Xander

About Xander (Belgian shepherd tervuren) in North KC

Xander is waiting for you at Missouri German Shepherd Rescue in North KC, MO 64116. XANDER is an affectionate 10-11 year old high Belgian Terv mix who needs a quiet home with an experienced trainer. BACKGROUND: Dumped in a shelter by his family at 4 yrs old. They cited “behavior” issues but didn’t say what those were. Owners appeared to have multiple dogs and needed to get rid of at least one. Owners had not socialized him outside the home at all. TEMPERAMENT / BEHAVIOR: Needs and adores his daily walks – he’s a scent dog and will stop at every scent if allowed. Overly excited in first part of his walk but calms down and largely stops pulling after that. Needs that daily outlet but walks needn’t be long (around 20 minutes satisfies him tho he enjoys longer. Gets very excited when you come home, jumps and barks and has to be reminded every time sit and be quiet. Hates the crate and is usually in it only as a time-out while foster is home. Xander is a unique dog! He’s got two distinct sides: a loving, goofy boy AND an aggressive reactor to strange people and dogs. The Goofy side: Crate trained House trained Dream house manners, calm and well behaved Doesn’t play with toys or other dogs A foodie – always ready to eat and will steal food left out Loves to lay in your lap if allowed Moderate prey drive – responds well to “leave it” command on walks when seeing small critters, will chase in the yard but breaks off pretty easily Loving to “his” person Downright pushy about getting head rubs, tummy rubs, and just generally being close to and touched by you Has “jack-in-the-box” energy – will go from sound sleep to jumping around in a split second. The Reactive side: On leash will react to strange people and dogs. Has gotten better about leaving people alone but still very reactive to other dogs. When off-leash will allow strangers to handle him but will go after other dogs Stubborn TRAINING: His training was progressing until the pandemic hit, and then it was