NOVA is a stunning young lady who’s energetic, active, friendly to all, loving, loveable – full of fun and zest for life.  And she’s looking for a family to share that zest with!

BACKGROUND
Nova was found as a stray near the sports stadiums in Kansas City and turned into the local shelter.  She’s yet another victim of the pandemic -- a “Pandemic Pup” – who someone bought because they thought it would be cool to have a puppy while they were mostly at home.  Tragically, those same people only wanted her while she small, cuddly, and they were home a lot.  Once she grew bigger and lockdown eased, they didn’t want the responsibility of a full-grown dog and abandoned her.

PERSONALITY
She’s easy-going, loving and a romantic – she loves to love and be loved.  She must have a family who will pay her LOTS of attention and give LOTS of loving and activity!  She’s also a social butterfly!  She’s very social with both people and dogs, though she still lacks manners and tends to get overly excited.  She’s improved on a lot of manners since coming to our foster home but still has a lot of puppy behaviors.  For instance, she still tries to jump on you out of sheer excitement and has improved a lot, but still needs work.  And when meeting a new dog she gets in their face, which the other dog may easily misinterpret as aggression.  In other words, she’s a bit of a bull-in-a-china shop.  When she first came to us she jumped on everybody/thing, got into trash, chewed things up, and all the things a small, untrained puppy would normally do.  She’s improving rapidly but still needs a fair amount of education about the rules/boundaries, along with consistent leadership to make sure she follows them.  She’s wonderful with new, unknown experiences/situations, not  anxious at all and nothing seems to faze her.  She seems eager to experience whatever comes her way.   The only thing she needs is a family who will patiently work with her on her basic manners training, and a family who will give her LOTS of love and attention. Her foster family says “She is going to be an amazing dog!” once she has that.

HOUSE MANNERS
She looks like an adult, but like any young teenager she’s still very young -- very much a ‘puppy’.  She has few manners because her pandemic buyers didn’t bother to teach her even the basics, so she was starting from scratch when she came to us.  When she first went to her foster home she did all kinds of puppy things – jump on things/people, chew on and swallow stuff, tear things up, get into the trash, grab food off counters (she’s smart – opened a closed mason jar and ate the contents!).  This is all stuff she should have learned starting at just 8 weeks old, but never had the chance.  So her foster family adjusted by keeping goodies off the counter, picking up things she could chew on, and so on.  And she’s making good progress -- her foster reports she’s “calmed down significantly”. Her new family will need to continue working with her manners while she keeps learning.  She also loves to chew on her bone – in fact she chews on all toys with the goal of destroying them.  You have to be careful with soft toys (tennis balls, squeaky pigs) because she will destroy them and then eat the pieces. As with any pup who hasn’t been completely trained, for now you’ll need to pick up random household items that could make interesting chewing. 

CRATE TRAINING:  she apparently was never kenneled either and when she first went to her foster home broke out of her kennel twice, but her foster family thinks it was because she just wanted to be near the resident GSD in the house.  We recommend you kennel her next to the resident dog until she’s learned everything she needs to learn about good house manners and can be trusted to be free when her humans aren’t home.

POTTY TRAINING:  her foster family considers her fully house trained, and she only had a couple of accidents at first when she broke out of her crate and didn’t know where anyone was.  She has never pottied in her crate – in fact will let you know if she needs to go potty – and you need to continue kenneling her when you’re not home.

PEOPLE
She’s a people dog – she loves being around you, wants attention, wants activity, wants to play or walk or run.  In her time with us she has never shown aggression of any kind to a human. Her foster family reports that she’s “GREAT with people” – including adults, kids, men, women, everyone.  She’s definitely a lover and wants to be in your face giving you kisses.  She’s not fearful or hesitant of anything.  KIDS:  Nova loved meeting the kids at our booth at the KC Remodel show and will be wonderful with kids.  Right now, she needs supervision just because she has few manners and would jump on smaller kids. She’s learning to gentle down but is still a work in progress.

