Biography
LJ is a very sweet girl, the top picture is her and the bottom picture is her and her father. She knows all her basic commands and before my husband was diagnosed with stomach cancer I had just started her off leash training.. With chemo and surgery and Dr. Appointments and the mountain of stress LJs quality of life has dramatically changed... She is still a puppy and has to be kenneled when I'm not home or when she can't be supervised.... She is spending tooooo much time in her kennel. I don't believe that's healthy for her mentally... I just can't find the energy nor do I have the focus right now to continue in her journey to becoming a well behaved 4 legged citizen who people enjoy being around. She is sooo smart as GSDs tend to be, she wants so much to glue herself to my side and the sad looks I get when I have to kennel her for yet another trip to the hospital breaks my heart.
Now by no means is LJ perfect, she is fascinated with woven kitchen rugs and if left with one as a temptation, she will eventually unravel it as she tangles herself up in the yarn. She also has a love/hate relationship with certain toys, if they upset her she will decapitate and gut them.
LJ is NOT food or toy aggressive, if she's told "back back back" while eating she will back up and wait to finish eating.. She doesn't bum rush doors if she's asked to "sit and wait". Though if she's super excited it may take a minute until she can calm herself. She has been taught to walk behind me and not try to barge between me and walls or chairs or beds as my husband and I are getting older and don't want to fall or be knocked down. LJ is microchipped and both of her parents have had their DNA tested.
LJ is cautious around strangers and very slow to decide if someone is worth being part of her pack. She is learning to use her nose, we play "seek" I let her smell and taste a food item then ask her to find the ones I've hidden. Once it all clicks my next step would be replacing the food with other scents.
I'm apprehensive about mentioning this next part due to the reaction I received when I reached out to a rescue group shortly after my husband was diagnosed with cancer. I believe the person who I was emailing didn't read my whole message, as I was informed that the quality of their potential adopters was not great, and that if I had a puppy with behavior problems I should seek out a professional. L j does not have serious behavior problems....
I use this tool ONLY when off leash training.... ONLY WHEN OFF LEASH TRAINING ..... I use a sport dog collar utilizing the tone and vibration settings as they keep the dog focused. The command "come" is in my opinion the most important as it can save a dog's life. LJ has experienced the static feature exactly two times in three months both being in the first week of off leash training. Just to be clear.... ONLY WHEN OFF LEASH TRAINING..... Her collar will remain with me as they are harmful if not used properly.
In my experience German Shepherd Dogs don't mature until around three years old, and they want to be at their people's side 24/7. LJs perfect home is with an owner who has the time to continue her training and love her and spend oodles of time with her. She has never been around livestock or cats or rabbits etc so I can't say how she'd do with them. LJs kennel and all her harnesses and leashes and toys will be going to her new home. She is easy to kennel by saying..." LJ kennie" half the time I forget to lock it, she's never even tried to get out.... she will let out a single bark if she needs to get out right now, usually it's to potty. She really is a good puppy and if I could see an end to this chaos that has become my life I wouldn't be doing this.