About Link

Name: Link Age: 4 (born August 13, 2022) Breed: AKC-registered working-line german shepherd Sex: Intact male, approximately 90 lbs. Location: Albany County, NY Vaccinations: Fully up to date; microchipped Neutered: No. Link is not to be bred due to hereditary autoimmune concerns. Personality/temperament: Link is an extremely intelligent, affectionate, food-motivated and energetic dog who loves having a job. He knows 15 to 20 tricks and is trained in obedience, e-collar, prong collar, crate, muzzle, treadmill, and AKC scentwork. He currently participates in scentwork and FastCAT and is only three qualifying ribbons away from his Novice Scentwork title. He is excellent with adult people and generally warms up quickly. He is also very cooperative at the vet and allows his feet, ears, and mouth to be handled. Dogs/cats/children: This is where he needs an experienced home. He is reactive toward dogs, particularly males and dogs his size or larger, and has prey drive toward cats. He is also reactive toward small children. For this reason, it is strongly preferred for him to be in an adult-only, single dog home, although an experienced crate-and-rotate home could potentially work. He has no known bite history toward people. He has had five trainers, including a board-and-train, and his reactivity has improved substantially with appropriate handling. He needs a confident, consistent owner familiar with reactive working breeds. Training/management: Link is housebroken and crate trained. He is muzzle trained because he will eat almost anything he finds outside. He does best with a large fenced yard and enrichment rather than long walks. He loves flirt-pole play, scentwork, puzzle feeders, and other mentally stimulating activities. He currently has approximately 2 to 3 hours of exercise/enrichment daily. He is a heavy chewer, and plush toys need to be carefully managed. Medical: Link has significant food allergies and an associated autoimmune/skin condition. He is allergic to most animal proteins, dairy, peanuts, shellfish/glucosamine, and wheat and therefore requires a restricted diet. He currently takes hydroxyzine, low-dose prednisone, and cyclosporine, as well as routine parasite prevention. He requires regular veterinary baths for seborrhea. His annual bloodwork has been normal. OFA testing at age two showed good hips and normal elbows. He has no other major known health issues. He has Trupanion pet insurance, which is transferable and covers 90% of his allergy-related treatment/medications without a lifetime cap. This is particularly valuable because his cyclosporine is otherwise approximately $451/month; after insurance reimbursement, my brother's cost is about $45. The policy currently costs $238.64/month.

Contact

Albany County
Voorheesville, New York 12186

Samuel Silverman: 5189288397

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