German Shepherd, 2 yr old trained male

Anaheim CA

Description

2 yr old Male German Shepard dog. He was DNA tested by Wisdom and came back as 78% shepherd but looks purebred. Per Wisdom, he is also free of all of the genetic health conditions that they screen for. He is on the larger side at approx 26" (hard to measure) and with a big head and is big boned. He is 100% potty trained, knows the commands sit, place, stay, leave it, down, turn, wait, back, shake. Knows hand signals for sit, down, come, stay. Knows heel but only good at it at home either off or on leash. I rarely take him on walks so we are still working on it outside with distractions. He almost never jumps on anyone...this was the hardest habit to break. If he gets really happy to see you, he might jump up once but usually just hops up a little near you, versus actually on you. Xlnt guard dog. He barks when necessary and I do not consider him an excessive barker. He will stop barking immediately to fairly quickly when told, except for those exceptions when he feels danger is too close or imminent like when gardener starts working really close to the front or back doors, or strangers come to the door. He loves fetch and will release the ball on command. That's how he gets exercised and trained as I incorporate training while playing fetch. He is well past the counter surfing, chewing, getting into the trash phase. He is extremely intelligent and grasps new commands quickly. He just may be reluctant to listen sometimes, but he totally understands what is being asked, lol. More on that below. I have put months of training and love into this guy. He is current on vaccinations, rabies and is microchipped. His cons: I have not been a good enough trainer to get him to recall (come) off leash in the open. Meaning that if he gets out the front door or side gate he will not listen to the come command, despite fully knowing the command. He will keep going as long as he can see you, so I never chase him. I tell him "I'm leaving you" and start to go back to the house and them he will run after me and back to the front door as he doesn't want me out of his sightline. He is a super heavy shedder, a 10 out of 10. He needs an EXPERIENCED handler who is familiar with the breed or similar type guard dog. The reason I am rehoming him is that at age 2, he has started to challenge me for the pack leader position. He has not been aggressive with me and I have always been able to easily take away food and toys. Although as he's matured, he will not tolerate other dogs within a certain distance of his food bowl. He won't outright attack or draw blood but he will stare them down and if they keep approaching his bowl and ignore his warning then he will brawl with them without drawing blood. He has had xlnt bite inhibition since the older puppy age. The challenging me consists of him delaying obeying the down command for a while. I wait until he responds and then praise him. This may happen about 1 out of 10 to 15 instances. It usually takes 20 to 40 seconds at most for him to give in, but today it took a very long time and was a battle of patience between us as to who would hold out longest, lol. I have come to realize that he needs a better trainer in order to reach his full potential which is limitless given his extreme intelligence. And I am an older retired person with health issues who needs to feel that I can control a large dog at any time. For some people it might be a con that he has not been raised around children. For that reason alone, despite him appearing non violent, I would not recommend him around young kids. I'm a mom myself and would not think its worth risking my kids safety on an unknown factor. Also, he does not warm up to strangers easily. He hasn't been aggressive and in my opinion it's not that he's fearful. It appears to me that he has that GSD suspicious nature. He won't even take treats from strangers. He's been left at boarding and ranged from friendly and playful to aloof and won't allow the dog sitter near him, depending on the person. He is not crate trained and WILL bark a lot if left cooped up alone in a small area (a bedroom) for too long. He is fine for short periods of time up to maybe an hour. Or overnight if shut into a bedroom to sleep with you, although he will try a few times to get you to let him out of the bedroom where he can sleep alone by the front door. For the most part, he is an excellent, well trained and obedient dog and I definitely feel very safe with him. If I were younger and without orthopedic issues I would continue to work with him. If I never told you about his challenging my authority, you probably would never realize it for quite some time. But I want to be upfront, so that he gets the perfect permanent home. I've owned him since he was 8 wks old. He is still intact as with Covid and becoming unemployed last year I never got around to taking him to get neutered. He has lived peacefully with my and my fiance's other dogs which have included 2 small dogs, a spayed pitbull and an intact female. He has no anxiety or destructiveness when left alone as he is quite independent and confident. In fact, at my house prefers to sleep alone outside even though me and my other dog are sleeping inside. At my fiance's house (smaller yard) he does prefer to sleep inside, but away from us near the front door. Even though other dogs are sleeping with us in the bedroom. He is his own person, so to speak. If you have an interest, please email me with details about your lifestyle (retired, work 60 hr a week, kids' ages, other dogs?), experience with large dogs and/or shepherds, etc. The more info the better. If the post is up, he is still available. I will not respond to simple emails only asking if he's available and without providing details of your home and large dog experience. It's going to be a two way interview process for us both to get more info. I'm not interested in just dumping him to the first person, unless the first is a good fit (smile). Nor do I want it to be a protracted process. But I do want to place him in a good lifetime home and cannot do that without us both acquiring info from one another. I'm in no rush and will wait for a good match for him. He will not be free under any circumstances. I'm not trying to recoup what I spent buying him, feeding him quality food, vaccinating him, etc. But he will be rehomed at a fair price of $350 to weed out dog flippers and non committed owners which is way less than I paid for him as a young, unvaccinated, untrained puppy with a long puppyhood phase. Included with the rehome fee, you will also get his vaccination info, microchip and Wisdom DNA and health screening info (Wisdom charges $100 plus tax). As much as I would prefer he be in a loving retirement type household, he might be equally happy being a patrol type guard dog or shop dog due to his independent streak and protective nature. So I am open to that. It just depends on the situation and my gut feelings about a prospective home. He's well worth it as it's really a pain to go through the destructive puppy phase, housebreaking, train, etc. All the hard work, cleanup and labor has been done. This guy just needs either fine tuning his recall and leash training (if you like walking) or an environment better suited to his personality, as well as a strong handler. Unless you don't mind having a dog who may challenge you to be the pack leader, decision maker and protector of the pack lol. I'm a female and he is used to being around my male fiance who is an inconsistent command giver (annoying). But he is used to being around both genders so I think either gender would be ok, although maybe he would be less inclined to challenge a strong male owner for top position. Again, if the post is up he is still available.