Absosengkye Kennel

07/08/2025

My husband is in Samuels, Idaho. He found an injured golden retriever hit in the road and left. The dog is alive, but appears to have a broken leg and other injuries. He is wearing a choke choller with hooks that prevent it from tightening (so the choke collar works as a collar, not a choke collar). It appears that he may have been tied and somehow escaped. Please let me know if you recognize this dog. I am not looking for criticism of owners, etc. I have no idea what his care was, but he appears to be loved, fat, healthy and is extremely friendly. Posting now and will repost with photo as soon as I get one.

Update, after asking around, my wonderful drove the injured dog home. I headed to my vet with him while my husband cleaned up and headed to work.

Thankfully, injuries don't appear to be internal. He does not have a microchip. I am heading to the animal alliance shelter with said dog now. They have a veterinarian there and should be able to handle anything that needs to be done.

I am really hoping that his owner is located as he does appear to be someone's pet and has been well fed and cared for. Please continue to share, as I am convinced there is someone out there that knows who this dog belongs to.

07/08/2025

My husband is in Samuels, Idaho. He found an injured golden retriever hit in the road and left. The dog is alive, but appears to have a broken leg and other injuries. He is wearing a choke choller with hooks that prevent it from tightening (so the choke collar works as a collar, not a choke collar). It appears that he may have been tied and somehow escaped. Please let me know if you recognize this dog. I am not looking for criticism of owners, etc. I have no idea what his care was, but he appears to be loved, fat, healthy and is extremely friendly. Posting now and will repost with photo as soon as I get one.

Update, after asking around, my wonderful drove the injured dog home. I headed to my vet with him while my husband cleaned up and headed to work.

Thankfully, injuries don't appear to be internal. He does not have a microchip. I am heading to the animal alliance shelter with said dog now. They have a veterinarian there and should be able to handle anything that needs to be done.

I am really hoping that his owner is located as he does appear to be someone's pet and has been well fed and cared for. Please continue to share, as I am convinced there is someone out there that knows who this dog belongs to.

07/06/2025

07/06/2025

It has been a busy two months. My sister had a brain aneurysm clipped and bypassed. While going through the surgery, she suffered a transischemic stroke.
I spent several weeks in Melbourne, Florida, helping her take care of things.
She is truly a miracle. After transitioning from hospital to rehabilitation, I headed home for a short break, and then back when she was transitioned from rehabilitation to home.
I thank God for my husband, brother-in-law and my daughter taking care of the Absosengkye Kennel and doing an excellent job at it.
We only have 2 little things guys left and it looks like one of them is going to be going home the week after next.
I missed my family, my shepherds and my Lhasas. I am thankful to God that I was able to be there for my sister. I believe that the older you get, the more you realize how important sisters are.
I am really hoping that everyone is doing well and will do my best to post as frequently as possible.
Below is Larkspur, one of our two remaining boys.

07/03/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/15bbBs548N/?mibextid=oFDknk

Despite its evocative title, the German Shepherd Dog (GSD) is not—and never truly was—a herding breed.

Founded in 1899 by Captain Max von Stephanitz, the GSD was explicitly designed to be an all-round working dog. Stephanitz’s vision was clear: "Utility is the true criterion of beauty… the Shepherd Dog is a service[working] dog and must only be bred as a service[working] dog." His priority was general-purpose capabilities such as tracking, obedience, and controlled aggression, not specialized livestock management.

The first breed suitability trial in 1901, personally overseen by Stephanitz, confirms this. It featured three phases: tracking, obedience, and protection. Notably absent was any form of stock handling. This intentional choice set the breed’s trajectory firmly toward police, military, protection, and general utility work rather than livestock management.

The breed’s practical utility was quickly recognized, and by 1907 German Shepherds were officially serving as police dogs in the first formal K-9 unit in Hildesheim, Germany where they served as the equivalent to today’s dual purpose dogs, performing both search and apprehension. By 1914, only 15 years after its creation, the breed had become essential to military operations during World War I, serving as messengers, sentries, ammunition carriers, stretcher bearers, and attack dogs.

This rapid adoption in military and police contexts drove GSD breeding to quickly prioritize protection work, nerve stability, and obedience over livestock-handling ability. Herding became a footnote, an optional rather than essential component of the breed’s identity.

In 1922, the breed survey system (Körung) was formalized, accepting either the Schutzhund (now IGP) title or, for the first time, over 20 years after the breed’s creation, the HGH herding title as qualifying criteria for breeding. However, from inception, breeders overwhelmingly favored the Schutzhund route, entrenching traits of courage, protection instinct, and obedience in the breed’s genetic legacy. Today, fewer than one percent of surveyed dogs achieve breeding status through HGH. Rather than being central to the breed’s identity, herding ability is marginal, at best.

It’s also important to acknowledge the style of herding GSDs utilize is known as “tending,” which is distinctly different from the gathering-and-driving methods associated with breeds like Border Collies or Kelpies. Tending dogs primarily patrol boundaries, prevent livestock from straying, and protect the flock from threats rather than actively moving or grouping animals. Tasks that in fact align closely with guarding and patrol roles in police and military work, which explains why these traits were easily redirected into those roles.

Some will point to Stephanitz’s foundational book, The German Shepherd Dog in Word and Picture, citing the opening chapter titled "The Shepherd's Dog and The Herdsman's Dog" as evidence of the breed’s intended herding role. But this historical discussion outlines the breed’s pastoral origins rather than dictating its intended path. Stephanitz in fact emphasized all-round service utility throughout his book, dedicating extensive coverage to police, military, and Schutzhund champions. There are indeed photographs of HGH champions in early editions, and these are balanced by photos of dogs excelling in protection, police, and military contexts, underscoring the breed’s versatility rather than herding specialization.

Undoubtedly, latent herding instincts persist in some German Shepherds, allowing individual dogs to pass basic herding tests or assist with livestock chores. However, sporadic capability does not define breed identity. Border Collies occasionally participate in protection sports like IGP, yet no one would seriously call the Border Collie a protection dog. Occasionally competent participation in a task does not equate to breed-defining functionality.

Ultimately, the German Shepherd is an all-purpose working and protection breed whose ancestral herding instincts are incidental. From Stephanitz’s deliberate exclusion of herding in early breed trials, rapid adoption in police and military contexts, to modern genetic evidence and practical realities, it is clear that the breed’s foundational identity and ongoing selection pressures have never prioritized specialized livestock management.

German Shepherds are remarkable working dogs precisely because of their broad utility. But herding, despite occasional displays of competence, has never been, and certainly is not today, the breed’s defining purpose.

07/02/2025

My name is Snapdragon and I am cuteness, overload.

07/01/2025

07/01/2025

Snapdragon is an absolutely happy go-lucky little boy.