# Check in here for Puppies 2-4 months



## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

I'll admit I was a bit envious of the 5-7month group, I've taken the advice of the thread creator and decided to start one that my pup will fit in. 

It's a great idea for us to get to know one another, each others puppies and of course the trials and tribulations that we're encountering. 

I'll introduce myself, I'm Courtney and am a first time dog/GSD owner so far it's been quite the rollercoaster but I'm enjoying every minute of it and already couldn't imagine my life without her. 

Now for Gaia. 
She'll be 4 months on July 9. I've had her since she was 6 weeks old which has made the landshark phase that much more interesting/intense.
I originally got her to be my buddy but we're starting to dabble in Schutzhund which I'm loving. Just finishing up puppy classes next week and start basic obedience the week after. Her new favorite hobby is carrying rocks (most of the time bigger than her head) from our rock garden and pushing them down the hill with her nose so she can chase them, she also loves walks, belly rubs, car rides, chasing anything that moves and any sort of attention she can get her paws on.


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## LaneyB (Feb 5, 2012)

Here is my almost 11-week-old baby. His name is Azeruki. He is the most perfect puppy ever - I cannot believe how much we all love him. He already knows sit, sometimes down, look, he whines when he needs to go outside to the bathroom, pretty much sleeps through the night, does well in his crate if I have to leave him during the day. He starts his first training class July 23rd. the only problem we are having, and it feels like a big one, is the biting. OUCH!


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## LaneyB (Feb 5, 2012)

More Ruki pics:


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## ThorThePup (Jul 1, 2012)

Not quite 2 months yet (6.5 weeks) but here is my baby boy


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## obelinux (Jun 19, 2012)

Our Whiskey is 9 weeks today. We got him home today and he's blissfully sleeping right now. Really funny character with extremely clumsy hind legs ( possibly marble flooring which is why). We have some mats/rugs for him to run on, but of course super funny and clumsy.


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## GSD Fan (Sep 20, 2010)

This thread is full of beautiful puppies.


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## dgray (Feb 24, 2012)

This is Bella, my very first GSD. She'll be 11 weeks this weekend (  my baby is growing up! ) she knows sit, down, and we are working on her heel. Her right ear is so close to standing all the way! And she's a HUGE land shark. We love her anyway


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Just a thought, but what we really need is a thread that gives birthdate ranges rather than age ranges...so our puppies (virtually) grow up together. Rather than continually adding new people who's pups are younger than ours.

Did that make sense?


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## Jo_in_TX (Feb 14, 2012)

Paula, I agree. I realized that after I had posted my original thread on 5 to 7 month old pups.


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

Makes complete sense is there a way to edit thread titles?


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## cowgirlteach (Mar 17, 2012)

Yay!! I was jealous of the other thread as well!:blush:

Here is Ruger he is now 10 weeks old and 24lbs

I didn't know if we were still doing it but I thought I'd add.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

gaia_bear said:


> Makes complete sense is there a way to edit thread titles?


Maybe if you PM a moderator, they can edit the title? What would the date range be March-April-May?


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## minerva_deluthe (May 6, 2012)

I don't know that you need to change the thread - people can migrate to the next thread and soon enough everyone here will be there! JMO though.

Mine is almost 4 mos old. She is getting so big! And is doing well with obedience. We adore her.


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## dylano (Jul 6, 2012)

Hey, all your puppies are amazingly cute  i recently got a 8 week old white gsd on the 1st of july. He is now 9 weeks 
just got a few issues and it would be amazing if you could help and stop me from stressing :blush:

here goes..
Since ive had him he has not been alone for more then 5 mins as i am home all day all week. When i am not around (kitchen/shower ect) or when its time to sleep he is put into a run with a crate (which he has started to go into). when i am around he has the run of the living room
Here are the issues 
1) When ever i put him in the run he cries and whines even if im in the same room
2) He follows me around the house 
3) he sits outside the door that ive just exited from and if im not back with in 30 secs he will scratch the door ect

When he is sleepy/not active he does not do these things. when hes sleeping but hears me leave the room he will look up and then just fall back to sleep

what can i do to make sure hes okay with being alone as come september i will be starting work and he will need to be left alone during the day

thanks allot


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

dylano said:


> here goes..
> Since ive had him he has not been alone for more then 5 mins as i am home all day all week. When i am not around (kitchen/shower ect) or when its time to sleep he is put into a run with a crate (which he has started to go into). when i am around he has the run of the living room
> Here are the issues
> 1) When ever i put him in the run he cries and whines even if im in the same room
> ...


He's just being a puppy, Gaia follows me around everywhere when I'm
home, she even lays on the bathmat when I'm in the shower. It's normal for them to want to be with you all the time not only are GSDs Velcro dogs its also a pack instinct that they don't want to be alone.

As for the whining in the run/crate as much as it pulls on your heart ignore it. When the crying dies down for a bit and you're ready to let him out that's when I'd do it, never when they are whining or crying because they are smart and will use you to their advantage. 

Good luck, keep us updated on how it's going  I'll try to help out as much as I can but I'm new to all of this as well and leaning researching as I go. So far this forum has been a wonderful informative place


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## dylano (Jul 6, 2012)

gaia_bear said:


> He's just being a puppy, Gaia follows me around everywhere when I'm
> home, she even lays on the bathmat when I'm in the shower. It's normal for them to want to be with you all the time not only are GSDs Velcro dogs its also a pack instinct that they don't want to be alone.
> 
> As for the whining in the run/crate as much as it pulls on your heart ignore it. When the crying dies down for a bit and you're ready to let him out that's when I'd do it, never when they are whining or crying because they are smart and will use you to their advantage.
> ...


Hi, thanks allot, glad im not the only one in this boat  hopefully him crying with reduce


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## >DRIVEN< (Apr 2, 2012)

4 month old Brax


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

>DRIVEN< said:


> 4 month old Brax


 
He's adorable


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## dylano (Jul 6, 2012)

gaia_bear said:


> He's adorable


AWWW! i love his markings!


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

>DRIVEN< said:


> 4 month old Brax



LOVE LOVE LOVE those big ol' ears!


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

obelinux said:


> Really funny character with extremely clumsy hind legs ( possibly marble flooring which is why). We have some mats/rugs for him to run on, but of course super funny and clumsy.



You just described my baby.  

Yager started off perfect and we couldn't believe how lucky we were. He has since become accustomed to our family. lol He is extremely smart but extremely stubborn!! He harrasses my husband but is pretty good with me. I am either pulling out my hair or laughing at him. I am currently at my wits end with him peeing in my kitchen and I blame my husband for this because he does really well when I am watching him. Thank goodness for easy-clean linoleum. 

Last night I let him out to potty while it was raining and it was the funniest thing I have ever seen. He just ran back and forth across the yard trying to bite the rain drops that kept hitting his back. He also cracks me up with going up and down our stairs. He bunny hops up the stairs and goes barrelling down them. He rolled off the last step this morning after running down but jumped back up all excited like it was fun. lol He's crazy...that about sums him up.


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

gaia_bear said:


> As for the whining in the run/crate as much as it pulls on your heart ignore it. When the crying dies down for a bit and you're ready to let him out that's when I'd do it, never when they are whining or crying because they are smart and will use you to their advantage.



I worry about this same thing at night because his whining is how we know to let him out to potty. We only cater to his whining in the middle of the night though and it is back into the crate after he goes out. He has yet to go outside without needing to go. He whines a little when we put him in there to go to sleep but we ignore it. He slept through the night for about a week but has since started getting up to go potty again at random intervals (only once a night but never around the same times).


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

Lots of cool info. 

Here's my pup born May 13th 2012


























He cries a lot in his kennel. Even chewed the metal one up, I had to get a plastic one. I feel like we are getting the peeing outside down a little. He usually pee's in his cage at night even if we let him out to pee once he wakes up crying. 

As for crying in his cage, I tried having it in the same room. Didn't work we could not sleep. So it is off to the corner of the house. I feel bad doing it but praying for when it becomes better. He gets treats and Kongs while in his kennel but he only cares for them when we are in the living room and he can roam free.


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## cowgirlteach (Mar 17, 2012)

Both ears were up yesterday!!! Now only one today.

Ruger is growing so fast...we are going to a 4H dog class to socialize with dogs and kids tomorrow (we were invited :wub Then on Aug. 4th we start obedience!!


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## breyer08 (Jul 4, 2012)

Here is my girl, Ava. She is 14 weeks old today! (Born April 3, 2012.)


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

cowgirlteach said:


> Both ears were up yesterday!!! Now only one today.
> 
> Ruger is growing so fast...we are going to a 4H dog class to socialize with dogs and kids tomorrow (we were invited :wub Then on Aug. 4th we start obedience!!


Gaia's ears provided a lot of amusement for me, I never knew what to expect day to day. They've been up since she was about 10 weeks so I don't think they are going anywhere now.

That's awesome! Tomorrow night is our last puppy class then onto the more strict obedience. Should be interesting. 

Let us know how tomorrow goes!


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

breyer08 said:


> Here is my girl, Ava. She is 14 weeks old today! (Born April 3, 2012.)


What a beautiful puppy smile


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## dylano (Jul 6, 2012)

*Kai, 9 Weeks *

Ears just coming up now


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

Meet Spirit ... one week shy of 4 months. I got him at 12 weeks, first time GSD owner here ... on a rollercoaster!! I have a 11-1/2 year old golden retriever, I am truly amazed and grateful how she has accepted this little guy, she's so good with him, they play together a lot and Spirit really looks to her in almost everthing he does. 

Challenges -- slow on vaccinations, he still needs one more booster before he's fully immunized. I want him in training classes now, and free to go anywhere with me for socialization but we're limited for one more month. He's a chewer big time, very stubborn when he wants to be, and he loves to eat my flowers (I think one rose bush is now in mortal jeopardy LOL). And the teeth, wow ... I am battered and bruised, hah. But when he gets to be too much, I yell HELP and my golden retriever (Daisy) comes running to the rescue! She distracts him away from me and plays him until he's exhausted -- love it !!! Still working on the housebreaking, but he's getting it. Just need to work on me  ... sometimes I'm too lax, or too tired, or too something and I miss the opportunity. 

My DIL has a horror story of her grandfathers GSD, so I do have some negative perceptions of the breed to deal with. But mostly I hear positive stories and when I have him out, everyone wants to meet him. Hah, he's a man-magnet -- not a bad thing, I'm single. But I'm very careful who I let into my pack...I have very high standards of pet ownership, watch yourself 

Really looking forward to raising this little fellow and seeing how he matures. His mom is in the show circuit and his dad has the SchH3 title. Both have excellent temperaments and are so beautiful.

He weighs 46lbs as of yesterday, gained 15lbs in 2 weeks! He's healthy, active, curious, smart, loves food, anything that can be chewed, and chases butterflies :wub:


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

Seems like my 2 month old is getting worse with his cage. 

At night he doesn't get as upset but he will cry. In the morning when I leave for work he is really really upset. Maybe a walk in the morning would help more? 
Only thing I can think of is he has more energy or he knows we are actually leave instead of just sleeping.


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

Walk and play before work, definitely. He's still in the go-go-go mode and you're leaving.


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## dylano (Jul 6, 2012)

wrx_02 said:


> Seems like my 2 month old is getting worse with his cage.
> 
> At night he doesn't get as upset but he will cry. In the morning when I leave for work he is really really upset. Maybe a walk in the morning would help more?
> Only thing I can think of is he has more energy or he knows we are actually leave instead of just sleeping.


