with Jack.