If you are interested in making Ranger part of your family, please contact us at foster@good-sit.com with RANGER in the subject line. You can stay up to date on how Ranger is doing on the Good Sit Facebook Page’s special album or follow him on his own instagram page, Go For Ranger.
Meet Ranger! He’s a German Shepherd, Australian Cattle Dog, Labrador Retriever mix that I began fostering at the end of January 2023 due to his former dad’s surprise cancer diagnosis and unfortunate passing within a few months after given the diagnosis. I helped Animal Control catch him while his dad was in the hospital and a neighbor was taking care of him, and Ranger found a way out of his place and jaunted over to Rengstorff Park. His surviving family, who are extremely allergic to dogs, asked me to foster Range and paid for some boarding.
Since then, Ranger has learned muzzle training, sharing a home with another dog, meeting strangers very slowly, and going on adventures like hiking at Lassen and frolicking at Stinson Beach. He’s happy to sit in the sun in the yard and sniff around as long as he’s had activity. He’s happy running around at the dog park playing with rough and tumble dogs. He’s happy on the couch next to you until he overheats and lays flat on the floor.
I love this dog. He’s been living with me and is a part of my family, but my home and lifestyle is not the best for him. His foster environment is an apartment complex with a driveway that echoes like a giant hallway. Ranger will thrive in a home with another dog (probably a spayed female,) a fenced in yard, and no shared walls with neighbors. He has very typical GSD and ACD tendencies of liking predictability, being wary of strangers, vocalizing at anything “weird,” and liking to run in circles around his dog friends from time to time. With that also comes a strong love of his human and dog family members.
Ranger is currently on some behavior supplements and a med that help him be his best self and it is expected that he will continue on these things. His main issue is anxiety; the supps and med help him act “like a regular dog” as my friends have said, and he does not act like a zombie or zonked out from them. I’m so proud of how far he has come with learning to trust others, being comfortable in our small apartment, and meeting so many new dogs. We have a system figured out for him meeting new humans he’ll be spending time with — your family will have my support as a trainer and his foster mom for your transition with your new family member — and I’m happy to teach this system to you. After all, we’ll be using it to meet!
This guy prefers to get lots of stimulation every day, whether it’s going for a run, playing at the dog park, or sniffing around in the yard for hours. He needs things to do for hours a day.
If you’re interested in Ranger, please email foster@good-sit.com and let us know you read this page fully. Here’s his stats:
- 3-4 years old
- German Shepherd, Australian Cattle Dog, Labrador Retriever Mix
- Neutered male
- 65-70lb
- Up to date on vaccinations
- Muzzle trained
- Crate trained
- No known allergies
- On behavior supplements and med
- Cooperative Care training for vet visits in process
- Not approved for living with kids
- Approved for living with dogs with compatibility test pass, prefers females
- Approved for living with both men and women with compatibility test pass
- Not approved for living with cats
- Not approved for living with any other pets besides dogs
Ranger is working on trusting humans touching him. Like a good German Shepherd, he is curious but wary of strangers and prefers to approach on his own time. It took him only a day to trust me to pet him, and now he snores with his head on her lap while I watch TV only a few days later. Ranger will need to continue training with a reward-based, force free methodology as he is a sensitive guy.
This guy will excel in a home that already has a dog! He is comfortable sharing indoor space with female dogs, and he is able to play outside with dogs of all sexes. He will also be okay as an only dog in a home. He is crate and muzzle trained to help him be his best wherever he lives next.
Ranger loves to move and enjoys doing things with his dog friends and human family, and he will need an active family that wants to go on adventures like running, hiking, or taking nice long sniffy walks in his neighborhood so he gets to use his brain each day.
Due to Ranger’s sensitivity with space and touching, homes with older children or no kids at all are preferred. When he is reached for, Ranger will duck and walk away, and we want his family members to be old enough to respect him leaving the situation. Ranger cannot currently live with cats or male dogs, and his family members having previous experience with “shepherd traits” will be a bonus. Ranger is like a lighter version of a full German Shepherd or similar breed and will make for a great introductory buddy to dog sports like agility, nose work, or Fast Cat. If you are new to guardy breeds, we can explain what “being shepherdy” means!
If you are interested in making Ranger part of your family, please contact us at foster@good-sit.com with RANGER in the subject line and let us know you read the whole page.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How old is Ranger? He is estimated to be 3-4 years old
Was Ranger abused? Is that why he doesn’t want to be pet? Why does he wear a NO TOUCHY patch? Ranger most likely was not abused. He is what is called, “handshy.” This is common with dogs who either weren’t exposed to being pet as young puppies, are bred to be wary of strangers, a combination of the two, or something else. Being handshy on its own does not denote a dog has been abused in the past or is currently being abused.
What is the blue box on his collar? Ranger has a GPS unit attached to him in case he decides to go adventure on his own. If he were to get lost, we can use the tracking unit and its accompanying phone app to track his location and get him to safety. This unit does not buzz or shock and is by the company Whistle.
Is Ranger related to Mindy? Probably not. Mindy is 8 years old, and we don’t know who either of their doggy family members are. There’s always a chance they are related! You can watch them together on Ranger’s instagram page, Go For Ranger.
What other breeds do you think Ranger is mixed with? According to his Embark DNA test, Ranger is German Shepherd, Australian Cattle Dog, and a pinch of Labrador Retriever. DNA makeup doesn’t always show up in physical features, making mutts’ looks extra special!
(For fun! Try Embark’s guess the breed game: https://embarkvet.com/resources/guess-the-breed/ and see for yourself!)
What rescue is he being rehomed under? Currently, Ranger is a private rehome via his living relatives. He is being boarded as well as trained by Steph as she keeps his relatives updated on his well-being and progress.
Is Ranger good with kids? He is confused by them. We will not be adopting out to families with kids for this specific dog.
If you are interested in making Ranger part of your family, please contact us at foster@good-sit.com with RANGER in the subject line. Make sure to tell us you read this page!
Housetrained: yes
Crate trained: yes
Good with dogs: yes — prefers females when indoors, plays with all sexes outside and on leash
Good with cats: no
Good with kids: no
Intact/neutered: neutered
Age: 2-3 years old
Breed: german shepherd, Australian cattle dog, labrador retriever
Color: black with the teeny tinesy white spot on his chest
Exercise needs: 2-4 hours a day