Trevor - Handsome boy looking for a new home

This gorgeous, handsome boy has been pushed from pillar to post and now desperately needs a new forever home.

Trevor chilling out

This handsome young man is 5 year old neutered Trevor. This poor lad has been from pillar to post in his short life. He originally lived on a farm with his first owners and their young children. Trevor was never socialised with other dogs, even as a puppy, and when visitors came to the house he was shut in a small cage in an empty room with no toys or anything to lie on. His walk consisted of 5-10 minutes and with only a small garden and no toys, he soon dug holes everywhere through boredom and stress.

Where dod that damn pigeon go?

When his first owner’s relationship broke down he was re-homed to a couple with little GSD experience. The husband worked very hard with Trevor with basic things such as getting him used to traffic which he had never seen, and walking past people without feeling threatened. Trevor being a big strong dog appeared stressed by people he didn’t know and situations he was not sure about because of his lack of socialisation as a pup. However he was living here quite happily with a border terrier. The couple enlisted the help of a behaviourist who was afraid of Trevor because of his size and suggested getting him a cage so he had a place to go to feel safe. Based on his past experience with a cage however this stressed him more. She also suggested spraying water at him when he was doing something not acceptable, however Trevor thought his was a game.

Can Trevor catch that fly?

Because of the way Trevor reacted, the couple did not trust him and thought it was best to keep him on the lead and muzzled at all times. He had no leadership which left him confused and feeling he had to look after them. This worried them more as they thought he was showing aggression towards strangers, and so the vicious cycle continued. They even approached the army but when they tried to bite test him, Trevor ran and hid behind his owners. We were contacted as they felt they could not help Trevor any further and with an elderly and ill in-law coming to stay, asked us to take him in. When he was met by our volunteer Trevor was showing severe signs of nervous aggression but soon settled down when walking alongside her with his owner and back into his house.

Playtime!

Trevor went to the kennels where it took a long time for him to allow the staff to handle him. He would bark and show his teeth and then run to the back of the kennel. With persistence and patience, and hand feeding, Trevor finally understood that he did not need to be scared of everybody. He has learnt to trust people again and realises he does not have to lead and it is actually quite fun to have someone else do that job for him. He also took part in the obedience classes run at the kennels and thoroughly enjoyed it.

This playing wears me out

After spending many months at the kennels, we were finally able to put Trevor into a foster home. It had been a long journey with a muzzle on and in a cage (which no longer freaks him out), and after initially barking and protecting his cage space, he was let out to explore the garden. All the new smells and space made his eyes as large as saucers! Then he got to meet his dog family. 7 year Sophie a GSD with a bit of collie (who is the real foster mum here) and 6 year Bryn who is a staffie cross terrier. Trevor just turned into a giant pup, so off came the muzzle and him and Bryn spent the next hour or so just playing chase around the garden with Sophie keeping them both in line.

Go on, throw it back then.

Trevor loves his trips round to the fields to run and chase the rabbits, and he is so quick he’s actually caught a few! Unfortunately he won’t give them up and has had a few rabbit dinners. He will let foster mum handle him in every other way and submits to both of his dog family when told off if he is getting a little boisterous or they just want a nap. Trevor bonds with his handler extremely quickly and due to his past becomes very protective. One of our experienced volunteers visited Trevor and whilst initially Trevor thought his job was to get him out, a firm telling by Sophie put him right on that one and within minutes was sitting letting our volunteer fuss him. Trevor’s only ‘real’ issue is food aggression which he has suffered from for as long back as we know. I would imagine this has a lot to do with the way he was treated in his first 2 years of life! Whilst he will take a treat from your fingers as gently as a lamb, whilst he will share treats with the others and never look to take them from them, dinner time in a bowl must be handled correctly. This is a work in progress.

I don't care you've got it

Trevor just needs a calm and confident, experienced GSD home to continue building his belief in people and re-socialise him with the world outside a kennel environment. We would not re-home him with children or cats.

Will she notice me?

Bryn dug this for me to hide toys in.

He would be happy to live with another dog, ideally an older female to keep him on track with his dog manners. He will never be the sort of dog you can have a lot of people trooping in and out with him, but with the right owner, he will be the most loyal and loving dog, as he has shown in his short time in foster.

How did he get the ball?

Time for a treat please

Trevor in his foster home with his new friends

If you think you could offer Trevor his forever home, please fill out an adoption form

Please help us by making a donation so that we can help re home more unwanted German Shepherd Dogs. Donations can be sent to Jayne Shenstone, German Shepherd Rescue, Little Vauld, Marden Hereford HR1 3HA. We also accept Paypal payments - just click on the Paypal button below. Thankyou.