RILEY
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| *RILEY* IN A NUTSHELL: Stand-offish with new people, but when other dogs are present, she follows their lead and warms up quickly. Should be placed into a home with another (male) dog. | ||||||||||||||||
| Riley and her owner are new to the Valley; however, the owner's new job and current living situation are NOT conducive to keeping Riley. They are currently living with a family member who (unfortunately for Riley) owns a feline who is NOT amenable to sharing her space with a dog and continually tries to attack Riley. She is, therefore, separated from the cat and kept in her owner's bedroom while she is at work during the day. She is afforded the benefits of doggie day care, and the personnel at the day care facility are in love with her.
We asked Riley's owner for a few photos of Riley, and she provided the above and these:
Plus a video of Riley at the dog park:
UPDATE 9/29: A staff member and her daughter went to PetSuites in Cave Creek this afternoon to meet Riley. When Gina, the facility manager, brought her into the room, she was initially curious and wanted to sniff us, but when she realized she didn't know us, she wasn't too interested in making friends until we put her leash back on her and pushed the point.
We are working on making room for Riley by the end of October. If you're interested in meeting her, please don't hesitate to email. UPDATE 10/20: One of our staff members picked up Riley this morning at PetSuites and brought her to a park in Scottsdale to meet her new foster family -- Meg, Gopi, Eugene and Losie. Without hesitation, she immediately ran up to Losie to say hello and then slowly allowed herself to be touched by the rest of the family.
Riley is very much lacking in the (leash) training department, but foster mom Meg thinks that will be no problem at all since she has trained several of our rescue dogs in the past, as well as her own white GSD and Losie. We'll be receiving updates as her training and socialization progresses over the coming weeks. FIRST FOSTER UPDATE: "Riley is doing great -- she's honestly the most well-behaved dog we've ever fostered.
She doesn't put her paws on the kitchen counter, even though she knows there's food there, and she doesn't climb on the bed, couch, or anything else. She also immediately figured out where to pee in the side yard, where we have a designated potty area for dogs. She's super gentle when receiving treats and is very food-motivated. She knows her sit-and-wait commands and has already started following me everywhere.
Before we headed home, we stopped by the community park. After she played for a bit, when it was time to get in the car, she jumped in and got into the crate by herself Since open spaces like our living room tend to make dogs nervous, we decided to stay in the bedroom with Losie and Riley. She calmed down and slept right next to me. She's been amazing on her first day -- honestly, the easiest first day we've ever had with a foster FOSTER UPDATE 10/21: "A quick update on Riley! She's starting to show her personality, and it's adorable! When she's happy and excited, she does a little hop (not jumping onto people, just a cute little jump). She's still incredibly well-behaved. Even when I'm cooking and leave food on the counter, she doesn't sneak or put her paws up. Instead, she just sits next to me, patiently waiting for any food to fall from the counter.
She slept in her crate straight through the night until my alarm went off last night. This morning, she enjoyed a walk with Losie and didn't react at all to other dogs, rabbits, or people we encountered. Surprisingly, she doesn't pull on the leash and walks at a perfect pace with you. (Why surprisingly? I thought she pulled the leash a bit when we met her with you.)
So far, I haven't noticed any downsides with her. The only thing is that she's still a bit nervous and timid when she hears loud noises, like bikes, helicopters, and fireworks (which, honestly, who's doing fireworks right now? We had a big show for 10 minutes last night). If she's outside, she lowers her body cautiously, and if she's inside, she goes straight to her crate until the noise stops (no barking, whining, or any reactive behaviors)
She's mostly by my side and never disturbs me, even when I'm in meetings. She doesn't move until I do. Honestly, she's definitely the easiest foster we've had, Nancy! She loved her morning walk, and she ran with Gopi and is equally happy just lounging by you FOSTER UPDATE 10/24: "Riley's decompressing process has been going amazingly well. She loves playing with Losie, but surprisingly, she prefers to be close to me since she's still adjusting to the sounds outside (our house is by a busy road, and the school bus stop nearby can be quite noisy in the mornings and afternoons). Here are some of Riley's habits and behaviors we've noticed so far, including the good and areas for improvement:
Goods:
Things to Improve:
Overall:
Honestly, I can't find any downsides with her. Though she's comforted by being close to me when nervous, she absolutely loves to play with other dogs and can really RUN and PLAY! She keeps up with our crazy Belgian Malinois, Losie. They chase each other for an hour in the morning and another hour in the evening, plus we go for walks.
Ideally, it would be great if her new home has another submissive dog(s). If not, she'll need someone who can take her to the dog park regularly to burn off her energy. She has a good off switch, so she's content relaxing during the day, but she loves to go all out in the mornings and evenings, just like Taz! She actually runs as fast as Taz!
