Looking for a GSD to adopt

[FriendtoFido]

Hi,
so I joined and posted in the Intro section, but my purpose was to come here, hoping I might find a match.
I'll give some info about me, but please email me with any questions that could be too personal to post here.

I have been doing rescue with various breeds for the last 15 years. Labs, Lab-mixes, Pyrs, a couple GSD or shep mixes, Leos, Borders, basically, you name it.
I'm looking for a dog to do obedience and agility with and Id like to try out competition, I dont care if we beat the border collies, it's about doing sometime FUN with my dog.
I live in a cul de sac neighborhood.
I only have an invisible fence
I have a cat
I have a Lab-Shep mix, age 9, she misses my black lab who passed away in June, and perk up with adult fosters who pass thru. Otherwise she is like velcro and wont let me out of sight.
I love to walk, theres a 2 mile "loop", but I want a dog to give me the incentive to do the full 2 miles- Jessie could care less. She wants to go home after the first mile (unless there's another dog to match pace with)
I have 2 children who are great with dogs.
4.5yr and 20 month old girls
I have a husband who is also looking forward to a second family member.
I live on a acre of land.
Im a stay at home Mom with time to give a dog despite young kids- dogs are my life. Im so excited for Jan to come so I can start Rally with Jessie.

What I'm looking for-
intelligent. enjoys being active. but can be a cuddle bug at night, goofy a plus.
good with kids.
okay with cats. (mine does not run typically) He is 19lbs

I have plenty of references of rescue people and dog friends and my vet and agility coach (who happens to work at my vet's)

I would be open to a foster to adopt for a dog out of state, if the rescue does those types of adoptions.
Oh-appearance, almost forgot- ummm I guess I am all over the place, really it's all in the face for me. I like a face I can read. I'm not as crazy about solid black or solid white, but again, with the right dog- maybe I would change.
I LOVE the plush and long coated, but I'm looking at the shorter ones.
But really I love ears up, well one can flop or something, I just don't want a dog that looks half hound.

[Stevenzachsmom]

Where are you located? Have you checked out the rescue section of the board?

[FriendtoFido]

I have, I am in Connecticut. about 10 min from Brewster NY

[DharmasMom]

Welcome to the forum. If you post where you are I am sure someone here can direct you towards a rescue near you that could help you find what you are looking for. There are also loads of postings of gsds in kill shelters in the Urgent section. There may be one on there near you that you could look at.

I think it is great that you want to rescue. There are so many dogs out there that need good homes.

[FriendtoFido]

Hi Debbi,
I think I have checked out all the GSD breed specific rescues near me- they either require a fenced yard or will not adopt to families with kids under 7. Today I was so excited I thought I found the perfect dog- but as it turns out they have a 300 mile radius and I'm 342 miles away. But if anyone here knows of a rescue that will place in a home with no physical fence and kids under 7, Im open!

I would not adopt a dog on the "urgent" list because as a rescuer myself, it means they are in a kill shelter out of my geographic area where they have little time and rarely can the "shelter" say that they know a dog is good with kids, cat and dog and I would not want to "stick" anyone with a dog if they pulled for me and we learned later they were not.
I realize that may sound harsh to some, but I'm trying to be realistic.

But I thought maybe I might come across someone here who might know of a dog that would work....

ETA I've been searching for quite a few months, I actually started with looking for a Belgian Tervuren, but widened my search to GSDs a month ago.
Looking for 2years or younger

[FORRUGER]

Welcome to this forum! I'm sure if you keep looking you will find the ideal dog ... !!

Originally Posted by FriendtoFido

Hi,
so I joined and posted in the Intro section, but my purpose was to come here, hoping I might find a match.
I'll give some info about me, but please email me with any questions that could be too personal to post here.

I have been doing rescue with various breeds for the last 15 years. Labs, Lab-mixes, Pyrs, a couple GSD or shep mixes, Leos, Borders, basically, you name it.
I'm looking for a dog to do obedience and agility with and Id like to try out competition, I dont care if we beat the border collies, it's about doing sometime FUN with my dog.
I live in a cul de sac neighborhood.
I only have an invisible fence
I have a cat
I have a Lab-Shep mix, age 9, she misses my black lab who passed away in June, and perk up with adult fosters who pass thru. Otherwise she is like velcro and wont let me out of sight.
I love to walk, theres a 2 mile "loop", but I want a dog to give me the incentive to do the full 2 miles- Jessie could care less. She wants to go home after the first mile (unless there's another dog to match pace with)
I have 2 children who are great with dogs.
4.5yr and 20 month old girls
I have a husband who is also looking forward to a second family member.
I live on a acre of land.
Im a stay at home Mom with time to give a dog despite young kids- dogs are my life. Im so excited for Jan to come so I can start Rally with Jessie.

What I'm looking for-
intelligent. enjoys being active. but can be a cuddle bug at night, goofy a plus.
good with kids.
okay with cats. (mine does not run typically) He is 19lbs

I have plenty of references of rescue people and dog friends and my vet and agility coach (who happens to work at my vet's)

I would be open to a foster to adopt for a dog out of state, if the rescue does those types of adoptions.
Oh-appearance, almost forgot- ummm I guess I am all over the place, really it's all in the face for me. I like a face I can read. I'm not as crazy about solid black or solid white, but again, with the right dog- maybe I would change.
I LOVE the plush and long coated, but I'm looking at the shorter ones.
But really I love ears up, well one can flop or something, I just don't want a dog that looks half hound.

[Rerun]

Have you looked on craigslist.org? There are often "rehomes" on there from private homes, but definitely verify vet paperwork for vaccinations, heartworm preventative, etc, and since you're rescue experienced you should be able to do a pretty decent temperament test yourself to verify what the owner may (or may not) say regarding dog/kid/cat friendliness.

[FriendtoFido]

Im leary of craigslist, but no, nothing listed for my area.

[Zoeys mom]

2 years or younger may be hard being you have no fenced in yard and two small kids. I tried the adoption route but had trouble also because my kids are young and I refuse to neuter my 8 year old lab. All rescues have different rules and some are more willing to bend than others....I assume you hawk pet finder daily? Also craigslist is not always a disaster- many people get a cute puppy and soon realize they are more work than they intended giving them up for small rehoming fees at a young age. May not be a bad idea to check it out at least. You can always meet the dog at a neutral place and test it out- if it's not the one it's no loss.

Also does it have to be a rescue? What about a breeder? Many are more willing to work with those with young kids so it's another option. Have you talked to the places you do rescue for? Surely if they let you foster they would let you adopt?

[Stevenzachsmom]

Some shelters and rescues allow owners to courtesy post their dogs. I would definitely check out those dogs as well.