A little background - Kira is my nearly one year old GSD, out of working lines. She is a smart little devil...too smart sometimes. She is also one of those dogs who never sleeps, though I thought that was a myth put out by those of you with working dogs lol. We didn't get her until she was four and half months old. She was well cared for, but I'm not sure how much socialization was done.

When we got her, we did a puppy class and a beginner's class with a local obedience club where I had done many classes with my 5 yr old GSD. It was a good experience for her and she did well with the people and other dogs.

Over the winter, we had a few bad months where her experience of the outside world was limited - she hurt her leg and was on "rest only" for a month, then she came into heat, and then it was just too darn cold to really go out and about except for walks and such, and then she was spayed!

Since recovering from her spay, we have been out and about like crazy. Also, in the summer we do a lot of traveling and she'll get a lot of exposure to many types of places, people, etc.

My goal for her is to possibly do some tracking, in addition to general obedience, rally-o, and agility (all things my older GSD does). For the most part, I have been doing her training in basic obedience and she is doing very well. My 14 year old sister also works her a lot (Kira is really 'her' dog, but I certainly don't expect a kid to do all the work of course.)

She is a very aloof dog. It took her months to bond with us. At times, she seems standoffish with people. In typical GSD fashion, she prefers to ignore people outside of her pack. Also, she can be reactive with other dogs...a bad habit picked up in puppy class unfortunately. This is something that we are working on and she is doing much better, especially as she becomes less distracted with age.

So, as it stands, I just invested in a bunch of agility equipment for this summer rather than taking another obedience class. I'm wondering if this was the right decision. She just seems pretty immature still, even for her age, and I'm not sure what she would get out of it at this point.

What do you all think? Does it sound like I'm on the right track?

Thanks,
Melissa

So, she's well-mannered around strangers, right? I don't think those classes are good for anything except as distraction exercises. I think one-on-one training is better. As for socializing, I don't like them for that either...as you've seen with your dog's attitude towards other dogs, sometimes you can walk out of those classes with a problem you didn't walk in with.

I don't think your dog has to like strangers or other dogs...she just has to be well-mannered around them. She can ignore them all she wants.

This is just my opinion, of course, but if you feel like you can take your dog into public without a fight or any issues, then stick with training her yourself.

If you do have issues to work on, do it yourself and gradually increase those distractions (other dogs) as your dog improves. My dog has other dog issues as well, so I walk him on the bike trail around here, which is a place that other people generally walk their dogs. This way I have a steady supply of dogs to test him on, without overloading him with a class full of hyperactive, excited dogs.

Agility is fun...you'll have a blast! If you're planning on doing competition with her, then you'll certainly have to make sure that she can ignore other dogs.

Good luck!

Thanks for your reply, Amber! It's always nice to just throw your ideas out there and get some confirmation of being at least half-way on the right track

Your post makes a lot of sense to me. Kira is very well mannered around strangers and I do feel confident taking her just about anywhere with out having any problems. I feel like that over the summer, as we camp a lot, she will become more comfortable with new situations...though there is not much that she doesn't take in stride at this point.

To be honest, in some ways, I'm not used to a dog like her...she is very stable and confident. On the other hand, my older GSD is pretty nervy...lots of confidence building helps (hence tons of obedience/agility classes), but you can't overcome genetics sometimes. Grace required a lot of work, but she is now a dog that can go anywhere and she is a very friendly, social dog.

I just want to make sure I do everything right with Kira. She can try my patience like no other, but she is amazingly smart.

Melissa

It sounds like the right decision IMO! Time to get that 1 yr old working, since that's what GSD's love to do! I completely agree with what Amber said about the obedience classes and everything else. What the heck for at this point - your dog has been there, done that, time for something new and stimulating like agility work. Continue any training with her yourself.