# What were your first time mistakes?



## ladyfreckles (Nov 10, 2011)

For those of you that aren't perfect ( ), what kind of mistakes did you make the first time you raised a puppy/had a dog? I'm sure all of us started out somewhere. When you first began, what were the mistakes that you made?

I'll add mine soon.


----------



## MustLoveGSDs (Oct 31, 2008)

-Giving rawhides
-Not continuing obedience


----------



## Razzle J.Dazzle (Sep 8, 2011)

Letting my dachshunds sleep in the bed with me


----------



## TaZoR (Jan 26, 2012)

My first gsd george, i was 18 at the time. He was leery and barked at ppl from a very young age. Ppl backed up and i pulled him back. It continued his whole life. I had to keep him away from everyone. He was a timebomb and i was always on my toes. He was great with animals, my babies, and the family, but i regret my ignorance to the importance of socialization.


----------



## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

Not making socialization outings FUN FUN FUN! I didn't pay close enough attention to how Niko was feeling when we were out, or else I was not as good at reading him as I am now. I think a lot of our outings were too stressful for him.

I think I was too harsh with Niko in the beginning. I thought I had to be the Alpha so I was very hard on him and doubly so because he was a male and I knew he'd be a big strong dog, and we were also told by our breeder that he was a dominant dog and would we would need to be very authoritative with him. I mean I didn't beat him or anything, lol but I also did not ensure that his experiences in the beginning were positive ones and I also took it personally when he did not obey me (which I now realize was stupid). 

So I think he grew up underconfident and reactive at least partly based on those first few months before I realized that I did not want to train in a harsh manner like that. Just based on the progress he has made since we really started working with him makes me believe that he has room to grow and that his current temperament is not set in stone, and someday we can get him to a point where he would accept another dog into the household.

Niko has not had the opportunity to be with other dogs, other than Rosa. We did the puppy social hour, and aside from a few tiny play sessions with much smaller puppies, he mostly hated every second of it, and would hide behind us. At that point the trainer had us leave the room (leaving Niko behind, terrified) in hopes that without us there he would play. It didn't work, and he learned very quickly that the rowdy lab puppies (there were four of them!) would leave him alone if he put on a big display. 

And on top of that, we've had a dozen or so times when Niko has been on leash and charged by off-leash dogs, though thankfully he has never gotten hurt. But was well-reinforced in his aggressive displays that successfully warded off the unwanted dog.

We did work with a local trainer in private lessons but felt we made no progress in the dog aggression. We went from Niko choosing avoidance tactics to Niko being the aggressor. We had a very discouraging session where Niko and a non-reactive dog were allowed off lead in a fenced in area, and Niko was a complete bully, nipping the dog's tail even when the poor dog was laying down as far away from Niko as possible. I think we need to undo a lot of stuff he learned before we can make any kind of progress in that area.

So I guess one of the biggest mistakes we've made is trusting trainers 100% to know what is best. I'm not sure what the trainer was thinking in that situation. We'd been making good progress with on-leash dog interactions and I think she wanted to see what he would do, but I think the timing was bad as he'd just had a bad "dog charging him" incident a couple days beforehand. So he was keyed up already (all of this is realized in hindsight, unfortunately) and not in a good mindset. His trainer wanted to see what kind of choice Niko would make on his own without one of us there to tell him how to behave. I think this was a HUGE mistake and I have been learning that having my dog look to me to see how to behave is EXACTLY what I want him to do for a very long time before I can trust him to make a wise choice on his own. We were very much not ready for any off-leash interaction. And we called Niko away from the dog and he came willingly enough, but it was a bad thing to have happen at all.

There are probably about a thousand more mistakes I made with Niko but those are probably the worst ones. I still occasionally lose my temper with him and I really hate how I do that.


----------



## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

When mine was a puppy I thought socialization meant every Tom, **** & Harry could pet my puppy and there dogs could greet him. We were at a leashed park with hiking trails and a lady with a adult lab stopped so our dogs could meet, the lab snapped at my boy...no injuries but he CRIED. I felt so bad, thought that my puppy was ruined forever. Called the breeder and had a lengthy conversation with her. 

