Introducing my Snowy!

This is Snowy! She's a full blonde GSD, We have just sent off a DNA test to see if there's anything odd or unusual about her other than her fur colour (Results are pending).

• We adopted her at 4.5 years old (3 months ago) and she is proving to be the most wonderful doggo I could ever want.
• She is very reactive around other dogs due to a complete lack of socialisation.
• She has lived her whole life not being walked (Just let out onto the patio for pees and poos).
• She was only 24kg when we got her which we thought was a tad underweight. (This is a link to her old food).

We have changed a lot about her lifestyle and she seems to be embracing the change really well.

• We have started crate training (Only feeding her in the crate for now).
• Using positive-only training methods we are managing to re-direct a lot of her reactivity towards dogs (using shredded chicken) but she's still uncontrollable when she sees cats, foxes and squirrels. We are using a front lead harness to help redirect her and to stop her from pulling so much.
• We are looking into balance training although we have heard mixed opinions.
• She gets 2 walking/training sessions per day, 30 minutes to 1 hour each.
• She is now a healthy 30kg and we are feeding her half and half cold pressed and raw.
• We are giving her supplements such as Full Spectrum CBD oil, green-lipped mussels, spirulina, dried kelp, turmeric and boswellia extract.

She's my first GSD and my first dog and I just cant help thinking it was all meant to be, she's the best girl in the world and I already feel like nothing could replace her.

Any advice is welcome, I know people have a lot of differing opinions, especially about crate training, obedience training, behavioural training, feeding and supplements. I am pretty new to all of this and will take any advice or recommendation that is offered.

Thanks for reading.

Hi Barrie and Snowy, welcome to the HQ guys. Thanks for sharing a bit about how you guys found each other, it's good to know she's found a good home. Sounds like training is going quite well too. Well done!

How are you finding the adjustment from no dog to dog?

Welcome, and oh my gosh, Snowy is stunning! A full blonde GSD sounds so unique, I’d love to see the DNA results once they come in. It’s amazing how far she’s already come in just a few months, from no walks to daily training and a healthy 30kg, that’s huge progress.

It really sounds like she landed in the perfect home. I’m still new to GSDs myself, but stories like this make me so happy to read, you can tell she’s thriving with the care and patience you’re giving her. How’s she been adjusting to crate training so far?

A blonde GSD living her best redemption arc, we love to see it

Andre said:

Hi Barrie and Snowy, welcome to the HQ guys. Thanks for sharing a bit about how you guys found each other, it's good to know she's found a good home. Sounds like training is going quite well too. Well done!

How are you finding the adjustment from no dog to dog?

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"No dog to dog" is a major change, I have always been a cat person, my partner (a dog person) convinced me that I would enjoy the process, but she wasn't talking about an intelligent GSD, she was leaning more towards a Pomeranian or a Cockapoo. I insisted on not having a small dog, and when we assessed the size of our garden and our fitness and abilities, we thought we could give a GSD their best life. Its proving to be a challenge, but I am enjoying the challenge, and I am completely in love with her.

Thank you for the kind welcome!

Kaia Murphy said:

Welcome, and oh my gosh, Snowy is stunning! A full blonde GSD sounds so unique, I’d love to see the DNA results once they come in. It’s amazing how far she’s already come in just a few months, from no walks to daily training and a healthy 30kg, that’s huge progress.

It really sounds like she landed in the perfect home. I’m still new to GSDs myself, but stories like this make me so happy to read, you can tell she’s thriving with the care and patience you’re giving her. How’s she been adjusting to crate training so far?

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We do feel like she's thriving, she always seems to be bubbly and happy.

We've had the crate for 3 weeks now, we feed her in there once per day, and she now knows when I make her food she will sprint to the crate and wait inside patiently for the food. Other than that we havent had huge progress, but she is definitely comfortable with being inside it, she likes hiding her toys in it. But she is yet to sleep in it because it is placed in the lounge (no space in our bedroom) and she prefers to sleep right next to our bed (we have put a dog bed there), often resting her head on a small pile of laundry.

It really feels like she's put her faith in me as her new owner, and she definitely favours me over my partner, maybe she just has a thing for men.

Thanks for the kind words, if she wasn't so confident she would be blushing right now!

Barrie said:

"No dog to dog" is a major change, I have always been a cat person, my partner (a dog person) convinced me that I would enjoy the process, but she wasn't talking about an intelligent GSD, she was leaning more towards a Pomeranian or a Cockapoo. I insisted on not having a small dog, and when we assessed the size of our garden and our fitness and abilities, we thought we could give a GSD their best life. Its proving to be a challenge, but I am enjoying the challenge, and I am completely in love with her.

Thank you for the kind welcome!

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I bet! From a cat person to a shepherd person, now that's a big change too. Hahaha

I am glad things are working out for you guys. If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask the group here. There's a lot of knowledgeable members within the HQ.

Hi Barrie, Snowy is beautiful!! You're doing her such justice by giving her all these wonderful things in life and letting her get to know the world the way she always should have. Kudos to you for rescuing her! Can't wait to see more of you guys around!