Looking back, I see that we didn't research the right things. Neither of us had owned dogs as adults. We didn't know enough about what to expect raising a puppy, and specifically a GSD puppy. We found that it was harder than our 2 year old! At first we were surprised how often she needed to go to the bathroom! Then how much she would bite everything. She was a nervous dog and constantly barked loudly. When we took her on walks, she pulled strongly the duration of the walk and barked like crazy at dogs that passed by. We worked through these behaviors the best we could. She is strong willed and a strong girl. We tried training classes to learn how to become the Alpha, yet we had difficulty with getting her to follow our lead. When we wanted to take a weekend vacation, we took her to a pet hotel to test it out. They were not able to keep her with the other dogs and said that they may need to call us to come home early from our trip. We ended up just cancelling it.
We struggled managing her and our other obligations. As we are busy with our kids, work, etc., we weren't taking her for walks and exercising her as much as she wants and needs. We came to a point where we realized it would be better for all of us to re-home her. I was open to approaching the subject, but knew I'd have to find her a place where I knew she was loved and wouldn't have to be re-homed again.
I put a posting in a local mom's facebook group on Friday night just to see what results I might get. I described how sweet she is, our challenges with her, and that I'd really love to find someone who is great with dogs, ideally German Shepherds specifically. Literally within 1 minute, a woman posted that her parent's would be perfect and that she'd have them contact me. Within a few minutes, her mom sent me a message. We went back and forth with questions. Her and her husband sounded like the perfect family for Rika.
The next day morning and her husband were at the park down the street watching their granddaugheter playing in a soccer match. Luke and I brought Rika over to meet them. Rika was barking loudly at a dog as we walked over. The woman I had been speaking with walked over and said hello. We walked to a bench where her husband was.
Her husband is called the "German Sheppard Whisperer" by his daughter and within 5 minutes, I felt the same way. He walked me through a few steps to get Rika comfortable. I handed him the leash and he took her for a walk just a bit away from us. By the time he came back, Rika was behaving as if he was her long-time friend. She was rolling around at his feet, kissing him, and submitting to him. He knew exactly how to control her in a way that relaxed her. It was so wonderful to see her happy with someone else.
We spent about an hour talking about her, their background/home life, and letting them get a feel for her. His brother is a GSD breeder. They have owned 5 GSD's before. They have always adopted them from shelters and know how to train out behavioral challenges. They have one GSD now and are looking for a companion for her. They have two backyards - one is a grove of trees they can run around in.
They confirmed that they wanted her. I knew that they would be a great family and loving home for her. They agreed to send me pictures and would even let me know when they were nearby so I can come see her again. She stayed with them while I went home and got her things and her paperwork. I returned and helped load them in his truck, we exchanged contact information, and then gave her a kiss and told her that I love her.
I came home and sent them a few emails - pictures of her as a baby, pictures of her parents and their story, and a timeline of her life events. I was curious to hear how she did when she got to their home, especially with their other dog.
That evening they sent me a couple of pictures of her. One where she was standing in the dog bed looking at the other dog on the floor, and then another where the two dogs were outside standing side-by-side. She said they had territorial moments for the first hour but seem to be getting along. She told me to rest easy and that she will be loved and well taken care of. My heart was so happy and grateful.
The next morning, they sent a video of the husband throwing the ball to both dogs in their yard with the grove of trees. Rika looked at the other dog in admiration and was so so so happy to be playing ball. She enjoyed the extra challenge of beating someone to the target. I'm glad she has a companion to play with, a family that will love her daily, and plenty of space to run. I could tell she is really happy and in the perfect home for her. I'm so thankful that this ended as it did. I hope to be able to see her here and there and see her grow. <3
