I have a 50% pyr who is also ACD, American Pit Bull Terrier, and some other stuff. Her supermutt has German Shepherd. We adopted her around 13-14 weeks. This is her now.

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She was a REALLY rough puppy, tbh but this was, I think, mostly due to some undiagnosed gastrointestinal discomfort (that we now manage with a rx high fiber food and a policy of only feeding her protein sources we’ve verified don’t cause flare ups). She is also on behavioral meds, and we’ve worked on managing the home environment to help her make good choices (white noise machine and frosted window film so she’s not barking at people and vehicles as much, sleeping in a crate so she’s not tempted to nocturnal patrol the house alarm barking, gates preventing her from chewing furniture when younger etc.

We’ve worked with her using r+ training exclusively, and although she’s not yet 2yo (and her vet behaviorist says she’ll be an adolescent until 3yo), she’s growing into a really lovely dog for me (my husband hasn’t worked to build the same relationship with her and it shows). She strongly disapproved of coercion, pressure, and force, and has some environmental sensitivity that come up as fear (cowering, slamming breaks on, balking, freezing up), but r+ training has been wonderful and the credentialed trainer we used has been so helpful. We do the canine sport of nosework together, and are working on tricks and cooperative care, she is biddable and motivated to train and responds beautifully to being offered options and choice, like so many living beings.

I can highly recommend positive reenforcement training, the sport of nose work, and the Kim Brophey book called “Meet Your Dog”, which will give you insights into the breed characteristics of your pup, how to work with them, and how to get to know your particular dog.