Our family has always had German Shepherds. There has been one in our house for as long as I remember.

I vow to end that tradition in my own house.

Not that I don’t like dogs or that there has been one particular incident which drove me to this decision. But it’s all the little things that keep adding up.

Maya is 6 or 7 years old now. She’s incredibly whiny, especially when the wind blows over 5 miles per hour. She’s scared of the wind. We have to put her in the basement. And our washing machine vibrates on the spin cycle, which also drives her bonkers. She wines and whines and whines and practically climbs into your lap whenever she gets really nervous. My sister got Maya from a German Shepherd rescue in Colorado Springs when she was maybe a year and a half old or so (the dog, not my sister). Then she left her at the house.

Then there’s Dulci. The two year old German Shepherd my sister (also) got while it was still a puppy. It’s been scared of people for practically its whole life. And we raised Dulci right. She wasn’t abused or mistreated. She just has crossed wires in her head that makes her attack other people and other dogs that come into our house. So we can’t have people or other dogs over unless Dulci is physically separated from them. Other than that, she’s a good dog. Dulci now lives at the house, too.

While my sister is in town she brought Sadie with her, her newest dog and a Puggle. Rachel _also _got Sadie while she was a puppy, while she still had Dulci. Sadie is now a good dog except she wants to eat everything she possibly can as soon as she possibly can.

So between Maya’s incessant whining and Dulci’s instantaneous attack mode, I’ve had it with German Shepherds. The breed is now no longer endearing to me. I see my girlfriend’s dog, a Golden Retriever mix, and I think, “Wow, a friendly, generally quiet dog. How nice.” True, she’s high-strung but I believe that’s partly her breed and partly because she’s had to be kept in a crate for eight or so hours a day (or more). Annie has settled down quite a bit now that she has interaction and other dogs to play with during the day these past few days.

Anybody want a guard dog? Must provide a loving, stable home and must not want to have company over.