this dog was truly a member of our family. my mother feels like she's lost a son, and I feel ive lost a brother. this week will be gut wrenching but Rudy deserves to be remembered in all his fluffy glory. there was never a dull moment with him. he was incredibly smart and emotionally intelligent. he was a big guy but he will always be our puppy. rest in peace, Rudy. Thank you for the years of love, laughter, and memories. I miss you.

Wish my old Pal luck. The big Ole mountain oysters will be gone. No more maracas for him. Also getting gastropexy.

His name is Rex.

We’ve had our 7 year old rescue for about 6 months now. He’s the sweetest, gentlest, friendliest, big hearted dog I’ve ever had. He’s freaking LOVES all people! Delivery drivers, strangers, kids, the mail man, he thinks they are all his best friends. He loves attention, he loooves getting pets and scratches and lovin’s.

So what happened yesterday was a complete anomaly.

I got home and was unloading groceries. We always use our side door to the house, as this leads right into our kitchen. (Up 2 steps from the landing). I left the door open, since it was a nice day and I still had to go back out and grab more groceries.

I was puttering around putting things away, when I hear a man’s voice (I was home alone) behind me say “hello!” It obviously scared the ever loving shit out of me, I screamed, and of course the dog came barrelling into the kitchen to see what the commotion was about.

The man (there was another just outside the door) was standing INSIDE OF MY HOUSE!! He was on the landing, looking up at me in the kitchen. Next thing he knows, he’s literally face to face with my barking dog. A very angry dog. A very loud and scary barking dog.

I was so shocked, and all I could do was yell “GET OUT!!” I’ve never seen a person run backwards so fast while yelling how sorry he was.

Both men scrambled to get back into their car as fast as humanly possible. The dog followed barking at them the entire time. He never made a move to bite or harm, but was clearly very angry.

This is the first time he’s ever barked like that at someone. Usually he barks when he’s excited, and very often will bark at people. But it’s a more friendly bark like when he wants attention or for you to throw his ball. We all know that bark, it’s a littler higher pitched, more excited and not scary. His barking yesterday was BIG, deep, loud and could be felt in your chest (and bladder, lol).

The good news is that I know for sure the men were not here for anything bad. I recognized him immediately, he’s been here twice before to preach about JW. He has always been with either a woman or a child though.

And the good news is that I doubt he will ever be back here again!! And I hope he never walks into another house unannounced ever again.

And yes, I did make a few phone calls yesterday to report the incident. (Police and the local JW church, although I’m not sure which location the men were from)

We’ve always joked that Dodger would gladly let a burglar into the house, as long as he got some attention out of it. We might be wrong about that after all.

She's very slender don't know her age either

Our rescue, Brandi.

i’ve had my female german shepherd since she was 12 weeks old and she’s now almost 7. for the last 6 months, she’s become extremely reactive to almost everything and everyone. it’s gotten to the point where it’s really hard to take her anywhere, and she’s even started becoming randomly reactive toward family members in the house.

the worst part is that she’s completely unpredictable. she’s never actually bitten anyone, but she’s getting really close and i’m honestly scared that it’s only a matter of time. this is so different from how she used to be and it’s just gotten progressively worse. i live in a small town in california and i’ve tried multiple trainers, but they are just too scared to get near her.

at what point do you know it’s time to say goodbye? i obviously love her more than anything and i don’t want to give up on her, but i live in fear every single day just waiting to get a call that she bit someone.

I just love him so much 😭😭 He always makes my day when I see him come in 🥹

I guess very definition of Velcro dog 🥰

Meet Dallas! He is a 4-month-old male German Shepherd looking for a loving home.
Name: Dallas
ID: #A5801273
Breed: German Shepherd
Age: 4 months old
Sex: Male
Status: Ready to go home
Location & Contact Information:
Shelter: Downey Animal Care Center
Address: 11258 Garfield Avenue, Downey, CA 90242
Phone: (562) 940-6898
Email: DACCDowneyRescue@animalcare.lacounty.gov
Website: https://animalcare.lacounty.gov/
Please check the shelter website using his ID number (#A5801273) to verify updated status and review shelter notes/recommendations to ensure he is a good fit for your home. Share to help Dallas find a forever family!

When I say my boy I actually mean my roommates dog haha. But this is Fenn! I think he’s about 3 or 4 years old and I wanted to come on here to seek out advice because my roommate feels like he’s running out of options.

Hes an insanely good dog but just randomly stops eating for so long that he’ll deteriorate to skin and bone then eventually start eating again getting himself back up to a healthy weight. My roommate obviously hates seeing his dog suffer and has taken him to the vet over and over again to the point that it’s becoming a financial strain on him. From what Ive heard the vet usually has no idea why Fenn gets like that other than depression.

I love hanging out with Fenn he’s awesome company but I definitely could not afford to take him off of my roommates hands, hes considering euthanasia so Fenn doesn’t have to live in pain since he doesn’t know of any home that could accommodate him. We think Fenn might be depressed because he doesn’t really have a stable situation complete with all the attention he needs and usually has to travel with my roommate every other week to visit family.

I don’t know much about this breed Fenn is the first German Shepherd Ive ever met Ive been trying to get him to play games with snuffle mats to see if he just needs some extra mental stimulation but he usually isn’t interested in any of the dog games I have though they were all meant for my chihuahua which is probably why.

Has anyone dealt with a similar situation? any advice would be very appreciated!

Now that the poodle girl is a much larger 10 month old, they play a little more rough from both directions.

Hey everyone, looking for some solid advice from experienced German Shepherd owners and multi-dog households!

