Anka is a very affectionate dog. She follows me everywhere and absorbs all the physical contact I can give. She’s really come a long way from when I first met her in Germany. In Germany she was a kennel dog who lived in a rural area. She was a home bred dog. Her owner took good care of her but I don’t think she was very socialized to crowds or urban settings. When I first saw her at the local Christmas festival, she was nervous about the crowd. Then we went back to her house and took her for a walk. I could tell she was very intelligent and biddable. We drove back to our hotel just across the border in the Netherlands. We took her into the hotel and she was very quiet. She didn’t make a sound. Then she saw a full length mirror in the room. She went over to the mirror and saw her reflection. She strained to see herself and gave a big smile. It was as though she was developing an awareness of herself. She was fascinated and kept going back to the mirror. It was like the mirror scene in the Marx Brother’s movie. Who is that good looking dog in the window?
She made the transition from being a German kennel dog to an American house dog easily. Housebreaking went quickly. The only trouble is that she is obsessed with our Turkish Angora cats. Oh well.
I was amazed how quickly she learned English. No problems and it is as though raised her from the very beginning. She understands everything. It took only one time to get the point of the drive through at McDonald’s. Double Cheeseburger, please.
