Hello, everyone!

[Schmosworld]

I found this forum via Reddit. I am a long time owner of GSDs having had two working line imports in the past. Today, I have a four year old rescue girl who is as calm as I’ve ever seen a GSD. Her house manners are great but her off leash recall leaves something to be desired. We’ll get there soon!

I’m looking toward to helping build an awesome community with some awesome folks all centered around the awesome breed we all love.

 

[EnraaGygas]

Welcome Schmosworld! Looking forward to hearing all about your lovely rescue!

 

[Schmosworld]

Welcome Schmosworld! Looking forward to hearing all about your lovely rescue!

As I mentioned she is four (turned in January). She was previously owned by an older couple. The husband was a trucker and wasn’t home often so she was his wife’s companion while he was on the road. Unfortunately his wife passed of cancer and the dog needed a new home.

Luckily his neighbor is the sister of two of my coworkers who both knew of my history with the breed. They reached out to me and I ended up bringing her home. The previous owner really did his best to re-home her. He was honest with everyone he talked to about what he knew about the dog. Unfortunately the info he had was BS.

He was told by a “trainer” that she was dog reactive and could never be around small children. He also said she had something called “stranger aloof syndrome”. The owner explained this meant she was wary of new people. He was quite surprised when I told him her aloofness was a completely normal behavior for the breed.

The “trainer” spouted off all the alpha dog crap so I just ignored what the owner thought was going on and focused more on what the dog showed me.

What I ended up with is a sweet, gentle GSD who was quite a bit overweight at the time (89lbs) and who lacked an owner with the understanding of her breed but the best of intentions.

She is now at a fit weight. I’ve yet to see dog reactivity from her on walks, at pet stores or vet visits. She does NOT do well at the vet but we are working on it.

Oh, and she got a name change too. Her original was “Masiya” (pronounced messiah) but I changed it to Massie.

 

[EnraaGygas]

As I mentioned she is four (turned in January). She was previously owned by an older couple. The husband was a trucker and wasn’t home often so she was his wife’s companion while he was on the road. Unfortunately his wife passed of cancer and the dog needed a new home.

Luckily his neighbor is the sister of two of my coworkers who both knew of my history with the breed. They reached out to me and I ended up bringing her home. The previous owner really did his best to re-home her. He was honest with everyone he talked to about what he knew about the dog. Unfortunately the info he had was BS.

He was told by a “trainer” that she was dog reactive and could never be around small children. He also said she had something called “stranger aloof syndrome”. The owner explained this meant she was wary of new people. He was quite surprised when I told him her aloofness was a completely normal behavior for the breed.

The “trainer” spouted off all the alpha dog crap so I just ignored what the owner thought was going on and focused more on what the dog showed me.

What I ended up with is a sweet, gentle GSD who was quite a bit overweight at the time (89lbs) and who lacked an owner with the understanding of her breed but the best of intentions.

She is now at a fit weight. I’ve yet to see dog reactivity from her on walks, at pet stores or vet visits. She does NOT do well at the vet but we are working on it.

Oh, and she got a name change too. Her original was “Masiya” (pronounced messiah) but I changed it to Massie.

Massie is such a good name!!

We definitely have some trainers with that really outdated dangerous mindset in my area, too. Absolutely horrible. I personally found the best advice I was given about my boy as I found little hurdles was given to me by GSD owners.

I'm glad she's doing so much better, now! She probably loves how well you understand her and how you handle her. Sometimes reactivity is owner-induced, so he may have seen reactivity because of his own nerves. He probably is so happy and confident about where she is now, because clearly she's THRIVING with you!

 

[Schmosworld]

Massie is such a good name!!

We definitely have some trainers with that really outdated dangerous mindset in my area, too. Absolutely horrible. I personally found the best advice I was given about my boy as I found little hurdles was given to me by GSD owners.

I'm glad she's doing so much better, now! She probably loves how well you understand her and how you handle her. Sometimes reactivity is owner-induced, so he may have seen reactivity because of his own nerves. He probably is so happy and confident about where she is now, because clearly she's THRIVING with you!

That’s the thing….

HE never saw the reactivity. Supposedly the trainer did. Now this was a board and train situation so it is possible there was something happening. I’ve personally never witnessed it.

