Red Stick German Shepherd Rescue
Fritzy is a handsome young, male German Shepherd Dog. He's about 2 years old and weighs about 75 pounds. He has displayed a wonderful disposition in his foster home!
He is a very loving, energetic adolescent. He will put his chin in your lap to ask for attention -- he is a "velcro dog" who would like to be pet all the time. If you want an independent, aloof dog, he's not your guy -- but if you want an attentive companion who would prefer not to let you out of his sight, that's Fritzy. He's the sort of dog who will never, ever let you feel lonely.
So far, Fritzy has been friendly with everyone that he has met at his foster home, or while out visiting in the neighborhood. However, he can be quite protective and vocal behind a gate.
He loves playing with the female dog in his foster home. He seems to get so much happiness from canine companionship that we believe he ought to be placed in a home with another big dog. He is very respectful of the other dog and happy to let her share toys. They have an affectionate relationship with lots of kisses. He is a very strong dog, so we would like to match him to another large dog who won't mind his size during rough-and-tumble play. He sometimes plays a little too rough because he's not quite aware of how big he is.
He does not live with kids or cats in his foster home, so we haven't observed whether he would do well living with either one. He's met several kids on walks in the neighborhood and been fine with them.
When Fritzy came to us, we noticed that he had an odd limp. We received some surprising news from the vet about it: sometime in the past, this sweet boy had been shot, breaking the leg. He still has some buckshot embedded in it. It healed reasonably well, and he's using it and putting weight on it. It does not seem to even cause him any pain, since it's long healed. After a complete orthopedic evaluation, it appears that there is nothing to be done at this point. Any surgical interventions would not be likely to get him a meaningful improvement, and since it's not limiting his quality of life, it's just going to be a quirk he lives with. He will never be an athlete, and we try to listen to him on short walks to know when his leg has had enough. Even with his damage rear leg, he is able to run very fast and loves to play ball!
He's learned good house manners in his foster home: he is already potty trained and crate trained. He also loves to ride in the car. However, he will need an adopter committed to taking him through a course of obedience training. He's started learning some basic commands and foundational leash work, but it's a work in progress. He is likely to pull on a leash, and given his size, he needs an experienced handler.
Fritzy will be a wonderful companion to someone who knows the breed and who has experience successfully training German Shepherds and working with adolescent dogs. He's not suitable for a first-time owner, but he's a real gem for someone who knows the breed!