Rayne
German Shepherd DogTo be loved by Rayne is the sweetest! She adores her foster family and the resident male shepherds and has developed relationships with... show more
To be loved by Rayne is the sweetest! She adores her foster family and the resident male shepherds and has developed relationships with them based on their personalities. Rayne respects the eldest shepherd, who oversees the pack, and coaxes the middle shepherd into play by charming him with kisses and play bows when the youngest shepherd, her best playmate, chooses to herd his ball or play by himself. Rayne zooms, shares toys, and rumbles with the youngest shepherd, as they have similar play styles. Rayne's foster family has also been part of Stewie's foster team. When Stewie was cleared to resume regular activity by his orthopedic team, Rayne was his first introduction to a dog mate. They hit it off right away, besties where he didn't even mind Rayne sneaking out his stash of toys that kept him busy during his months-long crate confinement. Rayne is attentive to her foster humans and very gentle; her initial mouthiness and frantic energy have disappeared. When her foster mom had a minor injury, Rayne inspected it every morning and at bedtime like clockwork until the scab fell off, at which point she lost interest. This lithe girl loves running after the morning potty to wake up her foster dad, sticking her nose under the covers in encouragement with a happy dance when he gets up. Fully integrated into her foster home, she greets her foster dad at the end of the work day as part of the pack, seeking her own turn for pets and snuggles. Since Rayne is energetic and athletic, initially, she had some snags on her skin from her zoomies. Most were easy to clean and heal, but the deepest cut on her shoulder required stitches. And a second round of stitches when she used her back toes to scratch her first stitches open. She was a terrific patient through her two visits for stitches at UCDVMTH's ER. Displaying considerable pain tolerance, Rayne has never whimpered or fussed over her injuries. Rayne graced a t-shirt layered over a surgical suit for 10 days to ensure she didn't tear through her second set of stitches. Every day she happily cooperated to change her surgical suit for the spare, so she always had a clean one. As the saying goes, it takes three days, three weeks, and three months for a rescue dog to settle and feel at home; Rayne has settled and matured in the last few months, and her coordination has improved to be injury free. Rayne still prefers to lounge on patio tables for downtime and is learning to trust the pool to become a swimmer with the warming temperatures. She's progressed from sloppy dog paddles to graceful swimming when she accidentally falls in zooming around the pool corners and has learned to exit from the steps. Tossing her pool toys next to the edge to retrieve them repeatedly from the water in self-play keeps her busy while her mates swim to fetch their balls. She loves to dunk her head in from the pool steps to cool off, roll in the grass's dew first thing in the morning, and if, by chance, she's outside when the sprinklers come on, her joy is immense. Comfortable with all kinds of touch from her trusted people, Rayne gets washed off and toweled regularly. Rayne will be an excellent running or agility partner when growth plates mature in a few months or a fabulous nosework partner. Her lithe body loves long walks and hikes even in the pouring rain, and her nose is superb. This compact prancy bouncy girl effortlessly jumps over baby gates or her dog mates, on outdoor patio tables, and the chest of drawers in the bedroom; she's a joy to watch in action, except when she misjudges space and lands on you while aiming for a sliver of a spot left by the resident dogs to be next to her people. Rayne loves to hop in the car for rides and settles quietly. During cooler weather, she's been trusted to stay in the vehicle during short errands if dogs aren't welcome at the destination. She has attended multiple dog painting activities, group lessons, and pack walks, which she thoroughly enjoyed, organized by Terra Colson of Wholistic Canine, with long naps to follow. Rayne heads out for many excursions accompanying her foster family to dog-friendly stores, including Home Depot, Leslie's Pools, and Home Goods. Rayne is crated at home if her people are gone and alternates between sleeping free and in her crate at night. She adores being permitted to sleep on the bed, snuggling in and sleeping soundly all night. Her re-decorating activities have lessened as she's learned household rules. She came to us from the shelter with excellent crating skills. Her prior owners must have crate trained her as Rayne crates without a peep, settling for as long as you ask her to be crated. She is house-trained