Need advice
Hi GSD moms and dads! I (F30) need some advice. Me and the girl moved for the first time in her 5 years of life to a new city in the country. She was the first dog I raised solely alone but I’ve lived with dogs my entire life. I wanted to do it right so I did tons of research on German shepherds after falling in love when I saw her picture as a pup.
I did all of her obedience training since I first brought her home (crate training, impulse control, basic commands, etc.,) well she has turned into a fine adult girl buuuut, ever since moving, she’s been acting a bit stubborn. She doesn’t listen to my commands the first time I give it, so I have to tell her in the “mom voice” and she comes, sits, etc.
She’s never been super trusting of strangers, so if someone gets too close to us, she will bark although she’s never been aggressive, just fearful (my fault because I didn’t socialize her enough as a pup). We moved in with my BF (who she adores only after he bribed her with a turkey neck lol) and his mom is staying with us temporarily until she gets a new place. Well she’s been a brat and barking at mom when she comes thru the door after being gone for a bit and although not mean, she is big and LOUD so could be pretty scary for visitors.
She’s also SO fearful of vacuums and brooms and I have no idea why cause I’ve never teased her with any of them; maybe it was because I would crate her when it was time to keep her out of the way.
- I guess I’m not sure how to train her that it’s OKAY to have visitors so she doesn’t need to shout, so this is one thing I need advice on.
- I know I need to reinforce the training we’ve done over the years since she has a big brain and needs an outlet. We lived in a house in the middle of a small town, so we didn’t have much space to play in the small yard cause the neighbors often had their dogs off leash when they went outside; we go for walks twice, sometimes three times daily and locate a big area where I can let her off leash to sniff and be free for a bit. She never goes far from my side (it’s true what they say about Velcro dogs lol!)
- The other thing I need advice on, is how to get her to listen to me when other dogs are around because she suddenly goes hard of hearing when others are involved (my fault again because I didn’t socialize her enough).
- We were pretty routine driven prior to move: go for walkies, head to graveyard, play-chase the local squirrels, come home, eat supper, etc. so maybe is he just hasn’t settled yet since we’ve only been here a week.
- What do you all think? Since I live close to the city, I have the option to look into a dog trainer but I’d rather do it myself if possible to save money and further our bond.
- Sorry for the novel; Hopefully this all came out correctly.
TL;DR -any good resources you’d recommend to reinforce dog obedience training post move?
Edit: thank you to all who took the time to help an uncertain mom help her fur baby 🥰