Melanie and Jason, from Tempe, AZ, signed up Jack, their German Shepherd puppy after realizing he might have some behaviors that they weren’t sure how to handle. Melanie’s arms had become Jack’s chew toys, he wasn’t walking nicely on leash for Melanie and he wasn’t listening to anything when they tried to get his attention. Jack was a cuddly, adorable 9 week
old puppy when he was brought home from the breeder. He had his typical needs, like potty training, teething and crate training, which Melanie and Jason worked through wonderfully.
It was getting him to listen to them and respect their needs that were difficult for Jack. That’s why they started to look for help with his training and that’s when they signed up Jack for our Unlimited Program.
We scheduled weekly lessons to begin to help Melanie understand why Jack was chewing and rough housing with her and her arms. We started the loose leash walking right away too. Jack was quickly becoming a big boy and the last thing that we wanted was for him to be difficult on leash. First, we taught Melanie how to stop Jack from pulling on the leash to walking next to her and then enjoying the walks they took together. He is doing well on the walks even around little yappy dogs…nothing seems to bother him now. They also learned how to teach him basic obedience, which included “sit”, “down”, “come”, and “place”. Jack is getting much better at listening when told to do something and is actually starting to enjoy his spot in the house where he finds comfort and quiet.
While Melanie and Jason are the first to tell you that they feel like they can do so much more, I have found that they are doing a wonderful job raising Jack to be a good member of our community. He is a friendly German Shepherd who is growing in confidence and socializing with others. He is a great example of what training can do to help change the perception of a breed that might seem scary to some, but can be a great family pet!