I think0 draining his energy out in the morning befor you put him in there. This was he should sleep for a couple hours. He's only 8 weeks old and can only hold his bladder for 3 hours max. Also because he is so young he probably has just gone away from his mother/littermates so he will be crying beecause him being all alone its a new change. In reality you should of eased him into being left alone. 

drain his energy out just playing in doors and stimulate his mind (not a long walk as he is still a puppy) 
leave a kong filled with treats in the crate for when he wakes up. 

He is still 8 weeks old so you can only really leave him for 3 hours during the day before he will need to pee in his crate


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

wrx_02 said:


> Seems like my 2 month old is getting worse with his cage.
> 
> At night he doesn't get as upset but he will cry. In the morning when I leave for work he is really really upset. Maybe a walk in the morning would help more?
> Only thing I can think of is he has more energy or he knows we are actually leave instead of just sleeping.


How long is he out of his crate between waking up and going to work? A walk in the morning will make him a happy puppy or at the very least a tired one  

I'm glad he's doing better at night.


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

Jo Ellen said:


> Meet Spirit ... one week shy of 4 months. I got him at 12 weeks, first time GSD owner here ... on a rollercoaster!! I have a 11-1/2 year old golden retriever, I am truly amazed and grateful how she has accepted this little guy, she's so good with him, they play together a lot and Spirit really looks to her in almost everthing he does.
> 
> Challenges -- slow on vaccinations, he still needs one more booster before he's fully immunized. I want him in training classes now, and free to go anywhere with me for socialization but we're limited for one more month. He's a chewer big time, very stubborn when he wants to be, and he loves to eat my flowers (I think one rose bush is now in mortal jeopardy LOL). And the teeth, wow ... I am battered and bruised, hah. *But when he gets to be too much, I yell HELP and my golden retriever (Daisy) comes running to the rescue! She distracts him away from me and plays him until he's exhausted -- love it !!! *Still working on the housebreaking, but he's getting it. Just need to work on me  ... sometimes I'm too lax, or too tired, or too something and I miss the opportunity.
> 
> ...


Can I borrow her for a few days?


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

gaia_bear said:


> How long is he out of his crate between waking up and going to work? A walk in the morning will make him a happy puppy or at the very least a tired one
> 
> I'm glad he's doing better at night.


He is out of his cage from 45 mins to an hour in the morning. He goes out and pee's, then he gets feed and pee's again....
then I play with him a little and then I have to get ready for work.


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

gaia_bear said:


> Can I borrow her for a few days?


No. LOL


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

Playing with him a little isn't enough. You need to saturate him mentally and physically before you put him back in his crate and leave. I can't imagine raising a puppy with a full-time job that required me to be out of the home for most of the day. You need to make some special concessions for awhile. You're going to be tired, it's going to be a challenge....but you have to step up. Your puppy deserves this from you, don't disappoint.


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## Aurana13 (Jul 3, 2012)

wrx_02 said:


> Seems like my 2 month old is getting worse with his cage.
> 
> At night he doesn't get as upset but he will cry. In the morning when I leave for work he is really really upset. Maybe a walk in the morning would help more?
> Only thing I can think of is he has more energy or he knows we are actually leave instead of just sleeping.


Did the pup come with a blanket from the mother with her scent when you got him? I found with pups that small its nice to have their mothers scent at night and when you can't be with them. It has kept any puppy that i've owned from crying at night.

If you have to be away during the day, I would get into the routine of walking before you leave and as soon as you get home from work. I know it sounds like an inconvenience NOW, but once YOU get use to doing it, you will wake up looking forward to it.

We all know little ones wake up full of energy (Whether its humans or dogs), so releasing that energy will make him sleep as soon as you leave so he wont have a chance to miss you. And if you aim for a walk as soon as you get home, realse that pent up energy again and then its time to introduce the disapline AND THEN the affection.

I will be introducing Willow, Born March 1st in a few hours. I'm so excited to have a thread with dogs the same age and owners with the same problems to talk with.


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## dylano (Jul 6, 2012)

Hey guys, how much are you walking/excersising your puppies? (10 week old range)

Just asking because ive heard over excersising is bad for hips


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## tperry1982 (Jul 5, 2012)

We were told that until they are a year old to hold off on the jogging with them, especially on pavement. Also while they were young to keep jumping up and down off of furniture to a minimum. I guess it is all the common sense stuff that would put stress on the joints until the hip bones are fully mature (I have bad hips myself so I know the things that cause problems).


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

We go for two walks a day, 45 minutes in the morning and at least an hour at night. I don't run her, we keep a nice slowish pace. Also play outside for close to an hour every night and mix in some mental training sessions during the out door play.

This still doesn't seem to be enough for her and she gets barky (bored and frustrated) if she's not stimulated enough.


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## dylano (Jul 6, 2012)

gaia_bear said:


> We go for two walks a day, 45 minutes in the morning and at least an hour at night. I don't run her, we keep a nice slowish pace. Also play outside for close to an hour every night and mix in some mental training sessions during the out door play.
> 
> This still doesn't seem to be enough for her and she gets barky (bored and frustrated) if she's not stimulated enough.


How old is your pup?


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## tperry1982 (Jul 5, 2012)

He looks exactly like my Otto who is 8 weeks old - born May 15, 2012.


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

She was 4 months on Monday, we've been doing this routine since she was about 11 weeks old.


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## cowgirlteach (Mar 17, 2012)

dylano said:


> Hey guys, how much are you walking/excersising your puppies? (10 week old range)
> 
> Just asking because ive heard over excersising is bad for hips


Dylano my pup is 10 weeks coming on 11 and we go for at least one walk a day but usually 2. We started out with short ones to our mailbox (1/8 mile) from when he was 8 weeks old...now he has more stamina and we go about a mile each walk.

I think as long as you build up to it, and it isn't over-doing it your pup will enjoy it. Ruger already knows the routine!


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## skatin88 (Apr 28, 2012)

wrx_02 said:


> He cries a lot in his kennel. Even chewed the metal one up, I had to get a plastic one. I feel like we are getting the peeing outside down a little. He usually pee's in his cage at night even if we let him out to pee once he wakes up crying.


Sometimes they will pee in their crate because it is too big for them at the moment, we used a metal crate that came with a divider, worked til she grew and needed more room.


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## Milkshakes00 (Jun 28, 2012)

4 month old Hiro, reporting in. 

(GSD/Husky mix. <3 The first picture is when we first got him at 2 months.)


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## dylano (Jul 6, 2012)

cowgirlteach said:


> Dylano my pup is 10 weeks coming on 11 and we go for at least one walk a day but usually 2. We started out with short ones to our mailbox (1/8 mile) from when he was 8 weeks old...now he has more stamina and we go about a mile each walk.
> 
> I think as long as you build up to it, and it isn't over-doing it your pup will enjoy it. Ruger already knows the routine!



ah okay, will build it up slowly
thank you


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

I guess my only 2 concerns for now would be. 

I don't think my puppy is peeing everything out at once? 
Like he will be just a little, then 3 mins later pee again in the house? 
Anyway to fix this? Will he grow out of it? 

The other is he plays with my moms Golden. When Lex the puppy starts to bounce up and down and bark at him to play. The Golden gets cautious, backs up and growls pretty loud. Should I be correcting the Golden? Should I let him put Lex in his place? 

The Golden will listen to me, I am around all the time. Actually he listens to my commands better than anyones.


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

wrx_02 said:


> The other is he plays with my moms Golden. When Lex the puppy starts to bounce up and down and bark at him to play. The Golden gets cautious, backs up and growls pretty loud. Should I be correcting the Golden? Should I let him put Lex in his place?


Let them work it out as much as possible. You don't want them fighting, but growling like this is communication ... let the golden communicate, that's her way of managing the situation. Lex can learn a lot from her about dog etiquette.

Try to engage them in mutual play. When I introduced my 11-1/2 year golden to my new puppy, Spirit, I used a tug toy. Huge success. It seemed to lead naturally into other types of play too. They play together every day now.

About the peeing, spend more time outside after he goes potty the first time. Play fetch, throw a stick, whatever ... just linger for awhile


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

The Golden is a boy, he is pretty dominate, but I know he doesn't want to hurt the puppy. He usually plays with puppies but I think Lex is the first one that was not scared of him. 

When he is growling or barking at Lex when do you cut it off? I don't think he will attack him cause he is always backing up. But I don't want him to nip or bite at him and hurt him. Lex has no fear of him yet. 

Thanks for the info.


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

I wouldn't cut anything off if it's still just growling and barking. Your golden will let Lex know when he's had enough -- he might do a cautionary nip at that point. Don't punish the golden for that, it's appropriate behavior and a good learning lesson for Lex.

Rather than controlling the golden, control the puppy. If you truly can't let it go any further, remove the puppy.


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

So Yager has mastered the bell that hangs on the door for when he needs to go potty. He will ring it and then sit and wait for someone to come let him out. Accidents in the house are down to almost none. However, he is ringing the bell to go outside all the time now...not just to potty. I don't want to ignore him bc he's doing exactly what I want him to do but how's a girl gonna get ready for work in the mornings? 

Well, this morning I had just let him outside and walked back upstairs to finish getting ready when I heard the bell ring again. I yelled for him to wait just a minute (like he really understands what I'm saying, lol) so I could get my daughter ready for daycare. 

When I finally came downstairs I smelled the dreaded poo stench. I thought to myself, "that's ok, this was my fault for not letting him out". However, I could not find the poo anywhere! Finally, I noticed some poo residue by the back door and cleaned it up thinking he had stepped in it and tracked it on the tile. 

I then proceeded to feed him his breakfast which he refused to eat. It was then that I realized what had happened. The little s**t wasn't hungry because he already eaten his s**t!! UGH! He doesn't touch his poo outside anymore so I don't know if he was covering his tracks, so to speak, or still has a taste for it. Regardless, I am not making that mistake again.


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

apenn0006 said:


> So Yager has mastered the bell that hangs on the door for when he needs to go potty. He will ring it and then sit and wait for someone to come let him out. Accidents in the house are down to almost none. However, he is ringing the bell to go outside all the time now...not just to potty. I don't want to ignore him bc he's doing exactly what I want him to do but how's a girl gonna get ready for work in the mornings?
> 
> Well, this morning I had just let him outside and walked back upstairs to finish getting ready when I heard the bell ring again. I yelled for him to wait just a minute (like he really understands what I'm saying, lol) so I could get my daughter ready for daycare.
> 
> ...


Forgive me for laughing :laugh: I do sympathize!


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

At what age should I teach my pup to ring a bell to go outside? I don't want to start to early. I tried to teach him to "leave it" with some food but he did not catch on. I am not the best trainer but followed a video on youtube and got nothing. Maybe for 1/2 a second I could get him to look at me then I would reward him. But other than that, he was persistent.

OH and I am overwhelmed with this forum! Great Place!


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

I haven't used the bell method but if I did, I would just ring it myself everytime you go through the door. Eventually your pup will make the association and start ringing it himself. No such thing as starting too early, the earlier the better


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

I gave in last night and bought one of those Anxiety wraps for the pup. 
I dunno if he finally just got use to his cage or what but he cried for only 10 mins then fell asleep. I guess I will find out if it worked or if he was just really tired. But you can bet your ass I am walking him a long ways again.


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

I decided to give Spirit an area way in the back of the yard to dig as he wishes. There's a tree limb or something buried firmly there but protruding so it has his curiosity ... it's good for him to dig, helps to keep his nails short and keeps him out of trouble!


