Given the high standards set by the local dogs, we immediately put Nutella in puppy class, hoping to also meet other owners. Every week, the other puppies mastered commands while Nutella ran around, defying all efforts to be civilized. My husband took it upon himself to defend her. “She knows her commands but prefers not to show that she knows them,” he said.

“Maybe she’s just not smart,” I suggested.

“She was traumatized the first four months of her life. That’s why she prefers to do her own thing,” my husband explained.

“Maybe she’s just not smart,” I suggested.

We soon found out that members of our puppy class were getting together socially outside of class with their dogs. We were never invited. “It’s because we don’t speak German,” my husband said.

“It’s because everyone hates our dog,” I told him.

After a couple of weeks, our trainer suggested that we purchase a special dog whistle and combine that with dog treats. Desperate to have a trained dog, and maybe even a few friends, we immediately did as we were told. Nutella was totally indifferent to the whistle, although many other dogs in Munich responded.

The trainer then suggested we purchase pricey liver treats that come in a tube. “Dogs will do anything for those,” she assured us. Given the choice of performing a simple command and getting liver treats, or running around like an escapee, Nutella always chose the latter. “This dog has dignity,” my husband said. “You can’t buy her with liver in a tube.”

We gave up after four trainers, all of them declared “not that good” by my husband. Nutella would never be an off-leash city dog. This did not matter to my husband and daughter, who were in love with her.

I was not in love with her. At our neighborhood park, Nutella had earned the nickname “der wilde Hund,” the wild dog. I learned enough German to explain that Nutella was simply enthusiastic and wanted to play. But Nutella’s approach was the problem. She would run full speed toward unsuspecting dogs. By the time she arrived to sniff, the dog and his owner had fled the park.