Hiking

[dutchringdog]

Thalies all time favorite pastime, Sadie is loving it too, so many new smells and things to check out.

[icvanstra]

Wish I had more places close to my house where I could let the dogs off leash and just let them run!

[leih merigian]

Hiking with them is so much fun!

I can't tell from the pictures here (kind of dark ), but my DS's coat is not really dark, so she blends in perfectly with the leaves, so you can hardly even see her sometimes.

Do your's stand out or blend in with the fall colors?

[Marjolein]

always nice, we love it too

[Dutchringgirl]

Thalie, she is in the back on the top two, and thats her head stuck in the ground, she is pretty dark with sandy stripes, Sadie, the leggy one, is ligher with red highlights LOL. Thalie can be standing next to me and I wont see her, she blends in to everything! She is very stealthy. Sadie, on the other hand, bounces around to much, she hasn't learned the art of stealth yet.

[vneerland]

I have all sorts of brindles and even fawn. They all blend, believe it or not. Darker (almost black) blends every bit as good -of not better- as/than golden brindles. And even fawns blend seamlessly in most settings.
Mine take many hikes, but it is all on their own lively 'back yard' woods. I sometimes wonder if they get bored with the same old same old.

[leih merigian]

I have all sorts of brindles and even fawn. They all blend, believe it or not. Darker (almost black) blends every bit as good -of not better- as/than golden brindles. And even fawns blend seamlessly in most settings.
Mine take many hikes, but it is all on their own lively 'back yard' woods. I sometimes wonder if they get bored with the same old same old.

That's interesting about the blending. My GSD was a sable and blended well, but not as well as Geyser does. Perhaps her coat is kind of like DS cammo .

I'll bet they do get a bit bored with your trails. I know when we go to outside trails, Geyser gets more excited. Zodi was the same way, too. Me too, for that matter Novelty rocks!

[Breaking Bombs]

I know that in some Brindle dogs such as Bull Mastiffs, that particular color was bred in them primarily for the purpose of camouflage. I would assume brindles (dark ones in particular) are a natural camouflage (especially at night)

[vneerland]

On the scale of "I lost my darn dog" I think that dark brindle is hardest to spot, lighter brindles next, then fawn, but they still all blend well and a standing fawn (just like the deer, yeah) is still hard to spot.

@ Leih. The setting is the same, you are right. But maybe they smells keep it always interesting?

[dutchringdog]

Judith, fantastic shots!!!!!!! i love all of the different animals in one spot. Be hind my house is about 100 acres, so there is soooo much to sniff. Thalie comes mountain biking with me every weekend and always finds new smells. She knows my biking gear and gets so excited.

Thats very interesting about the breeding info, I wonder if the brindle in the DS was for the same reason.

I tend to loose thalie more in the yard and in the house, she will be standing right behind me in the kitchen and I have no idea she is there, she is so quiet, outside I can hear her in the leaves. Sadies senses are in over drive when I take her hiking, new sounds and smells.

[Raven]

Isn't one of the (many) reasons why DSs are liked for military tactical work is their inherent ability for camo?

In my office at work, I have (tons of) 8x10 photos of my last DS, Michala, and of Thor. Christie referred to Thor as a 60/40; my last DS was more fawn. Of Michala photos taken out back by the woods, people either ask, "What is that?" or "Is that a wolf?" or "Is that a deer?"--or my favorite: "What is that?" Especially with the fallen leaves in autumn, I could look out there and still not see her....

Thor is darker, but I can spot that boy no matter what. However! Michala had savvy...was smoooooooth...more mature...majestic...

[vneerland]

Judith, fantastic shots!!!!!!! i love all of the different animals in one spot.

Thank you! But I could certainly have done without the pigs . (next shot showed at least two babies at her side)

Thats very interesting about the breeding info, I wonder if the brindle in the DS was for the same reason.

Not very likely, no. They were guard dogs, homestead dogs, herding dogs, but nothing that required for them to remain unseen. (if you disregard a few poachers) I think the most likely reason for brindle was, that from all the colors in the genenpool of the continental shepherd (that was the basis for the GSD first then a few years later the Belgian shepherds and last but not least, the Dutch Shepherds) the only shade not taken yet was brindle.
Black and tan, solid black, and sable for the GSD. Fawn short, wire and long hair and black long hair for the Belgians. Leaves brindle, blue and 'chestnut'. The (early) DS's allowed chestnut/auburn for the long hair. I am not sure if it was bb brown (like a chocolate labrador) or just a dark fawn (like some Tervurens nowadays?) If it was bb brown, they could not meet the requirment for a dark nose (always red in a bb) and they might have dropped it for that reason. Brindle remained the only accepted color, with blues in the wire haired variety.

Isn't one of the (many) reasons why DSs are liked for military tactical work is their inherent ability for camo?

Maybe that could be considered the icing on the cake. The best reason is the workability and longevity. In the DoD 'superdog' breeding program, they like the brindles because they are easy to place in case the program has to wash them. Much easier than Malinois, they say. Go figure. Of course, I'd like to think that there is no need to wash them out....

[k9katet]

Love the wildlife pics! Shows how much goes on when we are not looking and what our dogs are smelling and we have no idea.

[leih merigian]

Here's a couple of Geyser searching a brush pile when she was 17 weeks old. Not great shots...





The farther away from her I am, the more difficult it is for me to see her in these situations.

Judith...wonderful pictures! You must be quiet as a mouse in the woods to get those shots! Me? I sound like a herd of elephants; the most we ever see are deer crashing away in the woods (And, I'm sure your dogs are very happy on your property; looks like a doggie wonderland to me...)

[GSDNanny]

Wow Judith, all those critters appear in your back yard? Critter-cams are so cool. A friend caught a shot of a cougar up near Shreveport not long ago. You are so right about the wild pigs though, they are terribly destructive and Texas is over-run with them. Can mess up a dog badly too. Thanks for sharing.

[dutchringdog]

Leih, Geyser blends in perfectly!!

[Marjolein]

Leih, Geyser blends in perfectly!!

Geyser?? There's no dog in the pic...duh...

[dutchringdog]

Leih, Geyser blends in perfectly!!

Geyser?? There's no dog in the pic...duh...

Oh Silly me, I could swear I saw a little doggie in the leaves and brush, It must just be the ds image burned into my retina. :dswink"

[leih merigian]

Leih, Geyser blends in perfectly!!

Geyser?? There's no dog in the pic...duh...