At the end of this conversation socialization had a new meaning to me, it no longer meant that my dog was treated like he was in a petting zoo but that he would be introduced to new situations, places, people to build his confidence, sometimes I would allow him to be petted sometimes not, but it was always under MY terms, because he's my dog and it's my job to protect him. He would never again (I mean this literally) greet/play with an unknown dog to me.


----------



## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I"ve always made a mistake with each dog I've had Im sure, and I've had GSD's for a very long time.

My last mistake was taking Masi to a purely positive puppy class that was a purely negative experience.


----------



## kennajo (May 20, 2011)

Thanks for this post! It helps seeing that I'm not the only one making mistakes...lol If I'm reading this right I'm getting that even when a "bad" experience happens any negative reactions or behaviors are not "set in stone" and can be changed, right? Right now at 1 year he is reacting when startled. I have been redirecting his attention back to me ,standing between him and what ever buggar he saw lol but I'm not sure that is correct. I want him to be confident and not react unless necessary to protect himself which I want him to know I will. He is still a baby. This is a work in progress!


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

My first few dogs were great temperaments and a breeze to own/train. Crates weren't needed for very long.
Onyx came along and I had to step up because of her temperament. I took her to a pet/family obedience trainer that I had heard from several people/great reputation. 
After a few sessions I could see she was very 'old school' compulsion based and not fair to the dogs. 
Prongs on small breeds, why?? Drag around a couple filled milk jugs on a line instead of teaching a recall, were just two of her methods. I didn't do these things but the trainer had people in our class doing them.

It didn't set Onyx on a good path. I sure wish I started her elsewhere.


----------



## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Using compulsion for sure. 1990's style. Probably better than 1970's style, but still not effective or helpful for the long term. Classes I went to were largely Volhard/motivational but the supplemental teaching was more compulsive and since it was so fast and easy (to shut the dog down) I used it at home.


----------



## ladyfreckles (Nov 10, 2011)

JakodaCD OA said:


> I"ve always made a mistake with each dog I've had Im sure, and I've had GSD's for a very long time.
> 
> My last mistake was taking Masi to a purely positive puppy class that was a purely negative experience.


Ooh can you elaborate on that?


----------



## kennajo (May 20, 2011)

JeanKBBMMMAAN said:


> Using compulsion for sure. 1990's style. Probably better than 1970's style, but still not effective or helpful for the long term. Classes I went to were largely Volhard/motivational but the supplemental teaching was more compulsive and since it was so fast and easy (to shut the dog down) I used it at home.


 
Sorry but could you use use smaller words and explain


----------



## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I also made the mistake of thinking socialization meant that my puppy was in a petting zoo and I didn't read him right. He's genetically nervous and fearful anyway, but I'm sure I made it worse. 

Feeding Purina Puppy Chow. 

Neutered him at 9 months.


----------



## ladyfreckles (Nov 10, 2011)

I've only had him for a month, so I'm sure I'll make plenty more mistakes, but here are mine so far...


Sometimes socializing him in high traffic dog areas, which was risky. 
I spent a lot of time focusing on "sitz" and "platz" and "quiet", so now his default position is to sit. I'm trying to fix that while I teach him to stand. If I had taught him to stand from the beginning everything would be a lot easier!
I let his nails get a little too long before paying attention to them.
I did not get him into training soon enough. 
I used training treats a little too often in the beginning so now I'm trying to get him to work for kibble instead and he's spoiled.


----------



## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

"stand" is a good one to train early and will help when when the vet has to look them over. We always worked on this one in class.


----------



## Cheerful1 (Sep 27, 2011)

We've only had Joey for six months, and he's our first dog, but the mistakes I'm seeing that we made are:

Letting his nails get too long before we dealt with it. 

Giving in to him when he wakes us up too early in the morning (that's another thread I posted).

God willing, we will have Joey for a long time, and we pray we do more right things than wrong.


----------



## ladyfreckles (Nov 10, 2011)

Courtney said:


> "stand" is a good one to train early and will help when when the vet has to look them over. We always worked on this one in class.


:thumbup: Definitely. It is not to be undervalued! I'm kicking myself in the butt right now because I didn't think to teach it sooner.


----------



## kbella999 (Jan 6, 2012)

Mine would be,

1. Not feeding raw from the beginning
2. Neutering at 7 months
3. Not researching issues so that I could make the best decision.


----------



## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

ladyfreckles said:


> I've only had him for a month, so I'm sure I'll make plenty more mistakes, but here are mine so far...
> 
> 
> Sometimes socializing him in high traffic dog areas, which was risky.
> ...



