We have had some rough times with Gracie recently. We are not sure what warranted this new discovery, but she has become very defensive while she sleeps. You cannot sit very close to her while she sleeps because if she happens to wake up, she is a little defensive. It is natural for a dog of her breed, a doberman, to be defensive like that. It takes her some time to fully wake up, so it’s important to be cautious around her after she gets up from a slumber.

However, our road bumps have only made us more motivated to train her and to put time into her. Thus far it has paid off, but the rewards are coming along slowly. Nevertheless, Gracie has some new tricks up her sleeve! Well, that is if she had any sleeves.

She can now sit loyally next to you and she will not leave your side if you instruct her to stay. She can resist the temptations and distractions of other animals or humans. She will only do this if you have a treat in your hand, but I will be happy to carry around a box of treats if it means that she will be on her best behavior.

My mother has been doing a lot of training sessions with her. Her trainer, Larry, is great. He understands what the dogs are going through and is able to control dogs with no problem. My mom thinks that Gracie knows that she’s in school, so she is on her best behavior then. Larry goes out of his way to train dogs. He will bring in dogs with all different types of personalities, cats, and more. He even tries to build up dogs’ confidences by teaching them how to walk on a treadmill. She also had a training with an electric collar, but  that was only one session. It may be necessary to get one for her for when we take her for runs.

While it’s a little sad that we can’t cuddle her while she sleeps, the progress that we have been seeing has been worth it.