Let's See Your Dogs!!

I sympathize, it is a big responsibility!! But a lot of fun, effort and patience. Stay firm, and consistent. And positive reinforcement is a great way to train. Most of all, have fun!!

 

Crate train your pup. It might seem cruel to leave your dog in a crate but the whole poop/pee thing will go so much more quickly. Trust me on this.

As soon as you can, enroll in puppy classes too. Socialization is so important. Look for a meetup group too--that gives you a group to hang out with and another social outlet too. I take my lab to a weekly play event which gets him a ton of exercise plus socialization.

If you have questions, ask away. Otherwise, I think you'll be fine.

 

Its all good man, just remember that anything a dog does it because of the owner. Puppies are only cute so owners will put up with their bs. Remeber puppies can only hold their bladder for 4 hours on average so if they piss or shit on the floor its cause you didnt take them out. They will chew, its what they do. If you dont give them something acceptable to chew on then they will find something. Treat toys (IE Kong treat puzzles) are great because they keep the dog occupied and gives them something to chew on. Once they start teathing a rope toy soaked in water and frozen works great and numbs their teeth. Also around 6-8 weeks you can start training and should. It gives your pup a purpose and makes him happy but these lessons for sit lay stay ect should only be about 5-10 minutes and then take a break. I used commercial breaks to train and it worked well. Postitive enforcement is the only way to go thin sliced hotdogs worked great for me and are cheap as hell (every time the dogs ass hits the ground on sit can get expensive if you use training treats) For potty training do it on leash and take the pup to the same spot in the grass everytime so he knows its his shit spot, unless you have a yard. I think thats it man. I have always had dogs but my first puppy that was mine through me for a loop too, especially raising her in an apt vs a house. remember puppies are little shits, they will get into anything you let them get into but they will also brighten up your life. Once they get a year GS start to get some common sence

 

+200000000 crate training is awsome and the dog grows to love the crate. Mine uses it as a leave me alone spot. Because you have a GS I would get the biggest crate possible and a divider. You want the crate just big enough for the dog to be able to lay but thats it. Reason being is dogs wont, or are less inclined to shit where they lay. If you give a pup a big crate hell shit in one side and lay in the other. If you get a small crate youll be buying one every few months as he grows. For mine I got the biggest crate possible and just put a cooler in it to section it off. Its the only area in my place allie hasnt shit. Socializes is amazingly imporant for german shepards. GS's are awsome dogs but VERY clingy. They need to learn its ok to be away from the owner, if you have never had one its funny they will cry when you leave and go APESHIT when you return. Just wait till the pup is 100% on puppy shots before bringing him to classes or a dogpark (6 months i think) otherwise the little dude will be subsetable to sickness more than most dogs

 

GSDs are great dogs. Congrats!!!

 

Congrats DAD.....and as a parent you have responsibilities plus you got to set the example....

 

Bowser last weekend at an ABKC show. Now 4 months old















Athena now 1 year old.

 

Cute pup. I love GS. My Shadow was a great dog (still miss her many years later)

Another thing... DO NOT give him free run of your house until he is house broken and past the teething stage. Use kiddy gates and/or keep him on a leash.

One more thing... if it won't be cute when he weighs 100 lbs, it's NOT CUTE when he's little

 

Buddy; Shepard Rodhesian 2 years.

 

Two pearls of wisdom.

I was going to add some about crate training. And that is you should keep your pup in his crate or confined to a very small space initially and take him out to pee frequently.

You should also establish a feeding schedule and stick to it. It will really help in the potty training process and it will help you recognize when your pup needs to go too.

My suggestion is to feed your pup 3 times a day. There are a variety of reasons for this but the driving one is that his tummy is small and 3x gives him a chance to take on the nourishment he needs. I feed Riley at 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning and again at 5:00 in the evening. When he was younger, at noon also. The process I use for feeding is to place his food in the dish and give him 10 or 15 minutes to eat it. If he doesn't finish it, I pick it up. When he is finished, he goes into his crate and about 20 minutes later, I will take him out to go potty--while he is young, carry him out to the place you want him to relieve himself and tell him "go pee". When he does, praise and even a little food reward help teach him that peeing outside is good. If he has an accident inside, take him outside and repeat the "go pee" thing. Don't forget, he will need access to water too.

