5.0

Started my journey when I decided my first dog would be a Husky! Did all my research and downsized my working hours so I could spend quality time at home with my new companion. Still a steep learning curve when starting with a male Siberian Husky from a puppy. Took the time to continuously educate myself and do multiple training courses. Even went as far as training him sled commands and working with him to pull my bike (as no real sledding opportunities in this area!), and to delve into scent training. Huskies can be very stubborn and selective in their choosing of training and commands, which has helped me develop great experience in getting creative in the way I approach training and getting dogs to follow commands, especially when the dog is too smart for their own good! In helping with friends dogs, I have also had experience in dealing with reactive dogs, and learning to understand potential triggers and body language to help avoid conflict. Not content with the challenge of just one Husky, I then got a female puppy when my male turned 3, then had to learn all over again, the training and dynamics of dealing with two high energy, strong, intelligent dogs at home and while walking. For this, I believe I have experience with large poweful dogs that can have a tendency to pull, along with some experience with other strong breeds like Staffies. My male is now 6 and my female 3, giving a number of years experience under my belt. I have also had the pleasure of raising a newborn puppy (along with help from dog mum of course), all the way to 8 weeks of age, so have experience with all ages of dog. In addition, have extensive experience caring for other animals such as rabbits and degus. Edit: Since starting with Rover, I have had the pleasure of looking after/walking a Cane Corso; Doberman, German Shepherd, Collies and a 45kg Lab, so have gained a lot of experience dealing with larger breeds, but have had a number of visits with puppies also.