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

Jo Ellen said:


> I decided to give Spirit an area way in the back of the yard to dig as he wishes. There's a tree limb or something buried firmly there but protruding so it has his curiosity ... it's good for him to dig, helps to keep his nails short and keeps him out of trouble!


That's a great idea, I need to find Gaia a dedicated spot in the yard. The lawn people are probably not liking her little holes.


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

wrx_02 said:


> At what age should I teach my pup to ring a bell to go outside? I don't want to start to early. I tried to teach him to "leave it" with some food but he did not catch on. I am not the best trainer but followed a video on youtube and got nothing. Maybe for 1/2 a second I could get him to look at me then I would reward him. But other than that, he was persistent.
> 
> OH and I am overwhelmed with this forum! Great Place!



We had it hanging on the door the day we brought him home. He will pretty much teach himself. Sometimes I would ring it before we went outside but the door makes it ring when you open so he starts to associate the ringing bell with going outside. It really is the most handsoff training tool I can think of. I mean he has to go out anyways and he's eventually learning a creative way to let me know he needs to go out that I can hear no matter where I'm at in the house.


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## Aurana13 (Jul 3, 2012)

apenn0006 said:


> We had it hanging on the door the day we brought him home. He will pretty much teach himself. Sometimes I would ring it before we went outside but the door makes it ring when you open so he starts to associate the ringing bell with going outside. It really is the most handsoff training tool I can think of. I mean he has to go out anyways and he's eventually learning a creative way to let me know he needs to go out that I can hear no matter where I'm at in the house.


I like this idea. I've been having trouble with Willow not letting us know when she has to go. After all, my 5 year old is a non-barker so the pup has picked up on the trait. it's hard to even get them to bark when someone comes to the door. 

I know, most people have problems with their dogs barking too much, i'm having a hard time getting mine to bark. Sigh.

Although, I will do a brag:

I make my dogs sit and 'calm down' before they are allowed out side or back in. It has been the rule when we had one dog, and it started with our pup on day one. Now, my 4 month old will shake both paws before she is allowed out. She even offers them when i forget to ask. What a smart little cookie.


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

^^^ good idea! I will get a bell.


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## IrishRose (May 8, 2012)

Here is Maximus/Max. He turned 3 months old yesterday (born 4/11/2012). He already knows sit, down and stand. Doing fairly well on stay also!  He is a JOY...we love him so much!!!:wub:


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## Aurana13 (Jul 3, 2012)

Here is my Willow. Born March 1st. She is GSD mix and we got her from a nearby animal shelter only 4 weeks ago. She's a quick learner and has picked up a lot from our 5 year old mixed female. Her ears flop over most days, but when she's smelling something real good, they stand straight up. I've got my fingers crossed when she finished teething.


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## rshkr (Feb 9, 2012)

kimber








sorry, wrong kimber!

i mean this kimber!









a GSD with her own mind, her own agenda. i'm having a hard time training her, not to mention i'm the dumbest GSD owner in the world _(and first time owning a dog, dont tell anyone i got a working dog)_. 100% potty trained (if he wants to go out and potty, he'll sit by the sliding door and paw it), loves riding in cars, a glutton with raw bison, a tazmanian devil when it comes to chasing toys/balls, will do anything for the ball. started counter surfing. loves to teeth my nieces and nephews. 30#, 16 weeks.


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

Spirit was so funny this morning. I've had the kiddie pool set up but he hasn't gone in it, not too sure of the water thing yet. But I emptied it yesterday to clean it out, didn't fill it back up. This morning I got in it and was walking around to encourage Spirit to get in. And he did! He was so excited, he was jumping in and out and running in circles. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:


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## WVGSD (Nov 28, 2006)

*Sabra - new GSD puppy*

Here is Sabra (Say-bra), my new GSD puppy. I brought her home at nine weeks of age after a one week delay caused by the horrible derecho and resulting power outages that left us without power for six days. She is now ten weeks old and doing superbly. House and crate training are going easily and my other eight dogs are getting used to having a puppy in the house again after quite a few years with only rescue foster puppies from time to time.

on the trip home









she found her crate









just turned ten weeks old









with a few toys









Sabra is 3/4 American Show Lines and 1/4 West German Show Lines.


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

Sabra and Kimber are adorable! Hah, how are you two doing ?? Getting enough sleep? Still have all your fingers and toes? :laugh:

I just picked up one of those play tires at PetCo, Puppy Treads. Spirit LOVES it !! Yay, I think this will keep him interested for awhile, I don't think he's going to be able to chew it up (knock on wood!). Daisy's trying to steal it away from him right now ... he's not giving it up easily. Huge hit, highly recommend one of these for all our pups. 

Puppies are so much fun :wub:


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

Jo Ellen said:


> Spirit was so funny this morning. I've had the kiddie pool set up but he hasn't gone in it, not too sure of the water thing yet. But I emptied it yesterday to clean it out, didn't fill it back up. This morning I got in it and was walking around to encourage Spirit to get in. And he did! He was so excited, he was jumping in and out and running in circles. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:


Mine finally got the idea that little kiddie pools are FUN! he would run circles and try to dig in the water...he then decided he wanted to join daddy in the big pool. lol The good news is he can swim!


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

apenn0006 said:


> Mine finally got the idea that little kiddie pools are FUN! he would run circles and try to dig in the water...he then decided he wanted to join daddy in the big pool. lol The good news is he can swim!


Oh my, wer are so far from that. My little guy doesn't even like to get his feet wet. But I have an idea .....

Doritos float :rofl:


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## Lakl (Jul 23, 2011)

Cute thread. Guess I'll join in. Here is my Kaleb @ 10.5wks. He is my first WL pup and has been such a joy thus far. He has been growing like a weed, though, so I'm trying to stay consistent with taking pics.

:wub::wub:


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

Lakl said:


>


My my my. His ear leans over just like Spirit's. So adorable, how can you stand it?  Can't wait to see how he matures, he's really beautiful.


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

My little boy jumped about a foot off the porch jumping. He was whining a little and limping a lot afterwards, 10 mins later he is barley limping and not whining? 

Trying to see which leg he hurt to ice it for him. Since he isn't acting hurt anymore I am confused. Is it normal for puppys to fall a little cry then be fine? Should I wait and see what he does tomorrow before rushing to the animal hospital?


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

Here is my little Hellhound. :wub: Her name is Gretchen and she will be 15 weeks old tomorrow. <3 (She was born on April Fools Day! ) Her last weigh in was at 13w/6d old and she was 24.4lb, sooo....She's probably near 27 by now given her "average" growth rate. Getting to be a big girl!!

Here are some pictures of her from 2 days ago. 


















And these were at about 13.5 weeks?


















And for size comparison (Ignoring how awful I look in each picture) this was Gretchen at 3 weeks and 2 days old when I first met her...









And then this is Gretchen as of 2 days ago. LOL! A whole 11 weeks & 3 days difference!!









I noticed others talking ears, Gretchens first ear went up the day she turned 7 weeks old.









And both were up the day she turned 8 weeks old!!









Haven't gone down yet! (Knock on wood!!)

These were two quick obedience videos I took at 14w/4d old.  Such a smartie pants! Not the best but I was videoing it by myself with an iPod so...

Video #1 - Not centered....Didn't realize that until afterwards. Kind of harder to see..





Video #2 - Easier to see but Gretchen got a bit distracted by the truck. -.-;;; The first "hier/here" was a little messed up, she did it correctly but she had hoarded a treat in her mouth and choked on it as she was running to me. As soon as she got it up (and re-ate it of course) she went directly into her front/sit w/ focus.





This girl surprises me every day. :wub: She's not the easiest dog I've worked with but she keeps me on my toes and gives me a nice little challenge since she's completely pigheaded. Zoey however, isn't impressed with her. I joke if she could talk she'd tell me how much she hates me for bringing her home and that she demands to be taken to the senior citizen center to live out her days in peace. :rofl: Gretchens favorite "game" is "how far can I get before Zoey bites me?". It involves standing by the couch or wherever Zoey is laying, and continuously barking at her until Zoey snaps and Gretchen yelps. At which point Gretchen shakes it off within a second and is back to barking. No, I don't encourage this game or let it happen but again....Gretch is an obnoxious little devil with a mind of her own. :crazy: But she's been such a joy to have in my life since the loss of my boy Chance.  There may be days I sit down and cry over the puppy stages and woes of raising another dog after losing my "perfect" one but at the end of the day, I know Chance is right there with us and because she's such a little monster, I do often have my mind on "how to keep Gretchen out of trouble today" vs. "Omg it's been another day without Chance". Even the 1 year anniversary, I got to get out and enjoy myself and my puppy vs. sitting at home bawling like a baby which I spent many many days doing prior to finding Gretchen.


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

I am thinking maybe he landed wrong? I just rubbed my hands down each of his legs, moving the joints and applying a little pressure. He didn't react at all and nothing felt strange.


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

Spirit and Daisy were rough housing a few days ago. Spirit got hurt and was yelping, running away limping. Scared me, hate the sound of a dog yelping  A few minutes later he was fine.

I'd wait. I wouldn't even both with the ice, just let him be. If he's still limping in the morning, I would make an appt for Monday.


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

thanks I am so worried he is sleeping now. I have his vet appt for the 24th this month. I want to make sure he didn't hurt anything and he is acting like he is fine. 

Didn't know if he could fall wrong, act like he broke something, then be fine? Almost my a twisted ankle or something.


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

ChancetheGSD said:


> This girl surprises me every day. :wub: She's not the easiest dog I've worked with but she keeps me on my toes and gives me a nice little challenge since she's completely pigheaded. Zoey however, isn't impressed with her. I joke if she could talk she'd tell me how much she hates me for bringing her home and that she demands to be taken to the senior citizen center to live out her days in peace. :rofl: Gretchens favorite "game" is "how far can I get before Zoey bites me?". It involves standing by the couch or wherever Zoey is laying, and continuously barking at her until Zoey snaps and Gretchen yelps. At which point Gretchen shakes it off within a second and is back to barking. No, I don't encourage this game or let it happen but again....Gretch is an obnoxious little devil with a mind of her own. :crazy: But she's been such a joy to have in my life since the loss of my boy Chance.  There may be days I sit down and cry over the puppy stages and woes of raising another dog after losing my "perfect" one but at the end of the day, I know Chance is right there with us and because she's such a little monster, I do often have my mind on "how to keep Gretchen out of trouble today" vs. "Omg it's been another day without Chance". Even the 1 year anniversary, I got to get out and enjoy myself and my puppy vs. sitting at home bawling like a baby which I spent many many days doing prior to finding Gretchen.


I am so impressed with Gretchen's stay ... that is amazing. What a great job you are doing, I am imspired! 

Happy to hear you're taking care of yourself, and Gretchen is doing her part. Life goes on, whether we want it to or not. Dogs live in the moment, sounds like Chance had some wonderful moments with you. It's Gretchen's turn now. You're doing so well with her, what are your longterm plans?


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

wrx_02 said:


> Didn't know if he could fall wrong, act like he broke something, then be fine? Almost my a twisted ankle or something.


That's what I thought too. I think puppies might have a flare for the dramatic


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## breyer08 (Jul 4, 2012)

ChancetheGSD said:


> Here is my little Hellhound. :wub: Her name is Gretchen and she will be 15 weeks old tomorrow. <3 (She was born on April Fools Day! ) Her last weigh in was at 13w/6d old and she was 24.4lb, sooo....She's probably near 27 by now given her "average" growth rate. Getting to be a big girl!!


