About Jack

My daughter has made the extremely difficult decision to re-home her German Shepherd dog, Jack. Jack is 2.5 years old (born Jan of 2019). He weighs 92 pounds, and is a great big boy. He is purebred, from AKC lines (we have the papers, but it wasn't important to us so we never sent them in to complete registration, but I think that could still be done?). He is neutered, and up to date on shots, flea treatments, and worming. My daughter has worked with him a lot, and he is very smart, and learns and follows commands quickly. He is very eager to please. He knows many of the basic commands, 'Sit, Down, Stay, Up, Leave it, Come, Wait, Shake, Take it' etc. My daughter is 19, and has multiple chronic health needs, and during the past 18 months, her health has continued to deteriorate, with surgery, hospitalizations, and losing function. :( Because she has been so sick, she has not been able to work with him as much as she did during his first year with her, and with her health, and not able to risk Covid, he wasn't socialized the way he should have been after March 2020. This has, unfortunately, created some issues with strangers. He is excellent with my daughter, follows her commands, and will sit at her side calmly for long periods of time. He loves human company, and once he has 'cleared' you as a safe person, which usually takes 5-10 minutes, he will remember you as safe for a year without seeing you again. (This has happened with out of state family members multiple times). However, especially when outside our home (park, vet, etc), he has become aggressive when strangers come up to him making eye contact and put their hands in his face. He did snap at two different people's hands, and left a small scratch each time (scrape, not puncture) We have worked with a trainer, and made good progress with a soft muzzle, and he can now go to the park again, when my daughter feels well enough to bring him, wearing the basket muzzle without incident. He has been around cats, goats, horses, and other dogs, and does okay with all of them. He plays with my other daughter's dog each day without incident. He is kennel trained, and has a good appetite, and is very treat motivated. My daughter loves him very much, but she knows that he is still a young, STRONG, dog, with a lot of energy, and many days each week she can not provide him with the care he needs, and she is trying to do what is best for him. When she bought Jack 2.5 years ago, her plan was that in a few years she would be moving out to establish independence, and she wanted time to train him to be a protective companion for herself. Unfortunately, at this time, it looks like she will need more help for the foreseeable future, and is planning to be home with us long term. The rehoming fee is negotiable. She is much more concerned about knowing that we find the best possible home for him. He is EXCELLENT with our children, but due to the fact that he has nipped at strangers, I'm not sure that would be the best home for him. He will 100% need a home that is very experienced with large, intelligent breed dogs, preferably a shepherd breed. We want him to go to a home that understands that he will need a lot of work before he could ever be considered 'safe' to be among people he doesn't know. In lieu of personal experience with large working breed dogs, if a family would consider starting him at one of the local in-house training facilities here, and commit to work with that facility once he's back home, we would waive the rehoming fee, AND help to pay a portion of that cost (up to $150). Please text or email me if you have any questions that I didn't address. Thank you.

Monroe County
Bloomington, Indiana