Heidi is a wonderful pure German Shepherd, but she needs to be homed with a very strong female owner, who does not have many visitors as Heidi doesn't do well with strangers. Something terrible must have happened to this poor girl as she is very fearful of men and will act aggressively out of fear, due to abuse of a past male owner. Heidi is well trained, knows many commands and is very energetic. Her new owner will need to give her plenty of exercise and spend time with her to work through these issues. 

 

This darling was lost and almost starved to death before she found a wonderful family who took her in and restored her to health. Let me share with you their insights:

"Heidi the German Shepherd was found two weeks before Christmas starving and severely underweight. You could see every bone in her body. We took her to the vet and amazingly she was healthy with no other illnesses other than malnourished. The vet guesses she is about 1 year old She had no i.d. and no chip. We got her all of her shots and took her home and started feeding her. She was immediately grateful and happy. Earlier in February we had her fixed and she is doing great. She plays well with other dogs but is still a little timid and has trouble trusting humans at first as she was probably abused. She is now healthy, almost up to her normal weight and is very energetic. She can run like an antelope, jump like a kangaroo and is very loving and playful. She learns very quickly and can sit and give a paw. She will go lay down when told but has issues with the stay part but is working on it. She is house trained and sleeps on a dog bed with no issues at night. She is a lot of puppy yet and needs lots of love and training and room to run and grow. She loves to go on walks or runs. She is definitely not for a small home with no yard. Her favorite thing is a rawhide chew bone and she currently eats Nutro Lamb & Rice small bites. "

Isn't that a neat story? Heidi will probably do best in a home where she doesn't feel like she has to compete for attention with another dog.  She does ok with dogs but she likes them to go home at the end of the day (sort of like my husband's feelings about my parents.....)

***According to dogbreedinfo.com, in April 1899, Capt. Max von Stephanitz registered a dog named Horan as the first Deutsche Schäferhunde, which means German Shepherd Dog in English. Known for their tremendous loyalty and courage, they are calmly confident, but not hostile. This breed needs his people and should not be left isolated for long periods of time. They only bark when it is necessary.

Serious and almost human in his intelligence, they have a high learning ability. The breed is so intelligent and learns so readily that it has been used as a sheepdog, guard dog, in police work, as a guide for the blind, in search and rescue service, and in the military. The German Shepherd also excels in many other dog activities including schutzhund, tracking, obedience, agility, flyball, and ring sport. His fine nose can sniff out drugs and intruders, and can alert handlers to the presence of underground mines in time to avoid detonation, or gas leaks in a pipes buried 15 feet underground.

A quick daily brushing is best unless hair in the house is not a problem. They should be bathed rarely, only once or twice a year to avoid skin oil depletion. Shepherds have a life expectancy around 13 years.