When I picked him from his litter and started taking him out, Strider was confident, adaptable, and not bothered by being out in public. He greeted people politely, but didn't seek attention. It looked really good for him taking over Duncan's job.
I was hit Sept 2011, and we got hit on the way home with him July 2012. I am in therapy, and I can drive known routes like to and from work without too much issue, but I don't just get in a car and drive somewhere for my amusement any longer. There's about a 1 hour bubble from home were I can drive without too much issue. This PTSD is on top of my mobility and fatigue issues.
Somewhere along the way my anxiety about car rides meant I stopped taking Strider out as much because we'd been most the local places and needed to go new places, outside my comfort bubble. It sort of spiraled from there. I'd be nervous because of the car ride, he'd be cuing off of me and looking to find the trigger in the environment from the moment we stepped out of the car.
Strider started to guard, and he was guarding against all sorts of people. Then he started to guard me while we were at home. He would even bark to alert me of my parents approaching out in the yard (not quite the same as his guarding bark, but still loud.) He'd bark, I'd startle and scan the environment, he'd see me startle and assume his barking was right. We were feeding off of each other, and not in a good way.
I contacted a local trainer who works with working line GSDs, and trains service dogs. I was hoping we could work our way out of the vicious cycle we were in. The eval was not horrible, but with me as a handler, Strider would not be completely trustworthy in public. The trainer assumed it was Strider, I was pretty sure it was me or us as a combo.
I called his breeder, and she assumed it was just him being an adolescent jerk. She offered to take him back, see him through the worst of it, then let me have him back once he was past it. I was honest, and figured it was me/us paired together. She offered to take him and find him a new home.
We drove him back to his breeder in VA starting Easter morning, and left him with her the night of April 1st. Partly, I was worried he wouldn't handle being shipped, partly because he'd learned how to break out of normal "airline" crates and an escape proof metal one big enough to meet shipping guidelines would be more than the cost of hotels and gas to get us to VA. My dad did the driving, and I tried to remember to breathe in the passenger seat.
Strider's been there 3 days. He's been adjusting and relaxing quickly with her. He's playing well with her dogs, including Jack Russells and 8 and 11 week old puppies, he's not bark-alerting to sounds like he had been with me, and he's adjusting to her being his human. She's going to take him to a Walmart parking lot tomorrow to see how much of his reactivity was based on my actions, and make her plan from there. Ideally he'll be placed in a working home with a non-anxious handler. He sounds like he's blossoming into the dog I hoped he'd be when I picked him, but she's also seeing where he turns to look for her reaction before deciding how to respond. He's a good dog. We're a very bad match.
The breeder and I agree I'd do best to look for a young adult dog. Basically, I need to be on the other side of the equation as far as having someone else give up a young dog who didn't work for them, like I did when I found Duncan. There's a lady in garden club who's got contacts with local breeders, and is shaking the bushes to see what happens. Strider's breeder has suggested a Lab breeder she knows.
I'd planned to give myself a couple months to grieve giving back Strider. Even if it's best for both of us, it hurts. The people in my life want to see me succeed (such a wonderful problem to have) and are working hard to try to find me a dog that will match me with all my issues. It just feels a little too soon right now.
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