We bought a puppy. Looking for tips

[irieboy8]

the good news is your bought a girl dog... boy dogs are a hassle and often piss all over the place.... so regardless your already winning

 

[Stumpy1]

My sister has 2 German Shepherds and they had biting issues when they first got them. My BIL would squeeze the bottom jaw of the puppies just hard enough to make it yelp when it would bite him. They learned in a hurry not to bite.

 

[Minnesota_husker]

My sister has 2 German Shepherds and they had biting issues when they first got them. My BIL would squeeze the bottom jaw of the puppies just hard enough to make it yelp when it would bite him. They learned in a hurry not to bite.

Ya, I will allow little puppy bites, but this will stop as she ages or we will step up our punishment game.

I had a dog that we had to worry about biting(we got him after he had issues as a puppy) and I will not go through that again.

 

[NU41SB]

My wife and I bought a German Shepherd Puppy. We were supposed to pick her up this Sunday, but because the whole litter was picked up early, we ended up getting her two weeks ago.

She is a pretty good dog so far. She whines when she has to go to the bathroom and has had a few accidents in the house but fairly limited in the week we have had her.

A few areas that she has struggled, is biting while playing(this is a puppy thing) and she seems to have major seperation issues(again, expected with a puppy.)

Sadly we both work during the day, so she needs to be crated. So far she has only spent a few hours in there at one time, and we have had others help go let her out or take her for the day(might add confusion/screw up routine).

We are officially moving in to our new house this weekend, so we will have a pen in our garage that will have a doggy door for a fenced in area. That will help, but until that point she gets crated in the morning.

I am looking for any advice people have who have gone through the puppy fun recently. I think the biting thing is handled. When she bites, I "yelp" and then try and ignore her.

The crating has been a bit more difficult. When i put her in there, she freaks out. She whines, barks and makes a ton of noise. I am wondering what i can do to help that, or is it just something she grows out of?

I tried putting food and water in there in the past, but she knocked them over.

I might try putting them at the back of the kennel to see if she wont hit them over. Tons of toys and things to chew on are in her kennel and she will occasionally go in there during the day to get things out.

Also, in terms of punishment. If she is naughty, i dont want to put her in her kennel, because i dont want her to think of that as a punishment place. Any suggestion on a "time out" location?

Ill get pictures posted shortly.

All good questions. My wife and i recently bough a German Shepherd as well. He is now a 10 month old 100 lb bohemoth. Training them early is very important.

In regards to the biting a stern "no" or yelp worked for us as well. Puppys use their mouths for everything (ours still does some) it's something they will grow out of.

Ours wasnt crated for long because we had the same problem as you. I've heard of putting something in their that smells like you (a shirt, shoes, shorts) something you wouldn't mind getting chewed on. I've also hear of people covering the crate with a blanket at night so it's completely dark and also makes the dog feel more relaxed/safe. Give the puppy lots of excersise so its tired at night. If you wear them out, they will sleep better. I try to take ours on 3 walks/day and also play fetch in the yard.

Discipline is tricky. We have never used a timeout corner for a dog. A stern "no" worked pretty good for us. Teaching them commands like sit, lay down, and stay are always useful when a dog is misbehaving too.

Always socialize your dog as well. Let him play with other dogs and see other people (strangers) daily. GSD's can become aggresive. Ours began to act out on us at roughly around 5 months old, barking and growling at people, especially kids. So we set up play dates with a friend who owns a dog and also with a couple down the block who have some younger kids he can run around with. This is still something we are working on.

Exercise often and teach him commands. They are smart dogs and will catch on.

I have heard the same thing about covering the crate with a towel/blanket. I believe the person that told me that it gives them a sense of their primal instincts of being in a den? Not sure if it is true so take it for what it is worth.

 

[JJ Husker]

I've had a lot of experience with puppies and obedience training with numerous dogs. Here's my best advice.

1- The dog will grow to love it's crate/kennel. You are not being mean by placing the dog in there. Puppies will have separation 8ssues no matter what. They get over it and will want to go to their crate in no time.

2- Do some puppy socialization exercises. The most important being to establish yourself and all family members as superior to your dog in the pack. Best way to do this is to sit on the floor, hold the puppy in your lap on its ack, and stare into it's eyes. If they struggle you have to forcefully restrain them. Maybe 5 minutes at a time until they never want to struggle. This will help establish you as the alpha. Important for preventing all kinds of behavior problems.

The thing to keep in mind is, being a softy does the dog no favors. If you raise an out of control dog, the outlook for that dog is grim. You will always be upset with it and likely will get rid of it. It is better to be forceful and stern and developed a good obedient dog. Everybody wins then.