Max - Northants

Max the man

Max is something of an enigma. It is possible that he could have grown up to be a real delinquent but, luckily, he found himself a good home and an experienced owner. She has worked hard with Max and, in many respects, he is a credit to her - whilst being still a work in progress. Max has improved in all respects, but she has failed to train him to be completely trustworthy with their cat and he is proving too challenging for her teenage boy to control on walks.

Max needs a firmer adult hand and a cat free home. His owner feels that rehoming him is the current best option for him. There is every chance that, in the right hands, he will not only be charming and affectionate, as he is already, but could become quite a handy boy as well.

The cat issue will probably have to be regarded as a 'given'. However the question of dog aggression is more nuanced, and anything is possible. Max can live with another dog in the home without problems. GSDs do differentiate between their own family and 'others'. This is a familiar trait to us all. And Max is not dog aggressive in the usual sense. His behaviour has improved greatly, in this respect, since coming to his present owner and so there is every hope that it is capable of even more fine tuning. Most of the time Max is friendly enough with other dogs but he can turn on them, when off lead for no apparent reason, and pin them to the ground. He has never bitten a dog but just stands over them in a dominant stance. Perhaps his behaviour is more dominance than aggression, although at the time, this fine distinction is not easily made. This is obviously unacceptable and remains an issue to be addressed.

Max is now three, neutered, and past his hormonal surge. I do not think that he poses too much of a challenge to an experienced adult owner. This boy certainly has the potential to be a much loved and handy member of the family and a credit to the breed