I finally met Marley this afternoon!
Pros: He is beautiful (very!), sweet, gentle, not an aggressive bone in his body. He'd be a great frisbee/hiking/biking dog! He is on the smaller size, 35-40 pounds (I like that), and could stand to put on some healthy weight/muscle. He settles down well after initial excitement over meeting someone new. He has been working on crate training and leading.
Potential cons: He is a LOT of dog. Excitable--can jump 5 feet in the air (but you expect that from a young GSP!). Younger than they told me (1-2?). He jumps on people when first meeting them. Lacks focus. Did not pay much attention to me unless I really worked on him. Will need a consistent, firm, kind leader and lots of ongoing training.
Ultimately, I think I can work with him on his problem points, especially if I get some good mentoring myself. And most of the areas that need work are likely the result of his being barely beyond puppydom, and having had no real training. I believe he has oodles of potential and would bet that some real exercise (to work the ya-yas out) will help him focus when it is time to learn. I may need to trial him to know more. Lots to consider!
I noticed that he was especially fixated on the kids playing down the street, which leads me to believe his original family (he was picked up as a stray) had small children.
Let me know what you think of my initial assessment?
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