Your Gretchen is only two days older than my Ava! She sounds like a very smart girl, too. This coming week I am going to be working on a good stay with Ava, so we'll be watching Gretchen's videos!  I know what you mean about the puppy stage, though. Very challenging at times, but when you see them learning so quickly and absorbing these tasks we give them, it does make it worth the effort and frustration. I'm so glad you have her to help ease the pain of your loss.


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

wrx_02 said:


> thanks I am so worried he is sleeping now. I have his vet appt for the 24th this month. I want to make sure he didn't hurt anything and he is acting like he is fine.
> 
> Didn't know if he could fall wrong, act like he broke something, then be fine? Almost my a twisted ankle or something.


Gaia has the tendancy to be very vocal and dramatic over the smallest things, I've read on here as well that many over dramatize falls, bumps etc. Hes most likely fine just keep an eye on him for a few days and when your vet asks about any concerns you can mention it but I'm sure he's just being a drama king.


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

wrx_02 said:


> My little boy jumped about a foot off the porch jumping. He was whining a little and limping a lot afterwards, 10 mins later he is barley limping and not whining?
> 
> Trying to see which leg he hurt to ice it for him. Since he isn't acting hurt anymore I am confused. Is it normal for puppys to fall a little cry then be fine? Should I wait and see what he does tomorrow before rushing to the animal hospital?


I have stepped on my puppy on accident before and he cried like I cut off one of his legs. He limped for about 10 minutes and then was fine. Scared the crap out of me but someone reassured me that puppy's vocalizations are often just dramatized in comparison to the actual injury. Apparently they are bit of drama queens. 

We tried icing his leg and I am sure you already figured out that it is easier said than done. 

I am sure it hurt really bad but I think he will be just fine.


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

After having my daughter, the drinking I did while out was very limited because there is nothing like getting up early with a child while hungover. I realized this morning that the concept now applies to puppies. My daughter is sleeping until 10 while the puppy is up at 7.  

Here's a couple of pictures snapped yesterday of the two little hellions. <3


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

Hey Apenn, do you have goldfish in that pool? I recognize that look! Hah, I have a few in mine, Spirit actually caught one once but it was dead already, and he spit it out. He's still working on his first live catch :laugh:


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

apenn0006 said:


> After having my daughter, the drinking I did while out was very limited because there is nothing like getting up early with a child while hungover. I realized this morning that the concept now applies to puppies. My daughter is sleeping until 10 while the puppy is up at 7.


I pulled my hair back in a quick ponytail this morning to make a quick run to the store while the pup was sleeping ... took a look at myself in the mirror and wondered where the heck did I go LOL. And then I proceeded to wear my slippers to the store ... oops :rofl:


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

Aww, I think Spirit just had a nightmare. He was sleeping behind the chair just out of eyeshot and suddenly started yelping, very loudly. My golden retriever came running immediately, as did I. He seemed to need a bit of reassurance, which we gave him, and then he went to his crate and is back asleep again.

What kind of nightmare could a puppy have ?? He's never had any bad experiences that I know of, only positive. Doesn't that make us wonder though? What really is in the mind of our dogs. Now I'm wondering if I'm doing alright by him, I certainly am trying. Why would he have a nightmare?


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

Jo Ellen said:


> Hey Apenn, do you have goldfish in that pool? I recognize that look! Hah, I have a few in mine, Spirit actually caught one once but it was dead already, and he spit it out. He's still working on his first live catch :laugh:


you keep goldfish in your kiddie pool? thats odd...lol


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

I do! It's not that odd, really. They just swim around in there and the dogs love it, they're very hard to catch. My golden retriever has been fishing for....9 years. She catches fish at the lake, so sometimes I set the pool up at home and put some goldfish in it. Not as fun for her as the real fish at the lake, but she does enjoy it. And now Spirit is very fascinated, as well. He doesn't have the skill yet that my GR has ... but he's working on it.

Just a bit of mental stimulation on hot days. It's fun, you should try it


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## rooandtree (May 13, 2012)

awww what cute puppies!!! my guy is 6 months now..it went too fast!!!


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## Renmure (Jun 5, 2012)

Hi everyone. Great to see a thread just for puppies in this age range.

Nzo is our latest GSD over 25 years of ownership and has just turned 12 weeks old. Some of you may have read about some of his exploits on his blog on the forum. 

He has settled in really well and our 3 year old great dane has really taken to him.










I'm looking forward to seeing how our puppies all grow up together.

Wendy


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

Today he is running around and playing like always. I think he is fine, really scared me though.


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

I'm the one that's wounded now. Spirit just chomped down on my hand and hit a bone. Ouch, it's throbbing, pain is radiating out to my fingers.

Score 1 for Spirit


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

breyer08 said:


> Your Gretchen is only two days older than my Ava! She sounds like a very smart girl, too. This coming week I am going to be working on a good stay with Ava, so we'll be watching Gretchen's videos!  I know what you mean about the puppy stage, though. Very challenging at times, but when you see them learning so quickly and absorbing these tasks we give them, it does make it worth the effort and frustration. I'm so glad you have her to help ease the pain of your loss.


Thanks!

I noticed that Ava is the closest in age to Gretchen too after going back through!  Will be the most fun to compare notes.  What lines is your girl from? Weight?

I got an "official" 15 week weigh in today at the vet, Miss Gretchen is 26.8lb!! 2.4lb growth in 8 days!!!  This seems to be the new "average" from 1.5lb a week before!!


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

I love your blog, what an awesome idea!


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## Lakl (Jul 23, 2011)

Just thought I'd share. I got the tip from someone on another forum, but I'm really saving money on toys with this one. If I tell you my pup's absolute favorite toy is an empty water bottle, I'm not even kidding! The toys I bought before he arrived have already been killed. Lol. I also took one of my kids old fishing poles and tied an old t-shirt to the end of it and use it as a flirt pole. He loves chasing it around and it gets rid of a lot of that pent up energy.


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

*Grade 1 Obedience*

Starting Grade 1 Obedience tonight and I'll admit I'm a tad terrified. Gaia did great in Puppy class, it was less structured so she was allowed to interact/play with the other dogs. But in this environment I'm interested to see how she's going to react will she be the super hyper puppy class dog or maybe fingers crossed she'll be a well behaved picture of perfection..haha, in my dreams. 

The woman running the classes is very very into what she does and she's really good at her job she may just be a little intense for me (has been known to make people cry) but focuses on purely positive methods, which is why I am going there. 

She's going to be the youngest dog there by about 4 months and am worried she'll be the most disruptive (any time we've been around other dogs it's been play time). Anyone have any tips/tricks/hints on different ways to keep her attention while we're in the discussion portion of the lesson? We work on focus a lot but would like to mix it up so she doesn't get bored. It will be greatly appreicated!


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## JessicaM (Jul 13, 2012)

*Meet CoCo*

This is our new pup CoCo! She is a GSD and Belgian Shepherd mix. She is 9 weeks old. She turns 10 weeks on Friday and also starts puppy kindergarten that day! I am so excited and hope the classes go well. She is a great dog. I have been introducing clicker training to her and she seems to be grasping it well so far. She still is a bit of a biter(playful), but we are working on that! I can't wait til I am able to start taking her out for walks


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

Really need a shark icon for this forum. W have a surfer, a person fishing ... but no shark. 

Holy cow, I have a shark :crazy:


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

My puppy hates getting a bath but if the sprinklers come on it is the greatest day ever?!?!?!?!?! Why?


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

Because where there's grass there's dirt?

Tonight I taught Spirit how to High-5 with both paws. I should probably call that High-10?


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

i.am.exhausted :crazy: 

It really is a daily .. no, make that moment-to-moment, challenge juggling a job and a puppy. I work from home, maybe that makes it even harder? Wouldn't have it any other way, but I am worn out. I won't get to sleep in tomorrow but at least I can go back to sleep when the puppy does. He wakes me up around 5am every morning.

Got some good rain today. Spirit doesn't like it when the rain hits his nose so I've had to escort him out all day LOL 

He's got two cues for having to go potty. He either whines (which I prefer) or he sits quietly by the back door (sometimes I miss that). But they're cues! Making big progress with housetraining, yay.

CHEWING! Spirit would chew this house down if I let him. The past two days have been a comedy.

He loves to play with the mop when I'm mopping. Oh my, what a tough guy he is, he gets so fierce. So now I find myself mopping my floor even when it's not needed ... my floors have never been cleaner. 

He knows sit, down, a 3 second stay (LOL), and a high-five with two paws. I'm certain he knows the meaning of the word No (he's got to be hearing it 500 times a day). Not to worry, he hears lots of other things from me too. 

He's adorable, and so naughty. Just don't ask me tonight if I'm going to survive this ... ask me tomorrow morning 

How's everyone else holding up?


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

Jo Ellen said:


> i.am.exhausted :crazy:
> 
> It really is a daily .. no, make that moment-to-moment, challenge juggling a job and a puppy. I work from home, maybe that makes it even harder? Wouldn't have it any other way, but I am worn out. I won't get to sleep in tomorrow but at least I can go back to sleep when the puppy does. He wakes me up around 5am every morning.
> 
> ...



It's getting there, still exhausting! We had a miserable first obedience class but after a private lesson, the trainer and I are on the same page and she realizes my headstrong puppy isn't quite the same as the goldens she owns. We were doing really well with potty training 3 weeks with no accidents and that went all out the window this weekend so frustrating but so far today mistake free! 

Shes doing awesome with other dogs, not shy or agressive towards them at all, had her first day and doggy day care and for the first time ever she was calm for more than an hour ;-).

I love her to death and it's great to see how she changes from day to say. Hope everyone enjoyed some sunshine this weekend


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## cowgirlteach (Mar 17, 2012)

We are doing well too!!! I must just have a sleeper?! We go on at least 1 mile walk a day sometimes 2. We go to bed at 10 or 11 and wake up at 6 or 7 with no potty breaks.

We went to 4H obedience and we did fantastic I was able to keep him focused on me the entire time. On 8/4 we start obedience and I am both super excited and super nervous. 

The obedience class is for 5 month olds and up and my boy will only be 3.5 months roughly. I'm hoping it will be ok the trainer seemed to think so.

Oh and here are some updated pictures!!


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## breyer08 (Jul 4, 2012)

*Ava at 15.5 weeks*

We are doing better, too, but one day at a time! Ava still bites like a vicious vampire when she gets all excited, so I have to keep a bottle of Bitter Apple on me at all times. Today she got me pretty well in the back of the leg, and I was bleeding quite a bit. I swear, I can't wear shorts in public anymore because people will think I use needles or something... :blush:

Her obedience training is coming along quite well. We are still working on a good loose leash walk (without pulling--that's the tough part), but her learned commands are very strong. She knows "come", "sit", "lie down", "shake", "wave", "high five", "spin", "speak", "watch" (to encourage her to look me straight in the eye) and "fetch". We also had our first day at doggie daycare on Thursday--trying to gradually get her used to it so that eventually, when we need to board her, it should be less of a struggle.

There are good times, there are trying times, and there are times when I ask myself what in the world I was thinking when we got her! But, in the end I am confident that all the work we do now will help her to become a very good adult... in about 3 years from now! :laugh:


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## Champs Dad (Jun 29, 2012)

Champ at 11 weeks today.


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

Awww, I love the puppy pictures! Vicious vampire -- LOL!!! :wild:

Cowgirl -- you have a Montisorri pup!


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## peep_216 (May 18, 2012)

It is AWESOME to see how these dogs mature over time, you will see. Mine is 9 months now and I remember when she was on my lap on the way home from the breeder and my goodness she has just been a blessing in my life. LOVE her, I am 18 years old and I will forever get GSDs. It is tough at first, just stay tough on them and they will learn I promise.


