and sounds like a great friend.

Of course when I named him Sweetie Pie, I did not know that he was a pacifist, but he is..

He lets the other cats bully him, and yet I have NEVER seen him retaliate in any way., He's a retreater.

He's never been abused or hurt in any way, He's just always been that way.
I know his complete history because I cut his umbilical cord & bottle fed him and his 4 siblings and he's never set foot outside our house.

but now that she is older she isn't that into playing anymore. She tends to just ignore other dogs that try to get her to play and is happy to just kinda hang out.


She has never tried to bite any other dog or cat or human or pretty much anything, She has been known to catch squirrels but she is soft mouthed and when I catch up to her and get her to drop them the squirrel runs away. Still alive but I can't swear if they are unhurt or not.


When other dogs have "attacked" her she puts her mouth next to their ear and barks instead of biting.

I had a male black lab who was similar but he was once attacked by two American bulldogs at once and he did defend himself on that one occasion. One other time he put himself between a dog, that had been know to bite children in the neighborhood, and a small child to scared to run away with the other kids and then growled at the other dog. It was clearly a warning for it to stay away and it only lasted a few seconds, until the human adults could run over, but that was the only other time he ever showed any aggression at all and I had him for almost 15 years.


Maybe it is us. I think it is the pecking order. If the human is far up enough the dog depends on the human for defense. If not then the dog defends itself or is sometimes even aggressive.

Other dogs will attack him and he just stands there and wags his tail, or looks at them quizzically.

Even better was when we were walking through an outdoor art exhibit in the nearby tourist village. We ended up face-to-face with a terrified bichon frise, quivering behind her person's legs. Jake stood looking at her, wagging his tail with his head cocked to one side, trying to understand what she was afraid of. And then he got that "aha!" look and lay down, but he was still taller than she was. So he rolled onto his side and flattened himself into the ground to make himself look smaller, and then wriggled over to her and licked her under her chin. Witnesses literally cried at the sight, as did his person.

All our neighbors who have dogs whether they were pits or little ankle bitters when they seen smokie, our pets name, coming they'd go open their gates or let their pets out so they could play with our smokie. He lost his life herding a couple young children out of the path of a car. The kids were maybe 2 and 4, not being supervised very well and wandered too close to the road and were in the road and our smokie pushed them out just as the car was bearing down on them. I guess from the stories that I was told the driver panicked. I didn't see it but I was told the story by several of our neighbors who did witness it. Only pet we've ever had that others came to his burying. I'm still sad when I think of him. We only had him in our lives about a year or so, having been given to me as a pup by one of the guys I worked with.
Today we have a 14 year old border collie/healer mix that is by my side right now and is with me no matter what or where I'm at in the yard. She never gets under my feet or any thing like that but she's always laying somewhere on the lookout for me. She is very protective of other dogs but she loves our friends and goes and greets them when they arrive. Roxie is her name and I dread the day that we lose her, In some ways I think I'd rather go first but then in other ways I'd like to be here with her up to the end.
I love animals, animals love me
Roxie our pet will bow up and chase other dogs out of our yard and roll them up in a ball if she has to to get her message across. Back when we had fund drives and you could post any picture you wanted I posted her picture and it was a favorite as she is such a beautiful dog. Long hair and thats a job but if you keep after it daily its not so bad. She is our house pet.
I'm happy for you and your pet, your companion. dogs and cats are special. I'm in tears just thinking about what you said and what I replied
Have a great 4th of July Don
Peace

Wiki page on the Keeshond: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeshond

Our dog's name was Bailey. He was half shepherd half bob-knows-what (possibly lab). We adopted him from the pound at age 5. He was the most mellow dog there and very handsome. Like yours, about 100# or so, a gentle giant.

So he joined the family. The kids were little and we often went for walks by the river. Bailey always came of course. One time there was a dog and the dog insisted on getting into Bailey's face. Bailey stood his ground but refused to engage for some time. When other dog started coming for kids Bailey got between them and growled and the other dog finally lost interest.

Still, that dog really went at Bailey but couldn't get him to fight.

Bailey was the kind of dog who could walk around the neighborhood without a problem. I'd hear the nighbors call "Hi Bailey!". Once a 4 year kid from the neighborhood brought Bailey to the house. Had to reach up to hold his collar. Said "I brought Bailey home". It was darling how everyone loved him and how gentle he was no matter what.

We had Bailey for 10 years, until he had to be put to sleep. Best dog I ever had. As pacifist as they get.

Enjoy your gentle girl there Don, you guys are lucky you found each other.

Julie

with the world and everyone in it. She's been nipped a few times in the dog run and got the same look on her face that you described. I loved that dog and was real sad when her mom sent her to doggy day care. Day care is best for her though because she gets the exercise needs and gets to hang with other dogs which she loves.