Keith

My story

"Keith" is an approx 80-lb, 1¾-yo (born 3-16-23) neutered male GSD who is sweet, playful and protective. Keith is healthy, up-to-date on vaccinations, and microchipped. Keith is friendly with strangers when properly introduced, but is also protective of his home and people. If a person were to come into his house or yard unannounced, it’s likely he would charge the person and possibly bite. When out on walks, Keith is fine with meeting strangers, so clearly Keith’s behavior at home is protective and not simply aggressive. Keith was great w/ the two young children (ages 8 & 10 yrs old) he lived with up until late November 2024. However, Keith is also somewhat excitable and mouthy when there is lots of action and noise. So, it would be best if Keith were placed in a home that does not have children under 13 yrs of age. Keith is good with other dogs and is on the submissive side. He presently lives with several other dogs at GSRSV’s Rescue Ranch and gets along fine with all of them. (See elsewhere on this page for a video of Keith romping with some of the other dogs.) He generally keeps to himself but I have seen him try to initiate play with a couple of the other GSDs. He formerly lived with a male Golden Retriever who he also got along well with. (See photo on this page.) Keith has not interacted with cats, but he did encounter a cat at the vet’s office and was unperturbed by it. My hunch is that Keith would do fine w/ a dog-savvy cat. Keith is fully housetrained and his previous people kept him inside with no problems when they were gone for several hours. He slept in the hallway in their house. He has not had a single indoor accident nor chewed a single inappropriate item at GSRSV’s Rescue Ranch. Keith previously received four weeks of obedience training and is very well-behaved. He walks great on leash and is non-reactive towards other dogs. He also has fairly good recall off-leash. Keith loves to go on car rides and is a polite passenger. He waits calmly in the car when left alone for short periods. Keith loves water; he likes to splash in shallow water and to bite the water stream from a hose. Keith’s people purchased him from a breeder when he was about 10 wks old. Keith was his male person’s (John’s) third GSD. John invested a lot of time training Keith and Keith was a much-loved member of his family. However, on Nov 11 Keith bit an Instacart driver who came into their yard when Keith was outside unattended. The next day he nipped one of their daughters when she was loudly running around with some of her friends. [Note from GSRSV: several years ago, my own GSD--who was incredible with children--did this same thing to my best friend’s oldest son when he was playing tag with some friends. This is absolutely NOT a reflection of aggression towards children, but rather an inappropriate play response.] Due to the open nature of John’s home with young children and concern that Keith might nip one of their daughter’s friends, John chose to surrender Keith to a rescue. GSRSV took Keith in on Nov 23. Keith’s adoption fee is $300.

If you have any questions or would like to adopt Keith, please reach out to the adoption group directly. PetSmart Charities does not facilitate the adoption process. Thank you.