Pastimes
I rescued my German Anatolian Shepherd at about a year old. She is highly intelligent and trains quickly. We've only had her a week and she has already learned "sit", "leave it", "down", gives both paws, "bang", and sits at street corners. She is very stubborn though, so once she's done working on training, she's done. She is only sometimes treat motivated.
She has some weird quirks, such as not coming in through the back door (will exit the back, but only come in through the front) and refusing to go in the car. Once she is in the car she drools a lot, but seems to enjoy looking out the windows. She also will not leave the first floor of our house. She stays only on the main level. I'm thinking maybe a fear of stairs.
She was crate trained with the foster, but does not like being left in the crate while we work. I think she has caught on that when she goes in the crate it means we're leaving for a bit, so she whines (sounds like a child crying) and barks some.
She is great with my kids and does not chase our cat. She wants to be friends with the cat, but the cat has her doubts.
She LOVES her long walks (2.5-5 miles/day) and loves to be outside in general.
She eats 4 cups of food per day, but gets plenty of treats while working on training.
I recommend professional training for this breed. While the German Shepherd is smart and eager to please, the Anatolian Shepherd likes to do their own thing.
We are currently working on willingly getting into the car. Each day I take the car out of the garage and walk her as far as she will go towards it, which is not often very far. I reward with a treat for every little bit. I will sit in the car with her on the leash. She will be as far away as the leash will allow and lay down. But we will stay that way for at least 5 minutes, while I talk to her excitedly. I don't want to be too forceful, as I don't know much about her background and don't want to make any of her issues worse.
Even with her flaws, she is the sweetest thing. Don't dare stop petting her, or you will be getting a head nudge or a paw on your arm. We can't wait to see how much further she will come once she fully trusts us.
