Meet Les, as in Les Paul, you know the guitarist/singer?  Yes, his first foster mom was being very ingenious because she named his sister Mary Ford after Les Pauls’ wife. Anyway Les and Mary were found running loose in Harnett County and ended up being tied to the gate in front of our volunteers house, talk about a surprise when she came home!  Well they sure did hit the jackpot because GSRA took them in and has given them a brand new lease on life.  Les is around 5 years of age and is a very large boy but when we first rescued him he was skin and bones, a paltry 80lbs and his hip bones and ribs were sticking out. Well not anymore, he’s probably pushing 100lbs now and he’s full of life! He is very human oriented, while he gets along great with other dogs and will play once in a while his true desires are to be with his human companions, he will be your shadow unless he knows there’s a cat around.  See Les loves cats but he can be a bit overbearing at times, he gets very excited and will literally throw them around with his nose.  Not all cats are too fond of this behavior including mine so I’d recommend a home with either dog savvy cats, cats that hibernate in other rooms and lack socialization (basically kept separate) or no cats at all.  I don’t believe he has any ill intentions but due to his size he can be very intimidating. He does get along with little dogs as well and as far as children he needs older kids, over 8-10 years of age, he can be pushy with anything smaller than he is which, let’s face it, a lot of kids are.   He does need an experienced Shepherd owner, Les is large and a handful and can get stressed in new situations easily so someone who knows how to read body language and understand a Shepherds herding and obsessive behaviors is a must.

Les loves a tennis ball and can destroy one in a couple hours, did I really say that? Well, he does like them and I thought he just had a bit of a ball drive until I found it in many pieces the next day.  He will run and chase but bringing it back or playing “fetch” isn’t in his vocabulary just yet. He is crate and house trained and other than stealing things off my end tables and/or chewing he is just a perfect house guest. He does chew sometimes and it tends to be towels, dog beds, clothes, plastic and paper and pretty much anything you set down that he thinks he can steal :)   I wouldn’t say he’s extremely destructive as he can go days without bothering anything then all of a sudden he’ll decide he wants to chew on the dog bed, it could be stress related or him just trying to relive his “puppy years” but adopters need to be aware that he will sometimes chew. 

  He loves to chew on plastic bottles like coke bottles, don’t ask me why and no it’s not what I recommend for appropriate chew toys but he really loves them so sometimes you just have to give in and enjoy watching him tear it up.   He likes to ride in the car and rides really well but he could benefit from a good obedience class and some leash manners.  My gut tells me he was in a pen most if not all his life so living life in the house has been an experience for him, he’s done great but he is a bit goofy and clumsy at times too so clear off your coffee tables because his tail alone will send things flying :)