anastasia: W-o-w, absolutely awesome I think it's an amazing thing to be able to teach/train an animal to be of such service, whether for your own protection, or as a "worker dog". And I totally get the reason for the stick being used - these are by no means your "average" pet doggie & they need to defend themselves against whatever a human might throw their way. Besides, realistically, if a dog like one of these wanted to do a human REAL harm, they'd do it, whether they were in pain at the time or not - after all the work/time/effort on both the human and the dog's part that got them that far, they deserve to be respected for what they are capable of

anastasia: I think in a way I do understand what you mean by the "bond" that you share :) I had a male dog (half black lab/half setter) for over twenty years of my life (from a pup till the day he passed at a very, very ripe old age). He was my best friend, and was always there for me, no matter what, and vice-versa :) He was an INCREDIBLE frisbee player (did back-flips literally, if he had to, to get it), would follow me out past the breakers in the ocean even tho it was WAY too deep to stand (and you could tell he was thinking about WHY, but he'd come along anyway), the neighborhood playgrounds were obstacle courses for him (he took on any and all challenges as if he had no fear & people used to come around and watch him in amazement ), and even as a very old man, totally deaf, half-senile sometimes, and with his joints sometimes hurting him, he could be a 1/4 mile away and if someone approached me, he'd magically be at my side within seconds.....I will always love that dog, he had a heart that had no boundaries and wherever he may now be, I know he deserves nothing short of pure happiness, for that was what he gave me - if you only find a dog like that once in a lifetime, I'm glad I found him So, in a way, I think I really do understand

srnity: That is SO awesome!! I LOVE hearing stories like that!!

anastasia: that is one spectacular dog. Wow that was just amazing watching it.