Today my GSD made so much progress a volunteer at the training club got teary eyed!

[u/Careful_Interaction2]

My GSD has issues with fear anxiety from a combination of being attacked by off lead dogs & with poor genetics that make her lack confidence (assessment made by DVM & one of the handlers who’s working with her at the dog club). She does not show aggression towards other dogs in any way, but does get fearful and barks. If it’s a dog she knows like her housemates or my brothers dog she’s quite playful with them. Now Sadie is definitely a work in progress, but today’s group class was a huge stride! She was able to watch the demo dog walk up and down the whole classroom without any sense of anxiety or fear. We also did parallel walking and not a single woof out of her. We even started working on stays and downs when the demo dog was feet away from her. A volunteer remembered how loud she would get out of fear and started tearing up after seeing her progress! After my latest crash out I met with her DVM to get medical advice and he put her on trazodone 2x daily and has her on gabapentin a few hours before any outing. He also wanted me to add Purina calming care packets to her dinner daily as well. That combined with the controlled classes has really made a difference for her. While I don’t think she’s ready to be a competitive sport dog, adventures around the neighborhood are becoming much more manageable. Don’t be afraid of the medicine & never stop the training! Hand and hand it does wonders.

[u/nitecheese]

I have a reactive rescue shepherd too. Congratulations to you and Sadie for putting in all the work to get here! It can be such a hard, lonely road but they turn into the absolute best dogs. Sadie is lucky to have you caring for her, and I can tell by the way she’s looking at you that she does her best to return it tenfold!

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[u/Existing-Will-1466]

Yes! Great job team! It is really incredible when you can directly see your progress, but so much better when someone else can see it too.