Ladyfreckles, please take this the way it is intended.......R.E.L.A.X. 


He's only 11 weeks old, right? You're _fine_ on the training....there is no _not soon enough_ when he's only a baby. I see that you are a bit like me, in that you want to do right by what ever it is you're doing-- I suspect you're also like me in that you read a LOT. Reading is good --so is this forum. But IMHO (and remember, that's all this is, is MY OPINION), step back a bit, enjoy Viking, work on the sits, stands, downs, and RECALL but only for a couple minutes at a time, and in a fun way. Do this all day long, and don't worry about "training". Try to get him out off-leash--I know you have to drive to do this probably, and it could be difficult, but it will help your bond immensely. Allow yourself to feel some confidence--you love him, you won't "ruin" him, I promise. Sometimes we all need to take a break from our reading/interwebz/studies, and just BE. I know the puppy biting is stressful, but it shall pass. That I promise. One day you'll look back like I am already and say, "WOW--remember when he was this little?" and it will be sooner than you think. 


That said, my "mistakes" with my first dog, ages ago, were that I didn't do off-leash enough with him in the first couple years, so he was not very reliable that way, and always had to be leashed.  Also, he definitely needed a bit of steady contact around other dogs, he had a bit of a dog-dominance problem, that once I had kids, I quit making sure he was exposed (not playing, but just around and practicing his manners) to other dogs, so he had to stay home all the time. 

That said, he was a GREAT dog, and I knew NOTHING of what I know now. 

Viking will be fine.


----------



## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

Hm...

We fed Frag puppy chow for the first month or two we had him before switching to Raw. 

I didn't put him in a training class until he was almost 2? His obedience and socialization and everything was fantastic, but I feel like I could have/should have done better/more. Maybe his aggression wouldn't have occured.

We underestimated his anxiety and allergies and as a result he became aggressive. I wish we would have taken him to Michigan State for testing in the beginning when he loved everyone.


----------



## stealthq (May 1, 2011)

I was extremely lucky with mine - he was a "love everyone, go anywhere, do anything" kind of dog. I made a bunch of mistakes with him and he turned out great despite everything. 

1) I got him when I knew I was going to graduate school next year. In my defense, I'd spoken with other students and they told me that meant 8-12hrs. at work plus homework and studying. That was true my first 3-4 yrs. and we managed fine. That last year, though, I was at work 16+ hrs. a day including most weekends. Spent the night there most nights and did the rest between visits to take care of the dog. That, we couldn't manage - he was clearly feeling neglected and I was a brain-dead zombie with serious frustration/anger issues. My parents ended up taking him for me at my request.

2) Socialization w/ other dogs. We didn't do any other than with my parent's dog . It wasn't as bad as it could have been - Casey was never dog-aggressive, but he was obnoxious. He wanted to hump every dog as his introduction then run and play.

3) I was too harsh with him. Casey was extremely handler-sensitive and maybe soft as well. He'd do ANYTHING for a 'good boy' from me and a glare in his direction would have him cringing. He obeyed, but otherwise ignored everyone else. I should have never raised my voice to him, ever. It just upset him and made him less likely to do what I wanted.

4) Didn't groom him enough as a puppy. He never got used to it and would shriek like I was killing him and jerk away while I was trimming his feet (_never_ cut him). I, of course, would lose my temper and yell at him (see #3) which was the worst thing I could have done.


----------



## Oona's_Mom (Jan 13, 2012)

My mistake with our first dog was compulsion training. (mid 90's and we knew enough not to take the Kohler method to the extreme!)

My current yorkie was not socialized properly. I forced her into situations with people vs. allowing her to go to people at her comfort level. She still turned out OK and will only jump up and 'attack' men when they walk by to fast. If they are sitting down, she is begging for treats. 

My current GSD, Oona, the mistakes are minor. The schutzhund club was not allowing new people in for the first 5 months I had her (they lost their training site) and I could have used some good tips on building the bite. She is too polite.


----------



## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

The only mistake that comes to mind about Sinister was buying from a byb. I check her website all the time and get angry over it. I hate that I gave her my money but Sinister is the perfect dog, there will never be another like him. Even though she is a byb I would buy Sinister from her again and again. :wub:


----------



## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

ladyfreckles said:


> I spent a lot of time focusing on "sitz" and "platz" and "quiet", so now his default position is to sit. I'm trying to fix that while I teach him to stand. If I had taught him to stand from the beginning everything would be a lot easier!




