The GSD Hub with Jenny Gould

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

Are German Shepherds sometimes TOO clever for their own good? 😂We all know German Shepherds are intelligent dogs.It’s on...
22/10/2026

Are German Shepherds sometimes TOO clever for their own good? 😂

We all know German Shepherds are intelligent dogs.

It’s one of the things that attracts so many of us to the breed in the first place.

But sometimes I wonder whether we fully appreciate what living with an intelligent, thinking dog actually means!

Because intelligence doesn’t automatically mean obedience.

And being clever doesn’t necessarily mean being easy to live with!

In fact, sometimes quite the opposite. 😂

I’ve lived with German Shepherds for many years now, and one thing I’ve learnt is that they can be incredibly good at working things out for themselves.

They learn routines.

They anticipate what’s coming next.

They notice patterns in our behaviour that we don’t even realise we’re creating.

And sometimes they become absolute experts at training US!

How many of you have a German Shepherd who knows exactly when dinner is due?

Or who recognises the difference between you putting on your everyday shoes and your dog walking shoes?

Or who has worked out that standing in a particular place, giving you a particular look, will almost certainly result in something they want?

They’re learning all the time, whether we’re deliberately teaching them or not.

And that’s something I think is really important to understand.

We often talk about how much mental stimulation German Shepherds need, but mental stimulation isn’t simply about keeping them busy.

It’s about giving them opportunities to think, problem-solve, learn and use those wonderful brains of theirs.

And equally, it’s about teaching them that they don’t always need to be doing something.

A dog who is constantly looking for the next activity isn’t necessarily a mentally fulfilled dog.

Sometimes learning to switch off is just as valuable as learning something new.

With my own dogs, I love encouraging initiative and independent thought. I want dogs who are confident enough to try things, offer behaviours and enjoy the process of learning.

But I also want dogs who can relax, settle and simply enjoy being dogs.

Because a clever dog isn’t necessarily a contented dog.

And perhaps that’s one of the challenges, and joys, of living with German Shepherds.

Finding that balance between giving their brains something to do and helping them understand that sometimes absolutely nothing needs to happen!

So, over to you…

What’s the cleverest thing YOUR German Shepherd has ever worked out without you actually teaching them?

It might be something brilliant.

It might be something hilarious.

Or it might be something you rather wish they’d NEVER discovered! 😂❤️

I have a feeling there are going to be some very entertaining answers to this one!

💡The Little Things Matter💡Don’t Forget to Train the ReleaseWe spend an enormous amount of time teaching our dogs to do t...
22/10/2026

💡The Little Things Matter💡

Don’t Forget to Train the Release

We spend an enormous amount of time teaching our dogs to do things.

Sit. Down. Stay. Wait.

But how much thought do we give to teaching them when those behaviours are actually finished?

It’s something I think is often overlooked.

A dog may have a beautiful stay, but if they regularly decide for themselves when to get up, have they really understood the whole exercise?

And here’s another little detail…

What are YOU doing when you release your dog?

Are you using a clear, consistent release cue?

Or are you accidentally releasing them with a movement, a smile, a step backwards or by reaching for a reward?

Our dogs are incredibly observant, and they can learn to respond to all sorts of little signals we never intended to teach.

A release isn’t simply the absence of another instruction.

It’s a behaviour worth teaching in its own right.

And when our dogs understand both when a behaviour begins and when it ends, we create much clearer communication.

Because in dog training, the little things matter. 💚

💬 Here’s something to think about. Does your dog wait for your release cue, or have they learned to anticipate the little things you do before giving it?

📣 Having strong opinions doesn’t mean I need to shout about them!I’ve been thinking recently about the way social media ...
12/10/2026

📣 Having strong opinions doesn’t mean I need to shout about them!

I’ve been thinking recently about the way social media is used within the dog training world, and particularly how controversy seems to have become such a popular way of attracting attention.

Let’s face it, controversy creates engagement. Engagement brings followers, and followers can bring business.

And I sometimes wonder whether some of the things we see posted are genuinely about educating people and helping dogs, or whether they’re simply designed to provoke a reaction.

Now, don’t misunderstand me. I have some very strong opinions when it comes to dog training! Those who know me well, and certainly those who subscribe to my online clubs, will know that I’m not afraid to express them. I’m open, honest and very clear about what I believe in and why.

But I don’t feel the need to turn those opinions into a social media circus to attract attention.

It’s simply not my style, and it never will be.

Something that comes with experience, though, is the confidence to think for yourself.

When I first started training dogs some 40 years ago, I didn’t have the knowledge or experience that I have today. I was influenced enormously by the people around me, particularly those I looked up to and went to for training advice.

And that’s quite natural. We all have to learn somewhere.

But looking back, I can see that there were times when I followed advice because of who was giving it, rather than because I had the experience to question whether it was right for me or my dogs.

Forty years on, things are very different.

Experience teaches you to see the wood for the trees. It teaches you to question, to observe, to evaluate and, perhaps most importantly, to trust your own judgement.

