# New to it all....



## Mc10 (Apr 22, 2012)

Hi,

My girlfriend and I have been looking at getting a German shepherd for quite some time now. It has been my favourite breed since I was a young boy and I'm quite excited about the fact I'm closing in on getting one. Family has always opted for Labrador's but I've been in my own house for over a year now and I am set up for me and my girlfriend to take one on. We are both 24 and very active. I have no concerns that the dog will not get enough attention or exercise. And having done a lot of reading up which I felt necessary before evening considering it I feel we are ready. But.... My main concern is with it being mine and hers first outright dog together how easy a task is it to train them / be in charge. We have both always had dogs in our family's but I appreciate the german shepherd is entirely different. Living in the north of Scotland we have plenty hill sides/ woods and even all be it rainy .... We have beaches. Playing semi pro football I am often out jogging in these places and intend taking our dog with me. I decided to join this forum as all the on line tutorials make life with the dog sound easy and rosy where as Im sure there are a few that can tell me otherwise...... It would take alot to be put off the idea but any pointers. Early door advice or plain and simple other peoples experiences/mistakes they wish to share would be appreciated.
Cheers


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

good luck with the new pup. what are you going to get
a SL or WL? i suggest finding a puppy class or a private trainer.
train and socialize everyday, several times a day. you and your GF
be equally involved with the dog (training, feeding, exercise, time
together with the dog, seperate time with the dog, etc.) and your
dog is going to bond with both of you. training a GSD is a peice
of cake. consistency is the key in all aspects of your dogs life.


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## Mc10 (Apr 22, 2012)

Thanks for the reply DD.
That was my next question in terms of should one of us take lead and be 'pack leader' or both equal. thats good to know. 
Will a german shepherd be suitable for long jogs?
Also at what age is deemed suitable to be letting a german shepherd off the lease in a publc place with other dogs for walks. (or is it each to their own and it will depend on how good a re call you have and control of the dog?)
I have also been advised to purchase one of the colars with the shock feature that is handy when around other dogs? i dont want to go down this route unless i have too. Any experiance with it and does it work......or more just p*ss the dog off and force it to listen to you as apposed to it wanting to listen to you??


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## Kingsj (Sep 17, 2011)

I'm excited for you to get your new pup! Congratulations!

I'm sure you'll find lots of good advice on this forum. I'll share with you some of my thoughts on your questions/comments.

First, although extreme cases will be different, if you are fair with your dog and spend time with them everyday, being the leader isn't that difficult. GSD's are great jogging companions, BUT be careful about not allowing a pup to run continuously for too long. Young dogs are still developing and long runs can be detrimental to their still growing bones and joints.

E-collars can be an amazing training tool, BUT it is important you learn about how to introduce the dog to the collar and how to use the collar to clearly communicate what you want the dog to learn. If you just strap it on and start "popping" the dog when they don't do what you want, you are setting yourself up to create a lot of opposition with your dog. And, personally, I would not use an e-collar until the dog has a bit of maturity.

As far as letting the dog off-leash, I am sure there are a lot of opinions about this topic. For me, I only let my dog off-leash in controlled situations. I have let her run with another dog in a fenced area. I used that to practice her recall. Some people like to let their dog run at dog parks, but I do not. I think it comes down to what you are comfortable with.

A little advice on that, too. I had a dog that followed me around everywhere while she was a pup. I got complacent about it, and let her run around in my (non-fenced) front yard because she always stayed pretty close to me. When she started hitting adolescence, she changed. She was no longer interested in staying close to me like she once did, she started to roam out further and further until I had to start leashing her again. Eventually, I was able to train her to stay in my yard, but there were a couple times, when she first started to venture out on her own, that I was caught off-guard and really worried or upset about her heading out on her own. I should have been more cautious about where I allowed her to go.

Hope that helps. Have fun!

Kingsley


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## Mc10 (Apr 22, 2012)

Kingsley thanks for the input, again some very sound advice and all taken on board.

Reading a few other forums near all the people who have opted not to listen seem to come back on here with their tales between their legs. (no pun intended)
so believe me when i say im taking it all in.

