1/8/17 Update:

Ryka is a diva.  She must be an only pet in a household with no children.  She is too grouchy with our other dogs at times.  She needs a strong owner willing to spend lots of time with her to bring out all her great potential.  Please note, special diet, supplements and future medical treatment for her hips.  She is worth every penny you will spend!

8/23/16 Update:

Ryka is a 4 year old GSD beauty!  She loves car rides and meeting new people.  She loves her people and wants to be with them as much as she can!  She does fairly well off leash around our property (I would not try in a public area).  She is smart and eager to please.  She is highly food motivated.

She has gotten over most of her policing of our dogs and has figured out how to play with them.  And she lets them play with toys now!  She still likes to bark at one of our dogs whenever he comes near.  I think they secretly like each other, but don't know how to express it appropriately.

She has chased a neighborhood cat, and has not been friendly with others she has seen in pet stores/vets office.  I don't know if she would come around to a cat, and would not consider her to be an ideal match for a cat household. 

She is a champion fetch player!  She will often carry her football or another toy around the house.  When she isn't carrying a toy, she frequently carries one of the dog dishes around.  We are training her to bring them back to the kitchen when it is dinner time and she is quite good at it, although she will occasionally drop one (they are lightweight stainless) on the floor and make you jump!  She is EXTREMELY food motivated, which is a great training tool.  She loves her veggies in addition to the usual meaty treats.  She does countersurf.  She has trained us not to leave anything out that a dog might like.  So far bananas have been safe, but bread is definitely not!  She is not food aggressive.  We can take her bowl away.  She does like to help one of our dogs finish his meals (he is food unmotivated) and we have no problem pulling her away from his dish.

Ryka likes to snuggle her way.  She has luxurious fur and will let you love on her.  She enjoys sleeping in the bed... always curled in a ball pressed against you, but will jump down and go to her bed when instructed.  She has a unique ability to weigh a ton.  I say she uses some kind of yoga technique to bend gravity and weigh about 100 pounds. 

She is crate trained, but is best with just some toys in the crate, not a bed.  We do not keep her in the crate during the day (and she sleeps with us at night).  As long as there isn't any food out, everything is fine.  She does try to go with us when we leave, but once we are gone, she is ok.  She has separation anxiety if she is not in the same area of the house as we are (although she does wait outside the bathroom patiently!)  She does need to be let out during the day, otherwise she may have a pee accident.  She is not left longer than 5-6 hours at our house for this reason.  Nothing a visit from a dog walker won't solve! 

She has not been around little kids.  She is very patient with us and has never snipped at anyone, even during inappropriate human approaches (please, let my dog sniff you before you touch her).  When you wrestle with her, she does mouth, but that is the only time she does this with a human.  She has very gentle paws.  She does get excited when playing with the other dogs and will run into you during the doggie scramble.  I think she would be happiest in a home with older kids and adults.  She tends to prefer female humans, but is not anti-men.  I had previously thought she would be better as an only dog, but since she has come around on the playing and "policing" the others, I think she would enjoy the right doggie companion.  She was with a border collie with her previous owners (I don't know how they got along).  She is good other GSDs (except our big guy).  She accepts our dominant female and usually backs down.  She bosses the males (our boys are submissive).  Typical GSD female.

She will require supplements daily (omegas and glucosamine/chondroitin) and may require treatment for her hips later in her life (she is FINE now).

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Meet Ryka!  She is a stunning 3 year old red and black medium/long haired female GSD diva.  She is an owner surrender for economic reasons.

She is being spayed on 2/24 and will be available approximately two weeks after.

She has a classic GSD form, the kind you see in silhouette on signs and t-shirts.  With that lovely sloping hind-quarter comes a price, she is sadly destined for hip issues.  She is not currently in pain, but will undoubtedly need treatment in the future.

If you have small children or cats, this is not the dog for you.  She is a herder and currently has the job of the fun police at our house... she is a toy hoarder and does not appreciate the other dogs playing with each other.  We are working on changing this trait, but it is a slow process.  

Ryka loves toys, she often carries one around.  But she does not share well with her fellow canines.  Her foster brother is trying to teach her how to play with other dogs, not just humans.  She does love fetch, but will "correct" any interfering four legged rivals for the ball.  She probably would do well as an only dog in an adult household.  She is a people dog.  She sleeps on your bed curled up in a ball and is quite velcro.

She has had several accidents in our house as well having some in her temporary foster's home.  I think most of the issues have been related to timing and diet issues, but she will require frequent potty breaks until she is settled in.  She does have a sensitive tummy and is currently on a grain free diet with supplements and coconut oil.

She has a beautiful coat and grooms well.  She is not a fan of water, but bathes nicely.  She accepts toe-nail trims without incident.

She knows basic commands of sit, down, stay, wait, heel and more.  She is wickedly smart and quite calm for the most part.  She does need intellectual stimulation, she comes from working lines and would do well with some advanced training.  She picks up new things very quickly.

She is a counter surfer.  We have yet to catch her in the act to correct her, but things have gone missing since she arrived and her reputation proceeded her.  She has a very gentle jump up to greet (another thing we are working on!) and also has put her feet up on the washer ever so slyly, so I can only imagine her stealthy approach to sandwich-napping.

She is vocal.  She is crate trained, but will complain for a bit.  I would say she has moderate separation anxiety.  Upon returning home, she will tell you about her day and how much she missed you.  We have yet to leave her with free roam during the day as we have three house dogs and do not want any trouble, but I would anticipate she would earn the privilege in her forever home... just make sure the temptations are put away and she has plenty of toys to chew!  

Overall she is a wonderful dog.

Approved adopters may contact her fosters at gsdnest@gmail.com.