OTHER ANIMALS
She loves playing with other dogs and needs a doggie buddy in the home who is approximately her own size, energy and play style. Like most young and untrained GSDs, she plays rough and likes to chew, wrestle and chase.  She’s slowly starting to learn to gentle down and listen to the other dog’s signals and redirect but has a ways to go.  She also greets other dogs face to face and can be overwhelming, so her handler must both continue to teach her better dog manners and in the meantime supervise/control dog introductions so they are slow and appropriate.  CATS: unknown at this time, would have to be tested.  PRY DRIVE:  to date she hasn't displayed much of a prey drive.  She recently chased a squirrel but didn't even bark at it, just chased.

ENERGY LEVEL
High.  She’s young and high-spirited yet can settle down in the house with her doggie buddy.  She must have an active family who will spend plenty of time with her and blow her energy.  That includes playing in the yard with her, walking, hiking, and other stimulating activities. She definitely needs a very active family!

TRAINING
Her pandemic owners didn’t teach her anything. She clearly wasn’t given any rules or boundaries and the rules of the house were new to her when she got into our foster home.  She’s made good progress with her fosters and is learning a lot.  She’s also very smart and can learn rapidly.  But she’s still young, goofy, and going through a big adjustment – you’ll still need to train her on most of the basics.   As of now she knows her name and responds when called.  She also knows sit but needs reminding to do it.  Her foster family is working on down, off and back.  She still needs some leash work, but has done very well on a prong collar while she’s learning that.  She’s also definitely food/treat motivated (make sure your treats/food are locked up and out of sight) and has a pretty soft mouth.

HEALTH
Spayed, up to date on shots, microchipped, heartworm negative, on monthly preventives.  No known health conditions.   

OVERALL
Nova has a fantastic temperament and personality – loving, loveable, goofy, happy, energetic.  She’ll inspire you every day with her utter love for life.  She’s almost a perfect dog and will be extraordinary once she learns basic manners.  You’ll need to invest a little time and effort to educate her on those, but you’ll end up with an incredible dog and companion for many years. 

Are YOU Nova's angels?  Are YOU the one very lucky family?  Are you highly active?  Do you need an active buddy to love you and make you smile?  Do you have a securely fenced yard?  Do you have another similarly active, playful dog?  Are you willing/able to train and educate her on basic manners?  Apply today.  You could win the German Shepherd jackpot!

STOP!! READ THIS BEFORE YOU GO ANY FURTHER!

1. We're picky about our adopters. 
2. Are you sure you're up to having a GSD?  They're not for everyone.  They take a lot of time, effort, training.  They shed year round.  They're big.  They scare lots of people.  They "mouth" and herd.  They're usually strong-willed and stubborn.  You have to have references and a home visit.  If you're not willing or able to deal with any of this, please don't waste your time or ours applying.  
   
3. Will the dog be an inside family pet? We do not adopt to outdoor-only homes. All dogs must be indoor dogs.
4. Do you leave your dog outdoors when you're not home?   We do not adopt to homes that leave their animals outside when they're gone.  You must put your dogs indoors when you're gone.  A 3 yr old adopted MOGS dog died when the owners went to run errands, left her outdoors, the gate was somehow opened, and she was hit by a car.  Tragic and 100% preventable. Even privacy fences get broken into.  Gates are opened.  Thieves steal dogs. Never leave your dog outdoors when you're not home!!
   
5. What's your plan for unexpected events and major changes?  New baby? Divorce?  Moving?   How you will provide for your dog if your family breaks up? 
   
6. Will you make a lifetime commitment?  It's your responsibility to keep your dog safe, loved and cared for FOR LIFE.
7.  Do you understand we expect you to keep that lifetime commitment?  It's YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to stick by your family member -- no matter what.
8. Are you unable or unwilling to make a lifetime commitment? Do not apply.

Have Questions? Email us at mogsrescue@gmail.com