This lovely girl had lived the first part of her life with an elderly woman and a male GSD, Thor, who is three months younger than she is.  After the woman passed away, both dogs remained in her apartment and were cared for by a family member.  She fed them and let them out for short breaks in the small yard while making attempts to find adopters for them.  After three months with no success, she called GSRNE for help.

We had a foster home available for Tova with a woman who has GSD experience but no current dog.  Her experience came in handy, because she recognized that Tova was having pain in her ears and also had a hotspot, so those conditions received prompt attention.  Tova had a bad ear infection that required repeated visits to the vet and is still not completely cleared up.  She quickly built up some trust with her foster Mom, in spite of her pain, and she seems to like being an only dog.

Tova already knew some basic obedience commands and would listen pretty well in the house but not so much outside.  Her recall needs work but is getting more reliable; she does think it’s great fun to dash off with a toy instead of dropping it when asked.  She enjoys playing fetch with a tennis ball, going for walks and riding in the car.  She does not like being outside alone and has shown that she can find ways to squeeze under a fence if unattended.

In the house, she is well-behaved, but she does need a slow introduction to visitors.  She does well if she’s in another room when guests arrive and get seated and then Tova comes in on a leash to get acquainted.  When out on walks, she’s fine while passing other people and can be introduced if her foster Mom wants to stop and chat.   She’ll bark at other dogs and doesn’t seem interested in playing or interacting with them.  She was evaluated at a daycare facility and became stressed and agitated if another dog tried to make her acquaintance, so we would not expect her to enjoy doggie daycare or a dog park.

With her special person, Tova is sweet, loving and well-behaved.  With other people, she’s a little reserved at first and then is happy to make a new friend.