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Posted over 9 years ago
| Updated over 8 years ago
I found a new home! Plenty of my friends are looking for one too. Check out other pets at this shelter, or start a new search.
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My basic info
Breed
German Shepherd Dog
Color
Brown/Chocolate - with Tan
Age
Young
Size
Large 61-100 lbs (28-45 kg) (when grown)
Weight
–
Sex
Female
Pet ID
–
My details
Good with kids
Good with dogs
Purebred
Shots current
Spayed / Neutered
Housetrained
My story
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Here's what the humans have to say about me:
Shadow is a 2 year old female GSD. She was surrendered to SPR by her original owner who could no longer keep her. She achieved her AKC Canine good Citizen certificate in January 2014 so we know that she had the ability to be good with people, dogs and good socially. The first night we had her we realized she was fearful (other dogs and people) so she was placed in a foster home that night. We are learning more about Shadow every day and what her needs will be to be successful in her forever home. Shadow has been in her foster home almost three weeks and is showing that she can come out of her shell when given time, patience and understanding. We do not know what happened from the time she was a CGC dog to now, but we feel that she may have been isolated due to another aggressive dog in her once quiet home and now as a result, she is dog selective right now. Our foster is working to build her confidence with other dogs and meeting people. She is living with two senior GSD and does well with them. She wants to play, but doesn’t know how to appropriately. Given time, patience and proper introduction her foster mom feels she will be good with a calmer male dog that won’t be aggressive in their reaction to her. She initially would resource guard, but her foster has seen that diminish as she is learning that no one will let the other dog take her food or bones. New adopters will need to work on that again should she go into a new home with another other dog. She has been going to obedience classes with her foster mom and clearly this is something that she remembers. She appears the most confident with she is doing obedience work. New owners should be aware that this will be an excellent way to build her confidence and decrease her anxiety so obedience or other dog activity classes would be GREAT for this girl. She has been going to Home Depot and other places to improve her fear of meeting people. She isn’t 100% comfortable while out, but this work will only help her understand that people can be fun to meet. Shadow will do best with someone who is home a great deal of the time and able to understand her need for calm energy from her person. She feels most comfortable making the first steps to meet people, so someone with the patience to allow her to come to them and give her the time to feel safe will do the best. She walks very well on a leash and is a more petite frame GSD so a retired person would be a great fit for her even though she is a younger girl. Her Foster mom is working to put weight on her as she came in underweight. She has learned to play ball and beginning to play with other toys. A perfect home would have a place for her to play and work off her anxiety. Shadow is not crate trained, but her Foster mom said that her fear issues have taken center stage and the crate was not comfortable for her so she has had limited household access, but recently she has had full access to the home and uses the doggie door now. She has not been destructive when left alone. She will bark when she gets excited and her foster mom is working on getting her to put a ball or toy in her mouth when she is overly excited. Shadow is a young wonderful girl who just needs a home with experience in understanding dogs with fear and anxiety. She gets strength and confidence from a handler who is able to give her the security she needs to thrive and the exercise she needs to help with her anxiety. Shadow did not live in a home with children and recent exposure to places with children have elevated her anxiety, so she would do best in a home without small children who move quickly and may frighten her. Shadow will be a WONDERFUL addition to the right home. She is becoming more trusting with each and every day and we know the right home will let this diamond in the rough shine!
As always, if you are interested in a Saving Paws dog, you must fill out our online application to get the approval process started. We will only schedule meet & greets with an approved application! Here is the link:
http://savingpawsrescueaz.com/adoption-form/
All staff members are volunteers and are not compensated for their time and expenses. Many of our volunteers juggle family, and full-time careers while volunteering at Saving Paws. Please be patient as sometimes it takes up to 5 days to process an application.
