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1/2/2025 3:41 PM
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German Shepherd Dog (medium coat) : : Male (neutered) : : Young : : Large
(2 yrs) Good with dogs and older considerate kids. Cats TBD. Needs a companion animal and experienced GSD owner.
Hello world! My name is Gunner and I am a stunning bi-colored GSD. I am the youngest of the Fabulous Five. I came from a very difficult neglect situation, and I have spent my whole life in a small kennel with a small run, which was shared with my 11 yr. old mother. Can you imagine that she was close to 9 years old when she had me! I am 2 1/2 years young, and have just now discovered the wonderful life of being a dog. Yeah, thats right, until 4 months ago, I had never walked on grass, never knew what the tender touch of a human was, never went for a walk, didn't know all the wonderful smells and sights that the outside world has to offer, didn't know what a toy was, was completely shut down emotionally from humans, and never played with anyone other than my mother. I guess you could say that I lived an extremely sheltered life, if you could call that a life! In walked my and my kennel mates Guardian Angel, Angie, an extremely loving and caring AC officer, who fell in love with all of us and selfishlessly devoted her time and energy feeding us, cleaning our kennels, showing us what love is, and trying to find us permanent help. She searched high and low to other Rescues. These rescues wanted nothing to do with us since we required a lot of medical attention, and with the exception of me and my sister, consisted of senior GSD's. In walked GSRA! They could never turn their backs on us, and went through a lengthy process of bringing us into the rescue. All of the seven of us were saved, one way or another. I have discovered a whole new world over the past four months. People are good and they can be trusted with time. Dogs are supposed to be free spirits and be allowed to play, engage in our peoples everyday life and be loved as a family member. We should also socialize with other dogs and humans, be fed and watered daily, and be allowed to act like dogs should. I am shy at first, but with time and patience, will come out of my shell. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my foster siblings and they have shown me what it is like to be a fun loving dog. I have to have another canine sibling to learn from since I have lived such a sheltered life. I LOVE to play now, and if no one plays with me, I will engage them in play by starting it myself. I will nip at a blade of grass and take off running. They happily oblige by chasing me and the game is on!! I feel extremely comfortable in my foster home, but can become nervous in outside surroundings with large groups of people or other dogs. I need to continue to be socialized with others, both people and canines, to continue to grow. I do have some health issues, which my foster mom will go into detail about, but overall I am very healthy. I love to go for daily walks, have my belly rubbed, give kisses, play with other dogs and toys, and I am learning to be comfortable in a car (if you pick me up).
Notes from Foster Mom: If you have been following our blogs on the Fab Five, you have already read about Gunner. He is an extremely stunning, gentle GSD that has a wonderful disposition, and has come SOOOOO far in the four months that he has lived with us. The first night that we brought him in was THE most unsettled that I have ever witnessed a dog to be. He absolutely broke my heart! He was filled with nervousness and pent up energy, was emotionally shut down from humans, and displayed extreme anxiety. He was frantic. Since that time, he has grown into a confident dog in his home, has learned what it is like to be a dog, loves his family, learned how to play outside and act appropriately in a house, and how to become a well balanced dog in his environment. ALL of my foster dogs have been truly special and loved, and have touched me in MANY ways which will always be remembered. I will say that fostering has been the most rewarding experience for me! Gunner however has deeply touched a part of my heart and soul down to my core, and has earned a very special place in my heart that will be there forever. He has blossomed from that frightened unsocialized dog and is not the same dog that he was four months ago. This is part of what rehabilitation is all about! He gets along with all dogs, large and small, is nondominant, and does not possess an aggressive bone in his body. Cats are TBD. He does exhibit a high prey drive with rabbits and squirrels though and will go barrelling out the dog door to try and catch them! I'm not sure whether he possesses this high prey drive by himself, or is picking it up from my dogs. He walks well on a leash, is house trained, knows some basic obedience commands like sit, come, off, leave it, and we are working on stay. He will sit for his food and wait his turn, and sit and wait before going for his walks or being allowed to come back inside. Due to his muscle wasting from lack of exercise in his prior life, Gunner MUST go on daily walks to build up his muscle mass and strength. He is gentle around all children and has never displayed herding, play mouthing, or biting. He shoul d not go to a home with small young children since their quick movements and high energy will startle him and make him too nervous. He CANNOT be crated, probably due to the fact that he spent his entire life in a small kennel. If he is crated, he will either escape out of the crate or do bodily harm to himself trying to escape. He is trustworthy in the house when left uncrated though. He needs an experienced GSD owner to lead him and make him feel comfortable. He often looks to me for guidance and stability. He must have a canine companion to show him the ropes and be a play buddy, and needs a fenced in yard to run freely in.
Health Issues: Even though Gunner is highly bred and was sought out by breeders to continue his line before entering rescue , he has hip dysplasia, which is all too common in GSD's. What hip dysplasia means is that the hip joints have a propensity to pop . He has exhibited no signs of hip dysplasia, but it was picked up on a physical exam by our vet. He is very angulated, which precipitates a higher risk of dysplasia from the beginning. He is on daily supplements of Cosequin DS (or Glucosamine) and fish oil which he must continue on for his joint health. He will need to keep his weight down and continue to receive daily low impact excercise such as walking. If you are looking for a running partner, Gunner will not be the dog for you since the high impact will be too rough on his joints. Its perfectly fine for him to run and play with other dogs in a yard though, since the different motion of back and forth and side to side will strengthen other muscle groups. Gunner has also had a couple of seizures. Two mini seizures and one Gran mal within the same day, then two weeks later, a very small mini seizure that I would not have noticed unless I was looking directly at him. He then went over 2 months without any witnessed or evidenced seizures, but had a very small mini one two weeks ago, once again witnessed but not obvious unless I would have been looking directly at him and known what to look for. At this point, the vet feels that it is better not to place him on seizure medicine. If he starts having large seizures, then he will have to placed on seizure medicine. Whoever adopts him needs to be prepared for this and committed to having him treated and medicated if it comes to that. He may go his whole life and never have another one, or he could have one next week. Only time will tell. Blood work was done, and it all came back normal, so his seizures must be hereditary.
Please do not let Gunner's health issues keep you from being interested in him if you are fully committed. His wonderful personality, warmth, love, and happy go lucky demeanor are worth it, and he is a devoted GSD who will mature into an absolute stellar dog given the time, patience, and guidance.
More about GunnerGood with Dogs, Good with Kids Current Scheduled Events:
Other Pictures of Gunner (click to see larger version):
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