Mia is a wonderful 4.5-year-old female GSD with a strong loyalty streak and social drive. She is high-energy, highly intelligent and empathetic. Mia loves her family and always seeks new friends.
Mia loves meeting new people and does so with ears down, tail wagging, and a desire to create a bond. She views each new person as a new member of her ever-expanding pack.
She also loves meeting new dogs and is really excited about the possibility. She wants to play with every dog she sees, so she asks new dogs to play with her, using powerful play bows, lunges, little barks, and even porpoise pokes to get the new dog to play with her. Occasionally, the new dog rejects her pushy initiation, and the process can escalate temporarily.
Mia has never tried to hurt another dog, but she does stand her ground when things escalate. She has become great friends with some of the dogs with whom this has happened. She is also excellent at adapting her play style to the other dogs' to maximize their enjoyment.
As a dominant female, she can be very pushy with some submissive dogs and is better suited to live with neutral or confident dogs. Interestingly, Mia's fine with some submissive dogs. From the many canine friends she has made, she learned to chase a ball, which is her primary game for fun and exercise. She loves chasing a well-thrown ball at the park.
Mia needs daily mental and emotional stimulation. She is very smart and needs to figure things out regularly or have a job that challenges her mind. She also needs to bond with her family daily and will let you know with direct eye contact (another trait she loves). Mia would be a terrific addition to a household that's into dog sports like nosework, tracking, and rally or an active family that enjoys outdoor activities.
Mia feeds free, which works well for her as an only dog. That may be different in a multi-dog environment. She lived with two shepherds in her current home before they passed away. Mia also shared her foster home with three dogs, one tiny but mighty female Yorkie, a male dominant shepherd, and a female lab-ridgeback mix, before she was adopted. Mia loves having a pack; the larger the pack, the better or good friends she can play with. Mia's fantastic when she visits homes with a dog or dogs and gets sad whenever her pack shrinks, needing extra support and attention from her people to transition back to a solo dog.
Her perfect home would have another dog or dogs, knowledgable and experienced owners, and kids (she loves kids of all ages). Her foster home also had two kids. She needs a strong leader, or she will constantly push boundaries and take over. She knows more commands than we can remember and picks up new things continually (her latest thing was hearing me ask her to stay on the sidewalk or get on the sidewalk, and now those are commands for her).
With a high prey drive, Mia is a fan of chasing squirrels and birds, which could translate into an inability to live with chickens and cats.
Mia has been fantastic in every situation we have put her in, including riding in any vehicle, learning new rules for different houses, and adapting to other people and dogs. She has excellent household manners.
Mia is with her adoptive family in Arizona, where they moved last year. We're seeking a qualified adopter in the Phoenix area, and if an appropriate match is available in Northern California, we can arrange for her to return for a meeting.
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