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

How soon should I try heal training and what is the best way to go about it? 
If anyone has a youtube video they went by that worked well for them post the link. 

My 10 week is walking ok, he pulls sometimes but I want to get him corrected before he becomes to large. My parents gave me a gentle leader but he hates it, I can't get it on and I hear it doesn't correct the issue. So I want to do it right, if he is old enough to understand.


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

wrx_02 said:


> How soon should I try heal training and what is the best way to go about it?
> If anyone has a youtube video they went by that worked well for them post the link.
> 
> My 10 week is walking ok, he pulls sometimes but I want to get him corrected before he becomes to large. My parents gave me a gentle leader but he hates it, I can't get it on and I hear it doesn't correct the issue. So I want to do it right, if he is old enough to understand.


I'd try loose leash walking or attention walking before heeling, I'm not experienced, just going through the exact same thing in obedience class and this is what we are starting with. The biggest tip that has been given me is when he/she starts pulling rather than reacting and pulling back just stop and when he comes back to you start walking again. This may make a walk a little longer but it works.

ETA: All building focus is probably really good for heeling, we have yet to attempt a proper heel but she's normally right by side anyway when we are walking.


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

Sweet I will try that. I have started to get him to stop at all crossings. Tell him to sit. I have to hold my hand up for him to understand, then I always pet for reward. He doesn't seem sad that I didn't have any food. I think he actually likes praise more than food now.


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

Oh another question. 

We have to keep Lex in a Kennel during the day (wife and I both work days) 
Anyways I get up early and walk/train/feed/play with him in the morning. Maybe an hour total. I usually have someone come let him out a little before noon and occupy him for a couple hours then back in his cage. 

So his schedule is 
5:45-7am Breakfast/walk/play
7am - 10:30/11am cage
11am - 1:30/2pm he gets out to play/potty
2pm -4:30/5pm cage

Then around 5 or before we get home and he is out until 10pm or so. 

Anyways my sister has been checking on him for us most of the time. My father has been really sick. This all happened when we got close to picking up the puppy. The plan was for him to stay at my parents during the day but with him not doing well I hate to take my sister away from there. My mother could really use the help. 

I hate to do it but would it be bad if he was only out of his cage for an hour during the day? Or is that bad for him? 

I have been letting him out at night and slowly increasing the time between potty breaks. He is going 4-5 hours now with no issues at night. I am really proud of him. 

Eventually he will have free roam of the house during the day but until then I need to keep him safe.


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

We have finally gotten to the point where I can brush Yager without him attacking the brush. I now have fur balls all over my back yard. No matter how often I brush, the fur keeps coming! I can feel his adult fur coming in on his spine when I rub his fur the opposite way. He is starting to lose the fluffy look and is getting the sleek look now. Everyday I am shocked to see how much bigger he is looking and his muscle tone and bone structure are just amazing to me. I was in awe of his sire when I saw him but I never expected to feel this way towards him as a puppy. 

My husband says I am spoiling the puppy but I can't help but be so proud of him. Right now there is tension between my husband and myself over the different ways we treat the puppy. Is this normal? I thought coming into this we were on the same page but over the course of a month my husband has become more aggressive with the dog and treats it more as an annoyance than a puppy that is learning. It is like he expects it to remember every command. Everytime I try to correct my husband's method of training with what i have learned on here or from reading, he turns really condescending and accuses me of treating him like a child. 

I really am at a loss. I am hoping the private obedience classes we are attending tomorrow will help him see that his way of training is not the positive reinforcement that we had agreed on when we got the dog and will alleviate some of his feelings towards the dog.


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

Appen, run right out and pick up the book, "The Art of Raising a Puppy" by the Monks of New Skete. Start reading it, leave it on the coffee table or somewhere out in the open. Better to let your husband learn without correcting him, where possible.

Is this normal? Absolutely. Not much will bring out the differences between two partners than a puppy. The conflict is there but somehow puppies are very adept at bringing the issues front and center. You are new school, your husband is old school = CONFLICT. 

Going to an obedience class together is great too. He needs to hear these things from people other than yourself. Get into the spirit of nuturing him, just like you're nuturing your puppy ... baby steps, love and kindness ... and above all, patience.

This does put pressure on you though. You need to be present with your pup as much as possible so you intercept the old school training your husband would apply. As much as possible, don't give him a chance or a reason to use outdated, harsh methods. This will also help to alleviate some of his feelings that your pup is annoying. 

Good luck. I'm grateful sometimes to be single!


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

Jo Ellen said:


> Appen, run right out and pick up the book, "The Art of Raising a Puppy" by the Monks of New Skete. Start reading it, leave it on the coffee table or somewhere out in the open. Better to let your husband learn without correcting him, where possible.
> 
> Is this normal? Absolutely. Not much will bring out the differences between two partners than a puppy. The conflict is there but somehow puppies are very adept at bringing the issues front and center. You are new school, your husband is old school = CONFLICT.
> 
> ...


Thank you so much for the reassurance. i have seen that book on Amazon and thought about getting it but have picked up other GSD books instead. Ive tried to get him to read the books but there is always an excuse with him. I seriously feel like I have 3 children in the house and he is the most difficult to deal with of them all. Maybe if I get that book and make it a point to read out loud to him...lol


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

Coming from a guy I would go to a class together and have the trainer tell him how it should be done. 

Spouses telling the other how to do anything, never works out. I've been riding dirtbikes for years and you think I could explain to my wife what she needs to do or what she is doing wrong? But if I have a 3rd party do it she listens.


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## breyer08 (Jul 4, 2012)

Apenn, that is exactly my experience with my husband, too. I try to get him to realize that he needs to think like a puppy and not like an adult man, but he often doesn't have the patience with Ava that I'd like. His main problem is going up to her, getting her all riled up, and then getting mad when she is all excited and starts play nipping at him. 

I think this is one of those things that you have to work out with time, much like having kids. Be patient with the dog, patient with each other, and absolutely attend training classes together.


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

breyer08 said:


> Apenn, that is exactly my experience with my husband, too. I try to get him to realize that he needs to think like a puppy and not like an adult man, but he often doesn't have the patience with Ava that I'd like. His main problem is going up to her, getting her all riled up, and then getting mad when she is all excited and starts play nipping at him.
> 
> I think this is one of those things that you have to work out with time, much like having kids. Be patient with the dog, patient with each other, and absolutely attend training classes together.



This is exactly what mine does. He rough-plays with the puppy but then gets made when he's biting. Yesterday was just an overall bad day. He works third shift and didn't get to sleep until 11am which meant he was still exhausted when I got home at 5:30. I wanted to take Hailey and Yager to the park to work off some energy on both but I don't like to go alone. My hubby was in a bad mood bc he was tired and didn't want to go anyways. Once we got there, my daughter peed in her pants so we had to go home. My husband, of course, made the situation worse by getting mad at my daughter and calling her pee-pee girl! This made me furious bc she is 3 years old, it was an accident, it rarely ever happens, her punishment was having to go home, and what is name-calling going to accomplish besides belittling her? 

Somedays I wish I could lock my husband in a crate until it's time for him to go to work. I know he has anger issues but somedays I wonder if I have the will power to stick with the marriage. I don't believe in love at first sight and whole-heartedly believe love is something that grows and continually needs work on a daily basis. But am I supposed to be questioning if I want to have another baby with him? 

Lately, my faith in God has been getting stronger while my husband's is going the opposite direction. We have never been super religious even though my dad is a Baptist minister and go to church maybe once a month, but I don't know what spurred the change in me. I have just been super emotional lately when discussing the Bible and have even been enjoying church lately...it's weird. My husband, on the other hand, is questioning whether God even exists and has become so defiant on anything relating to the Bible. So I've recently started praying for my husband and don't really know where to go from here.


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## cowgirlteach (Mar 17, 2012)

*I can finally pet my puppy!!!*

It only took until he was three months old but he rarely bites when I pet him anymore!!! 

I'm hoping when he starts teething he doesn't revert back, though I'm pretty sure that is just wishful thinking on my part. 

Tomorrow we go in for another round of vaccines and then my vet will decide if he wants to do a 4th set or not. One more week until obedience class!!!!:crazy:


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## KatsMuse (Jun 5, 2012)

Hi APenn!
May I ask ...were you both in agreement to getting this puppy? If so, did you discuss how you would raise the puppy...as I'm sure you did with your child?

In our home, we have always had 2 dogs , mostly for the companionship they provide for each other. When one passes, we wait a period of time and then always get another. 
My hubby, who loves dogs, is always hesitant about a new puppy. Not because he doesn't like puppies, only because the heartbreak of losing them eventually takes a terrible toll on him. However, he usually agrees to accept it because of the needs of our entire pack. (We have agreed that our lives would be unfulfilled without the companionship of dogs.) 

I am the primary caretaker and trainer for our dogs as puppies. Always have been. Not sure how that happened but it works for us. Although hubby interacts with the pups, I am basically the one who decides on the training and discipline.
I do the house breaking, nail trimming, feeding, etc... it's a lot of work but I don't mind it . 

I truly hope that he will be open to going to the training classes with you and perhaps reading up on some books as others have mentioned.

IMHO, if he's not open to that...could you possibly talk him into allowing YOU to take 'the reins' for awhile, until the pup has been trained and is a little older? 

I wish you the best of luck and hope this puppy conflict will not impact your family negatively...


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

cowgirlteach said:


> It only took until he was three months old but he rarely bites when I pet him anymore!!!
> 
> I'm hoping when he starts teething he doesn't revert back, though I'm pretty sure that is just wishful thinking on my part.
> 
> Tomorrow we go in for another round of vaccines and then my vet will decide if he wants to do a 4th set or not. One more week until obedience class!!!!:crazy:



Really? I hope that is true for mine. he is 2.5months and it keeps getting worse and worse. "ouch" or "no" don't effect him. Breeder told me when he grabs my hand to squeeze his snout til you get a little whimper and he will stop. Like a mother dog correcting a biting child. Doesn't phase him. 

All I can do is get 5 seconds of petting, then he bites, then I say "ouch" and go sit on the couch. He doesn't get sad or care. 

I have to always get him up from a nap, then he is sweet.


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

Just because it's not working now doesn't mean it's not going to work at all. 2.5 months is still very young. Be patient! Mine is just a bit over 4, he's getting better but still gets carried away sometimes.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong ... there's no quick fix to biting. Right now it might seem like nothing is working but one day you're going to wake up and realize it's definitely gotten better


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## cowgirlteach (Mar 17, 2012)

Yeah I don't know what changed other than he figured it out that biting = no me? He still will bite on occasion but we sit on the couch together now and cuddle a lot more. :wub:

I did the redirect with toys and if he bit down and would not let go of my hand I pushed on the roof of his mouth until he would let go.

He is by no means perfect but a good step away from where we were!!!!:lurking:



wrx_02 said:


> Really? I hope that is true for mine. he is 2.5months and it keeps getting worse and worse. "ouch" or "no" don't effect him. Breeder told me when he grabs my hand to squeeze his snout til you get a little whimper and he will stop. Like a mother dog correcting a biting child. Doesn't phase him.
> 
> All I can do is get 5 seconds of petting, then he bites, then I say "ouch" and go sit on the couch. He doesn't get sad or care.
> 
> I have to always get him up from a nap, then he is sweet.


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

It really does get better, Gaia is 19 weeks now and is no where near as bad as she was even 2 weeks ago. She still goes thru momentary lapses of reality where she believes it's acceptable to attack my feet but we're getting there.


