The GSD Hub with Jenny Gould

The GSD Hub with Jenny Gould I am Jenny Gould. I have owned GSDs for 40 years. Breeder, Trainer, Competitor… GSDs are my life!!

14/07/2025

Choosing a Breeder - Premium or Basic?

Choosing a breeder can be a minefield.

There are the basics of health testing, great lines and good quality parents but what of the rearing? How far does that breeder go in raising their puppies?

Just one of the things I do with my puppies are individual sessions away from the rest of the litter.

First of all this is to assess the puppies' characters and introduce them to being on their own.As they become a little older I use these 121 sessions to gain some insight into that individual to enable me to provide the owner with advice on THEIR puppy.

Will that puppy happily switch from food to toys and back again within a training session? Will that puppy switch between toys? Does that puppy's play need nurturing or are they full on already?

Here is one of the little sessions with Goldie from one of Queenie's litters. There were 10 puppies in the litter and each puppy had these regular little sessions and the videos sent to their owners.

Please excuse my attire.....video had never been intended for public viewing!

How far does your breeder go in raising their puppies? Gold Standard or just bronze?

Adolescent Angst Raising a young dog can be challenging at best and harrowing at worst. I mean we love them..... we alw...
07/07/2025

Adolescent Angst

Raising a young dog can be challenging at best and harrowing at worst.

I mean we love them..... we always love them but there are most definitely times where we do not like them! They can be a pain in the backside to live with, they can wreck our house and/or garden and are often basically just horrid to be around.

Add into the equation some life stressors and we really are just about ready to combust. We often talk about trigger stacking with dogs. You know that situation where your dog is faced with a stressful situation, followed quickly by another and then another....before we know it our adolescent is reacting to situations they are normally perfectly ok with!

Well the same absolutely goes for us humans! Handling an adolescent whilst we are trigger stacked is tough. It feels overwhelming, it feels like a never ending journey and it even feels that we are failing them.

I have been there with all of my dogs to one degree or another. I can promise you it is a perfectly normal part of the process. I promise you that it will pass. I can also promise you that you are NOT failing your adolescent dog!

Hang in there, speak to other dog owners who really do get it...and know that better times are coming! Also know that when you come out the other side it is SO worth it!!!

Dogs are the best companions in the world and they are most definitely worth waiting for!

03/07/2025

Teenage Tantrums....It has arrived!

Your 6 months old puppy has become a monster.

For me, this is the age that I personally find most trying. Give me razor sharp puppy teeth and sleepless nights any day of the week over what is about to come.

I have lain awake at night analysing my handling of certain situations and I berate myself on a regular basis. I am as human as the next person. I then put things back into perspective and we bubble along happily for a while until the next perceived 'disaster'.

If I could give just one piece of advice during this challenging stage it is to not take things personally. Things will go wrong. It is not your fault and it is most definitely not the dog's fault.

You will have days from hell with a spattering of good positive days. Keep a positivity diary if you struggle to remain upbeat and able to look at the bigger picture during this time.

Remember your puppy is still a puppy despite beginnning to look like an adult. Do not expect them to act like an adult!

They will have situations where they are overwhelmed and do not make the best choices. Perfectly normal! Much like the 2 year old toddler having a tantrum in the shopping aisles.

I made the choice early on not to have children of my own but I can still sympathise with the parents as it is most definitely akin to the behaviour of our youngsters at times.

Muddle through these situations as best you can without panicking that their leadwalking or their attention on you has gone out of the window at that moment in time. It takes time to raise a human child. It does not happen overnight and the same goes for our four legged companions.

Rome was not built in a day.Whether you are raising a pet dog or a sports dog I say 'let them be". Let them run a little wild whilst gently steering them in the right direction but 'let them be'.

Our expctations at this age should be low. There are no failures! Only learning! I say again there are no failures!!!!!and don't forget there is always gin🍸🍸🍸

Balls!!!!Giving our GSDs a job to do on a walk goes some way towards preventing them from finding their own, possibly in...
29/06/2025

Balls!!!!

Giving our GSDs a job to do on a walk goes some way towards preventing them from finding their own, possibly inappropriate, job!

I don't know about you but I am paranoid about mine swallowing their balls. Mine are always on a rope and tennis balls are a massive no no in this house!

Which balls do your GSDs love?

23/06/2025

🐶🐶🐶You've got your new puppy and you can't wait to get them out into the big wide world!

🩷 All and sundry squeal and rush to fuss your adorable pup, many with their own dogs - and who can blame them? Puppies are adorable.

Then, in the blink of an eye, your cute puppy is no longer fluffy and to make matters worse, they now have pointy ears!