What's wrong with sitting? It's a natural "default" position for most puppies, because they want to be looking up at your face. Easier to do from a sitting position. Why would you expect an 11 week old puppy to stand on command? We don't start working on that until around 5-6 months. Of course if you are planning to show him in conformation, things might be different.


> I did not get him into training soon enough.
> I used training treats a little too often in the beginning so now I'm trying to get him to work for kibble instead and he's spoiled.


Exactly how soon would you expect to get a pup into training? Most classes require at least two parvo vaccines, so the pup should be AT LEAST 11 weeks old before starting classes. 

Don't use his regular kibble for training--he can get that anytime, so it's not that exciting. Using a higher-value treat for training is more effective.


----------



## Josie/Zeus (Nov 6, 2000)

JeanKBBMMMAAN said:


> Using compulsion for sure. 1990's style. Probably better than 1970's style, but still not effective or helpful for the long term. Classes I went to were largely Volhard/motivational but the supplemental teaching was more compulsive and since it was so fast and easy (to shut the dog down) I used it at home.


Ditto, thankfully Zeus was able to handle the compulsion. I regret the OB training that we did, and we did it for 2 years, every single week. 

Oh and feeding him Iams from 8 weeks to 6 months old. Gross.


----------



## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

I make mistakes all the time...my dogs are all good dogs despite me and my antics. 

My newest mistakes are biggies:

1) I wish I had enjoyed Hondo's puppy hood more. He is a very serious dog and I wonder if it's because I tried to hard to make him the perfect dog too soon. 

2) I smacked Hondo in the head last night. Yep, smacked him right in the head. I was in the back yard with him and Tug. Tug came over to me and Hondo started to grumble about it. I told him "enough" and he continued. It was my intention to say "Enough!" and enforce it with pushing his head away from Tug, a sharp push - but at the exact moment I was going to push and say "Enough!", Hondo was moving in to tag Tug and I ended up smacking him hard enough in the head that it hurt my hand while saying "Enough!". 

I didn't apologize because I was enforcing a command, it just didn't go the way I wanted. I just made sure I continued doing what I was doing as if it didn't happen. Good thing was that Hondo didn't sulk away. He was a little shocked but recovered quickly and enjoyed playing fetch with us. He didn't grumble again.


----------



## Clyde (Feb 13, 2011)

I over socialized my guy with other dogs. I did it all right only nice dogs I knew that he would have a good experience with but he had way to much fun!! Then I also let him hang out in day care because we have one at work. At first it was only going to be once a week but then it becomes just to easy to throw him in day care instead of being in a crate.

Now he almost never gets to play with other dogs I really have to make an effort and make sure that the people who's dogs I want to hang out with are dogs who do not want to play with him. His focus is really picking up now and I can actually go out on the field with other dogs around and him not be a complete idiot being over stimulated by them. Of course it didn't help that many of the dogs I socialized him with and he thought were his play mates were the same dogs on the schutzhund field with us when training.

If I could do it again I would socialize him with dogs the same way I did with people. He was such an open, social and curious pup that I made every single person who met him pretend he did not exist until he was 6-8 months old. I was totally one of those people who would not let people pet my puppy. Of course we did lots of vet visits and nail trims and all that. 

I also think I tried to hard trying to get his attention as a puppy for him it was just to early. Until he was 6 months old he barely knew I existed I really didn't feel like we had bonded at all until after 6 months. He was very independent and got a lot of satisfaction out of everything other than me. The thing I did that really changed his attitude was taking him out alone hiking and just walking with him off leash and not talking to him at all. He really had to start paying attention to me or I would be gone

I like reading these it just shows how much you have to change according to the dog you have. Every dog is so different!!


