5.0

I'm all about German Shepherds and other big, furry dogs! And I'm also a Victoria Stilwell Academy Certified Dog Trainer, which means that I will only ever use only kind, positive, force-free methods when I'm working with your dogs. Important Note: it's my policy always to have a daytime Meet & Greet with you and your dog prior to booking any new pets, so please be ready to meet me outside in front of your house so we can all go for a walk in your neighborhood first. Thanks for your help! (And now on to the fun stuff...) I've had dogs almost my entire life: a rescued Norwegian Elkhound, a Border Collie/Lab mix, a German Shepherd/Alaskan Malamute mix, and two rescued purebred German Shepherds. Both of my Shepherds had behavioral issues that we had to work through, and the end result was that my boy became a therapy dog and all three of us spent 4 years travelling together internationally. Everywhere we went, they got complimented on their good behavior, to which I replied, "Thanks! They didn't come this way, though." I worked with both trainers and animal behaviorists to help my dogs, and I have an excellent working knowledge of positive training techniques that helped both my shy, nervous dog and my enthusiastic, stubborn dog to become international travellers. More recently I worked with a Jack Russell Terrier whose owner had moved with him from a farm into a retirement community. He was dog-aggressive and had never been either trained or socialized, but by using positive training methods, I was able to turn him around. He would never have been best buds with other dogs, but when we were walking, he learned to walk past them or sit quietly when they came near instead of trying to attack them. As regards pet care, all of our dogs have lived to advanced old ages, and as a result, I have extensive experience caring for old dogs with mobility issues. **Please note that I travel out of town frequently, but I do my best to update my Rover calendar as soon as I know when I'm not available.**