6-Month-Old, German Shepherd

York is a lovely German Shepherd bred from working lines. His owner is also his breeder and with his sire and dam at home, York didn’t find much need to listen to his human mom. He was smitten with his daddy and would follow him around and do what he did all the time, for better or worse. Unfortunately, he would not do what his human mom asked him to do. He was big and getting bigger and she was feeling overwhelmed. York was very dog-focused and would pull like crazy trying to visit other dogs while on a walk. This made him very hard to handle. He was super friendly but a little out of control. We had trained one of his owner’s previous dogs, so she knew just who to call when she needed help.

Separating York from his parents was the first step in getting him to pay more attention to the people in his life. During his two-week boarding school stay with us, we worked extensively on York’s handler focus, teaching him that both good things and direction can come from those around him. The break from his parents was just what he needed. York proved to be super smart and eager to learn and interact. He loved having a job to do and getting to train all day. Soon, York was walking on a leash like a true gentleman, even when passing other dogs. He is now reliably off-leash trained and able to hike in the mountains with his family. York is a fantastic dog who was just looking for someone to show him how to behave.