----------



## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

Biggest mistake was with a mix puppy we got from a lady who lived litterly out in the desert. She had to haul in water and had run out and her truck was down. I helped her to haul in water to her critters and this poor pup litterly was trying to get to the water as we poored in into containers for them.... My daughter fell in love with the poor thing and we took her home. In any case she was so tramatized that she guarded her waterbowl for the first several months. My husband was not thrilled we brought this puppy home but he is as big a sucker as I am and by the end of the day of her guarding that water bowl said she was never going back.  Our mistake was in overprotecting her as a puppy and not socializing her like we did our other dogs. We felt so bad for her, that we kept her away from people until she was comfortable and had put on weight and trusted she had water regularly. We totally got her comfortable with the fact that she always had water and she never guarded the bowl again, but she never did learn to like adult people she tolerated them but it always stressed her. She was a good mom to other dogs we brought home and was great with kids but to strange adults she was a mess.


----------



## Angelina03 (Jan 9, 2012)

Well, I'm a new dog owner and Rocco is still a pup. So, I'm sure I'm currently making many mistakes... I'll probably know what they all are ten years from now...LOL


----------



## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

I too thought that he should accept petting from anyone and everyone. He was such a big fluffy adorable puppy that everyone wanted to pet him, but I failed to recognize signals of discomfort. I wish I had been more protective and respectful of him.


----------



## Dakotasmom23 (Jan 11, 2012)

This is a very good thread! I've made sooo many mistakes, I don't even know where to begin. Probably my biggest all time screw up was with my very first german shepherd 14 years ago. mistake #1...bought her from a backyard breeder at 5-6 weeks old. mistake #2...trusting a "trainer" who told me if I wanted my dog to ever protect me that I should NEVER, EVER let a stranger touch her. And I should teach her to "guard"...growl/bark when people approached us. And I should use a choke collar on an already nervous/fearful dog. You can imagine what a nervebag dog I had. The most fear aggressive dog ever; bonded to me and me only. I failed her miserably. One of the biggest regrets of my life.


----------



## Gracie's My Girl (May 27, 2011)

The thing that stands out the most to me was my unenthusiastic training style. It was basically..."sit"...treat...next command. It was extremely boring and I could have done so much more to make learning exciting for her. The good news is that I have completely done a 180. I focus on being fun and engaging and she responds so much better.


----------



## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

Training wise one of the biggest mistakes I have made has been you go into a down from a sit, every time. Next time it will definitely start that way but quickly move to, ok you can down from a stand, a sit, a heel, etc. It's a pain in the rear to fix. Along those same lines, I also should have worked on going from a down to a sit. Again, a pain to fix. I should have worked heeling right from the get go too.


----------



## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

I just thought of another one, and perhaps my biggest one. I worked her really hard inside and very little outside when I was first teaching her new tricks. I will never do that again. Diversification of location is key.


----------



## cta (May 24, 2011)

well, considering chobahn is not only my first dog i am responsible for, but he is also my first GSD. my biggest regret is not doing my research before i got him. we picked him because he was the most laid back of the litter, but he was also shy. his sister sat, made eye contact, all things i should have wanted in a pup. but i chose the quiet one...which i guess isn't a bad thing because if somebody else took him who knows what would've happened to him. with his weak nerves, he may have ended up being dumped in a shelter...who knows. since i've had him i've learned SO much from this forum and i always say "gee, i wish i had known half of what i know now when we got him." i always fault myself for his reactive behavior because when we was a pup, he got picked on at dog parks and i too thought that he should meet every dog and every one we encountered. well i quickly learned that those weren't very good ideas and i stopped. i just regret that i ever let "bad" things happen to him. i wish i would have protected him and realized that i was setting him up for disaster and not success. i also wish i would have enjoyed his puppyhood more. somebody else mentioned this too, but i was so firm with him because i was so afraid he was going to grow up into this big bad dog. i would have trained differently and made it way more fun...i don't feel like we bonded. i feel like we are bonding now as i'm helping him through his reactivity, but honestly...if i could do it all over again...i would. and i would do it differently.


----------



## ladyfreckles (Nov 10, 2011)

Freestep said:


> [/LIST]What's wrong with sitting? It's a natural "default" position for most puppies, because they want to be looking up at your face. Easier to do from a sitting position. Why would you expect an 11 week old puppy to stand on command? We don't start working on that until around 5-6 months. Of course if you are planning to show him in conformation, things might be different.


The problem now is I can't get him to stand for anything, LOL.



> Exactly how soon would you expect to get a pup into training? Most classes require at least two parvo vaccines, so the pup should be AT LEAST 11 weeks old before starting classes.


