Often times we are asked to rehome German Shepherds…

Riley

NO LONGER  AVAILABLE

Riley’s name has been changed to Ronin von Bivouac. A Ronin was a samurai with no master and bivouac is a  temporary shelter in french. He is a dog with no master and he is from a temporary shelter. This best describes how our big guy came to us. This will be a new beginning for him. Ronin displays major aggression towards anyone and everyone except for his pack leader. His aggression comes out of fear and uncertainty concerning his rank among his pack. He shows no signs of handler aggression, but is very leery of anyone else even if he knows them.

Ronin was brought to us by his loving family who was advised from a vet and another dog trainer to have him put down. They were faced with the tough decision of surrendering him to a shelter with possibly no hope of recovery or give him another opportunity with us. He is with us until we can help him to become a more confident and self-controlled dog.

Our initial evaluation of him was a scary one. Any noise or person would set him off to attacking while urinating and he would not back down while being handled by his owner. After insuring he was managed well enough with a muzzle, harness and collar I took control of him. Immediately he began to attack me. One stiff correction with the leash attached to his collar and he changed instantly. He submitted very well and within seconds began heeling and feeling more confident as I praised him for the control he was displaying. Fear aggression is the most dangerous form of aggression due to the not knowing of what all of the triggers are that cause it.

I digress here to say that at exactly the same time I am writing this info about him he is laying beside my office desk. Children who he has met and have walked him on leash, just came  into my office and he began growling. He was redirected very easily, but as he lay there a puddle of urine began to form underneath him.

With this type of dog it can take weeks or even months to re-condition his mind and paint a whole new picture of this world for him. During this process he must be managed at all times. That requires a muzzle, harness with leash, and a collar with leash. And he must be tethered to me at all times. As I am typing his leash is attached to my left upper arm. It is my responsibility  to only allow him to be in an environment that is controlled and make sure that he is being controlled in that environment.

During the first day of his rehab there has been two biting incidents. Nothing major, but bruises still hurt. He is now in a controlled environment where he can not bite. He is allowed freedom when he is with me only and no distractions or other people are present.

He appears to be very loyal and respectful to his handler. He handles correction well with out showing signs of stress and is a very playful pup with no signs of dog aggression. We will work on building up his confidence with positive reinforcements and proper socialization.

I do believe that he will most likely be more successful in a one person home at this time. We will work on his pack structure and reinforce his mind with positive interactions.  In most cases this can be a result of poor breeding. Breeding dogs with high drive and weak nerves, but this can also result from their environment. Either way he will receive the care that he deserves.

Once he has been cleared for adoption he will be available for an approved person who can be firm and respectful to him and any special needs he may have. Free training and support will be provided to all of the people who adopt from us. Please contact us if you are interested.

UPDATE: 7/14/14

1 MONTH INTO HIS REHAB AND RONIN HAS GREATLY IMPROVED. THE FEAR AGGRESSION HAS COMPLETELY SUBSIDED AND HE HAS BECOME A VERY TRUSTED AND EXCELLENT ADDITION TO OUR FAMILY. HE IS STILL UP FOR ADOPTION AND IS CURRENTLY BEING CONSIDERED FOR A LOCAL FAMILY WHO IS LOOKING FOR A GSD. HE IS THE SWEETEST AND MOST LOVING DOG THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE. I AM SO GLAD HE WAS NOT SURRENDERED TO BE PUT DOWN!

UPDATE: 10/23/14

Ronin is still continuing in his rehab. I believe he will be ready for adoption by the first of the year. He has proven to be even more loving than I first thought. He is excellent in the house with his manners. There have been no attempts to bite or become aggressive towards anyone in 3 months. Over the next 2 months we will be socializing him even more and preparing him for his new home. If you are interested in Ronin or would like to come and visit with him and help his training please contact us. He really is just a big baby who is uncertain about how to handle certain situations!

02/05/2016 – After a few attempts to re-home this guy he has been deemed too dangerous and will no longer be available for adoption.  He will remain with us on one of our properties.

T-Bo

T-bo was the result of some poor Back Yard Breeding from some local pet owners who were looking to make a quick buck. He came with out papers. He was 1 out of a litter of 3. 1 died and I’m not sure what occurred with the other pup. We were only able to take care of one at the time. We brought T-bo in as a puppy and worked with his socialization skills for about 8 months. He showed signs of food allergies early on like dry skin and always coming up with sores on his legs. It took constant care and attention to this problem to keep it under control.

He loved small animals. His best friend in the world was our female Shih tzu. He preferred to be outside most of the time. Although he was crate trained, his desire was to be free in the yard. His best like thing to do was chase and catch grasshoppers. Sadly, this love for grasshoppers created a very short attention span. He had a difficult time focusing on what he was being asked to do.

T-bo also loved to play ball. That was his best and only liked toy. No matter where you tossed it he would catch it and sit there squeezing as hard as he could so he could hear the air come in and out.

UPDATE:

After completing his basic obedience and determining that he had an excellent temperament, but lacked drive and nerves (due to his poor breeding). He was donated with an x-large crate to a solider at Dyess Airforce Base so he could enjoy life as a companion dog to the solider and his wife.

