Quote: Mike Arnold

The dog is not aggressive, rather it is 'aloof.'

The way I read the original and follow up posts by the OP, the dog is NOT simply aloof, it is in avoidance. In my mind there is a difference.

I think the OP wants to know if there is a way to condition the dog from being avoidant to being aloof or neutral to strangers.

I am sure if it is possible to train a very dog aggressive dog to be manageable around other dogs and ignore them, then it should be somehow possible to train an avoidant dog to be a neutral dog with strange people.

I do not have the knowledge or experience to do either, but I know there are people on this board who have done this successfully.

I am constantly telling people to leave my dog alone. They think something is wrong with the pup because it only looks for me. Are they aware how hard I have worked to foster that.

I do see it would be hard in a foste situation but I think if you found a knowledgable shep owner they would be interested.

He will take time but he has the devotion and focus I am looking for in my pup.

Angela,
As someone who rescues and fosters dogs. Would you say this GSD's (whose natural trait, some believe, is loyalty to a fault) stress could be caused by an overwhelming fear of losing it's human? Again!
Any thoughts?
Randy

Angela,
To me, fear of losing his/her human (pack) could easily be confused with avoidance that off top looks very like an unbalance in nerves.
Am I wrong here?
Randy

i think randy's got an interesting point....b/c i can see where angela's going w/this being, to some degree, an avoidance behaviour.

my mom works w/a lady who does a lot of shelter work, and sees a lot of GSDs, and says they are dogs that fare extremely poorly in that environment b/c they don't transfer affection easily and essentially being in an environment that has a lot of transitory people (shelter workers, visitors/potential adopters) w/transitory affection can cause them to start to shut down. she actually feels it is the norm if a GSD is in a shelter for any length of time (good thing nobody told luc he's not a golden retriever LOL).

i can see the same sort of issue occuring in a rescue/foster home situation, perhaps not as drastically or obviously with most dogs, but being an issue all the same.

Randy,

Yes, stress could cause a naturally aloof dog to become fearful-seeming and avoidant.

But the OP said the dog has been with the foster home for over a year, which is more than enough time to "settle in" and for the dog's true personality to show. So it would certainly be caused by stress at first, but after a while (3-6 months in my own experience).

I think you are correct in saying the dog has a fear of losing its pack. This is what the OP would like to address - the dog's fear and overattachment to the one person. He would like the dog not to be afraid of losing its pack, or whatever its anxiety/stress is, especially once it gets adopted.

As many other people have posted, this avoidant behaviour is not always a bad thing. But it does make the dog more difficult to adopt - most people are looking for an "instant pet" who will like everybody.

I agree that the ideal situation would be for this dog to go to a home where the person is specifically looking for this characteristic in a dog, and is willing to wait for the attachment to transfer from the foster to the new owner (could take weeks).

Judging by the post, this type of home has not been available for the dog so .. the poster is asking... what else can I do to get this dog adopted?

This is just how I read things. Maybe I am wrong.??

Angela,
I'm not sure he can do anything more. Unless he can talk the rescue org. into allowing an adoption out of the state. I didn't go back and check but I believe at least three and maybe four people here offered to take the dog, myself among them.
Take them for good. Not foster.

Hope I don't have dreams about this dog.
Randy

Trying to be a little clearer Angela, without changing the dialog, nothing good will happen for this dog or it's future owners. As so often we see here it seems, the problem is not, I repeat is not the dog. It's people who want a stuffed furry creature to lay in their lap when wanted and be invisible all other times. We see this dogs 'voidance' as a possible attribute, people who don't want a dog but really want a stuffed toy can't deal with a living breathing feeling creature. So change the dialog, and start looking for someone who wants a dog not a realistic facsimile.

Hope I don't have dreams about this dog.
Randy

Well Randy, I definitely agree that the rescue should be encouraged to look outside of its usual adoption area if it means finding a great home for a dog that has been in rescue for A YEAR.

I can't comment too much on this as the rescue I foster for is international (my dogs have all come from somewhere in the Southern USA and I am in Canada, and if the right adopter comes along the dog will travel at the new owner's expense). I hope this rescue will consider it. He does sound like a nice dog and he's really handsome.

Why can't you have different people in your program take a turn to walk him or hire a walker daily? I'm sure it can help him to socialize more with other people than his foster mom. I'm sure that he doesn't want to go for a walk with anyone at first so I won't be surprised if he acts out of rebel. I know that dogs tend to love walk after they get used to it. I'm sure it helps him to realize that whoever has the leash and collar is going to take him for walk. Somehow it should make him feel excited.