12 weeks. He won't be in training until 15 weeks because all the classes are sold out.


----------



## idahospud49 (Jan 28, 2011)

Mistakes? None, I'm PERFECT!! 

Ha, let's see... where to start...

-Dogs before Glock, feeding cheapy crappy food. Although I think Glock may have an allergy and he will be my first with allergies, so maybe the cheap crap has something going for it!!  *KIDDING KIDDING*
-Not knowing how to work/train recall well enough. I will admit that I have never had anyone teach me how to train, never gone to any training classes or anything like that, so if I can toot my own horn I think my dogs have turned out fairly decent.
-Not handling Glock's feet enough. Sigh. What is it with my dogs and HATING to have their nails trimmed?
-I want to, from now on I wish I had done it with Glock, not be so dependent on the leash.


----------



## Greydusk (Mar 26, 2010)

-When Blitz got into a fight with another dog I kept him away from other dogs when I should have done the exact opposite and tried to find good socialization opportunities. I regret that more than anything.


----------



## marshies (May 18, 2011)

Correcting too late and not setting enough rules/being more strict and consistent in enforcing those rules.

The first GSD I had as a child was a work dog for my parents. He came pre-trained at a year old, and but the time I warmed up to him he was 2+. I never had to set boundaries on him and could just enjoy his company. Though I tried to set rules for the pup, I failed her by sometimes slipping back to letting it go thinking it'll be okay.


----------



## Angelina03 (Jan 9, 2012)

Ok. All these "mistakes" are scaring me! There is soooo much that I must be doing wrong. I have yet to trim Rocco's nails...Wouldn't even know how. Are they done the same as cats'? I know how to do those.


----------



## selzer (May 7, 2005)

First dog, Frodo. 

I wanted a GSD since I was ten, but Dad always said no. 

I was in college when I moved out. I was going to wait until I was finished with school, but my friend at work had a litter, and I wanted one, but vacillated. Finally I asked my landlord at the time and got it ok'd. By then, the pups were all spoken for. 

Instead of waiting, I bought the first GSD I could find out of the newspaper. A working/pet line, AKC, bi-color, super-high-energy, short-coated, ten week old, drop-eared, car-sick, dominant disaster, he was being raised in someone's garage, and under a junk car. While the other pups hunkered up with their dam under the car, he charged out to meet me. I gave the guy $150 and I was the owner of my dream dog. 

I named him Frodo after my favorite character in my favorite book, he was to be brave, and loyal, and good, LOL!

Between working full time, and school full time, and driving between them, I had days plotted out with no minutes to spare. I did not believe in crates. Instead, I blocked him in the Kitchen which was a good part of my house, and he managed to take a good part of my stuff, every day, chew some of it, pile the rest of it into the middle of the kitchen, have accidents in and around the pile of semi-chewed stuff, and make me lose my mind every day between work and school. 

The place I was living, I shared a well with the landlord's family. So I would fill a gallon jug of water for the dog and give him half that day, and half the next day and wash dishes on the days I did not have to give the dog water. I did not have the money, the space, the time, the patience or the knowledge for that dog.

The dog attacked the neighbor's/landlord's full grown lab the day I brought him home. Needless to say, he was a bit much dog for a novice. I made a lot of mistakes with him. I thought he was dominant, stubborn, stupid. I thought he deliberately chewed up my couch, and the things in my kitchen. I thought he was a bad dog. The only type of training I knew about was compulsion at the time, and that is what I used.

After he shattered his leg in a truck-dog accident, I stopped trying to do any training or exercise. I also changed my mind about crates. 

The biggest mistake I made was not amputating the leg. He could have done fine with three legs, but with the leg there, it grew more painful, he would hold it up and forget and run with it. The pain made training impossible, and he had a very short fuse. 5.5 years after the accident when he was 7 years old I had to put him down due to pain and aggression. I should have had the leg amputated years before, but I didn't know.


----------



## Skribbles (Jan 11, 2012)

Teaching too much too soon. 

She learns so fast that I keep adding in new tricks or commands without reinforcing the basics (sit, stay, come, down, etc) enough.


----------



## OriginalWacky (Dec 21, 2011)

Angelina03 said:


> Ok. All these "mistakes" are scaring me! There is soooo much that I must be doing wrong. I have yet to trim Rocco's nails...Wouldn't even know how. Are they done the same as cats'? I know how to do those.