Bubbles

Bubbles is a huge Beautiful long coat King Shepherd. He came to us at the age of 18 months. He was being re-homed due to someone moving in who had allergies. This I would assume was a lie? They also stated that if I paid them extra I could get his AKC papers with him. I guess not everyone knows that a King shepherd is not an AKC approved breed and no such papers could exist for him? After picking him up the owners never responded to any of my questions again.

His closet friend was a female German shepherd who we also rescued along with him. He was a big teddy bear who was very emotional. Any correction and He would lay down and cover his face with his paws like he was embarrassed for what he had done.

Early on he showed signs of aggression towards smaller dogs. Which is a huge problem in my household. He also only had one descended testicle; which I didn’t find out until it was time for his heart worm test. I never looked because supposedly the female German shepherd that was with him was pregnant by him. With that being the case he needed to be neutered so this genetic flaw was not passed onto future puppies.

UPDATE:

Thankfully his heart worm test were negative and shortly after he was re-homed to Dyess Airforce Base to a solider and his wife along with his best friend…the female German shepherd.

Tippy

Tippy is a stout large build drop dead gorgeous 13 month old German Shepherd. She was being re-homed along with Bubbles do to someone supposedly being allergic to them. Quickly I found out the truth! Tippy suffered from severe separation anxiety. Once she chose who she loved the most that person could not leave her side and of course that turned out to be me. From one room to another. If I was in the bathroom she would lie by the door and wait for me. If I went out so did she. If I came in so did she. If I was mowing the grass on the riding lawn  mower she would heel perfectly with the mower going full speed until I was done mowing. A crate could not contain her. If she was alone she would rip the crate, outside kennel or what ever it was with her teeth to get to me. She would try jumping out closed windows in the house to get to me. This made her a very loving and loyal dog but very difficult to live with.

Supposedly she had been impregnated by Bubbles prior to us adopting them. The fact that she was only 13 months and pregnant showed me how little the owners knew about proper care of their dogs. After bringing her home it was difficult to tell if she was pregnant due to her large build. I decided to take her to our vet Dearing Veterinary Clinic for a sonogram which reveled that she was not pregnant.

She showed signs of poor socialization as a puppy and still had her rear dew-claws. This would mean that her breeder wasn’t knowledgeable enough nor involved enough to be breeding dogs. The tip of her right ear was missing according the owners it was bit off by an older German Shepherd when she was a pup. Hence the name TIPPY!

She was a very loving girl and very obedient with commands. She would heel off leash so tight that it was hard to walk straight.

UPDATE:

Both Her and Bubbles were re-homed together to a couple on Dyess Airforce Base.

Baron

Baron came to us on 12/29/13. He was brought to us by his very loving family in order to protect him and their horses. Baron displays a very high prey drive and anything that runs he chases. The owner being with young foals decided it be best for us to take him in and work with him helping to maintain his PPD training. He is 7 years old and he is a Retired fully trained Personal Protection Dog. He is obedience trained. He was trained by Texoma K-9 Training Center L.L.C.

He is an Import from The Czech Republic. He is trained with the Czech language. His hips and elbow have been x-rayed.

HE IS BEING RE-HOMED AS A PET COMPANION ONLY!

UPDATE:

1/17/2014: Baron has been adopted by Chris in San Antonio, TX!

Hunter

Hunter is an older male German Shepherd that was surrendered to us on 7/10/14. He was roaming free on the North side of Abilene, TX near Richland Drive. It is believed that his owners moved out-of-state and just left him behind. He is not neutered nor is he micro-chipped. When he arrived he was covered in fleas, infested with tape-worms, and had sores/ hot spots on his underbelly. It also appears his nails had not been trimmed in years causing him pain.

He has been treated for the fleas, is being medicated for the sores, has been treated for the tape-worms and is starting his basic obedience training.

If you are interested in Hunter please contact us!

UPDATE:

7/15/14 Adoption is pending! 7/16/14 Adoption is final. Hunter went home with a young married couple who are expecting their first child in February. After his initial health exam he has tested positive for heart worms. It is believed to be advanced and his new owners have come to the hard conclusion to have him euthanize.

Sniper

We are assisting someone locally in Abilene, TX to help them re-home their beautiful German shepherd.  Sniper is a five years old long coat  female German shepherd. She is AKC registered and she will come with all of her papers and pedigree, but due to a personal situation with her owners her papers can not be transferred.

She is obedient trained and began training for SAR (search and rescue). She is great with children and has a high ball drive. She is very fun and easy to work with. She will come with all her health records, papers, and dog house. The owners are asking for a small adoption fee.

She is not fixed and has never been bred. She will be required to be spayed by whomever adopts her. Please contact us if you are interested.

UPDATE:

7/14/14 Sniper has been adopted by a married couple and she will be moving to Alaska in February of 2015!

Savannah

We are assisting someone locally in Abilene, TX to help them re-home their beautiful German shepherd.  Savannah is a 1 year old white  female German shepherd. She is AKC registered and she will come with all of her papers and pedigree.

 She is great with children, very fun and easy to work with. She will come with all her health records.

UPDATE: She has been adopted by a local family and will handled by their teenage son.