“Gunny is doing very well. Much improved! He loves his new bed and “places” very nicely.”
Gunny is a 7 month old German Shepherd who came to us for two weeks to be fine tuned on his obedience. Gunny who resides in Pawling New York already had an understanding of basic commands, he just decided when he wanted to listen to them. Gunny also had some pretty serious anxiety.
As a working breed, it is super important that we always have something for Gunny to do. Whether it was just walking with us or paying attention, Gunny needed a job. Holding a down stay seems like no big deal, but for Gunny it was. We were able to teach him to relax, even if he was ready for more play time. This training works our dogs mentally, which is just as important as working our dogs physically.
Everything we did with Gunny, down to meal times was structured. He was to sit and stay before entering and exiting his kennel, other doors and gate ways. He would always walk with us, not pull or lag. Working him physically is another great way to stimulate his mind. We had him jump up onto higher objects for Gunny to sit on so we could incorporate his physical strength into his training.
When we practice training we always want to set our dogs up for success so we keep a leash attached to Gunny to reinforce his commands. His owner now has a better sense of control and can feel confident taking him along for errands.