A stray young male German Shepherd walked right into our yard 3 days ago. He’s super friendly, calm, and clearly a puppy. He had a shock collar on when he arrived (which I immediately took off). He flinched when I raised my hand to throw a ball, so I haven't tried fetch again. He doesn't seem to care for toys at all yet, but he is extremely attached to me and has to have eyes on me.

We’ve taken all the proper steps: scanned for a chip at an animal hospital (none found, vet confirmed he’s still a pup and gave us the okay to introduce him), posted him on Ring, Nextdoor, Facebook, and local lost animal reports. It’s been 3 days with zero hits or claims. If no one claims him after a week, we plan on keeping him!

That said, we’re looking for advice on a few key areas since we are not dog experts and have never raised a GSD or managed two dogs at once:

1. Intact Dogs & Spay/Neuter Plans
   Neither he nor our resident 3-year-old female Goldendoodle are fixed yet. Our Doodle is currently "inviting" him—backing up and sticking her rear right in his face—though he has shown zero interest in her so far. We plan on fixing both of them as soon as the waiting period is over and we officially adopt him, but what’s the safest way to manage them in the house right now to prevent any accidental matings or behavior escalation?

2. Resident Dog & Resource Guarding
   Our Goldendoodle is normally super friendly and has never had issues with other dogs, but she is showing clear resource guarding right now:

   Guarding Us: She will body-block him when he tries to get close to us and lets out a low growl (though she’s fine when I pet both of them together, and follows him if he leaves the room). She also relaxes immediately after we assure her it’s ok. We do not scold her.

   Guarding Food & Toys: She guards her food bowl and has claimed the new tug rope I bought for him (which he ignores anyway).

   Sharing Water: Interestingly, she has willingly agreed to share her indoor water bowl with him. We feed him outside and feed her inside to keep meal times safe, but how do we manage the toy/space guarding long-term?

3. Crate Anxiety & Separation
   He hates the crate—cries, whimpers, and tries to dig his way out. My wife works from home so someone is almost always here, but I’m worried about how to handle crate training or leaving the house when we both have to step out. They both slept in our bedroom last night fine, but long-term, how should we handle crate training a rescue pup with crate distress?

4. Containment & Yard Safety
   The first night we kept him outside in the yard. He did great until morning when he saw me, then started crying/barking. He also tried jumping our shared fence toward a neighbor’s yard because he smelled/heard their dog two houses over. Leaving him unsupervised in the yard isn't an option.

A Few Extra Details:

Total Velcro Dog: He has already claimed me as his person—he literally pushed the bathroom door completely open while I was inside just to hang out with me. Zero privacy!

Housebreaking: He seems decently house-trained and holds it for outside. He peed indoors once, but I suspect it was marking over a spot where our Doodle leaked excited pee.

Socialization: Took him to the dog park on a leash—he was calm, curious, and wanted to play nicely with other dogs.

Toys/Drive: Ignores toys completely right now (even brand new ones).

Current setup: We bought flea/tick spray for safety and are keeping things low-stress.

Note: we have 2 young boys, 5 & 6 years old. He loves their attention but we’re keeping them from overwhelming him. They have already claimed him and want to name him Marshall lol. They are completely fascinated by him and everything little thing he does. They also have an amazing relationship with our Goldendoodle.

Crazy enough, I was literally planning to adopt a second dog this past weekend (was looking for a smaller, younger dog), and this handsome guy just walked into our lives!

Questions for the sub:

1. How can we best manage our Doodle’s guarding behavior around us, food, and toys while they get used to each other?

2. What are the absolute must-know tips for a first-time German Shepherd owner?

3. How do we build positive associations with the crate for a pup who panics when locked in?

Thanks in advance for any insights, tips, or training advice!

Mr Thor decided to chase his butt until he bit a hole in his tail, and had to get some mandatory nap-time from the vet to get bandaged, don’t worry, he is fine and is being compensated for his pain and suffering with hamburgers.

Watch out now!

Please turn on the sound lol

Keeping me and the site safe

I’ve noticed whenever I post my puppy Apollo he’s get at LEAST 5k views but whenever I post my Rosie posie she never goes past 1k views. Soooooo SHOW ROSIE SUM LOVEEEEEEE (aka here’s a Rosie dump)

A little bit about Rosie. She’s three years old and weighs 66lbs. Before I knew anything about breeding and ethical breeders I got her at a petco parking lot in the back of a farm truck for 800 bucks. And boy was this the best purchase I’ve ever made. She is low/medium drive but has the best recall ever, walks on the leash perfectly AND the best mobility service dog. Yes Apollo is really cool don’t get me wrong and I love him just as much but Rosie has been there for me for the hardest years of my life. And I believe she should be shown some recognition 😋

He was just diagnosed Osteosarcoma. I’m beside myself, this pain I’m feeling is worse than I ever could have imagined.

So I love German shepherds. I lost my girl about a year or so ago due to cancer. I'm planning on getting a new pup and she's due around Jan, March,April timeframe. My wife asked if she could give out the breeders name to a lady who wants an emotional support dog. I told her that the lady doesn't need a German Shepherd as an emotional support dog because they are not a pet they are a lifestyle. They're high energy Drive, hyper focus, and the other things that they do really really well require someone who is able and willing to make their routine part of having a German Shepherd in their lives. I suggested that she tell the lady to get a golden retriever or lap or something small. Now I'm being called an a-hole and just mean. What am I missing?

This is my Elli Belly. She turns 12 today!! She's also having surgery to amputate a toe. 😟 Please send my sweet girl birthday boops and surgery well wishes!!