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Talia Henze is the first to admit that her two puppies (the Dutch and German shepherds) are “a terrible apartment dog.”
“People say, ‘How could she have such a dog in town?”, says Hansé, who has lived in New York City for over a decade, in an interview with people. And she disagrees.
Growing up, her family traveled frequently and made sense to adopt a dog. But a few years ago, Hentze lived in an apartment in midtown Manhattan – what she calls “not the safest environment” – and visited a friend from her home where she had a German shepherd trained to become a “recue dog.”
“When I met a shelter dog, I was saying in my head, ‘This is a really interesting concept,” she says.
Henze and her husband had previously discussed adoption, but now her heart was set. She wanted the German shepherd to become her “protective and companion.”
In 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic reached NYC and Henze and her husband had moved to an apartment in Brooklyn, they adopted the first of their two puppies. And three years later, after getting used to living with high-drive dogs in small living spaces, they adopted Brego, a Dutch shepherd known for exercising even more than Hentze’s husband worked in the army.
Shelby Wise
Around the time she adopted AVA, Henze made some dog-related life changes. She quit her job in the cosmetics industry and became a full-time dog trainer, and began posting on her Tiktok account, sharing her life as a dog mother in a big city.
She often gets viruses in videos of her “powerhouse” puppies – one video received nearly 500,000 views, but captures adorable and charmingly in her mouth with the eyes of a big puppy dog in his mouth – Henze asserts that raising them is not all fun and game.
“He’s not a dog joke,” says Brego’s Henze. “And (ava) comes from the police line, so they’re not really breeding to sit on your couch.”
To manage possession of such a powerful dog, she says she is doing some things that might make her a “controversial dog owner.”
First, she uses crates to manage two puppies, reducing conflict between each other and their owners, and helping dogs when overstimulated in busy urban environments.
Shelby Wise
“I loved my bedroom growing,” explains the dog mom. “Most people don’t have multi-bedroom apartments (New York). They have all these spaces where dogs can go and have their own space.
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Crates also help to “prevent unnecessary waste.” Hens, generally AVAs are free to roam the apartment.
Secondly, Henze is not afraid to use the muzzle to manage the puppy.
“To be honest, I don’t understand why it’s controversial,” says the dog owner. “We train most of our client’s dogs purely because we find people react differently to them, even if they’re not at risk of biting.”
For example, if a dog is mouthed during a veterinarian’s visit, the veterinarian tends to calm down when treating the pet. And the muzzle also gives Hanse a peace of mind that her dog doesn’t act aggressively when her dog is open to them.
Shelby Wise
Henze also needs to train her dog at the muzzle for another reason. They must be comfortable at the muzzle for competition. Her two puppies are part of the Conservation Sports Association, where they competitively test their dogs with submission and protection skills through tests of temperament and physical ability. Henze’s dogs travel to Long Island and train at least twice a week.
“It’s a great outlet for them to be filled with all their drives and learn to control their drives,” she says. “We don’t ignore the fact that they have an aggression. We just need to control it and teach them to become as strong as possible.”
But more than anything, Hanse says, she tells the dog that when they are in busy environments like the city of New York, she is their “filter.”
“It gives my dog confidence,” she says.
Henze also trained Tiktok to share that he would not take the dog in the elevator with other dogs, and not allow others to give dog treats, and to ignore those who attempt to get their attention, for the safety of the public and everyone around them.
And she never offended public people if they were uncomfortable with her dog, especially for those who were previously attacked by dogs.
As the creator of the content, Henze wants to emphasize that if you plan to employ high-drive dogs like Ava or Brego, you need to be prepared to give them the opportunity to release their natural attacks. And therefore, they are not for casual dog owners.
“I’m always curious why someone wants German or Dutch shepherds,” says Henze. She references daily comments about social media accounts from people who are interested in the breed after following her page. She even “strung” that she might see her account as promoting the breed, so she took a break from social media since she started posting regularly five years ago.
But through her social media pages, her job as a dog trainer and the world of dog sports, she says she has discovered that a great group of other dog owners leads to it.
“That community is really fulfilling for us and it’s really amazing,” says Hens. “The people we met were at least very surprising.”
Shelby Wise
And for as much work as possible, Henze never gave up on the dog for anything.
“They’re amazing,” she says of her puppy. “They are great dogs. They are the most stable and sturdy dogs I’ve ever encountered.”
Add Hens: “You choose and choose what you want to deal with.”
