Meet Ginger Barkholz!
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Doggy Daycare and Spa
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2023-03-02T13:22:58-05:00
- Ginger is a beautiful German Shepherd dog who was born on April 22, 2020. Her family refers to her as their bright spot during the pandemic. Her family had always wanted a dog, but their life was very hectic. During the pandemic, their crazy life slowed down and they added Ginger to their family.
- It was also important to her family that she have a safe, friendly place to be cared for when they are out of town and having enrolled Ginger as a young dog, they have found that Doggy Daycare and Spa has become an extended home that is always familiar for Ginger.
- When she isn’t spending time at Doggy Daycare and Spa, Ginger has many important jobs that she takes very seriously. She begins the day by waking the humans up and barking for a treat. Before the humans start work, they must take her out into the backyard to round up and chase sticks. Then she monitors the home and yard for intruders such as deer, UPS drivers, cable guys, delivery people and random human visitors, passers-by and other dogs. She barks ferociously at these threats to alert her humans and to get treats from the delivery people. Even though she loves people, she pretends she is very ferocious. During the afternoons, she talks to her humans to tell them she is bored so they play games with her were they hide toys with treats in them around the house and put treats in puzzles to try to challenge her. These games are child’s play to German Shepherds, but the humans seem impressed, and it passes the time. In the evenings, she goes on walks around the neighborhood or sometimes off leash in the woods. At night she watches a bit of TV with the humans on the end of their bed before retiring to the sofa in the living room. She can’t understand why other dogs want to share a bed with their humans all night when they can have a whole couch to themselves!
- When asked what tricks she knows, Ginger’s response was “Please do not insult me! I am a German Shepard, not a little circus dog. I do not do ‘tricks.’ I will be happy to follow commands, however, and I prefer that you issue them firmly and do not make a question out of them. I will come, sit, wait, lay-down, leave it, and get in the car. I know much of your silly human language, such as no, yes, walk, look, deer, go home, cross here, Amy, Bill, Toby, treat, cookie, food, water, do you want to…, outside, stick, play, park and many other words that I will not let on that I know because then you will start spelling them like you do with w-a-l-k. I know what that spells, by the way! There are also some things that I know but cannot comply with, like your insistence that I don’t jump on people I like and don’t put my mouth on their forearm to show affection. Why do you people think this is such a threatening gesture? Yes- I could bite your arm off, but have I ever done that? I’m just showing my love! Also, I like to sniff other dogs butts and bark reactively at them when I’m on a leash. It’s just my thing, okay!”
- Last summer, Ginger discovered that she likes to ride on speedboats almost as much as pontoons and that she’s a pretty mediocre swimmer, compared to her dog hosts. It was scary for her to go to a marina and walk out onto a metal dock in front of a lot of strange people and boat traffic and be lifted into a strange boat, but then she liked cruising down Clam River and going fast on Torch Lake with the wind in her face and two other veteran water dogs beside her.
- This spring, Ginger is looking forward to helping with spring yardwork. Doing anything outside with her family make her happy. She also loves playing with her friend, Toby, who is a two-year-old lab that lives with her extended family.