Courage is making progress in his foster home and has come a long way since he joined his foster family. He is calm and relaxed in the house most of the day except at meal times when he gets very excited and will talk up a storm but will be calmer when kept close by on the leash. He is quiet in his crate at night and while on crate rest due to his heartworm treatment or when the fosters leave the house. He is also very calm and happy looking out the storm doors to observe dogs, people and other activities.

When he first arrived at his foster home he started mouthing when being leashed up, getting belly or head rubs and also exercising his leg during rehab. He is starting to understand that this behavior is not acceptable and has been much better not mouthing. His mouthing doesn't seem aggressive at all but more of a reaction of being handled by someone and him protesting as he most likely never had any training and got away with this kind of behavior. He is now much better and not mouthing when getting leashed, routine exercises and handling.

He is a Thief extraordinaire and he will grab anything available and will snatch a napkin or paper towel right out of your hand or off the counter. And he is an expert counter surfer; nothing is safe within reach if you leave him unattended for just a moment and that's about 5 seconds. He needs to be in the crate at any time you leave the room just to step outside and his antics make us laugh at how creative he can be snatching up the desired object but which he will quickly drop or ignore when given proper motivation. 

He picks up random tennis balls left behind by other dogs when outside and he would probably love to run and retrieve them. He seems to remember to run free and play with a ball as he stares at the dogs in the neighborhood chasing the ball. There is a fun personality waiting to come out once he is allowed to engage in normal day to day activities again. And he has those sunshine brown eyes that are most expressive looking at you and are hard to resist. 

Courage will be a great dog for the right family and he is ready for his furever family. He has almost recovered from his knee surgery and he is now going through his heartworm treatment with optimism towards his full recovery. He is used to his limited, short outings to do his business and he would rather chase squirrels and visit with the other dogs. Courage is looking forward to playing at full speed over time once all of his treatments are completed. He is keeping busy chewing on nyla bones and an occasional other chew. He is currently on house and crate rest and he is on limited training in the house to keep his mind engaged. He knows NO, SIT, COME, and we are working on DOWN, STAY and PLACE. Stay and place are something he will have to work on with his new family but he is very food and treat motivated so this will be helpful training him once he can fully engage in activities.. As all shepherds, this gorgeous, fun loving lad will need structure, patience and training with his new family and please ask to meet this handsome young boy... and yes, he is a BOY! 

Courage has completed his heartworm (HW) treatment and his recent microfilaria test was negative. This is great news for him and he is ready to start another chapter in his life with more exercise and discover the world beyond crate & house rest and the limited walks he has had for months. Courage is excited to show off his personality; walking, running and playing; preferably with another 4legged playmate. This boy is ready to find just the right family and as stated in a previous post, he is a BOY dog and he does BURP! on a regular basis that just makes his fosters laugh. His sunshine eyes are expressive and he is ready to meet his new family and show what an amazing and fun dog he can be. And he will chase the Cicadas if he can get a hold of them! 

Sierra has been a foster home for a few days and has proven she is a loving and faithful companion with the people she trusts.  She takes time to warm up to new people and does not like being approached but is highly food motivated and will come to you for that.  Sierra is an affectionate, intelligent, loyal girl who wants nothing more than to be with her person.  On the first day I received kisses and she was on her back enjoying belly rubs and all the pets!  She is housebroken and sleeps quietly through the night.  She does not get on furniture or chew things she should not.  She loves to play tug, go for walks, indulge in a marrow bone, and get lots of attention.  She is a sweet and sassy 1 yr old GSD and likes to romp around but gets overly excited and not quite sure how to play but with time that will improve. She will need time to adjust to other dogs and does ok if on leash and being monitored at this time.  Sierra is incredibly intelligent and has adapted quickly to her new living situation she knows sit, down, and come. She will do best in a home with GSD experience, one that is familiar with fear reactivity, and one that will provide a structured environment.  She has a proclivity to barrier reactivity and overly bonding to handler and can exhibit a negative reaction. Sierra will be attending board and train soon which will help work on her insecurities and become the amazing and obedient companion she can be.  This will be a huge plus for any adopter since Sierra's training package will come with her at adoption and the adopter will follow up with the private and group lessons that are paid for by MAGSR and if there are any setbacks the adopter can go back to training free of charge for the life of the dog!  Sierra continues to make progress everyday and an update will be posted upon completion of the board and train.  Sierra is a diamond in the ruff and will make the perfect addition to the right family.

Howdy folks, I have completed my board and train and am ready to WOW my future family with my skillz.  During training I met some cool humans who reminded me that being confident is good and that will benefit me in the long haul but being overly demanding and pushy is not the way to get what I want.  I had previously fought the leash and commands but now I know through consistency, repetition, leash pressure, hand signals and verbal commands what is being asked of me.  When communication is clear to me from my handler I excel.  Another thing I learned while at training was that being alone is okay and that I do not need to throw myself into a tizzy when people leave me.  Actually, I can be content to just chew my favorite bully stick or marrow bone in peace.  I still require a crate to help make me feel safe but it's not a bad place and I know now that bad things will not happen to me.  As for other dogs, I tolerate them but being the dominant dog that I am, if they do try to overstep the boundary, I react negatively.  This is why I do prefer to be the only child..... I mean dog.  Speaking of children I'm not sure what these creatures are but they make loud and unpredictable movements which scare me and when I'm afraid I revert back to my old habit of reacting.  At my young impressionable age I was not shown kindness or socialized with people and I'm just now figuring out that these humans can be good to me.  I am a snuggle bug but I will not get on furniture, I will however, lean into you and immediately roll on my back for belly rubs. I do that thing I hear the humans talk about, bonding.  I'm the epitome of the velcro dog and in a home environment I just need to know the human is in charge and I can follow their lead.  My intelligence, loyalty, confidence and affectionate personality are what draw humans to me but you need to know what your doing, or at least that's what I overheard the trainer humans say.  I will give you my very best when clearly communicated to, I need a handler who can give me structure, time, consistency and love.  When you adopt me you have the unique opportunity to complete my private training lessons and group lessons free of charge.  The quote "with great power, comes great responsibility" and that is precisely what you are being given with me.  Are you up to the challenge?