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## KatsMuse (Jun 5, 2012)

wrx_02 said:


> Really? I hope that is true for mine. he is 2.5months and it keeps getting worse and worse. "ouch" or "no" don't effect him. Breeder told me when he grabs my hand to squeeze his snout til you get a little whimper and he will stop. Like a mother dog correcting a biting child. Doesn't phase him.
> 
> All I can do is get 5 seconds of petting, then he bites, then I say "ouch" and go sit on the couch. He doesn't get sad or care.
> 
> I have to always get him up from a nap, then he is sweet.


For me, personally, I'm not a big fan of squeezing the snout of a 2.5 month old puppy that is "mouthy". But, since you stated that it's getting worse... And it, "doesn't phase him"... You may want to go to some of the behavior posts?

IMO, There Is a HUGE difference in dogs...whether it's genetics, high drive, etc. Some are just a little mouthy because of teething and then, you have the little, true landshark.

The first situation is easier to deal with and most of mine (my 7th GSD now) have been easily trained/redirected to stop mouthing/ biting after teething.

_HOWEVER_...I have had one really true 'landshark'in the bunch! 
That's a whole different category altogether!! :wild: 
Of course, they have to be trained And re-directed as well. it's just not quite so simple...she was the extreme - highly driven , high enery and motivated! 
Training/redirecting her had to be different for us in that case. Turns out, she's 4 years old now and one of the best dogs I've ever owned! And worked.

There are a lot of experienced people here with great advice...what works for one may not work for another. Check out all of the options and see which is best for you and your dog.

Keep us posted


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

I will see how is goes. My wife usually gets the bad end with the open toed shoes. 
When he goes after your bare feet is when he really hurts you. 

I am hoping he will get it. So far he knows sit, down, leave it, and stay!
He does really well. Smartest dog I have even had. 

Just the biting.....I can deal with it. The wife can not so I am try to remedy it best I can.


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## KatsMuse (Jun 5, 2012)

apenn0006 said:


> We have finally gotten to the point where I can brush Yager without him attacking the brush.
> I really am at a loss. I am hoping the private obedience classes we are attending tomorrow will help him see that his way of training is not the positive reinforcement that we had agreed on when we got the dog and will alleviate some of his feelings towards the dog.


Hi! 
How did the training session go today? keep us posted?


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

Today was an adventure :wild: I admit, I was crazy busy with work, poor Spirit, we didn't get to play outside as much as I'd like. And then it got really stormy so he's had a lot of pent up energy to deal with today.

In the span of 15 minutes, he destroyed one of my rugs in the kitchen. He was so quiet -- hah, my first clue  and then when I went in the kitchen, I had a hundred pieces of rug all over the floor.

I do wonder how much of my home will remain standing when Spirit finally arrives. 20 more months ... but he's so cute. When I discovered him with the rug in my kitchen, I stopped dead in my tracks and just laughed, he immediately turned belly up, tail thumping ... so happy.

Just a rug


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## KatsMuse (Jun 5, 2012)

Jo Ellen said:


> Today was an adventure :wild: I admit, I was crazy busy with work, poor Spirit, we didn't get to play outside as much as I'd like. And then it got really stormy so he's had a lot of pent up energy to deal with today.
> 
> In the span of 15 minutes, he destroyed one of my rugs in the kitchen. He was so quiet -- hah, my first clue  and then when I went in the kitchen, I had a hundred pieces of rug all over the floor.
> 
> ...


Whew! At least he didn't EAT IT!...


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## breyer08 (Jul 4, 2012)

Jo Ellen said:


> I do wonder how much of my home will remain standing *when Spirit finally arrives*.


I have to admit, this part cracked me up! :rofl: I often feel that way about Ava... hubby and I have a countdown to 24 months. Of course, she still hasn't even turned 4 months, so that's a ways off yet.


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

KatsMuse said:


> Whew! At least he didn't EAT IT!...



Speaking of eat I saw something bright red in Lex's poop. So I got out the gloves and checked it out. Wanted to make sure it wasn't blood. He just went to the vet and they said he looked great!

So it looked like a tail off of one of his toys my mother in law bought him. I never noticed the tail cause everything we got him was kinda big. 

Anyway I went to the toy and it did have a tail on it. Anyways he ripped it off and ate it. Then in came out encased in poo. 

Surprised it didn't hurt him.

Oh and today while I was cleaning Lex's crate he came up to me and did his little pig noise. 
I looked at him and asked "what" he heard my wife and ran to check on her, then came back and did it again. 
I had let him out 10 mins earlier, he didn't poop but he pee'd. So I asked if he wanted to go out. Then he sat and wagged his tail. Yuuup he needed to poop.


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## KatsMuse (Jun 5, 2012)

wrx_02 said:


> Speaking of eat I saw something bright red in Lex's poop. So I got out the gloves and checked it out. Wanted to make sure it wasn't blood. He just went to the vet and they said he looked great!
> 
> So it looked like a tail off of one of his toys my mother in law bought him. I never noticed the tail cause everything we got him was kinda big.
> 
> ...


YAY!  that's good news! Lex is probably a power chewer like mine. I have to constantly check the toys and throw a lot away, if damaged. And now, you know his signal to go outside...Progress! 

Let's see some pics of Lex...we love puppy pics


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

These are a week old but.....


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

I think I have decided that the kitchen rugs will probably never be able to be put back down...


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## KatsMuse (Jun 5, 2012)

Lex can come HERE anytime. (matches my 'Gypsy girl')

awwwww! ... What a doll baby! :wub::wub:

NO WAY that little angel is any trouble!?
So cute!!!


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

My wife said the cuteness is over..........her feet hurt.


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

apenn0006 said:


> I think I have decided that the kitchen rugs will probably never be able to be put back down...


 
luckily my mats and rugs have been spared..my feet on the other hand look like a battle field...I'll be happy when this stage is over.


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

gaia_bear said:


> luckily my mats and rugs have been spared..my feet on the other hand look like a battle field...I'll be happy when this stage is over.


Mine doesn't bother my feet and is getting really good with my arms (I still look like Ive been cutting myself..lol) but he harrasses my husbands feet/legs like its his job. My husband thought I was crazy yesterday when I was asking the dog to bite my arms...it's actually working great with teaching him how hard he can bite. It never occurred to me to LET him bite me but he's doing great now that I am praising him for being soft. Now if I could teach him not to steal my daughter's stuffed animals...

His newest bad habit is jumping up on people.


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## KatsMuse (Jun 5, 2012)

wrx_02 said:


> My wife said the cuteness is over..........her feet hurt.


:rofl::rofl::rofl:... Send him to me! :wub:


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

I've been absent the past few days, trying to put my home back together  

My current thing with Spirit is he wants ALL of my shoes. As soon as I take one off, he's got it. He's fast! 

Do you find yourself running in circles a lot? :crazy:


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## jewels04 (Jul 20, 2012)

Checking in with an 8 week old male puppy born in June 2012. Only had our little Jerry 2 days and his tummy has been bothering him so I am waiting to get through this and than let the fun begin.

Seems like all I have been doing the past 2 days is running him outside to poop. Although today he dumped the garbage all over the kitchen so he had his first bout of puppy mischief.


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

Spirit just brought in a dead mole, or mouse, not sure. He set it right in the middle of the kitchen and the golden retriever, the GSD, me and the cat are all around in a circle looking at it, no one said a word.

:rip:


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## jewels04 (Jul 20, 2012)

LOL Jerry Lee has gotten a little friskier today started off the morning biting my husband in the crotch while my husband slept...


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

jewels04 said:


> LOL Jerry Lee has gotten a little friskier today started off the morning biting my husband in the crotch while my husband slept...


Tell your husband I'm so sorry, but I laughed out loud at this one :laugh:


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

We went to the vet on Saturday for Yager's 12 wk shots and he had doubled his weight in a month. He was 12.5# on 06/30 and on Saturday weighed 25.8#!! The vet said to take him off the puppy formula in a month bc he's worried about his risk for HD since he's growing so fast. Has anybody else had this problem or heard of doing this?


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

We had a big weekend and I was a little nervous on how it was going to go. Both sides of my family were having reunions and told me not to leave Gaia at home, she's a sweetheat around people but I was a tad worried she'd be a little overwhelmed...wow, was I ever wrong. My parents brought their dog along for the day and we just let the dogs loose in the backyard to play. This made me nervous as Gaia's recall is shaky at best, but my dad said she'd just follow KC when she was called, I tried my luck and every time I said "Gaia, here" she'd prace over and sit by my side. 

She was so well behaved, no begging for food, no jumping up on people, no mouthing or attacking feet, and soaked in all the love and attention she was getting. My wild child has her moments but I was mighty proud of her yesterday.


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

gaia_bear said:


> We had a big weekend and I was a little nervous on how it was going to go. Both sides of my family were having reunions and told me not to leave Gaia at home, she's a sweetheat around people but I was a tad worried she'd be a little overwhelmed...wow, was I ever wrong. My parents brought their dog along for the day and we just let the dogs loose in the backyard to play. This made me nervous as Gaia's recall is shaky at best, but my dad said she'd just follow KC when she was called, I tried my luck and every time I said "Gaia, here" she'd prace over and sit by my side.
> 
> She was so well behaved, no begging for food, no jumping up on people, no mouthing or attacking feet, and soaked in all the love and attention she was getting. My wild child has her moments but I was mighty proud of her yesterday.


Isn't it so nice to be able to take your dog with you? We took Yager out with us this weekend and were extremely surprised at how well behaved he is in public. We went to Sonic to eat on Saturday and he sat at our feet and just watched everybody else. I expected him to want to go explore and greet everybody but he was only mildly interested in what everyone else was doing. 

We got the stink eye from someone because we wouldn't let their child pet him. I'm sorry but he's a teething puppy and if he were to bite this little kid I don't want to be held responsible. We had a little kid run up behind us yesterday and just start petting Yager without even asking. When we turned around he ran away. Little boogers...


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## breyer08 (Jul 4, 2012)

apenn0006 said:


> We went to the vet on Saturday for Yager's 12 wk shots and he had doubled his weight in a month. He was 12.5# on 06/30 and on Saturday weighed 25.8#!! The vet said to take him off the puppy formula in a month bc he's worried about his risk for HD since he's growing so fast. Has anybody else had this problem or heard of doing this?


Yes, my puppy Ava turns 17 weeks tomorrow, and for the past 2 weeks we've had her on half-large breed puppy/half-adult kibble, at the vet's request. You should definitely make sure you have Yager on large breed puppy food at the very least, but mixing the adult and puppy formula isn't a bad idea.


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

breyer08 said:


> You should definitely make sure you have Yager on large breed puppy food at the very least, but mixing the adult and puppy formula isn't a bad idea.


Interesting, thanks for the advice.


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## dylano (Jul 6, 2012)

now..dont judge me on how stupid this question is but..
How old is my puppy?

He was born in the 4th of may..

If i count it in months he will be 3 months old on the 4th of auguest 
If i count it in weeks he was 12 weeks (3 months) on the 27th of july

Im so confused..(first time dog owner and all:blush


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## breyer08 (Jul 4, 2012)

Dylano--the problem is that months aren't a perfect 4 weeks (because 4 weeks = 28 days, and most months are 30 or 31, except February). I go by weeks, and then every month on the date of her birth I say she is turning x number of months old today.


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

breyer08 said:


> Dylano--the problem is that months aren't a perfect 4 weeks (because 4 weeks = 28 days, and most months are 30 or 31, except February). I go by weeks, and then every month on the date of her birth I say she is turning x number of months old today.


