New Trainees - Jemma & Gus

We have two new trainees with us! Jemma is a 7 month old Great Dane. She is with me for the Intermediate Obedience along with working on her social skills, attitude (snapping & "talking back" when she doesn't like things), along with a few other behavior problems her mom would like to see, no more. Most of that is stemming from her lack of confidence & under socialization. She is starting to warm up to me. Not so much when she is in her crate but once she is out she is happy to stay close to my side. She hasn't quite opened up enough to play with the other dogs but she's happy to be around them & she's made herself quite at home in Duke's bed. So far we have worked on Jemma not pulling on the leash & walking with a loose leash, heeling at my left side & sitting when we stop, holding a sit, down at the side, & place. She has been through training with another trainer prior to me so if it seems like we're moving a bit fast, that's why. She already knows the commands, I'm getting her used to doing them the first time without a treat & around distractions. We cut her nails as well, which prompted a dramatic tantrum. She seems to think that showing her teeth & barking & snapping is going to result in her getting her way. . . WRONG. We're working on that :) She is doing really well with everything up to this point. I want to see her not reacting so fearful of strangers, if I say it's okay. Once I get her responding to her commands like she should we're going to venture into the big scary world & work on her socialization! Stay tuned for more on Jemma.

Gus is a 6 month old German Shepherd. Gus is here for the basic obedience as well as socialization. He is a bit too big for his britches as well as acting like he's going to eat other dogs in sight. He's really a sweet boy, he just doesn't know any better. So far we have worked on getting him used to the other dogs & acting proper around them. He has a tendency to want to bully them & be intrusive & if they give him the dog signs to "please stop" he wants to fight about it. He has to learn to be a dog but be social & play. We did a bit of work at PetSmart when I picked him up but I didn't feel like we made much progress. His momma was not far behind & he kept looking to her as his safety net. He's doing much better now. He's heeling at my left side & sitting each time we stop, he's holding his sit while I drop the leash & walk away. The other dogs are distractions. So far that's all we're going to work on for today. Tomorrow I'll introduce the cats! Stay tuned for more on Gus!