Gorgeous Greta is still waiting for her forever home.

Greta was picked up as a stray and we believe she is around 2 years old.

It has become clear to us that she has either never been on a lead, or something terrible has happened to her when on one. She tries her best to get out of them and she is very, very stressed on lead walks. While it would be lovely for all dogs to be walked through a town centre, or play in the local park, this is not the life we want for this little girl and we don’t believe training her to try and do so is in her best interests.

The thing that Greta values the most in her life is human company. We are looking for a home where she has access to somewhere to run – either a large garden/some land, or trips to a secure field and then a sofa to snuggle on with her humans. In many ways she will be such an easy dog – she doesn’t need hours of walking so a Dobermann lover that maybe can’t cover miles each day but would love the companionship of this beautiful girl would be perfect.

Greta will not be able to share her home with any other pets but Greta is all about quality over quantity – she will give you the love of a hundred dogs!

Greta’s Assessment

Kennel behaviour

Greta exited her kennel excitedly and rushed straight over to me, jumping up. I asked her to sit but she did not comply. She did take a treat from me. She did not react to dogs in adjacent kennels. She waited to have her lead put on and then pulled quite strongly on the way to the exercise area.
When we returned to the kennel area, she did bark at another dog in its kennel.

Handling

Greta ran happily around the paddock and would come for a treat. This only worked if there were no distractions. She would Sit when asked but did not comply with any other cues. She was trying to snatch at treats initially but quickly learned that she had to wait to get the treat. She does pull badly on the lead but is very motivated by treats and will focus on her handler when asked to.

Sociability

Greta has clearly not done much previously. She seems a little confused and wants a lot of reassurance from people. She seeks out human contact and enjoys a fuss. She will engage with you but does not know how to play with toys. She showed no interest in a ball and a mild interest in a tug toy but I think she would easily learn how to play with time. She certainly enjoys engagement with humans.

She is reactive to other dogs. We introduced her to another very calm male dog through a fence and in person on lead. She did bark and lunge. Her behaviour appears to be more barrier frustration rather than aggression but such behaviour can easily tip over into aggression, especially if the other dog reacts too. After a while of being in the presence of the dog, she did calm and her body language noticeably changed. She became more relaxed and engaged with us and took treats.

Arousal/Reactivity

Please give details of reactivity on a scale of 1 to 5 (where 1 = low & 5 = high)
Reactivity – 3

Greta does not appear to have much experience of the outside world and did react to several things in her environment, including other animals.

Possession

Greta would not play with a toy so obviously no resource guarding was observed. She took treats well after learning that she could not snatch. She is soft mouthed.

Comments

Greta is a lovely dog who enjoys human company and engages well. She seemed a little worried about what was happening to her and seeks
human reassurance. She is a blank page in terms of training but is food motivated and therefore I think she will be willing and focussed on good
positive training. She definitely needs work on leadwork and recall.

Her reaction to dogs and other animals needs some work. I do feel that it is barrier frustration rather than fear. Once in the company of a dog for a
while, she relaxes and looks calm and happy. Her behaviour around dogs obviously needs work. It is a question of teaching the behaviours that you
want from her eg lead walking and recall whilst desensitising her to dogs being around. I would not allow her to run off lead with another dog at
the moment as barrier frustration can easily tip over into aggression. She has not been at the kennels for very long and she will naturally become
more accustomed to the environment and other dogs in time too. I do feel that she needs some help from a behaviourist (not a trainer) to resolve
these issues. She is a motivated dog and I feel confident that this can be massively improved.

To conclude, Greta definitely needs some work but will soon take to new adopters and will make a loving pet.