 
I do the same..Gaia is 20 weeks as of yesterday but won't be 5 months until the 9th. The vet also followed this when we went for her rabies vac, she was 13 weeks but she wouldn't give her the vac until she was 3 months. If that makes any sense


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

Love this picture of my two babies taking a rest from a little hiking at Levi Jackson State Park this weekend.


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## Dooney's Mom (May 10, 2011)

apenn0006 said:


> We went to the vet on Saturday for Yager's 12 wk shots and he had doubled his weight in a month. He was 12.5# on 06/30 and on Saturday weighed 25.8#!! The vet said to take him off the puppy formula in a month bc he's worried about his risk for HD since he's growing so fast. Has anybody else had this problem or heard of doing this?


I put Dooney on an "all stages" food at about 3 months of age, it has worked well for her


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## Lakl (Jul 23, 2011)

apenn0006 said:


> We went to the vet on Saturday for Yager's 12 wk shots and he had doubled his weight in a month. He was 12.5# on 06/30 and on Saturday weighed 25.8#!! The vet said to take him off the puppy formula in a month bc he's worried about his risk for HD since he's growing so fast. Has anybody else had this problem or heard of doing this?


I took Kaleb in today and got the same outcome. He was 13.2 lbs at 8wks. Today was precisely 4 wks later at 12 wks and he weighed 27.6lbs. My vet wasn't concerned at all though. She said he looked very good and not at all heavy. I think maybe they go through growth spurts during this time. He is on Orijen LBP and gets 1.5 cups, twice a day.


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## Lakl (Jul 23, 2011)

apenn0006 said:


> Love this picture of my two babies taking a rest from a little hiking at Levi Jackson State Park this weekend.


LOVE this pic! Sooo freakin cute! :wub:


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## Krizny (Jul 31, 2012)

Hello everyone! I'm new here and Im a first time GSD owner. Here is my dog Sky. She is 9 weeks old and is the runt of the litter, she weighed about 6 pounds when I got her, she has been eating well and is very smart IMO. She knows sit, down, stand, shake, high five and I'm currently working on stay. 


Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

Krizny said:


> Hello everyone! I'm new here and Im a first time GSD owner. Here is my dog Sky. She is 9 weeks old and is the runt of the litter, she weighed about 6 pounds when I got her, she has been eating well and is very smart IMO. She knows sit, down, stand, shake, high five and I'm currently working on stay.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


<3!!


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## KatsMuse (Jun 5, 2012)

dylano said:


> now..dont judge me on how stupid this question is but..
> How old is my puppy?
> 
> He was born in the 4th of may..
> ...


no question is a stupid question...

If you count in days of the year...your pup was born on 4 May (day 125 of this year). Today is day 213 of the year....
Making him 88 days old today. (12 weeks and 4 days old)


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

*Puppy Teeth!*

Gaia's finally losing her puppy teeth  I found one last night while I was cleaning and being the cheesy human being that I am, she was visited by the puppy tooth fairy and has a nice new antler to chew on.


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## acook (Jul 4, 2012)

:thumbup:This is awesome


gaia_bear said:


> Gaia's finally losing her puppy teeth  I found one last night while I was cleaning and being the cheesy human being that I am, she was visited by the puppy tooth fairy and has a nice new antler to chew on.


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## Charmander52 (Oct 21, 2011)

Hi! Your pups are all adorable! I'm a first-timer, just found my 9-week-old pup. I've been haunting the forums for several months, so I'm familiar with some of the users.  
Here's Deeks! He loves his cow toy.


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## first_timer (May 22, 2012)

Hi everyone,

I'm a first time dog/GSD owner and this is my little boy Bear. He is 4 months old and literally the light of my life. We had a rough start when we got him at 6 weeks old and with Parvo. He a big clumsy boy and very protective. He weighs about 33 pounds which is a little on the lighter side but from what I've been told lighter is better than heavier. We just got him neutered today and he hasn't stopped whining since we got him home. He is breaking my heart with that e collar around his neck. Anybody else get theirs spayed/neutered yet? 




Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


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## cowgirlteach (Mar 17, 2012)

*What are you teaching your puppies?*

We just went to our first obedience class and it was great! Ruger was the youngest dog there but was actually one of the better obedient dogs!!! We learned some things that I thought would be good to share.

Gottcha - grab collar and give treat to get them use to being grabbed by the collar.

name means look at me

leave it

sit, down, stand

take the treat easy

greeting other dogs (we only did 3 second greets which I thought was interesting)

I'd like to know what you all are teaching your pups and how it is going!!!


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

25 lbs @ 12 weeks

He has Stay and sit down great! Down I have to put my hand on the floor and he will do it right away, not hand signal and no deal. :lol:

I got him to go to his bed now also. Still need to get better with the loose leash but he is improving.


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

We're currently working on:

Attention w/ Distractions: It's going so-so
Sit: She's mastered this cue.
Stay: I'm able to leave the room and she'll stay. We had a big party after this achievement
Go to bed: needs a little more work
Recall: works when she wants to come, not on her terms don't even think about it...baby steps..haha.
Leave It: Will now leave treats until told it's okay to take. 

Shake a paw
Politely going through doors
Loose Leash Walking/Heeling


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

Who am I ? What am I doing??? LOL :crazy:

Oh boy. I've nicknamed Spirit von Pausen Klaus. He will not let me trim his nails, absolutely no way. Send bandaids please. Going to the groomers until we get him squared away on this.

He knows sit, down, shake, a 3-second stay (LOL), and we're about 25% on the recall. But he's 100% on the pick up ... anything that's not nailed down, even dishes 

I embarrassed to say he is not even 100% housetrained yet. He can go for days with no "accidents" and then all of the sudden it's like he never learned a thing.

:hammer:


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

I missed it but today Lex lifted his leg for the first time. My wife said he lifted it so high he almost fell over.


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

Jo Ellen said:


> Oh boy. I've nicknamed Spirit von Pausen Klaus. He will not let me trim his nails, absolutely no way. Send bandaids please. Going to the groomers until we get him squared away on this.
> 
> :hammer:


Gaia will let me trim her nails but I still take her to the groomers for now because it's a wonderful socialization opportunity as lets her get handled by multiple other people...they tell me she's a sweetheart..sometimes I beg to differ


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

gaia_bear said:


> Gaia will let me trim her nails but I still take her to the groomers for now because it's a wonderful socialization opportunity as lets her get handled by multiple other people...they tell me she's a sweetheart..sometimes I beg to differ


I did take him to the groomers this morning. Took them all of 2 minutes I think ... they said he was very good. What the heck  But he expressed his anal glands LOL oh joy 

"Sometimes I beg to differ" .... hahahaha.


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

My 13 week old is developing some habits. 

He use to not do either of these but now when I put his leash on he likes to chew the end up. Once I get him outside and walking he is fine, but when I go to put it on he wants to bite it and play tug. I have been trying to keep my hand in the way and tell him "no", or once it is in his mouth I give him a tap on the nose and say "no" and he drops it. 

Is this a good way to handle it or is there something better?

Also he has become a digger. I always watch him outside so I tell him "no" sometimes he stops and flips his nose in it, then does the "you can catch me dance".


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

wrx_02 said:


> My 13 week old is developing some habits.
> 
> He use to not do either of these but now when I put his leash on he likes to chew the end up. Once I get him outside and walking he is fine, but when I go to put it on he wants to bite it and play tug. I have been trying to keep my hand in the way and tell him "no", or once it is in his mouth I give him a tap on the nose and say "no" and he drops it.
> 
> ...


 
Gaia has also become a digger, I redirect her with a game of fetch when she starts, so far it's working. From everything I've read she's digging from boredem so it's best to try and keep her entertained while outside. 

With the leash issue, before we leave the house or even have the leash clipped on she needs to sit/stay and we only leave if she's calm. Rather than tapping him on the nose and saying no what if you keep a tug in your pocket and redirect him to that. I don't think it's fair to punish a dog for wanting to play especially if he doesn't know/hasn't been trained otherwise. 

I've tried to take a purely positive approach to training after I spent two weeks saying "No" to every bad behaviour, it has been since erased from my vocab when it comes to Gaia. If you focus and reward the good behavior, you'll be amazed at how quick he catches on.


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

wrx_02 said:


> My 13 week old is developing some habits. ...I have been trying to keep my hand in the way and tell him "no", or once it is in his mouth I give him a tap on the nose and say "no" and he drops it.
> 
> Is this a good way to handle it or is there something better?
> 
> Also he has become a digger. I always watch him outside so I tell him "no" sometimes he stops and flips his nose in it, then does the "you can catch me dance".


I wouldn't tap him on the nose as a form of discipline. Personally, I want only good things to come to my puppy from my hands.

Choose your battles carefully, you will have plenty  This doesn't sound like a big deal to me (no offense). Just distract him with something better -- a tasty treat works well. I have found that behaviors can change daily with my pup. What he did yesterday, he doesn't do today and tomorrow he'll devise something new that he hasn't done at all yet.

Digging -- I designate one spot in my yard for Spirit to dig and I discourage and disrupt digging in all other areas. Believe it or not, this is working for us! I'm finding that he's much more attracted to a spot that's already in progress and he goes there naturally now. Digging is fun, it's good exercise too. Others may disagree with me but this is what works for me


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## Lakl (Jul 23, 2011)

wrx_02 said:


> My 13 week old is developing some habits.
> 
> He use to not do either of these but now when I put his leash on he likes to chew the end up. Once I get him outside and walking he is fine, but when I go to put it on he wants to bite it and play tug. I have been trying to keep my hand in the way and tell him "no", or once it is in his mouth I give him a tap on the nose and say "no" and he drops it.
> 
> ...


Get him a harness that way the leash is hooked to his back and not close to his mouth.


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

^^^ Good idea, that may work. He will grab the part that hangs usually. Like he will sit and face me, then grab whatever slack he can. Just need to teach him to drop it I guess.


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

Tonight's finally graduation night for Grade 1 Obedience and I'm so relieved to have it over. This was my first formal class with Gaia aside from Puppy Class and I'm not overly impressed, we work a lot outside of class anywhere from 1-3hrs a day in short varied sessions so it's not from a lack of trying that she's still the same dog in the classroom as she was on Day 1. 

She's great at home, walks beside me, constant attention when needed, ignores other dogs unless it's play time but the minute we walk into the classroom it's like something snaps inside of her and her working mode shuts down and it's time to play. Because of this she's been deemed an "unsocialized dog agressive dog" by the trainer and we've been relegated to our own little room away from everyone else (nice band-aid solution but didn't fix any problem in the long run). 

Needless to stay I'm starting over at square 1 in a month with a completely different trainer who is also the training director for one of the local Schutzhund clubs. We had our inital evaluation this weekend and I'm really looking forward to starting from the beginning.


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## ColtPOGleason (Aug 1, 2012)

*10 week 3 day old puppy*

Colt is a little over 10 weeks old... I didn't realize whining or jumping was much on an issue at such a young age but after reading this forum I'm a little concerned. Colt whines profusely after I let him out of his crate in the morning or when I get home from work. He is so excited to see us that he just jumps and whines like crazy for at least 10 mins. He is so excited he refused to use go potty with me but will go for my bf. We tell him no and only pet him when he sits but that of course doesn't help the whining. He is a VERY vocal dog and so is our GS mix... Is this normal or is there a way to correct this? He is also potty trained when we are home but can't seem to make it through the night or a day (when we are both at work) in his crate without having an accident. We go to bed around midnight, let him out at 5am (still hasn't gone), and then let him out around 8 (by that time he is covered in urine). Any suggestions? He finally just started sleeping through the night about 3 days ago but will still cry when my bf who is a police officer gets up very early in the AM, lets him out, and re-crates him. Are these just normal puppy issues or do we have a problem? Thank you.


