Winston is a German Shepherd pup born approx. 7/17/21. It's been 2 weeks with his foster family and Winston has made himself at home! He has an established routine that has not waivered much since he arrived-you could almost set your watch to it!

 

He sleeps well in his crate all night long, and only whines when he needs to go potty because he will not go in his crate. He has gone up to 8 hours without waking to go out, but 6 is most consistent. He isn't much of a co-sleeper, and prefers to sleep in his crate at night rather than with his humans. Winston will nap nearby during the day, but prefers not to be snuggled on while sleeping. He sleeps best with the TV on low volume, we think this might be from his experience before he came to us. 

 

Winston does get anxious when he can't see his foster family members. He can be content to play nearby on his own, but if he realizes he is by himself he gets sad. He can be in his crate for about 2 hours at a time during the day, but this works best when he is ready to rest. We think having a family with people who can be home with him might be better or having another dog in the family to bond with would be great.

 

During the day he likes to play, A LOT! He loves to play tug, and chase balls, and chew everything. He likes to collect his toys on his bed, but he does not guard them, or mind when you pick them up or move them around. He can get a little aggressive during play, but recovers well when directed to "settle".

 

Winston enjoys working on commands, and has the verbal command for "sit" mastered as well as stay. He also recognizes the hand commands for both. We are now working on "lay down" and "stay".  He is also responding well to clicker training.

 

He cues pretty well to go out, but it's not always the same cue, so sometimes we miss it. Right now it is best to stick to the 2 hour rule. Winston can get distracted easily when in the yard, and needs to be reminded that he is out there to potty, not play. Another dog barking, a bird flying overhead or a car driving by can throw him off task. He does well with the puppy pads inside and goes potty on those if he does pee inside but he is still young, so this will get better as he gets older and learns to signal better. 

 

He does get nervous about going for walks on the street, but loves to walk on the trails near our house, and does really well on the leash; sometimes he walks himself! Winston really enjoys being in the yard when his foster family is outside, and is happy to just lay in the sun with a chew toy or nap in the grass while his foster family works around him. He likes to eat rocks, we cannot figure out why!

 

He hasn't had the opportunity to meet other dogs yet, but he is curious when he sees them out on the street. We have three cats, and he isn't aggressive towards them, but he does like to chase them. It's been difficult to socialize them because they choose to stay upstairs as much as possible, even when Winston is sleeping.

 

He is extremely polite when meeting new people. He greets them gently and doesn't jump or paw/mouth them. We have not encountered anyone that he seems anxious around or nervous about.

 

He is not food aggressive, and he doesn't mind being handled, held or fussed over which is helpful for grooming, nail trimming, etc. 

 

We have been on a few car rides, and he settles down after a few minutes in the vehicle and will tell you if he needs a potty break while on the road. We are confident that with the right family he will find that he loves going on adventures.