I’m open-minded, but I’m not easily led.

And I think there’s a huge difference between those two things.

I’m always willing to listen to another perspective. I’m happy to learn something new, and I’m certainly not arrogant enough to believe I have all the answers. Nobody does.

But being open-minded doesn’t mean abandoning everything you believe in simply because someone with a big following tells you that you’re wrong.

Equally, having strong opinions doesn’t mean you need to be confrontational, dismissive or deliberately controversial.

These days, I’m very comfortable following my own path. I know what matters to me, I know the path I want to take with my own dogs, and I carry those same principles and beliefs through to the people I teach. I want those I coach to understand not just how to train, but why they’re doing something, and to develop the confidence to think for themselves rather than simply follow instructions because someone tells them to.

I don’t need everyone to agree with me.

And I certainly don’t need to create arguments on social media to prove how strongly I feel about something.

I’d much rather build a community of people who follow me because they value what I share, rather than because they’re waiting to see what controversy I’ll create next.

Perhaps that means I’ll never have the biggest following, and I’m absolutely fine with that.

Because for me, credibility, integrity and experience will always matter more than likes, shares and follower numbers.

You can have a strong voice without being the loudest person in the room.

And that’s a philosophy I’m very happy to stick with.

Same breed. Same family. Completely different dogs! 🩵❤️💚We often talk about breed characteristics, and of course there a...
09/10/2026

Same breed. Same family. Completely different dogs! 🩵❤️💚

We often talk about breed characteristics, and of course there are many things that make a German Shepherd a German Shepherd.

But within those characteristics, there can be an enormous amount of individuality.

And I only have to look at my own dogs to see it!

Take Queenie and her daughters, Tove and Chitta.

Three German Shepherds, all from my own breeding, all closely related, all raised and trained by me.

And yet they are three very different characters!

They don’t all approach life in the same way.

They don’t all find the same things easy.

They don’t all respond to situations in quite the same way.

And they certainly don’t all need exactly the same approach from me!

I think this is something we sometimes forget when we’re living with a breed we know and love.

We can become so familiar with what we expect a German Shepherd to be that we forget to look at the individual dog standing in front of us.

One might be naturally confident in situations another finds challenging.

One might be incredibly sociable, while another is much more selective.

One might be naturally calm and thoughtful, while another seems to approach life at a hundred miles an hour! 😂

And here’s the important bit.

Different doesn’t mean better or worse.

It just means different.

Even in my competition dogs, I don’t expect them all to learn in exactly the same way or need the same things from me.

Of course, the principles behind my training remain consistent, but how I apply them can be very different depending on the dog.

And I think that’s just as important for the family German Shepherd as it is for a competition dog.

Sometimes we spend so much time trying to shape our dogs into what we think they should be that we forget to appreciate who they actually are.

For me, one of the greatest pleasures of living with dogs is discovering their individual personalities and learning how to bring out the very best in each of them.

Not trying to turn them into the dog we had before.

Not comparing them with somebody else’s German Shepherd.

Just learning to understand and enjoy the one we’ve got.

So here’s my question for you…

If you’ve owned more than one German Shepherd, just how different have they been?

And if you currently have more than one, are they like chalk and cheese?

I’d particularly love to hear from those of you who have owned several GSDs over the years.

Do you think there’s a particular German Shepherd personality that suits you best, or have you learnt to love all their different quirks? 🩵❤️💚

08/10/2026

Tao loving his breakfast kefir ... isn't he just the cutest ???😍😍😍

🐾 The Little Things Matter💡Where You Reward Matters💡We often think carefully about what we reward and when we reward.But...
07/10/2026

🐾 The Little Things Matter

💡Where You Reward Matters💡

We often think carefully about what we reward and when we reward.

But what about where the reward happens?

That little detail can change far more than we realise.

Reward constantly in front of you and you may start to draw your dog forwards.

Reward away from you and you may create movement away.

Reward exactly where you want your dog to be and suddenly the reward itself is helping to build the behaviour.

This can matter in everything from a simple sit or down to heelwork, positions, stays and recalls.

The reward isn’t just something your dog gets after they’ve done well.

Its placement can actually become part of the training.

Next time you’re working with your dog, don’t just think:

Did I reward that?

Ask yourself:

Where did I reward it — and what did that encourage my dog to do next?

Sometimes moving your reward just a few inches can change the picture completely.

Because in dog training, the little things matter. 💚

💬 Have you ever changed where you delivered a reward and suddenly seen a difference in the behaviour?

I’ve been a little quieter in here over the last week or so… but there’s a very good reason! ❤️It’s been an incredibly b...
06/10/2026

I’ve been a little quieter in here over the last week or so… but there’s a very good reason! ❤️

It’s been an incredibly busy few weeks for me, travelling around and competing at Championship obedience shows with my girls.

And I think I’m allowed a little proud mum moment. 🥰

Tove has won her first Championship Ticket, and her mum Queenie has now won two Reserve Tickets.

Mother and daughter, both homebred, both now competing together at the very highest level of our sport.