FOSTER UPDATE 10/26: "We took Riley on her first hike, and it turns out she loves it way more than her morning walks. She was so excited that she couldn't stop hopping and jumping for the first three minutes! I think she enjoys hiking because there are no disturbances like the loud sounds of cars and bikes. She encountered some horses and she was very curious, no reaction. We also encountered bicycles, but no reaction. We had chat with some people with dogs, but she was calm and said hi to their dogs. She's been such a good girl."
UPDATE 10/31: Riley and BFF Losie are having fun in the cooler weather! FOSTER UPDATE 11/2: "I have some amazing updates on Riley!
We took her on a 5-mile, steep hike with Losie early this morning. It was about a 1,200 ft elevation gain with lots of uphill and downhill stretches, but she was full of energy and excitement the whole way. She usually stays right next to me or Gopi, but this time she took the lead and just kept going! Normally, she'd get distracted by people or other dogs, but today her mission was all about climbing, and she didn't pay attention to anything else. We really hope her future adopter loves hiking and takes her everywhere since she's so good in the car, making it easy to bring her along.
Second update: her training ability. She's the fastest learner of all the eight fosters we've had, including other breeds like Belgian Malinois. Just look at how patiently she waits her turn! She had good manners from the start, but she'd never held a 'wait' position for more than a few seconds. At first, she seemed confused, but after just one try, she understood, and now she can wait until her turn! And mind you, the treats I was holding were grilled steak -- she's highly food-motivated, especially for meat. That girl waited patiently, which is incredible!
Third update: her housebreaking story. Last night, all three of us were out for about 3.5 hours, and I decided to let her roam freely. I've left her and Losie alone free-roaming for an hour each day with the security camera on, and she always stays in the bedroom while Losie stays in the living room -- they don't interact at all when I'm gone.
When we came back last night, Riley was peeking from the bedroom and started hopping happily when she saw us, and Losie came from the living room. It seems they both stayed in each room, and the house was exactly as we left it.
I've been trying to find any habits she needs to improve, but I haven't noticed anything critical yet. The only thing to note is that if someone is looking for a friendly dog who wags her tail and welcomes everyone, Riley may not be the best fit. She's not interested in people outside her handler -- she just wants to be near her owner. It took her a full 10 days to look truly happy when being cuddled or to wag her tail when I return after being gone for an hour.
She's a typical, loyal German Shepherd, so someone who loves hiking or walking (ideally with another dog) and understands the traits of a German Shepherd would be the perfect match for her FOSTER UPDATE 11/5: "Riley showed a really good kind of protectiveness! She's never barked or growled at anyone outside, but last night, when Eugene came home after his sports activities (where he'd been around a lot of other kids), Riley could smell him from afar. When he came inside, she stepped in front of me and gave him a warning bark as if to say, 'Don't come any closer!' Then she saw Losie go up to Eugene and get a pat, and it was like she realized -- oh, false alarm, my bad. She immediately went over to Eugene and asked for a pat herself. I was so impressed by how naturally protective she was trying to be likeI"
FOSTER UPDATE 11/12: "I have some updates on Riley! She seems about 80-90% decompressed now, and she's 100% confident with Losie. She absolutely thrives during playtime with Losie, and we're seeing new sides of her -- her true character is coming through, and I wanted to share these insights with you to help find the best match for her.
When Riley meets other dogs at the regular park we take her, she's polite and plays nicely, so she'd do well in a dog park setting for sure. She becomes super playful and shows real sides of her only after meeting the same dog for more than 3-4 times. She plays rough with one of Losie's buddie malamute boy because they have met each other and played more than 4 times.
I really want to take her to a dog park because she seems like she'd love it, but Losie isn't interested in playing with other dogs outside her yard. So, we haven't had the chance, but I'm sure Riley would thrive there!
After observing her real character, here are my thoughts:
She's learning some boundaries during playtime these days Adoption fee $425.00.
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We still think it would be great if her future family has another dog. However, once she's fully comfortable, she becomes very confident and definitely not the submissive one! She's very active, assertive, loves rough play, and has a favorite game of snatching toys from other dogs. We're working on teaching her boundaries with the snatching, but she's still puzzled about why this fun game isn't allowed.
Losie is okay with it most of the time and will let Riley take toys from her, but she'll snap if Riley tries to grab her favorite antler chew. Also, Riley is big, and when she tackles at full speed and force, she can even knock over Losie! So, I wouldn't recommend a household with small dogs unless the owner can supervise closely and the dog is sturdy enough to play along.