Grace Utz- Telkwa/Smithers Dog Training and Doggie Daycare

08/20/2026

08/14/2026

Level 1 and level 1.5 obedience classes

Thankyou for coming and learning. You al did amazing!!!

08/07/2026

Training

08/07/2026

Daycare

08/07/2026

A dog that is "easy" to train as a working or sport dog often has contradictory traits to what makes a dog an easy pet.

A good working GSD is curious, confident, and spends most of its puppyhood getting into everything. They're loud and boisterous and unfortunately a lot of owners try to squash this with heavy handed or boring obedience. They worry overmuch about minor things and issues that often go away in maturity or are simply byproducts of the dog's various drives and instincts developing, and fade or are eliminated when proper training utilizing those instincts catches up.

A strong working dog often has a lot of possession. Its really common for a dog to have a poor relationship with playing with their handler, going from aggression to avoidance, which leaks into everything else in training. This is easy to accidentally turn into resource guarding, but when it is embraced in a puppy and turned into a game it's often an extremely powerful way to play and bond and play with your dog both in and out of sport training.

Generally, a German Shepherd puppy's first instinct to something unknown is to bark at it then probably run at it. This is not a bad thing and a very good instinct for a protection dog. In the moment it can be embarrassing and worrisome, but a proper helper and lots of real world experiences with people and proper handling will teach them its not needed in every situation.

Additionally, your puppy likes to eat! And smell things! Annoying on a walk but man, don't correct a puppy for using it's nose. It'll need it later.

One of the biggest hurdles for a lot of people getting working puppies for the first time is just that they struggle with worrying too much about perfect pet obedience or get embarrassed too easily by their dog. A working puppy feels everything very intensely and reacts intensely! Its normal. Keep working them and be patient, it will turn out okay, especially with the help of good mentors.