I can’t quite tell you how special that feels.

But actually, I wanted to share it in here for another reason too.

Because although competition obedience happens to be my thing, what I really love is simply doing something with my dogs.

German Shepherds were bred to work alongside us. They’re intelligent, active, thinking dogs, and so many of them absolutely thrive when they have something that engages their brain and gives them that feeling of working together with their person.

That certainly doesn’t mean you need to compete.

Your dog doesn’t care about tickets, trophies, places or rosettes.

Their “job” might be obedience.

It might be scentwork, tracking, mantrailing, agility, hoopers, working trials or anything else you both enjoy.

And it doesn’t even have to be an organised dog sport.

Teaching tricks, searching for things around the house, learning new skills or having little training games together can give them that same opportunity to think, learn and, most importantly, do something WITH you.

That’s the bit I love.

Yes, I’m incredibly proud of what Tove and Queenie have achieved over these last few weeks.

But underneath the results are hundreds and hundreds of hours spent doing something that the three of us genuinely love.

Training.

Playing.

Learning about each other.

Getting things wrong.

Trying again.

And occasionally having those wonderful days when everything comes together. ❤️

So while I’m celebrating my two girls, I’d love to turn this one over to you…

What do YOU do with your German Shepherd?

Do you compete in a dog sport?

Do you train something purely for fun?

Or have you been thinking about trying something but haven’t quite taken the plunge yet?

I’d love to hear what everyone gets up to with their dogs. ❤️

Does your German Shepherd follow you EVERYWHERE?You get up to make a cup of tea.They get up.You walk into another room.T...
24/09/2026

Does your German Shepherd follow you EVERYWHERE?

You get up to make a cup of tea.

They get up.

You walk into another room.

They’re behind you.

You go upstairs for something that will take approximately 30 seconds.

Apparently, this requires an es**rt. 😂

And let’s not even talk about trying to go to the bathroom alone!

It’s something I hear so often from German Shepherd owners.

“My dog follows me everywhere.”

But is that necessarily a problem?

German Shepherds can be incredibly connected to their people. They watch us, they learn our routines and sometimes seem to know what we’re about to do before we’ve actually decided to do it ourselves!

I’ve certainly seen differences within my own dogs too.

Some naturally want to know where I am and what I’m doing far more than others. Some will happily stay where they are when I leave a room. Others seem to consider it their personal responsibility to supervise every aspect of my day!

And for me, there’s an important distinction.

Wanting to be with you isn’t necessarily the same as being unable to be without you.

If my dog chooses to follow me around the house but is equally capable of settling when I’m not there, I’m not particularly worried about it.

But if a dog genuinely cannot relax unless they’re beside us, becomes distressed when we move away, constantly needs to check where we are or struggles when left, then I want to look a little deeper.

Because once again, the behaviour we SEE doesn’t necessarily tell us the reason behind it.

Is it habit?

Is it anticipation because following us usually leads to something interesting?

Is it because they simply enjoy our company?

Are they keeping tabs on their environment?

Or do they genuinely feel worried when we’re not available?

Two German Shepherds can show what looks like exactly the same behaviour for completely different reasons.

And that’s why I think we need to be careful about putting labels on our dogs without asking what’s underneath them.

So I’m interested in yours…

Does your German Shepherd follow you everywhere?

And if you quietly get up and leave the room right now, what happens?

Do they stay exactly where they are?

Open one eye to check where you’re going?

Or are they already standing beside you before you’ve made it through the doorway? 😂❤️

Sometimes Doing Less Is Part of Doing MoreWith three ticket classes looming this weekend, today the girls are doing prec...
23/09/2026

Sometimes Doing Less Is Part of Doing More

With three ticket classes looming this weekend, today the girls are doing precisely… nothing! ❤️

I think when we have competitions coming up, there can be such a temptation to train, train, train. Just one more session. Just check that exercise again. Just tidy that little bit up…

But at this stage, there is absolutely nothing I can do in training today that is going to dramatically change what we take into the ring this weekend.

It’s been a pretty busy week for my girls and we have a busy weekend ahead, so today I think we will all benefit far more from an easy day.

That doesn’t mean I treat every dog the same in the build-up to competition.

Some dogs benefit from doing very little beforehand. They come out fresher, keener and ready to go. Others are much better being kept in work mode, ticking over and doing something most days.

Tove is definitely a dog who is better for doing more. Queenie is very much a dog who is better for doing less.

Knowing that difference is part of knowing your dog.

But even with Tove, when we have a heavier competition schedule ahead, I still like to give her a complete day off somewhere in the build-up.

No last-minute cramming. No worrying about what we haven’t done. No trying to manufacture something in the final few days that hasn’t already been built through months and years of training.

The work is already in there.

Today is about letting minds and bodies have a breather, enjoying some downtime and saving our energy for the weekend.

Sometimes doing less really is part of doing more.

What about your dogs? Do they have time off before a competition, or are they better kept ticking over right up until the day? ❤️

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