Urban Tails

"You're so lucky to have such a well behaved German Shepherd."
A lot of the luck that goes into having a well behaved dog is how much we challenge them when they are young. Too much pressure and we create a dog that crumbles because they weren't successful in a safe way. (Think about flooding dogs socially with people and environments) Not enough challenge has the same effect and we get fearful, stressed out dogs. (Not asked to be on place or around scary things)
Most of the unwanted behaviors we see are dogs that don't know how to feel stress and overcome it. How to experience the world without being forced too quickly or coddled. Buffy can do hard things. She can feel the stress of something new and scary and move passed it. This is and will be a learned coping mechanism. I don't want her to get overstimulated and unable to recover quickly when a new situation arises. We practice little challenges so that she'll be ready for any big challenges. The trick is to find the balance. If the stress/encouragement technique is taught well enough you have a well behaved German Shepherd and a daughter in Guatemala.

Confidence building breakfast with Buffy. Why? A couple reasons. First and foremost I want her to be fearless. Fearful, insecure dogs have very small worlds and live limited lives. Insecure dogs lunge and bark at people and dogs. They over react to stimulation in vehicles or shut down in new places. They whine and are destructive. They can't be trusted to stay or recall because they might get too overwhelmed. Most of all insecure dogs bite people. I want Buffy to not worry about people because she can trust her abilities to handle situations. Dogs build confidence in very physical ways. Asking her to move onto or over scary things and she is successful builds up her trust in herself. Each new scary thing she conquers will create a well balanced, secure dog. I want Buffy's world to large and I want her to be comfortable in her own fur and not have to deal with thr mental load of fear and insecurity. Furda is free in so many ways because she did drills just like this when she was a pup.
It's not the journey or the destination, it's the company. Call/text for all your daycare, boarding and training needs (401) 678-1030