Zena - Courtesy Post

Courtesy Post - This is Zena, our beloved nearly 4 year old German Shepherd/Lab/Blue Heeler mix. In many ways, Zena is the perfect dog: great with people (including our 18 month old son, when supervised closely), smart, athletic, loyal, playful, sweet, happy to be left at home for a few hours, relaxed in the car, and always down for belly rubs after a long day out hiking. Sadly, due to an unfortunate series of events (outlined below) and her mix of fear based reactivity and territorial aggression towards other dogs, we have made the painful decision to re-home her.<br/><br/><br/>Zena didnt have the easiest start in life. We adopted her from the SPCA when she was 7 months old. Before coming to us, she had been in two homes and was surrendered because of her prey drive toward the second owners cats. She also spent a few weeks at the shelter before coming home with us. When she was 13 months old she was bitten by another dog, requiring stitches. We believe all of this (and a dose of German Shepherd anxiety) is what caused her to become quite reactive to other dogs at the 18-24 month old mark. She has a bite history towards other dogs (one at a dog day care without any injuries, one at a dog park with only scratches on the other dog, and two requiring wound cleaning/sutures toward another shepherd-type dog in our townhouse complex).<br/><br/><br/>Since discontinuing visits to dog parks my wife and I feel very comfortable managing Zenas reactivity and are easily able to redirect her and avoid confrontations when out on walks. Both bites toward the other dog in our complex happened when other people were walking her (one, a neighbour who underestimated her level of reactivity/strength and one, a dog walker who violated a number of company policies/city and strata bylaws by letting her off leash in our complex). Our neighbours have been incredibly gracious after their dog was bitten but we owe it to them to be good neighbours and also owe it to Zena to set her up for success and reduce the chance of anything similar happening again by moving her out of our townhouse complex, which has become a pressure cooker-type environment for her.<br/><br/><br/>After a consultation with a veterinary behaviourist, who agrees that, with the right loving fit, Zena is a good candidate for successful rehoming. A household that would set Zena up for success would probably involve:<br/><br/><br/> A detached house with fenced yard (a semi-rural or rural location would be the dream)<br/><br/> Owners who enjoy being active outdoors and are comfortable continuing with Zenas management plan (wearing a basket muzzle when walking in areas where there are likely to be other dogs, continued positive reinforcement training/conditioning to decrease reactivity to other dogs, medication to limit her underlying anxiety)<br/><br/> No young children due to risk of inadvertent management failure (i.e. leaving a door/gate open and allowing her to escape) not due to a risk to the children themselves<br/><br/><br/>If you think Zena would be a good fit in your home, please send me a message for more details. Im happy to provide the consult note from her behaviour medicine appointment and answer any questions you might have. As crushing as it is to say goodbye to the dog who has been my best friend for the last three years, we want to set her up for an awesome life with lovely owners wholl fall in love with her quirks, big feelings, and all.

Courtesy Post - This is Zena, our beloved nearly 4 year old German Shepherd/Lab/Blue Heeler mix. In many ways, Zena is the perfect dog: great with people (including our 18 month old son, when supervised closely), smart, athletic, loyal, playful, sweet, happy to be left at home for a few hours, relaxed in the car, and always down for belly rubs after a long day out hiking. Sadly, due to an unfortunate series of events (outlined below) and her mix of fear based reactivity and territorial aggression towards other dogs, we have made the painful decision to re-home her.


Zena didnt have the easiest start in life. We adopted her from the SPCA when she was 7 months old. Before coming to us, she had been in two homes and was surrendered because of her prey drive toward the second owners cats. She also spent a few weeks at the shelter before coming home with us. When she was 13 months old she was bitten by another dog, requiring stitches. We believe all of this (and a dose of German Shepherd anxiety) is what caused her t

Courtesy Post - This is Zena, our beloved nearly 4 year old German Shepherd/Lab/Blue Heeler mix. In many ways, Zena is the perfect dog: great with people (including our 18 month old son, when supervised closely), smart, athletic, loyal, playful, sweet, happy to be left at home for a few hours, relaxed in the car, and always down for belly rubs after a long day out hiking. Sadly, due to an unfortunate series of events (outlined below) and her mix of fear based reactivity and territorial aggression towards other dogs, we have made the painful decision to re-home her.


Zena didnt have the easiest start in life. We adopted her from the SPCA when she was 7 months old. Before coming to us, she had been in two homes and was surrendered because of her prey drive toward the second owners cats. She also spent a few weeks at the shelter before coming home with us. When she was 13 months old she was bitten by another dog, requiring stitches. We believe all of this (and a dose of German Shepherd anxiety) is what caused her to become quite reactive to other dogs at the 18-24 month old mark. She has a bite history towards other dogs (one at a dog day care without any injuries, one at a dog park with only scratches on the other dog, and two requiring wound cleaning/sutures toward another shepherd-type dog in our townhouse complex).


Since discontinuing visits to dog parks my wife and I feel very comfortable