Gorgeous German Shepherds - Barkers in Balance

Gorgeous German Shepherds

German Shepherds are known for their intelligence, and with good reason: They’re considered the third smartest breed of dog. To be placed in the top tier of intelligence, breeds must understand a new command after only five repetitions and follow the first command given to them 95 percent of the time. They are known for being fearless and self-confident. GSDs will assertively stand their ground and are suited to be either watchdog or guardian, whichever the situation demands. They can be aloof with strangers yet are not hostile.

Did you know?

The First Dog to Aid the Blind Was a German Shepherd.
Fully grown they can weight between 20-40 kgs depending on their sex.
They run an average of 50 kms/h
Their Life expectancy is 9-13 years old

Here are some stories from some of our gorg German Shepherds that have attended our classes over the last couple of months!

HI MY NAME IS ELEANOR.

I’m a German Shepherd and I’m 6 months old.

I love meeting up with my doggie friends when out and about on my walks or even a play date, but when I see a dog I don’t know I get quite scared, I then start barking and lunging at the other dogs. Apparently this is not the behaviour my dad wants from me. We are getting some help to make me feel more at ease when I see other dogs and to not go “Over Threshold”. In my lesson we went through strategies to help me focus on dad and to make me feel more secure about myself.

I’m excited to see what my next lesson brings.

MY NAME IS MAX.

I’m a German Shepherd and I’m two years old. I was rescued just two weeks before this photo was taken at my first lesson with Barkers in Balance. Really, I need to plead innocent for the mouthing and pulling on the lead, especially when I pulled my new human over. No-one had ever explained to me the human rules around these behaviours. I promise now I’m going to watch and listen carefully to all the feedback my new humans give me as I learn my new lessons. I reckon this will be easy cos they seem to give me yummy little presents when I do things that make them happy. If they’re going to keep doing that, I’m going to do more of the things that make them happy. Sounds like a win-win to me!

MY NAME IS FAITH.

I’m a German Shepherd and I’m two years old. I travelled all the way from Sydney to learn from Barkers in Balance. Julie was pretty chuffed about that. (Whatever “chuffed” means!) My story is that I’ve been attacked three times in the dog park and now I’m very nervous and reactive around other dogs especially when I’m on the lead. We’re not going to go to dog parks any more and we’re not going to work with a trainer who says the therapy I need is for the humans to show me they are “alphas”, to pat me dominantly on the head and to take me back to the dog park to get me used to it! That’s called “flooding”.

In my first lesson we learnt some fun, gentle strategies for my humans to use to help me feel safe around other dogs, but at a very long distance first. Little steps to success!

MY NAME IS TED.

I’m a German Shepherd x Border Collie and I’m 2.5 years old. I started my education at a Barkers in Balance puppy school and I think I was a good student. Life moves on though and I’ve had a bad experience with another dog, become anxious and reactive on the lead and now I find it hard to settle anywhere. There’s going to be a new little human in the house in a few months and my humans feel I could be a bit on edge about that too. We’re doing some exercises to help me relax and know what it’s like to be “off duty”. We’re also practising exercises to help me feel more confident again on the lead. I know my humans will make this work cos they’ve been great “parents” for me since I joined their family.

We hope you enjoyed some of our stories about our latest lovely German Shepherd doggies !