Simba - West Yorks

Simba is a lovely, friendly dog. He took treats very gently from me and was happy to jump all over me upon arrival with no malice. He did not really sit for his owner when told and was very stressed, jumping about and whining/squealing when the owner tried to put his harness on.  Simba lives with a staffy bitch, and they seem very bonded. Both dogs were whining/squealing when we separated them so we could walk Simba outside. A home with another female, neutered dog might help him settle and learn the ropes; he just doesn’t seem to know where to put himself at all. Simba is a very large, strong dog, and completely unsure of what things are / how to behave on lead outside. He was whining very loudly and stressed, and pulling the owner, who did not seem very stable on his feet, all over the place. I cut the walk short because the owner couldn't really hold him and looked like he was in danger of being pulled over, and the dog was very distressed and squealing because he clearly isn’t used to going out. In the end, the harness didn’t go on; it was just a long lead and a collar.

The owner said he had rehomed the dog before, but it only lasted an hour before the new owners took his lead and collar off and let him off in the middle of Bradford. I believe he came back to his owner via stray kennels. A new owner will need to be confident building slowly and managing Simba on a lead at first, despite his size and strength, as he gradually builds up to walks and gets used to being out of the home. He is such a lovely, friendly dog, and lovely looking too. I imagine if he has a meet, a potential owner with GSD experience would be happy to take him on and build with him slowly. 

The dog looks to me to have lots of training potential. Within 5 minutes, I had him sitting calmly and waiting for a treat. He seems to be crying out for some direction and interaction. During the whole meet, Simba kept bringing his owner things and putting them on the arm of the chair where he was sitting. He brought him a yoghurt pot lid, a piece of paper, even a piece of his kibble – looked to me like he wants to learn and please his owner, but has not been given the training.  The dog was somewhat boisterous in the house, but again, this was not as bad as you might expect with a GSD: no chewed furniture, etc, given that he does not really have any appropriate human interaction, training or stimulation in his day. We were told there was an incident involving the grandchildren and air-snapping; the owner said the grandchildren sit on him, play with his ears, etc. It really doesn’t sound like there is adequate supervision, boundaries or knowledge to support the grandchildren interacting with the dog. I imagine these interactions are very stressful for Simba; it is certainly not what we would look for in a home for a GSD. I’m certain that with an experienced GSD owner, this boy will flourish.