ATLAS is one of five siblings that were taken in from a backyard breeder with signs of extreme neglect. All of the dogs were severely underweight, covered in fleas and ticks, coated in filth and sick with eye and ear infections. Almost all of them were covered in scars and …
ATLAS is one of five siblings that were taken in from a backyard breeder with signs of extreme neglect. All of the dogs were severely underweight, covered in fleas and ticks, coated in filth and sick with eye and ear infections. Almost all of them were covered in scars and scabs from teeth and claw injuries as well. Atlas and his siblings were basically living as a feral pack outside for their entire lives, with no exposure to other dogs besides the breeding pairs on the premises, and little to no human interaction. Their survival of the fittest environment left them desperately unsocialized, and fearful of everything and everybody.
TEMPERAMENT/BEHAVIOR
Atlas is full of puppy energy and love! But he only loves HIS people and his favorite place to be is near them. Despite him being nearly starved and having to fight other dogs for food before he came to MOGS, he's not food motivated, and even runs between his food bowl and his fosters at meal times to be sure they're still there before finally finishing his food. He's gotten better at not jumping when he's excited, although he's not at 100%%, he's putting a lot of tries on the board and has made a ton of progress, he's still a puppy so needs consistency to learn dos and don'ts.
Atlas is VERY shy and wary with strangers. He won't be the type of dog to make friends with everyone who wants to give him attention, he prefers to keep his trust circle smaller. Atlas does still tend to snap or mouth when startled or unsure of his situation.
TRAINING
Atlas is kennel trained, he will even play in his kennel by himself with toys, or his food bowl if it's left in there. That being said, he WILL pull items through a wire kennel if given the chance. And due to his separation anxiety, he'll often bark or howl for a while after being kenneled and then left alone. But he has not broken out of a wire kennel or caused any damage to the kennel itself, however, he will rip apart any blankets, beds, mats etc. that are in his kennel, so at a result, we do not recommend giving him anything that could be torn apart and possibly ingested. Atlas sleeps in his kennel and will pitch a short fit at bedtime, but then sleeps through the night.
Atlas is fully potty trained, and is getting used to pottying while on walks, he much prefers to use the comfort of his own yard if given the chance, and would hold it until his walks were over and he could get back to the house to use the fenced back yard.
Atlas does well on a martingale for walking, but will on occasion charge at another dog or cat, so a prong collar has been used for corrections in this case. He's been started on an ecollar with greater success vs. the prong.
PEOPLE
Atlas loves only his people, and is very selective about who he trusts. After spending the first 4-5 months of his life outdoors, he is still wary of strangers at first. With people he'll generally shy away from them, but does not bark, lunge, growl, lip lift or snap, he'll try to avoid them if possible. As a result he does have separation anxiety and should be kenneled when left alone to avoid him getting injured or damaging property. Atlas does still struggle with snapping and mouthing when startled or unsure in some situations, so will only be adopted to an experienced handler that has experience working with fearful dogs. He will not be placed in a home that has any exposure to children under the age of 16.
OTHER ANIMALS
Atlas does exhibit dog reactivity, if out walking and another dog charges towards him, either on leash or behind a fence, he will react by charging back, barking and trying to make himself look bigger. He has been around a submissive male that loves to play, and will play with him, but does exhibit possessive and more dominant behaviors on occasion. Such as not responding to the other dogs' body language (lip lifting/growling/warning snaps). He would need a proper and slow introduction to any dogs he meets, and crating and rotating would be key while he gets settled.
Atlas is reactive to cats as well. He will try to chase, and will charge and bark at them in the same manner he does with other dogs outside the home.
MEDICAL
Atlas is still recovering from his life prior to MoGS, he's underweight but is working to gain as he continues to hit his growth spurts now that he's receiving proper nutrition and food on a consistent basis.
FUN FACTS:
His favorite time of day is the morning, when he gets out of his kennel, goes outside with his people, and then his foster mom (who works from home) has him eating in his kennel while she starts her work day during the week, or on the weekends after breakfast, will sit on the couch having coffee while he plays with his toys in the living room after breakfast. Atlas LOVES toys too. He'll self entertain throwing them around, and then get his puppy zoomies out by doing a couple laps around the house. He's now got energy and is finding ways to channel that other than jumping or chewing things he shouldn't or just moving items around, such as shoes, hand towels, socks, etc. As he's learning what he can and cannot play with/chew, the occasions where he picks up something he shouldn't have continued to decrease.
Atlas also loves to howl along with any sirens. If an emergency vehicle is going by, he'll let you know. He'll also watch TV on occasion, and will howl along with any TV sirens. If you're watching a video on your phone with the sounds of other dogs, be prepared for Atlas to come check it out too!
His favorite move is his bunny hop frolic instead of running, he'll bound along. He also loves a good pet session, and will jump up next to you on the couch and duck his head under your chin and press his head on your chest for hugs and snugs. He does NOT get his feelings hurt easily and is just happy to be talked to and included in your day to day.
Atlas is a sweet boy underneath all those rough edges, and bonds hard and fast to people who provide care and attention. He will need an experienced GSD handler, who has the patience to continue to slowly acclimate him to new people, places and things, and not try to rush him faster than he can manage.
If you're looking for a gorgeous, young, trainable German Shepherd who will love you forever,Atlas may be your ideal family member!
ATLAS'S ADOPTION FEE: $400 This fee covers only part of what we spend to vet, board and rehab the dogs we save. On average we spend over $450 on each dog. We made a decision to keep our adoption fee at the 2005 level even though vet prices have doubled and tripled since then. We are constantly fundraising to cover the deficit. At minimum, your adoption fee includes the dog's spay/neuter, heartworm test, heartworm treatment if needed, rabies shot, distemper/parvo shot, bordatella shot, deworming, monthly heartworm and flea preventives, and microchip. In many cases it also includes surgery and various types of vet treatment for standard issues such as hot spots, ear infections and so on.INTERESTED IN ADOPTING ATLAS?Complete an Adoption Application Now!
