About Emmitt

I adopted Emmitt 5-6 years ago from a local GSD rescue that has since retired. He was guessed to be 2 years old at the time. He was found in a parking lot and no one claimed him. He was already neutered and eased into our family well. He has been around other dogs and children the entire time with me. He stays around 90 lbs. Within the last 5 months Emmitt has attacked two other dogs. He attacked my spayed toy poodle twice even though he knows her well and she was of no threat to him. She had to go to the vet both times. After this, I have kept all of my dogs separate from him. The last and third attack was my neighbor's female intact pitbull. He broke through my backyard fence to get to the pitbull. This resulted in vet bills for both dogs. Since then, I do not trust Emmitt around any animals or even alone in my backyard anymore. I have two young daughters and although he has NEVER shown any aggression towards a human, I am weary because he has shown these major behavior changes towards animals... Emmitt never meets a stranger, lets me clip his nails/bathe him, lets children crawl on him, and allows anyone to take food/water/bones right out of his mouth. He LOVES his toys, wrestling with people, and will play Fetch for hours. But he will also lay by you if you're being still or sleeping. My girls and I are HEARTBROKEN at the thought of Emmitt not being a part of our family anymore, but I truly don't know what else to do. It's not fair for him to be so isolated. It breaks my heart either way. But I feel like I'm being selfish to hang on to him just so he's 'here'. I have reached out to GSD rescue groups across NC with no one willing to help. I contacted a reputable trainer online and was told that Emmitt would require facility training (staying at their training facility) which is a minimum of $1500 with no guarantees. Honestly, if I wasn't a single income household working two jobs to make ends meet as it is- I wouldn't think twice about spending this on him. He's definitely worth it. My dream situation for Emmitt would be a K9 policeman/woman that is knowledgeable about the breed and has access to training.

Cabarrus County
Concord, North Carolina