MAGSR.ORG

Dear people of the Mid-Atlantic area, this is MAGSR’s lovable house-wolf, Gunner. Okay, I am not a wolf, I just play one on TV. I am actually an ENORMOUS puppy. You should see my paws, humongous. I have been living the good life with my foster family. They have middle school aged kids and two other shepherds. I really like to play with my fellow dogs and I am not happy when they play right outside my crate and I cannot join in. I don’t mind being in the crate when other people are not around. I am in there all time right now, unless I am being walked, because I am not to be trusted yet. Or so they say. Like most Belgian Malinois, I am extremely smart and quite handsome. My foster sister cannot keep her paws off of me. I will require training from an experienced trainer and a household of people who are all capable of teaching me that I am not the boss. Otherwise, I will be happy to establish myself as the boss and that does not ever go well. (You should let me order as many pizzas as I want to, though). I like my resident children and will warm up to strangers after a careful introduction. I am driven to protect the ones that I love and I will require a lot of guidance to make good choices about how to conduct myself. That is why I can only be adopted by people with experience with dogs like me and I would not be a good fit for a family where one person is committed to training me and the other person wants a couch potato. Otherwise, when my leader is away I might be tempted to turn your couch into an origami potato. I very much like walks and I went for a hike near the Gun Powder River. I REALLY wanted to jump in and swim. I love balls and I caught a bird in my mouth while it was flying by. I dropped it when I was told to; but my foster mom said that it didn’t do the bird any favors. I would definitely like to live with a family that has other dogs and birds. But maybe your birds would not like me. I am housebroken and walk nicely on a leash when someone is consistent in requiring that I do so. My biggest challenge is that nobody ever taught me not to use my mouth as a tool on people. When my foster family tries to put a leash on me, I try to grab their hands and help. I do this too when they are adjusting my collar. They don’t like this at all but I think it is a fun game. It is important for me to be crated while collars and leashes are being put on me that way if I get too excited and start with my malligator routine the door gets shut and I have to settle down. Then they try again. I have not been snappy about food or toys in my foster home and don’t seem concerned about sharing a water bowl. But that is never a promise that I wouldn’t act differently elsewhere. If you are looking for a stunningly handsome puppy who is going to be quite large and even more handsome when I grow into my ears, then you should ask to meet me. Taking me to an experienced trainer is extremely important as are setting limits and following them 100% of the time. I am a very smart boy and if you show me a loophole in your rules, I will jump through it. But if you are consistent and positive in training me, we could live our best lives together. Seriously, I’m not kidding about the pizza.

Gunner is doing great in his new foster home! Gunner is now attending weekly training classes to learn obedience and how to be a good canine friend. Gunner is a high drive GSD/Mal mix that needs consistent management by a very experienced handler. Gunner would do best being placed in a home with humans who have had prior Belgian Mal or high drive working GSD experience. Gunner has a lot of energy and needs a handler who will work with him every day to burn his energy. Gunner has great focus and ball drive – he’s extremely attentive to his handler. He’s even climbed a tree in his foster home. Gunner is so smart that he knows how to use his paws to grab someone’s ankles and stop them. Gunner has excellent working potential and would be well suited for a working position or a home situation that has the structure of a dog in a working position. If you have the necessary experience and can offer the perfect environment for what Gunner needs, please ask to meet him.