We have had Pepper for approximately 5 years. She came to us as a rescue from a family who lived in a condominium with several children. They just didn't have the room or ability to care for her. We took Pepper in with the intention of fostering her until we found a good home for her. At the time, we had four other dogs, ranging from 8lbs to 80lbs. Pepper surprisingly got along the best with the 8 pounder, and they often played together. As time went on with her, we decided that Pepper might be a fit for our family, and we put her into a week-long training session. She came back much more obedient. However, Pepper remained aggressive towards other dogs while she was on leash. This issue started early on and as she grew, Pepper became more difficult to handle. When she would be taken on a run, she was more content focusing on her task at hand, running, and she did better at ignoring other dogs. Yet, while being walked, she started to be aggressive on leash towards other dogs. We also noticed her attempting to establish herself as the "alpha" dog amongst our other dogs and fought with one of our dogs who growled at her. After that incident, we have had to separate Pepper the others, and she is now mostly an outdoor dog.
We put Pepper back into training, but unfortunately the trainer passed away and we have not been able to find the right fit for her training-wise since.
Pepper is given free run of our acre property while we are home to supervise her, and she loves to run, play fetch, get chased by the kids, and dig for gophers. We have chickens and goats on the property that she is interested in but hasn't attempted to get into their fenced in areas.
Pepper has recently become an escape artist and has broken out of her dog run several times, requiring multiple adaptations to her fencing. She will dig, climb, and even bend fencing with her teeth. We believe that if she had more attention or time around us, she would not be as desperate to escape. When she does get out, she doesn't run away. She runs to our porch and sits there until someone comes out to greet her. She is just desperate to be around people.
Pepper is a typical German Shepard. She is highly intelligent and learns commands quickly. However, she needs to be kept busy and needs a ton of exercise. She needs a family where she is the only dog and will get the attention and exercise she needs. Because of our work schedules, and the fact that we have four other dogs and two young kids, we just do not have the time necessary for her.
We would love to rehome her to a family that would give her all the love and attention that she deserves.
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