COSMOS AKA IS STAYING WITH HIS FAMILY AS WE CAN'T GET IN TOUCH WITH THEM COSMOS is a very handsome 1.5 YR old sable GSD. He is chipped, neutered and housebroken. He was a bit of a wild child because when he first came to us back in August; since then he has had a little basic obedience and time to bond. In the time frame of his arrival, Dale and i worked him and we determined he is a great candidate for most any home willing to put the effort into getting him trained and comfortable. His first new owner was unable to convey the necessary confidence to him and therefor he was somewhat unresponsive to training efforts, especially with other dogs and around strangers with their dogs. Since then he has really not had the discipline or hands on quality training he needs and remains in need of obedience and socialization training. He isn't suitable for a home with small kids as they are too overwhelming for him. He did fine with my dog, walked perfectly on a prong after a short introduction and was a different dog after 30 minutes of casual work, even with his owner at the end of the leash. Unfortunately the family that adopted him doesn't have the structure to help him and he has been returned for us for rehoming. He is a big boy, easily going to 90 pounds; he is now at about 80 pounds. He is a black sable face and a darker sable in color. He is healthy and well adjusted and would be suitable for any family with STRONG LEADERSHIP. If the NEW ADOPTERS put in the work necessary to get him under control and obedient he will be a fabulous dog..
HIS OWNER WROTE THIS FOR ANY PROSPECTIVE ADOPTERS:
Cappy (Captain) is a 2-year-old working line, pure breed German Shepherd from what we’ve been told. We adopted him as Cosmos, through Erik and SWFLGSD Rescue at 10 months old, essentially foster-failing him after having him for two days. He came to us timid with all his ribs and hips showing, and it took time to have his personality come out. Over the past year, he’s grown to be a very loving and happy dog. We call him happy Cappy and he loves to be by his people’s side and gives us constant entertainment with his goofy personality and love for hunting geckos and chasing flies. He is high energy but loves to cuddle, wants constant butt rubs, loves to give kisses, and loves playing with his toys. Cappy is great on a leash – we spent 6 weeks with a trainer teaching us leash manners, and lots of time in parks and farmers markets learning how to be around large amounts of people and dogs. He loves going for daily walks, going out on boat rides, the neighborhood dog park, and the Bonita Springs Dog Beach. In public situations he is non-aggressive and non-reactive although timid around others. He is e-collar trained, non-destructive at home, potty-trained, kennel trained, and can be left in the house by himself and will just lay by the door waiting for us to get home. Cappy loves any dog he gets to meet but is wary of humans. He tends to keep his distance from kids, but the few interactions he has had have been good. He does love toys though and will view any stuffed animal as his own. Cappy has had two instances of severe bites – one, any GSD owner would excuse, including the person whom he bit. A neighbor’s family member reached over our fence in our backyard and Cappy bit him on the hand. Cappy was jumping/barking at the neighbor’s dog who was along the fence line and the neighbor thought reaching over to pet him would calm him down. Living in an area with neighbors always in close proximity, we decided additional training was needed. We found K-9 Specialists in Ocala, who specialize in working line German Shepherds and he received 7 weeks of board/training and then was brought back home, and we received in home training for what he had learned. He was trained along other large and small breeds, horses, lots of strangers and two very small children. The second occurrence has left us with the conclusion that Cappy needs a more consistent home life that we are unable to provide due to our careers. I usually work from home but have to travel often for work (a month straight this past time) and my husband is gone from the house (8-5) for work daily. Cappy does not do well with people he isn’t around constantly. Usually, this can be controlled when we are able to properly introduce him to people in a 1-on-1 scenario and can monitor him but is unavoidable when coordinating dog care. He had several instances of aggressive behavior towards family and friends when they were taking care of him (jumping/barking and trying to bite) and bit my father in the face when he was reaching down to show Cappy food that was on the ground. It is heartbreaking to realize that this dog we’ve poured our love into, and loves us unconditionally, needs a home where meeting others is always controlled, and their home life is more consistent than we can provide. We know he will make someone a wonderful protector and lifelong companion.