One thing that apears apparent that is a bit of an eye opener compared to what i first thought is this 'off the lead issue' that keeps cropping up. In my honest and maybe naive thinking i presumed it might be like any other dog in terms of as long as the dog has been trained on the lease and has a general understanding of who is boss that it shouldnt be an issue. for example my parents labaradoor had a couple of incidents at an early age where you had to go collect him when he found a dog as crazy as himself that would play for ages and maybe not return. Other than that he did and still does run off and play and come back to check you are still in the area then goes again. Is it due to the Natural instincts in the german shepherd that owners tend to worry more when it is off the leash? I am just trying to get my head around this particular subject so i know what to expect. For me i wont be able to take the dog with me to work every day. so i was hoping to give it plenty outdoor / active time in the woods in the evenings/ weekends, off the leash so it gets plenty freedom but with me in control. Am i looking at this in the wrong way??


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Having a perfect recall takes time, and many dogs are only 99%even after thinking you have it~ so you still have that 1% of not knowing. 

My dog is 3(mature and intact) and I trained him as a baby pup mostly off leash.
He's always recalled except one time early in the morning we were out turning on the sprinklers and a teen neighbor and his Yorkie came barking around the corner. That set my pup(14 months at the time) off running after what he thought was a flirtpole with a toy at the end of it.
He blew off my command, but luckily the Yorkie wasn't harmed. After that incident, I don't totally trust him off leash when we aren't in training mode.

We train in SchH and he is obedient when training, but out in the woods or field, not so sure he'd obey a return command. So far so good, I do take him hiking off leash.
But he is very biddable and happy, so it would take a big temptation to have him disobey.

My other two dogs are not reliable with recall and I'd never let them off leash. They are also dog aggressive, so that would be a huge liability on me.

It would depend on your pups personality whether or not s/he can have off leash privileges. Long line to start and never ever reprimand when you call the dog to you, that will blow it and it is a hard one to fix. 
As Kingsley posted, wait to use the e-collar after the pup is a bit older, and make sure you are versed on how to use it properly.


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## mycobraracr (Dec 4, 2011)

If you start training a recall and off lead stuff right when you get your pup it's not too bad. Like someone else said, you might run into some issues at adolescence age but not too bad.


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## Mc10 (Apr 22, 2012)

Thanks guys. I was just hoping that I wasn't selecting the wrong breed of dog as I am wanting it to be socialised lots out and about???
I presume introducing him to my family's Labrador as soon as possible I's also recommended? 
Having some issues tracking down breeders of short coats in Scotland. Long coat seems far more popular!!


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Good for you for doing your research first. It sounds as though a gsd will be a perfect fit for your lifestyle. There really isn't a need for one of you to take the 'lead' because your pup will bond to each of you differently. I'm the one that's home all the time, does all the care and training so naturally our dog is closer to me but that doesn't mean he isn't crazy about my husband and goes nuts when he comes home. I wouldn't start with the e-collar right off the bat- nothing beats basic obedience from the first day. Read up on NILIF and articles on Leerburg Dog Training | 16,000 pages of dog training information, 300 free dog training streaming videos, free eBooks, podcasts, by Ed Frawley and Michael Ellis. He gives a lot of info on e-collar training as well as other training methods.


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## Mc10 (Apr 22, 2012)

Thanks for all the usefull information guys.

Can see us using this site alot when it comes to crunch time. Made contact with a couple more breeders yesterday to get on the waiting list and to go visit between now and puppy time.

Maybe getting off the point here of the subject this is originally posted in but i was wondering. Doing my usual reading/browsing last night on german shepherds and i strolled off the point slighty and got onto german shepherds from films. Now i have to admit despite my long admiration of the breed in general and like everyone on here the apperance of the breed is a big lure as its a great looking dog. But the Shepherd in 'I am legend' starring Will Smith was probably the final nail in the coffin for me to start looking at my life style and if we could take on such a dog. I cant help but notice all the breeders in not only scotland but the Uk's shepherds seem to be alot bigger and slightly diffrent shape. Is the one in the film a differnet 'breed/type' or has the breed just evolved in the uk to the point that they are generally bigger?
I am maybe way off the Mark but if someone could clear it up for me that would be great. Cheers Guys.


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## GSDkid (Apr 19, 2011)

Sounds like a GSD pup's going to a great, active home. Good luck with him/her. 