Suddenly people are cautiously crossing the road, pulling their dogs back and avoiding you. All the while, your puppy doesn't understand why people and dogs aren't saying 'Hi!' any more.

🤔Then before you know, you have a frustrated dog pulling and jumping on the end of the lead, vocalising their confusion. All they've known until now was everyone was their friend.

We all know, prevention is better than cure. As you can see in this snippet, I'm setting Chitta's expectations around dogs and people by walking parallel with a trusted dog and human but without interaction.

Chitta is learning here that not all dogs and humans are new pals. That not every person and dog we see is going to lead to interaction. This is turn will help prevent her becoming a frustrated adolescent around people and dogs.

❤️ Do yourself and your puppy a favour and teach them NOT to expect to interact with every person or dog they see....all ready for when THAT time arrives.....


🙌 Bring On The Bias....There is no one size fits all in dog training. Learning theory can help of course but it is only ...
22/06/2025

🙌 Bring On The Bias....

There is no one size fits all in dog training. Learning theory can help of course but it is only the beginning.

We need to look further. We need to recognise both ours and our dogs' bias BEFORE we begin to address a behaviour. This in turn can make a huge difference in our likelihood and speed of success.

Compare a Labrador's natural sociability with a much more aloof breed such as an Afghan Hound. It is obvious that your ratio of allowing interaction would be 1/10 for a Labrador whereas you could probably increase the ratio to 10/10 for an afghan and it still would not give a damn about deigning to interact with anyone!

Even within a single breed there will be variation. In my most recent German Shepherd litter all puppies are confident and social with humans and other dogs. My own puppy Tove however is less of a human social butterfly than some of the other puppies. Add to this fact that MY own bias is to encourage a very strong focus on me and you can see that I can afford to be more generous in allowing her freedom of interaction whilst still young.

Take a specific exercise such as retrieve. Is your dog naturally possessive? If so then the dog is highly likely to grab the item from you but the odds of that dog staying within your vicinity is low. With the less possessive dog you will likely need to work harder to gain interest but the dog is not so likely to disappear off into the sunset with it. Knowing your dog's bias before you start this exercise will enable you to take a more educated guess at how to train it. Believe me when I say not all gun dogs want to retrieve and not all Bull breeds want to possess!

Know your own self. Is YOUR own natural bias likely to inhibit a puppy or are you likely raise a wild child? Dog ownership and training is a two way street. BOTH of our bias' need to be considered if we are to do the best job possible.

Sit back and consider who you are as well as who you have in front of you BEFORE you begin to teach.

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19/06/2025

Teens and Puppies socialising together?

Yes or No?

As with many things "dog" .... it depends on the individuals. Not all of my GSDs enjoy puppies and that's ok. I get it....I don't particularly enjoy children. I respect their choices.

I am incredibly selective about whom I allow my puppies to mix with. I am fortunate to have good friends with absolutely super balanced dogs of different breeds whom my puppies are safe with.

I am equally selective about whether I allow my teenagers to mix with puppies. I would be mortified if one of my teens frightened a puppy with their exuberance, however 'sociable' they may be.

My advice to you when making these decisions is, if in doubt, DONT! Our GSDs are socially sensitive and it does not take much to upset them, particularly during certain phases as they are maturing.

Ask yourself if the other owner is objective in understanding their dog's temperament? If not then avoid them. Your GSDs do not need endless reinforcement from other dogs and most certainly do not need inappropriate social interactions.

Here is my teenager Tove with my friend's border collie puppy Drama. We often mix our babies with the other's older dogs. We are always aware as to whether the pairings are conducive to good learning. Until now they have been but we never take that for granted.

First we had Queenie/Witch, then Witch/Tove and now we have Tove/Drama. Our girls are all learning appropriately from each other and changing roles as they mature. It is beautiful to watch❤️

Do not buy a German Shepherd!Do not buy a German Shepherd if you are going to expect them to fit into the lifestyle YOU ...
18/06/2025

Do not buy a German Shepherd!

Do not buy a German Shepherd if you are going to expect them to fit into the lifestyle YOU choose for them.

Do not buy a German Shepherd if you do not have the commitment to work through the tough times...of which there will be many.

Do not buy a German Shepherd if you are going to look for quick fix training.

Do not buy a German Shepherd unless you are prepared to invest in their training for a minimum of 3 years.

Do not buy a German Shepherd if you have lifestyle time restraints.

Do not buy a German Shepherd if you expect them to behave perfectly at 10 months old.

Do not buy a German Shepherd unless you are willing to be patient.

Do not buy a German Shepherd if you expect them to behave like any other dog you have owned.

Do not buy a German Shepherd unless you are willing to lose your heart.


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Bristol

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+447818674808

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http://www.thegsdhub.com/

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