Atomic, exactly!
Believe it or not, I've just recently learned that my area is FLOODED with German Shepherd rehomes. They're actually rehomes, not breeders just getting rid of puppies (sadly I'm seeing tons of ads like that on Craigslist for BYB GSD's --- yikes!). I have about seven dogs I could potentially take right now. That's overwhelming, no?
The dogs I've found are either a rehome by owner situation or at a rescue.
Okay here's my wordy descriptions of FOUR dogs I can get:
Dog 1:
I've just been offered (for FREE) one neutered 4 yr old GSD that's registered (so we know his history). He's in good health. The owner is seeking a rehome because he lives in a subdivision with obnoxious neighbor kids bugging his dogs over their fence (their parents won't put a stop to it). He's got two GSD's, and wants to keep his female at home. She's not any trouble. His male GSD is a bit domineering but I've seen him at a dog park. This dog was fine with every dog there, even the little toy-size ones. Kids were in the dog park, and this male GSD interacted with them perfectly fine. Geez, this guy must have some horrible neighbor kids! I like this dog. My only issue is that when I saw the dog with the owner, this dog appears very bonded to his owner + the girl dog that's there. He's not that interested in people. This dog is evidently healthy and GORGEOUS! Really, truly. But he's really aloof-like with people. He doesn't really care to interact with any people other than his owner and his buddy, the girl GSD that he's known since he was born. I wonder if this dog would easily rehome or not? I've had dogs that are strays, and they bond easily to a new home. Puppies are always easy to move to a new home. I've never done a rehome with a dog that is coming from an IDEAL situation. This dog LOVES his home. I highly doubt he wants to leave it. The dog's owner is EXCELLENT too. Top notch. There's no rehoming fee. I live 15 minutes away from this guy. I'm just worried this guy might honestly give his dog to me, then 6 months later want him back. Just a feeling here, not sure. Still, this dog's owner is EXCELLENT. He asked for references, does a home check, the whole deal.
I now have PLENTY of options.......
Dog 2:
I just checked out another dog that's being rehomed because the owner literally cannot exercise his dog. It's a couple here. The man said he has bad arthritis in his knees. They do not have a fence. This dog is 15 months old. They did a ton of work with the dog as a puppy since she fell out of a car window during rush hour on a parkway, breaking her pelvis. They paid to have it fixed, and the dog even went through post-op physical therapy. That's pretty good of them! They had to do all that crate rest. That's tough! This dog has an excellent temperament. She's already had some formal training. I'd say this girl would be a great family dog. IMO, good with older kids. She is jumpy and mouthy, but she's safe/friendly as can be. They're asking $400 for her. She has been spayed. Honestly in their case, given all the bills they've had here, I think that's fair. From what I saw of the dog, she has likely recovered. She's hyper- high energy. But after a good run, she does chill out. She has a potentially happy velcro temperament. She loves to chase a ball. German Shepherd Retriever???? Ha ha. Loves people! I loved this one's temperament. She's a love bug. She will be an EASY rehome. She's not that attached to these people. In fact, she kept following me around the entire place.
Dog 3 (this is the one with that's black with brown points):
I went to see the 9 month old dog that launched my original question. Honestly, I cannot tell if he's 100% GSD, or if he's got a bit of a mix of who knows what tossed into his genetics. He's owned by someone that's maybe 20 yrs old that became accidentally pregnant. The place reeked of cigarette smoke. It's clear as day that they cannot afford this dog. I hope they listened to me when I said please don't let him play with cat toys. If he swallows them, omg, that's a huge risk! There's no way they can afford a surgery to remove an object from their dog's intestines! They got him from who the heck knows where, last year. However, the dog is ADORABLE and yeah, handsome as is. He's got massive legs/feet. He's pretty big right now. He looks like most adult size GSD's and oh he's 9 months. It's true, the owner has the info of the day he was born. Well I'll believe what they tell me, it's not in writing. He's got kind of short ears to me. Again, trust me he's handsome as is, but they want $400 firm for this dog. I'm like, you must be kidding? This is their first ever GSD. The poor dog was using the bathroom toilet bowl as a water dish. I wouldn't say they're abusing him, but let me just say they're broke. Honestly, I wouldn't mind nabbing the dog, handing them $400 (because they need it), and high tailing it outta there so this dog can get the good life. He is rather uncivilized at the moment but I can work on this easily. He surely scratched my arms up. Super mouthy, and jumps all over people. No big deal. I can fix that. Great recall outside. They have no fence/next to busy road. He doesn't run off, nor chase neighbor's chickens which he can clearly see. Huge stride. He will, lol, run right AT you, lol. I'm like ummm, I should be wearing a BITE SLEEVE, lol. This guy needs an EXPERIENCED HOME. He's friendly, but he does exhibit a bit of a dominant side, nothing negative. He's like a small horse with teeth, lol. He has some white/brown on the front chest (yeah that's normal). Some straggly longish hair on his neck area is present (He's still handsome!!!). His nose is a bit shorter than I'm use to seeing on GSD's. I'm mentioning this because I think okay, these clueless people are wanting someone to buy a dog from them? Noooooo. I can go to a rescue, pay $300 for a spayed/neutered GSD. I can easily find AKC registered puppies from a byb situation for $350 right now (not that I'll ever contact people that sell dogs like this). This poor dog is going to end up in a bad home if I don't get him. Apparently, someone called the owner to use this GSD as a potential service dog. He's NOT got that sort of temperament. He's all out working dog. I mean, he wants to be on the K9 unit. He's got traits that in the wrong hands might develop an aggressive dog. This dog NEEDS an EXPERIENCED HOME. Right now, he's all friendly and malleable. Give him good socialization in an experienced home, and he'll do fine. Very humorous character! From what I'm told, he's really good in the house, as in he's not always hyper-energized. He does level down after a run outside. It's evident he will so so so BOND with someone very well. He loves people. He'll be no trouble to rehome either. He would have jumped in my vehicle that day. He was just so happy friendly, having a good time. He's not attached to anybody yet. He's a goofball at the moment. I feel sad for this dog. He's in a crappy home.
Dog 4:
I've got another one that's a 7-8 month old male that I can check out too. This one is in fact a GSD. It's clear as daylight. This one is with someone that works long hours. I haven't seen the dog in person yet. I do like him in the picture. He may have a shy temperament. Not sure, until I see him but the owner has indicated that this dog is shy about going to new places. This one did in fact from from two non-registered GSD's. The owner has pictures of the parents, and has one of the parents on his property. I bet this guy is the breeder. He told me he has a $100 rehoming fee set just to weed out potentially bad homes. Really, this guy isn't that picky about a future home. He never questioned me about anything.
I can upload pics of all of them. Just wait....