Bailey – ADOPTED

What my new family needs to know and provide for me:

1) I need to have lots of attention from a family or person who is around a lot.
Cuddling would be especially good!
2) I need more exercise than backyard playing or walking on leash.
3) I need a doggie door into a safe back yard with a sturdy 5-6 ft fence.
4) I need an owner who knows the behaviors and the exercise needs of a GSP.
5) Another playful dog might be a lot of fun for me.

Read more about me here:

I’m Bailey, a petite (37 lbs.), 7-year-old purebred GSP and I’m going to be 8 this summer. I am not a typical almost-8-year-old dog because I have so much energy. I love playing but you should see me run!! Unfortunately, my owner needs to surrender me because an older parent is moving into their home and she will not be OK with me so I need to have a brand, new home.

I’m housebroken (of course) and I use a doggie door so I never have accidents in the house. I know how to sit and respond to “down” and if my mom or dad ask me to drop something, I will. I am leash trained and crate trained although I do not like to be in a crate, especially during the day. So, when both my mom and dad are gone sometimes during the day, I am allowed to be loose in the downstairs where I have access to the doggie door. At night I sleep in my mom’s and dad’s room in a crate. Sometimes they put a toy or bed in there for me but I have been known to shred toys with squeakers as well as beds. Very hard, “indestructible” toys would be good for me.

I love spending time in my back yard lying in the sun and what dog doesn’t like that? But the best part of my back yard is the fence that I have a blast running along. The little dog next door
and I have so much fun chasing on each side of the fence. And I can really move! It’s just like a track for me. In fact, my mom and dad have renamed that part of their yard “Bailey’s Track.”
I like being with other dogs and playing and running with them. My current home has an 8-year-old Lab and a 1-year-old pup and we play really well together. And with other dogs, too. But maybe not cats. I am, after all, a GSP with a healthy prey drive. Although we have a really big yard with a very sturdy 5-6 ft. fence, my mom and dad hope my new family will give me the kind of exercise a high-energy GSP needs to get almost every day. That would mean running on trails or in fields, hiking . . . off-leash. I would need to be trained for that once my recall is excellent.

My mom and dad describe me as a lover. That’s probably because cuddling is one of my favorite activities (along with running with another dog) and that means that someone’s lap is one of my favorite places to be (other than on my own racetrack). But if there are young children in a home, they may find it difficult to stay on their feet because, even though I am small, my energy may be too much for little ones. Although I really do like having my mom and dad with me much of the time, there are times I kind of like just chilling and being on my own on a couch or even outside, exploring or playing with a toy on my own.