Lily - North York’s

Meet Lily, a gorgeous 2 year old Gsd who is looking for a new home as she’s not getting the attention that she desperately craves. 

What a gorgeous girl, very lively due to not getting any exercise and very bonded with her current owner (but not his partner!).

She greeted me like a typical Shep with a few barks and lots of bouncing about, a little wary but when I sat down she came up to me for a sniff and soon settled, happy that I posed no threat. She was all over her owner and definitely called the shots.

He cannot cope with her on a lead as she is strong and will lunge and bark at other dogs, I got the feeling it was just easier to let her into the garden and play ball with her there rather than trying to deal with the issues on the lead. She needs to be supervised in the garden as she can clear a five feet fence if she wants to. She is not destructive, but did get frustrated when her owner raised the fence height initially and had a go at pulling it down. This was when she was younger and has not done it since.

There is a basic level of training, she will sit, take a treat very gently, can be hand-fed and will come inside when called, but there is little recall when she is out of the garden, so she doesn't get let off the lead. She will travel in the car ok, is clean in the house and can be left for a few hours with no problem. Her owner has been told by a trainer that she suffers from the opposite of separation anxiety!! I'm not sure what this means and Tony didn't seem able to explain it!

Lily will need an experienced Shepherd owner with no other dogs, no idea about cats. She will need to be with older children or those used to big, lively dogs. She has no experience with livestock but will chase birds in the garden. She needs to be given clear boundaries, training needs to go back to basics, especially when on the lead, but she loves her food and treats, so this should be achievable. Most of all she needs regular exercise and to be taught that she's not and doesn't need to be in charge.

Our volunteer took her out for a walk and said the following. Briefly took her out but owner was not wanting to be out long. 
Her reactivity is centred around him, she goes into protect mode & he doesn’t know how to deal with it. She was strong & wanted to get to other dogs but when I had her she reacted but I was able to hold her & did manage to distract her. I think a lot of it is because she doesn’t get out so doesn’t come into contact with other dogs much. 
She’s young so it could be worked on by someone who knew what they were doing.