Date Adopted: June 1, 2020

Riley is an energetic 15-month-old female who is eager to learn new things.  As with any young dog, she requires time, love, patience and is learning good manners.  In the month she has been with her foster Mom, she has learned to “Wait” at the door before going out, learned Down, Stay, Settle, Place and is learning “Dish.”  When she finishes eating, her foster Mom says “dish,” and Riley will bring her empty dish in exchange for a treat.

During her first year, Riley was living mostly in a basement room with the 19-year-old male who had purchased her as a puppy.  A family member saw that she was not getting socialization or training and purchased her in order to work on that.  Once she was making some progress, GSRNE was asked to find her a forever home.  No foster home was available immediately, so Riley went to a boarding kennel whose owner is also a trainer and knowledgeable about German Shepherds.  He told us that she can be reactive to new people who just walk up to her and to dogs she doesn’t know, and we were fortunate in finding a foster Mom willing to work on those issues.  She has also been going to a training session one evening a week with our Training Director, Mary Farren.  Riley is progressing very nicely and now looks to her foster Mom for direction.

Still a puppy, Riley needs to burn off energy before she can settle down for a good walk and some training exercises.  She loves to play with her toys, especially tennis balls, and will play fetch as long as someone wants to throw the ball for her.  Her foster Mom loves to garden and work in the yard, and Riley is right there, helping to dig or carry off debris.  She has told us that her home would be too empty without Riley and has asked to become her forever home; Riley has enthusiastically agreed!