Stud's Personality - The unforgettable

Most people didn't understand Stud, for which I did not blame them. He was not normal. They thought he was unkind since he did not trust or listen to anyone except his mom and me. People often feel they should be able to control and tell dogs what to do. That's funny, not Stud. Yelling, pushing, or forcing just made it worse. It sent most people into a spiral.

It crushed their ego and made them upset. Stud was too smart, it was on his terms, and you had to earn his trust. People would tell me, you need to show him who the boss is. Yeah, sure, go ahead and try. Stud didn't operate like that. I had first-hand experience when he was a puppy. I have never encountered a dog like this. He would disown anyone, including me, if he was treated poorly. They didn't know his story. Stud was extremely intelligent and the most loyal soul I know. He expected that treatment in return.

They don't allow dogs in most national parks, so I found a trail that started outside of Yellowstone and went inside, "dogs allowed," it said on the trailhead. We were having a peachy walk, trying to figure out where the trail was as the grass was overgrown. I noticed a lot of poop from different animals and kept telling him to stay close.

That is when a moose came full throttle out of the opening of the tall evergreens, charging directly toward me like I had beef with him. I was in disbelief as it was the most enormous creature I had seen at this distance. We can say the opposite of a rabbit. I froze. What felt like forever was only a split second. It was disturbingly close and approaching at a rapid speed. Should I stand my ground? Shoot it? No, I can't do that. I love animals, and this is my fault. Plus, my tiny bullets are not taking this beast down. Should I run? All rushed through my head like lightning. I looked around, and there were no trees. Of course, why would there be? The giant was coming fast directly towards me, Stud chasing behind it. Standing my ground would have blown me into the next universe. It was too late.

Whenever something ran, he went into kill mode. At about seven years old, I thought I would lose him. Every time he ran off, my initial reaction was pure anger. Then, when he didn't return for a few minutes, I changed my attitude, thinking I just lost my best friend. I would change my tone with a slight desperation. I would yell, "STUD, come on, buddy, let's go." He came back 40 minutes later and looked like absolute death. I have never seen him so ragged in my life. He was all wet, his fur was all over the place, his collar was hanging down, he had a slight limp, and he was entirely out of breath. I was so happy to see him. I said, "Ohh hey, little guy, you almost got both of us killed."

Big Personality

Stud acted like a young human, not a dog. There are different types of dogs and various levels of relationships. He was in the upper right corner of that graph. He wasn't a dog. Dogs you pet on the head, throw a ball to, leave at home when you walk out the door, and they bark all the time. He had some serious critical thinking skills with a massive steal-trap memory. His vocabulary was enormous and was in a fuzzy search manner. I would spit out sentences, and somehow he knew. We spent so much time together and did so much that the level of communication was complex. There were things he did that I didn't even have to say. I don't know if that was the wolf part in him or the fact that I spent so much time with him. Maybe both. I also tried to understand him, but it was challenging. Think about this. People train dogs. Dogs learn words and behavior from people. But the reverse is usually not true. Most people do not understand animals. They tell them what to do, and that's that. I tried my best to understand, but to this day, there are some things I never will know.

He would not go outside the front yard in all the different places we lived. Dogs would walk by, barking, and people would taunt him, but he would sit and stare at them. He never chewed anything when he was a puppy. It was extremely rare to hear him bark. He never jumped on counters or on any furniture. He would look at me when there wasn't a blanket or sheet on the couch or bed. Like, "Hey, cover it up so I can lay up there." His navigation skills were unmatched. There are several stories of him leading me to food or treats that were miles away. When visiting Petoskey, we visited a store that had treats out front. The following year, in the summer, we returned to Petoskey. We parked about a mile away from the store that had the treats. He was constantly pulling on the leash. I started to get pissed off. His mom always told me to chill out and not lose my temper. When we got a block away, it hit me. I just thought in my head wtf, how is that possible? His memory was better than mine.

I took Stud so many places that we would encounter hundreds of dogs on average weekly. I never saw him lose a fight. He made me proud. I see people at the park whose dog is getting picked on and have to stand up and say something. The majority of these incidents Stud ran into were caused by the owner not taking responsibility. Some dogs were friendly, but there were a few that were not. Stud and I were en route when a massive pit bull ran so fast it broke the collar from the metal chain. It was running full clip and stopped a foot from Stud's face. I was shocked they just sniffed each other and went on their way. That wasn't always the case.

I stood there and watched as he inflicted pain on both of them. There was blood on the road. Probably both of them had to be taken to the vet. The lady was yelling at me. I smirked, "I have asked you over 100 times to keep them in the yard. Every time someone walks by here, your dogs attack them." I told Stud good boy, and we went on our way. When I was younger, I was picked on by kids older than me. Initially, I backed down because I was scared. If there is anything I hate more than distrust and lying, it is bullying. After that, I started training and would never be put in that position again. As for Stud, he had a killer force and took absolutely zero shit. I loved it. It helped my confidence watching him over the years. Unfortunately, we don't live in a utopian world; people take advantage of others. For a while, I thought he was a dick, but after paying closer attention, it was always dogs that tried to enforce their dominance he had an issue with.