Titus is an exceptional dog. He may look intimidating, but he's really a big lovebug. This handsome boy is very sweet and playful, and likes to nuzzle his nose into your lap, or jump up on you to tell you how much he loves you. If you don't like dogs to jump on you, I can show you a very simple exercise that will easily get him to stop. Titus is very smart, and he quickly learned how to sit and stay (I'm working on getting him to do it 100% of the time : D). Titus is intact (un-neutered) and scheduled to be fixed within the next few weeks, so you could say he gets extra distracted by other dogs - especially females - when we go for walks.
He is about 80 pounds, and after someone in a German Shepherd rescue group saw he still had a lot of small baby teeth, he told me Titus may grow to be over 100 pounds.
It's hard to believe this beautiful male German Shepherd was set to be euthanized a few weeks ago, but right now shelters are so overrun with dogs, they are even putting german shepherd puppies to sleep.
I am working with a german shepherd rescue group to find him a good home in the Bay Area.
I usually walk Titus with his girlfriend, Kali. It would be great to get them adopted together, but I realize there may not be a lot of people looking for two german shepherds. I can tell you from experience that it's even more fun to have 2 german shepherds (1 is fun, but 2 is a party)!
Years ago, I dogsat for a beautiful 100 pound German Shepherd, and a few weeks after I met him, his owner got him a friend - a beautiful black female german shepherd. Both dogs were soooo happy, having a playmate around all day. Shepherds need a lot of attention and stimulation, so having two can be a good way to ensure they don't get too bored.
The great thing about German Shepherds is, they look menacing, but they tend to be just as sweet as other dogs, if not moreso. They can be very silly and playful, but they are also extremely loyal. I have a doggie camera set up in the room where I am fostering the dogs, and it's funny to see how, as soon as you leave the room, they just sit there by the door, trying to figure out what's going on, and when you're coming back.
This is Titus with Norah, his girlfriend, Norah. They would make wonderful family guardians!
It would be wonderful if I could find someone who wanted to keep them together. I used to dogsit for 2 wonderful German Shepherds - a male and female (Parker and Nikki) who were a wonderful pair. Titus and Norah remind me of them.
Update 3-21-23
OK so I have to report, I have kept these dogs waaaay longer than I'd anticipated I would.
It basically boils down to two things.
1) I want to have them adopted in pairs, but there is 1 very neurotic dog per pair, that needs a LOT of work, in order for me to feel like I won't have to worry the neurotic dog will get dumped at the pound. So, I am trying to give them more training, before they're adopted.
2) I've been having a lot of fun with the dogs, and OK I've gotten attached. But I cannot keep them, because I have cats, and my cats would be miserable with dogs.
I want to be SUPER picky about who gets these dogs. If I have to drive all the way across the country to find them a home, I will do that.
I've gotten to spend more time with Titus, than any other dog, because we go Dog Mushing, and it is sooo much fun. I've also gotten to see what a GREAT dog Titus really is. I already knew he was a great dog, but I've been able to see even more of how great he is.
Yesterday, on 3-20-23, I saw him do someting I didn't expect, and was very proud of him for it.
For the first time ever, I took all 4 foster dogs to go mushing at the same place (a large office complex with a huge parking lot that is always half empty). The dogs had to take turns, as me and my boyfriend can only take 2 at a time (1 dog per person). One of the dogs I have is Poppy, a somewhat neurotic shepherd who has come a long way since I got her. She's no longer terrified of the vaccuum, she doesn't spin in circles, isn't afraid of the dark, isn't extremely anxious to come right back home. But she still barks a lot at other dogs. And that includes Norah and Titus.
When we got to the "mushing parking lot", my boyfriend Sean said we should let the dogs all get to know each other and let 'em mix and sniff each other. I am all for that, but Norah has a tendency to LUNGE at other dogs, including the female pair I have (Poppy and Shelby). So, doing it too soon is a BAD idea, and they need to do it gradually. So I don't think it's a good idea to just cross my fingers and hope for the best.
But somehow, my bf was so confident it would be ok, that when they all were wagging their tails and not barking at the same time, and Norah wasn't freaking out, I kind of found myself slacking on the leash grip, and thought, well, it might maybe he's right. Maybe it's not so bad to let them get a little close and sniff each other from a distance...
I expected Norah to go ballistic on the other 2 girls, as she has in the past, but to my surprise, she did not. I really think part of that is because she's exercising, and getting rid of a lot of that pent up energy she had before.
But Poppy ended up being the one who got out of control. She suddenly pounced, gnarled her teeth, and tried to bite Norah. And as soon as she did this, Titus immediately defended Kali. He growled and lunged at Poppy, nipping at her and commanding her to stay back, but didn't seem to hurt her (except for her feelings). I think it was a very humbling experience for Poppy, because she has a BIG crush on Titus, but he wasn't putting up with ANY of this bad behavior.
Titus kind of reminds me of this strong (but chill) dog named Prince, who schools dogs in Beckman's training.
What's really impressive about all this is, I had been starting to question whether or not Norah and Titus were a good match. Sometimes she is downright mean to him, to the point where he doesn't even want to go near her. Sometimes, he's scared of her. She's kind of neurotic and crazy, and sooo jealous. If he even looks at another dog, she growls at him and tries to bite him. But he just puts up with it (they stay in the same room). So, it was really nice to see him looking out for Kali and trying to protect her.
I remember a day when I had Titus and Norah in the car, and before I took them home, I wanted to make sure they got a chance to poop. There's this area by my house that I call "the grassy knoll." It's a small grassy area ad the end of my street right next to where a few cars park overnight.
I took Norah out to go potty, and as soon as we left the car, Titus started wimpering and crying because he hates being left behind. Norah immediately wanted to race back to the car to let him know everything was ok. It was a little distracting, because I couldn't get her to use the potty - all she could think of was getting back to Titus and letting him know everything was ok. So, while it was a little annoying, it was also really sweet.
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