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## dylano (Jul 6, 2012)

My puppy is 15 weeks old..and im not sure if this is natural. 

I can leave Kai alone for about 4 hours before he needs to go toilet.

When i get back from whereeveer ive been or when i take him out in the morning he's always excited to see me and because of this he pee's ALLOT

Theres a trail of Pee from where i let him out to where he greets me

I take him out straight away and he still goes pee

Is this normal?


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

dylano said:


> My puppy is 15 weeks old..and im not sure if this is natural.
> 
> I can leave Kai alone for about 4 hours before he needs to go toilet.
> 
> ...


Yep  He'll outgrow it once his bladder is more developed so he can manage better having a full bladder and being excited at the same time. I think his excitement is just surpassing his bladder control for the time being .... it's great he's excited to see you!! :wub:


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## dylano (Jul 6, 2012)

Jo Ellen said:


> Yep  He'll outgrow it once his bladder is more developed so he can manage better having a full bladder and being excited at the same time. I think his excitement is just surpassing his bladder control for the time being .... it's great he's excited to see you!! :wub:


aww okay, cute little thing , also if you dont mind, can i start feeding kai 2 times a day instead of 3. Hes 15 weeks old. He doesnt finish his meals (apart from dinner) so i feel this will help?

thanks


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

gaia_bear said:


> She's great at home, walks beside me, constant attention when needed, ignores other dogs unless it's play time but the minute we walk into the classroom it's like something snaps inside of her and her working mode shuts down and it's time to play. Because of this she's been deemed an "unsocialized dog agressive dog" by the trainer and we've been relegated to our own little room away from everyone else (nice band-aid solution but didn't fix any problem in the long run)


How does "time to play" transfer to dog aggression ?? I seriously question any trainer that gives a puppy as young as this the label of aggression, in any form. Do YOU think she's dog aggressive?

I'd be finding a new trainer, sounds like a terrible experience. Relegated ... bah humbug


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

dylano said:


> aww okay, cute little thing , also if you dont mind, can i start feeding kai 2 times a day instead of 3. Hes 15 weeks old. He doesnt finish his meals (apart from dinner) so i feel this will help?
> 
> thanks


I'm going to defer to others on this one. My guy is almost 5 months old now and still eating 2 cups 3x/day, 6am, 12pm and 5pm. I feed puppy food for large breed.


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## Kelly&Kip (Aug 5, 2012)

I am a first time German Shepherd owner and could not be happier with Kip. He was born on May 5th and so is just over 3 months of age. I brought him home at 8 weeks of age. He was weighed at the vet's last week and came in at solid 35.9 pounds. He has hit a growth spurt this past week and I am betting he's gained at least another pound since then. 

I have been taking Kip to the Kennel (where I bought him) each week during the time people are there for an obedience class. The breeder suggested I do this to assist in Kip's socialization...no training, just meeting other people and other dogs. It has been a very positive experience overall. 

I will be starting Kip in obedience class next month and am looking forward to it. I have never done any kind of formal training of a dog before so this is all very new to me. 

Anyway, without further adieu, here is Kipling, aka "Kip". 

8 weeks old









Another one from the same day.









I live on 2 acres and Kip loves running and romping and just laying in the cool grass when he's had "enough". 









His ears have been very interesting to watch. 









With a little boy during "socialization" time at the Kennel while others are in obedience class.









The stump is starting to feel small. LOL









More ear shots of the Kipster.


















This is one of my all-time favorite shots of Kip. I took this on Aug 5th, his 3-month birthday.









Profile shot I took last Sunday (August 12th)









Last Sunday....the ears are starting to stand a little taller.


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

Jo Ellen said:


> How does "time to play" transfer to dog aggression ?? I seriously question any trainer that gives a puppy as young as this the label of aggression, in any form. Do YOU think she's dog aggressive?
> 
> I'd be finding a new trainer, sounds like a terrible experience. Relegated ... bah humbug


I know she's not dog agressive, I take her to the dogpark/daycare and everyone comments on how well she adapts/gets along with all the other dogs, except the little dogs she's still not to sure of them. I've been in contact with the trainer who ran puppy class and she assured me I don't have an agressive dog. 

It was a terrible experience, I was stressed, Gaia was stressed, nothing was accomplished other than me second guessing my dog. 

A new trainer has been found, she's been evaluated and we start in 2 weeks. I'm really looking forward to it, he's a TD for a local schutzhund club, is very used to the breed and has a great energy about him.


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

dylano said:


> aww okay, cute little thing , also if you dont mind, can i start feeding kai 2 times a day instead of 3. Hes 15 weeks old. He doesnt finish his meals (apart from dinner) so i feel this will help?
> 
> thanks


I started feeding 2x a day when she was about 4.5 months old mainly because it was getting difficult trying to work my work schedule with her feeding schedule. She's doing fine, still gaining weight on a routine basis, last time we weighed her at just over 5 months she was 52lbs.

I feed Acana Pacifica and she gets 1.5 cup in the AM and 1.5 cup at 6. Which is a bit more than the feeding guidelines but normally she leaves some leftovers.


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

Oh my my my....Kip is a doll :wub: Those ears!!! :wub: :wub: :wub: LOL, I really enjoyed looking at his pictures! Sounds like he has a great life. Spirit wants to come visit


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## Kelly&Kip (Aug 5, 2012)

Jo Ellen said:


> Oh my my my....Kip is a doll :wub: Those ears!!! :wub: :wub: :wub: LOL, I really enjoyed looking at his pictures! Sounds like he has a great life. Spirit wants to come visit


Thank you! Kip has permanently weaseled his way into my heart and I can't say how happy I am to come home at the end of a long day to find waiting anxiously for me to come through the door. I take him out in my backyard for a good romp and play session. He's been getting quite good at retrieve and if I should fail to throw something for him to fetch, he's likely to find a stick or twig lying around and will grab it to bring back to me. Such a little pleaser. He loves to be praised and petted.

"Spirit" is a wonderful name! Can't wait to compare notes in the development and maturing of our two young pups.


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## KatsMuse (Jun 5, 2012)

dylano said:


> aww okay, cute little thing , also if you dont mind, can i start feeding kai 2 times a day instead of 3. Hes 15 weeks old. He doesnt finish his meals (apart from dinner) so i feel this will help?


What a cutie pie! :wub: love puppies!

I feed mine 3 x a day ... 1 cup ( measured ) and soaked until they are about 6 months. ( 3 cups total)
I switch to 2x a day...1 & 1/2 cup at about 6 months. (3 cups total)
At 9 months , I feed 2 cups (2x a day) .....seems to work for them. (4 cups total)
Of course, everyone does it differently and you can adjust to your dogs needs, activity level, etc.


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## KatsMuse (Jun 5, 2012)

Kip's a doll baby too! :wub:
can't wait for my next puppy!!!


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## dylano (Jul 6, 2012)

Is that a smile i see?


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## Kaasuti (Aug 8, 2012)

*My pup*

This is my nine week old pup Charlie. i actually don't think he's that age because he seems really small. What do you guys think?.
​


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

Kaasuti said:


> This is my nine week old pup Charlie. i actually don't think he's that age because he seems really small. What do you guys think?.​


I think he's adorable! I'm no judge at age based on size but treasure the small puppy moments they disappear quickly.


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

*Small Things...*

This morning as I was getting out of the shower, Gaia was making sooo much noise, a weird mixture of a bark/whine/growl. I went to inspect what all the fuss was about and well she's discovered the door stopper. She'd whine at it, paw it to make it spring then bark while play bowing thinking it was somehow going to magically come to life and play with her. 

*Sigh* I love this dog. Anyone elses dogs becoming amused with inanimate household objects?


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## Maggies Dad (Aug 15, 2012)

Thanks for the Thread
Maggie is 3 Months Old Today! So I'm taking her and her momma to the neighborhood Irish Pub that loves dogs for us to have her 3-Month Old birthday party on the porch!


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## jewels04 (Jul 20, 2012)

Jerry Lee has hit the 12 week mark today and is doing excellent! He went yesterday for a vet checkup and his vaccines and weighed in at 24 lbs (they wrote it down as 23 lbs but when I got him sitting still on the scale it was 24 lbs but I wasn't going to argue with them).

He has been doing really well, it has been so hot since he came home he hates doing anything that exerts energy...I have been taking him to tractor supply and the local pet store for socializing and he looks forward to the treats the cashiers give him when we get there. He is kinda...odd around people. He is very reserved, doesn't bound up to people like a lab or or schnauzer he more hangs back and watches people and has them approach him if they want to give him attention. Except for kids he will walk up to kids and love attention from them.

He starts puppy preschool next week, which I am very excited for that! Than he is going for basic clicker training classes after than and than we'll see where to go from there. I found a nice obedience class the teacher works with the local german shepherd rescue and I thought this would be a perfect teacher to use since she is very knowledgeable of the breed already.


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## Lakl (Jul 23, 2011)

Kaleb will be 4 months on the 30th so I guess this will be my last entry to this thread. All I can say is, Whew! I lucked out. I have such a really, really good, amazing, and sweet pup. Right now he is in his crate, which he went into on his own, and is sleeping with the door open. I left him in my room while I took a shower and he just lay by the door the entire time. As soon as I got out, he moved to his crate. 

With the exception of my house shoes, which I've pretty much let him have, he hardly chews anything that doesn't belong to him. He isn't mouthy, and when he does bite on you, he uses a soft bite. He LOVES to train and his focus is amazing! I haven't had to use a real treat with him ever. His kibble is simply enough. I feel so lucky and can't wait to see how he develops and grows over the next year! :wub::wub:

Good luck to everyone with their pups, and looking forward to hearing from you in the 5-7 month thread!


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## wrx_02 (May 18, 2012)

Almost 4 months, how much are you guys feeding your dogs? 

My 3.5 month is eating 1 cup of dry dog food, mixed with 1/2 cup raw beef. Twice a day. Does that sound right? 

He still acts hungry all the time.


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## Lakl (Jul 23, 2011)

wrx_02 said:


> Almost 4 months, how much are you guys feeding your dogs?
> 
> My 3.5 month is eating 1 cup of dry dog food, mixed with 1/2 cup raw beef. Twice a day. Does that sound right?
> 
> He still acts hungry all the time.


I feed my pup 2 cups of dry kibble twice a day. Sometimes 2.5 cups. He'll be 4 months on Thursday. What kind of kibble are you feeding?


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

I feed Gaia 2x a day 2 cups a time..she's on Acana Pacifica. What are the recommended guidelines on the bag for feeding?


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## dylano (Jul 6, 2012)

(approx) 

2 months, 3 months and 4 months


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## dylano (Jul 6, 2012)

gaia_bear said:


> I feed Gaia 2x a day 2 cups a time..she's on Acana Pacifica. What are the recommended guidelines on the bag for feeding?


How old is gaia? Kais 4 months and i want to move him to 2 meals a day instead of 3

thanks


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

dylano said:


> How old is gaia? Kais 4 months and i want to move him to 2 meals a day instead of 3
> 
> thanks


She'll be 6 months September 9. I'm sticking with this group as we all have pups around the same age. I've had her on 2 meals since she was 4 months as my schedule would no longer allow feeding her 3x a day.


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