German Shepherd Cross

Benjy Bear – 12 year old male German Shepherd Cross

Benjy Bear is a twelve year old German Shepherd cross with a little Labrador or Collie thrown in. Although he looks like a German Shepherd he is in fact only medium-sized – think German Shepherd that has shrunk in the wash!

Background: Benjy originally came into Oldies Club care when his owner moved to accommodation that didn’t allow dogs. He found a new home in Oct last year, but sadly this hasn’t worked out. Benjy likes a home life where he can have peace and quiet and his new home was too busy so he felt very stressed. He is now back in Oldies Club care in a foster home in Plymouth, Devon and hopes his next home will be the perfect one he deserves.

Needs time to settle: It took Benjy about 3-4 days to settle into his foster home. He paced a lot on arrival, but by the second day the pacing was less and by day four he was settled in and feeling more at home.

Can be left for short periods: Once Benjy is settled into his home he would be happy to be left for three or four hours. In his current foster home he stays in the kitchen when his fosterers are out and when they return he’s either just getting up to greet them or he’s still happily snoozing in his big, squishy bed.

Could live with part-time workers: Benjy loves human company, but he would be quite happy living with part time workers. He may be able to live with full-time workers, but he would need doggy day care or someone to visit him for a couple of hours around midday.

Good with other dogs: Benjy currently shares his foster home with three other dogs and has met many dogs when out on walks and he always greets them nicely. He would be able to live with another male or female dog, provided they weren’t too boisterous around him.

Could live with confident cats: Benjy lives with two confident cats and is happy to be around them. Most of the time he ignores them, but when the mood takes him he will try to have a sneaky chase. If the cats tell him off he will stop and walk away, so he would be fine living confident cats that are used to the company of dogs.

Needs a child-free home: Benjy has previously lived with children and was quite happy in their company, but he really needs a quiet home. If the household gets too busy with lots of people coming and going he feels stressed, so he’s looking for somewhere with adults only.

Loves his walks: Benjy is very good on the lead and loves his walks, but he is deaf so isn’t let off-lead. He is walked either on a normal or flexi lead and is quite happy with this. He has two walks per day, each one ranging from 20 minutes to 1 hour depending on how he is feeling on the day. He has lost some muscle tone in his legs so likes to take things at a fairly leisurely pace.

Travels fine, but doesn’t like crates: If Benjy is put in a crate he gets quite frightened, but if he can travel on the back seat of the car he’s fine and travels well.

Benjy’s Likes: Benjy’s favourite pastime is being in the company of his human companions and he’s just happy to sit by your side or put his head in your lap and have a good head rub. He loves playing tug with his rope toy and he’s keen on his food too, but take care as he will steal food from your hand if he gets the chance and will easily mistake your finger for a piece of food! His foster family have been teaching him to take food gently from the palm of the hand.

Benjy’s dislikes: Apart from his dislike of crates, nothing much seems to bother Benjy but care needs to be taken with stairs as he can be a little wobbly at times. Provided he keeps going, he’s fine walking upstairs, but if he stops halfway his legs get wobbly and he could easily fall back down. Because he likes to be with you he’s likely to follow you upstairs, so a stairgate at the bottom would be the best solution.

Benjy’s perfect home: Benjy is looking for a quiet home without children and where there are not too many visitors. He loves company, but wouldn’t mind living with part time workers as he would just snooze in his bed whilst home alone. Benjy loves to feel included and be involved in whatever you are doing, even if it’s just sitting by your side, so he would like to live with someone who will make him feel part of the family.

Health notes: Benjy is neutered, vaccinated and microchipped and has been flea and worm treated. He is deaf and his back legs do not have a lot of muscle tone so this needs building up gradually.

When Benjy first arrived in care he would occasionally stumble and seem a little spaced out and the vet diagnosed this as minor petit mal seizures, brought on by a combination of stress and a poor diet. They only lasted 4-5 seconds and now that he is settled and on a good quality diet of kibble and raw mince, Benjy doesn’t have the seizures. When he goes to a new home they may start up for a short time, but they do not affect him in anyway and no medication is required.

Foster carer’s summary: Benjy’s foster family describe him as cuddly, lovable, loyal and friendly and here’s what they have to say about him We have fostered many dogs, but Benjy is probably the easiest one so far. He just seems to fit in and will be perfect in any quiet home. He would easily win anyone over with his cheeky smile and gentle nudges when he reminds you he wants a head rub. If it wasn’t for the fact that we travel a lot and Benjy doesn’t like being crated in our van, we would adopt him ourselves. We think every home should have a Benjy Bear!

Sandy – 6-7 year old female German Shepherd cross Labrador

Sandy 6 to 7years old German Shepard cross possibly Labrador. Sandy is looking for a new home as her owners can no longer take care of her. She is a beautiful looking girl who has been used to being part of a family. Sandy is used to cats and loves people, she like to be involved in family life but she is fine to be left for a while.

Sandy is fully jabbed and flead and wormed , she has a type of mild eczema which does not effect her greatly but she does need to be regularly groomed to help ease the condition. Sandy would suit a quiet home where she can enjoy long walks and a comfy bed.

Blaze – 7 year old male German Shepherd Cross

7 years old Blaze has lost his home due to his owners long working hours. He has some German shepherd in him, is medium size, very affectionate natured and is neutered. Is there someone who would like to take on this middle aged dog and give him a permanent secure home?

Bronte – 2 year old female German Shepherd cross Greyhound

Bronte is a superb German Shepherd cross Greyhound aged 2 years old. She is a large dog breed and will be easy for a large dog family to manage. She is a little unnerved in strange settings and with strangers but longing to welcome and settles easily when friendship is offered. Bronte currently is managed on an extender lead as she has chase drive coming from her sight hound roots! She is delighted to play and runs like the wind but will need a muzzle like Greyhounds do as she has mild prey drive.

Bronte was found stray and very thin. On observation she is definitely Greyhound cross Shepherd so naturally low weight. She was fostered in with 2 small terriers and did so well but began to get involved in the terriers tantrums and needed to come back to us at the sadness of her new family. Just too complex a home for her. Bronte is chipped, vaccinated and neutered. Bronte needs a dog experienced owner who can guide her through in achieving her potential. She has clear Shepherd qualities of apprehensive to strangers but soon welcomes. She had sight hound qualities and must be watched around cats and small furries. Looking for a quiet settled life as an only pet status.

Bronte has the most glorious soft thick coat, and yes she moults as Shepherd owners appreciate. She also has that close companion personality, delighting in placing her heavy head on your lap and receiving soft strokes to her head and shoulders. Intelligence, elegance and simply captivating! Destined to capture your heart and turn you into her devotee!

“Please note this dog is currently in boarding kennels and is also available for foster until a ‘forever’ home is found”.

Sam – 12 month old female Labrador cross German Shepherd Dog

Sam is 12 months female labrador cross German Shepherd Dog (looks like labrador.) He is very friendly happy young dog.