and can hold 8-plus hours at night. Rayne has mastered sit, shake, down, and touch and comes like the wind when called. When her favorite resident playmate about her age had major surgery and needed to heal, she charmed the next oldest shepherd in her foster home to play with her all the time. He generally requires persuasion to consistently play with the fosters since he prefers his ball and managing the squirrels in his yard. Rayne typically walks with a loose lead on her walks, checking in with her person, unless her nose captures a scent, which she must explore by lying down on the grass and inhaling it all. Rayne most definitely enjoys sniff walks, uninterested in bikers and skateboarders. She notes dogs on her walks, pausing to see if she'll meet them, and is quickly redirected to continue her walks. Treats and toys are magic for Rayne; she will play for hours with toys, tugging with her mates or tossing her toys to leap, shake, pounce, and toss them again in self-play. She enjoys human playtime with chuck-it balls and loves to cuddle next to her foster family with a chew toy in the evenings. When Rayne first arrived, all the toys in the yard and house excited her so much that she would masterfully hide her selections in parts of the yard, using her nose to cover them up with dirt, leaves, and mulch. She transitioned to putting her treasures in her crate at her family's direction and didn't mind when the collection was weeded out to leave her more room to sleep. Rayne learned her treasures were safe when her foster mom shut the crate door. Her crankiness when the resident dogs initially approached her crate has disappeared as her foster family's ongoing house renovation means all the crates and dog beds are close to each other, all shared communally. Rayne has a big deep bark when she alerts to new noises but quiets when asked. She rarely barks when the construction crew arrives early, deferring that task to the older shepherds, and is generally uninterested in the crew. Rayne can be barky towards new people who want to interact with her, around "her person." She will initially say hello nicely and then get super close to bark at them as if to drive them away. Rayne is learning and practicing the "say hi" skill of taking a treat and returning to her person without engaging further. If ignored and with high-value treats, she becomes friends just as she did with her foster dad, visiting relatives and other friends. She's one of those shepherds that needs to assess that all is well. On the other hand, Rayne is neutral at walking with people and dogs on walks with friends and their dogs, in group walks, and in public settings. Interestingly, Rayne doesn't exhibit any of her barking in vet settings, happily trotting off, and is very cooperative, earning praise from all the vet staff for being "such a good girl". Rayne eats with all the shepherds without resource guarding, respecting everyone's bowls. Since Rayne eats with gusto, her food is served in a slow-eater bowl, although initially, we used a combination of the slow-eater bowl, snuffle mats, puzzles, or other food dispensing toys to slow her speed. Her joyful food dance ends with a sit as her food is served only when she sits politely. Just like any standing pool of water, the kiddie pool is a favorite of Rayne; she loves to leap in, splash around and hop back out to repeat all over. Since she loves water, her foster mom taught her to rinse her feet in the kiddie pool before entering the house on rainy, muddy days. Rayne was on the adoption floor of her shelter but overlooked amongst all the shepherds waiting for forever families. She had a fantastic advocate team of folks who had found her in a field, bringing her to our attention, especially since she had ended up on the at-risk list. Rayne was kenneled with a male shepherd at the shelter and met other dogs in the shelter setting. The video from her time with the shelter volunteers shows her personality in the shelter setting; we've heard more than once that she was a volunteer favorite. Friends of Front Street was generous with a donation of $600 to facilitate her arrival at ShepHeroes. Weighing in at 57 lbs, Rayne's just the right size. Her surefooted graceful energy level reminds us of a touch of Kelpie or Belgian Malinois. Just like them, she is devoted to her people. Rayne's lovely and is looking for an experienced forever family to provide her with appropriate structure, exercise, and patient guidance to continue to thrive. Given her speed and athleticism, she may be better suited for a home with older kids and confident male dogs. show less
Create Account or Log In:
Creating an account or logging in via facebook/email will let you save your application, and allow you to access your pets medical records and other important information after you adopt or foster.