As a general rule, your dog can be crated for his age in months plus one in hours. So if he's 2 months, he would likely be able to be crated for 3 hours before he had to pee. My suggestion is that you never leave him long enough that he will pee in his crate. Once a dog learns to poop where he sleeps, he will continue doing that and house breaking will take longer.

As your pup becomes better at holding it, you can give him more space. If he has an accident, shrink his space. As an example, you might restrict him to his crate and then leave the door open and close off the kitchen.

BTW, when I say crate, I don't mean to imply you shouldn't play with him or take him for walks (be sure he has all of his shots before you take him out where other dogs are). You can do that. Also be aware that when they're young, just like kids, they will play and just pee so be careful when playing to give them a chance to pee outside.

On a side note, start looking into training. Your pup should start as soon as he's had all his shots and a puppy class is a great way to socialize your dog and as weird as it sounds, doggy day care is another way to keep him socialized as are meetups (there are tons of dog related ones).

Good luck and ask away if you have questions--I'm no expert but this seems to have worked well for me--Riley's peed in the house maybe 5 times since I got him (he is 18months old now).

 

I've never loved a dog like I do my 5 y/o blue heeler, Callie. I call her my fur child. The last picture is staged: she does not ride in the back. She's got an elaborate orthopedic bed/body pillow set up in the back of the cab.





Just remember with training, praise, praise and more praise. Immediately after they do what they are supposed to, even if it's only half of the desired end result. I don't consistenly reward with food. Sometimes I use a treat, other times it's playtime with a favorite toy, atleast half of the time it is just a lot of praise and hugs. And don't ever hit them or push their nose in their poop. When a puppy starts to go in the house, pick them up and put them outside where you want them to go, and praise them like crazy. Dogs are very smart and sensative, make training and life fun for them and they will live to please you.

I also see a lot of people that expect their dog to know english. They can't learn our language! All they know is that a certain sound coming from your mouth means x, or y. They don't understand sentences. It's all about changes in tone, body language, and the words you train with.

I've had shepherds before and know they can get big and eat a lot, so it may not be a reasonable option for you, but I believe in the gourmet all natural dog food. I get this stuff from the dog store that is $50 for a 35lb bag, but it's all natural and has 4 or 5 sources of meat protein in it. But my heeler is only 50lbs. She also gets a multivitamin and glucosamine/condroitin since she runs and jumps a lot and the breed is suseptable to hip dysplasia. Again, a cost/benefit analysis you have to analyze yourself. I brush her teeth every night too, and they are in fantastic shape because of it. She is getting her teeth scraped this winter for the first time.

There seems to be a lot of good advice in here. I spent a lot of time training and researching in obedience and agility and would love to help you with any questions about it. Long story short, have patience and love on your dog!

 

ALL EXCELLENT ADVICE FOR A NEW PUPPY OWNER!!! I will say our dog did pee in his crate when younger and it didn't hinder his housebreaking. If they did, most likely it was your fault. Learn from the mistake, take everything out, wash it and get used to "Natures Miracle". It works wonders. Also, even at 2 yrs old, I sometimes still give Polar a food reward when he goes out and "pottys" quickly. NOT all the time but just occasionally. Especially when the weather is bad. Positive reinforcement will help no matter how young or old. Training can NEVER start to early, just the younger, the lighter. Now back to pics......

 

just picked my little pup up today at the pound. she is a mix but i honestly have no idea and the people at the pound werent to sure either. i did some researching and i really think she is a anatolian sheapherd pitbull mix what do you guys think?

anyway shes great so far really clam in the taco and its pretty damn active which is to be expected for only being 4 months old haha.

 

This is my buddy, his name is Buddah he's five years old and weighs 120 pounds. Tons of fun !

 

He is NOT a fair weather fan!!





BUT, he does look a little embarrassed wearing it.....

 

One tip... a TIRED puppy is a GOOD puppy

 

"A tired puppy". Yes. Absolutely true.

 

I got a retro camera app for my Droid phone, and have been playing around with it.

 

this is my dog