In fact, her very first trip with me was to a PetsMart on the way home from taking her. I’d known the dog my three hours. What I DIDN’T know was the store was doing pet pictures with Santa that day so there was a long line of dogs and owners from the training area to the back wall and then across the back wall. Maddie had been perfectly behaved for me on a flat collar and leash while we were shopping so I decided to walk her right past the line of dogs just to see how she did. There was no reaction at all. She didn’t pull, bark, growl, raise her hackles or anything else.

She even relaxed politely when two little girl who were with their parents asked to pet her. Now I know testing her like that was potentially troublesome after just getting her but if I can read and handle working dogs I knew she wasn’t going to a problem.

 

[Andre]

Hey Schmosworld and Massie, welcome to our community! Congrats on your Founding Member badge too!

Thanks for sharing a bit about Massie's story. It's really great to hear that she's in a good home.

 

[Schmosworld]

Hey Schmosworld and Massie, welcome to our community! Congrats on your Founding Member badge too!

Thanks for sharing a bit about Massie's story. It's really great to hear that she's in a good home.

Thanks! It was definitely of case of us saving each other.

 

[Kaia Murphy]

Welcome, Schmosworld! What a wonderful story, sounds like Massie truly found the perfect home with you. It’s great how you trusted your own experience and saw past the “alpha dog” talk to just let her show who she really is. I love hearing about calm rescues who still have that classic GSD spirit underneath.

Looking forward to seeing more updates about her progress and maybe some photos too!

 

[Mr. Schmucks]

Calm in the house, chaos in the field, the classic GSD duality! Welcome!

 

[Malakai The Great]

Welcome, Schmosworld! Glad to have you here,w sounds like your girl has a wonderful temperament. That calm confidence is something special in a shepherd. Off-leash recall can definitely be a journey, but it sounds like you’re both on the right track. Looking forward to seeing more of you around.

 

[murph]

As I mentioned she is four (turned in January). She was previously owned by an older couple. The husband was a trucker and wasn’t home often so she was his wife’s companion while he was on the road. Unfortunately his wife passed of cancer and the dog needed a new home.

Luckily his neighbor is the sister of two of my coworkers who both knew of my history with the breed. They reached out to me and I ended up bringing her home. The previous owner really did his best to re-home her. He was honest with everyone he talked to about what he knew about the dog. Unfortunately the info he had was BS.

He was told by a “trainer” that she was dog reactive and could never be around small children. He also said she had something called “stranger aloof syndrome”. The owner explained this meant she was wary of new people. He was quite surprised when I told him her aloofness was a completely normal behavior for the breed.

The “trainer” spouted off all the alpha dog crap so I just ignored what the owner thought was going on and focused more on what the dog showed me.

What I ended up with is a sweet, gentle GSD who was quite a bit overweight at the time (89lbs) and who lacked an owner with the understanding of her breed but the best of intentions.

She is now at a fit weight. I’ve yet to see dog reactivity from her on walks, at pet stores or vet visits. She does NOT do well at the vet but we are working on it.

Oh, and she got a name change too. Her original was “Masiya” (pronounced messiah) but I changed it to Massie.

I am currently working with my vet to reduce reactivity at the vet. I am very lucky that she agreed to let me do public access training in her office. We officially start training tomorrow. I definitely feel your pain.

 

[EnraaGygas]

That’s the thing….

HE never saw the reactivity. Supposedly the trainer did. Now this was a board and train situation so it is possible there was something happening. I’ve personally never witnessed it.

In fact, her very first trip with me was to a PetsMart on the way home from taking her. I’d known the dog my three hours. What I DIDN’T know was the store was doing pet pictures with Santa that day so there was a long line of dogs and owners from the training area to the back wall and then across the back wall. Maddie had been perfectly behaved for me on a flat collar and leash while we were shopping so I decided to walk her right past the line of dogs just to see how she did. There was no reaction at all. She didn’t pull, bark, growl, raise her hackles or anything else.

She even relaxed politely when two little girl who were with their parents asked to pet her. Now I know testing her like that was potentially troublesome after just getting her but if I can read and handle working dogs I knew she wasn’t going to a problem.

Definitely something up there, but the good thing is you'll never have to know since she's so happy and stable with you now!

What was a toss out for someone turned into a best friend for you! Quite a beautiful (and the best possible) turnout!