I've found my furever family!

GUNNY ~2 years old. Good with dogs with proper intros. Kids TBD. Not good with cats.GSRA adopts to residents of VA NC and SC only.PUPDATE:***Big Gunny has graduated from Highland Canine Inc of Harmony NC and is ready for the next chapter in his life!!!. He is currently chilling in his foster home where he is learning all sorts of good things from two GSRA alumni and keeping me his foster on my toes.***Before I get into telling you about this gorgeous hunk of sheppiness I need to explain Gunny's background and how he ended up at doggie boot camp. Although we here at GSRA don't like to dwell on a dog's past in some cases (such as Gunny's) it helps to explain some of a dog's behavioralquirks and allows us to choose the right training program thatwill help smooth out these quirks. Before coming to GSRA Gunny seems to have had at least 2 other homes. The history is a little murky but based on Gunny's personality it seems hehad a lot of instability in his short life resulting in him beingvery reactive and insecure with new people new dogs and new situations. To cope with this fear and insecurity Gunny learned thatif he was scared of something all he had to do was bark and act intimidating and the scary thing would go away. What an awful way to live though! So much stress and fear that is not a secure peaceful way to view the world. GSRA tried various foster homes to try to get Gunny over his issues but eventually they realized he needed the specialized help that the good people Highland Canine could offer. Now that training is complete Gunny is ready for a forever home that will be just as committed to his success as GSRA and Highland Canine have been.Gunny needs a firm yet fair leader he absolutely MUST have a human who is in charge and who has experience with GSDs. His human will need to stay on top of his behavior and not allow him to practice barkingwhen he's confronted with new people dogs or strange objects. Despite how he looks Gunny is a fearful little boy who needs a person(s) who he knows is in charge and has his back.Gunny needs a home that is committed to reinforcing his current training and who will continueto train with him.OK now I've told you about Gunny's more um "challenging" qualities let me tell you about his endearing ones! First off he is wonderful with every living creature! He LOVES playing with other dogs and is totally ok giving another dog the "alpha" position. He can coexist with dog-savvy cats and chickens and is great around other farm animals. Because of his size and his occassional barky outbursts we do not recommend small children for Gunny. He is SUPER food motivated which makes training a breeze and he is a typical sheppie in that at the end of the day all he wants is to make his human happy. Gunny is exceptionally sweet funny and loyal. He is learning how wonderful it is to make new friends and he is honestly just so much happier now that the weight (and fear) of the world has been lifted from his furry shoulders.If you have the GSD experience and time to commit to Gunny and his future training needs please consider making him a permanent member of your family. I promise you he is well worth the effort you will put forth!