I've never owned any dogs and Abby was my first. I can't compare to any other dogs but I was already anticipating the biting. The biggest hill I had with my girl was her intelligence. By 4 months, she learned to open doors, chews on everything, rips everything. Oh man. Fortunately, the worst thing she tore up was a pillow or her bed (cost-wise). Another thing was the shedding. I read that GSD's shed but man! They really SHED! lol. 

In my area, I haven't seen one poorly trained GSD. Granted it's a rare sight for me so I get overjoyed when I meet one. Definitely socialize your pup early on. Take them everywhere. For the off leash, IMO, I would keep them on a leash and gradually move onto a longer leash then to off leash. My girl already has that "independent" behavior so she tends to do things when she wants to rather than on command but the leashes are there to correct that. But It sounds like you live in a nice area, well equipped with different things to experience so I'm sure you'll have a great, confident dog.


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## Danielle609 (Jun 18, 2011)

Sounds like a GSD would fit in wonderfully  Now I randomly googled "German Shepherds Scotland" because I am going to be honest, I was curious to see how popular they are over there. I ran across this Adopt a German Shepherd, Re-home a German Shepherd, GSD needing a new home | German Shepherd Rescue Scotland and I see many beautiful dogs. Not sure if rescuing is and option or not, but I thought I would share that with you.


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## Mc10 (Apr 22, 2012)

GSD kid, Danielle, thanks for your input.

In regards to the rescue dogs it is somthing iv considered if the dog is young enough for us to experiance it as a puppy still. MY one concern with a rescue is that i am inexperienced with GSD's and a dog is too far set in its ways for someone of my experience to change. (presuming like a few of the ones iv just read on your link have behaviour issues or dont socialise well) now thats not me saying if i get a puppy and he turns out to be a bit of a wild card that i would dis own it. it wouldn't cross my mind.... But i would always live in hope that due to me and my girlfriend raising him from a right early age he might come through any issues as a phase or start to listen to us as role models etc.......... and from a selfish point of view, the whole experience of waiting for your pup to be born, then picking him, then waiting for him to be home ready and watching him develop into an athletic/intelligent animal is part and parcel of it all. More so for your first one anyways. But i do understand the significance of a rescue and rest assured ill bare it in mind. GSd Kid, thanks for the advice on the leash. Seems like its best to go small steps and allow a little more freedom each time. If he violates that freedom make it clear and take a step backwards in the grand scheme of things. Id like the dog to be as social as possible so eventually (like a friend of my dads) it is confident following me everywhere when i take him out with out a lead. So thanks for all the help.
out of interest, anyone got any info the sizing of the dogs as stated below about the one in the film. might help me narrow my search.
Martin


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## MustLoveGSDs (Oct 31, 2008)

Welcome to the forum  you have received a lot of great advice!

Two things I want to comment about that I haven't seen mentioned:

1. Please have a plan in place if you and your girlfriend decide to break up. I can't tell you how many Dobermans and German Shepherds who have came through the rescues I volunteer with that were the victims of a break up or divorce. Obviously we don't know your relationship and I'm not judging, just want the dog to be taken care of and not dumped should anything happen like that. I've seen some gorgeous trained purebred dogs get dumped at the drop of a hat when people go their separate ways.

2. The puppy experience can be great, but ethical breeders will do the puppy picking for you, not the other way around. They know their lines and the puppies the best since they live with them, so they will be able to pick out the perfect pup that matches your lifestyle. They will know the laid back pups from the more hardcore ones. 

3. Don't totally discount rescue. I adopted a black GSD that came already house and crate trained. She is completely dog social and kid friendly. Never had an issue with her! The GSD in I Am Legend was a shelter dog


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## Mc10 (Apr 22, 2012)

Hi Mustlove,

Firstly, the issue of the split up has been covered. If the unfortunate was to happen the dog will no go on the back burner. We have decided i will infact give the girlfriend to the kennels and the pup/dog will stay with me. Joking aside i understand your concern and a plan is in place.

As for point number 2 i wasnt aware that the breeders will ask about your lifestyle then assign you a puppy. Interesting. I am open to that but i will be making it clear that our hearts are set on short coat. Which , by the way everyone keeps looking at me funny when i say id rather short than long.

Is it relativly easy to spot a short coat? looking at mulitple pics of a dog growing up i find it easy to spot a long coat. Furr in the ears and a general fluffyness being the give away. What signs show that the furr will be short?


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