I find cat nails really easy to trim, and dog nails a little more complicated/scary. But, I've learned, because I like doing things for myself with my animals. Right now, I'm still using the scissor-type clippers on the dogs, but I'll probably work on getting them accustomed to the dremel before long. 

Here are a couple links that I keep handy, because they seem to explain things very clearly. 
Clipping a Dog's Toenails (WSU)
How to Dremel Dog Nails (DoberDawn)

On the plus side, getting dog's nails trimmed at a groomer isn't terribly expensive, so if you aren't comfortable doing it yourself, then it's probably worth a once a month or so visit to get them done.


----------



## JoMichelle (Jan 20, 2012)

Great thread!! I hope I can take something from all of your mistakes with my young puppy and learn from them. Some of the things you have posted, especially regarding socialising, are mistakes I've been making too. I know what to do now


----------



## jennyp (Jun 18, 2011)

cta said:


> well, considering chobahn is not only my first dog i am responsible for, but he is also my first GSD. my biggest regret is not doing my research before i got him. we picked him because he was the most laid back of the litter, but he was also shy. his sister sat, made eye contact, all things i should have wanted in a pup. but i chose the quiet one...which i guess isn't a bad thing because if somebody else took him who knows what would've happened to him. with his weak nerves, he may have ended up being dumped in a shelter...who knows. since i've had him i've learned SO much from this forum and i always say "gee, i wish i had known half of what i know now when we got him." i always fault myself for his reactive behavior because when we was a pup, he got picked on at dog parks and i too thought that he should meet every dog and every one we encountered. well i quickly learned that those weren't very good ideas and i stopped. i just regret that i ever let "bad" things happen to him. i wish i would have protected him and realized that i was setting him up for disaster and not success. i also wish i would have enjoyed his puppyhood more. somebody else mentioned this too, but i was so firm with him because i was so afraid he was going to grow up into this big bad dog. i would have trained differently and made it way more fun...i don't feel like we bonded. i feel like we are bonding now as i'm helping him through his reactivity, but honestly...if i could do it all over again...i would. and i would do it differently.


I teared up when I read this. This is my situation exactly. Brody is my first dog and I can't help feeling like he would be a happier, more confident dog today if I hadn't made all those mistakes with him early on


----------



## Daisy&Lucky's Mom (Apr 24, 2011)

Wow this could be a very long post. 
Daisy
1. did not go w/ a trainer who liked working w/ shepherds,then when things got bad didnt go w/ trainer to work w/ us individually
2. had no clue about training,I just thought dogs listened(yes I know only an idiot would believe that)
3.Let her get overweight 
4. not enough socialization
5.Needed to find a channel for her energy
6. Didnt research didnt understand how smart ,loyal and protective the breed is.
7.Did not get a dog from a reputable breeder.


----------



## cta (May 24, 2011)

jennyp said:


> I teared up when I read this. This is my situation exactly. Brody is my first dog and I can't help feeling like he would be a happier, more confident dog today if I hadn't made all those mistakes with him early on


i hear you. trust me i do. i feel like i ruined him! i used to take him to the dog park in somerville...the one over by market basket. it was there that he was terrorized by some little rescue dog. and the owner thought it was hilarious. end of that dog park. then we took him to the new park over on new washington street by the holiday inn and he got cornered by a pack of dogs because there were so many regulars there that just went to hang out and chat and not give a hoot about what their dogs were doing. bah. if only i had known you were basically my neighbor, we could've socialized our dogs together! i guess the only thing we can both do now is dig ourselves out of the hole and hope our dogs come out ok in the end


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

cta and jennyp...just think of what you've learned because of your dogs. That should make you feel a bit better! And remember the saying "old dogs _can_ learn new tricks", it isn't too late


----------



## cta (May 24, 2011)

onyx'girl said:


> cta and jennyp...just think of what you've learned because of your dogs. That should make you feel a bit better! And remember the saying "old dogs _can_ learn new tricks", it isn't too late


that's so true. there was a point in time where i really felt horrible about it and i had to digest it and figure out what i should do to make the situation better. and i did...and we are still working...and will always be working on something. and it makes me proud . i work with children and i guess it's really no different. you are always going to have the challenging ones...the ones that don't "fit the mold." you have two choices...to throw up your hands and act like a victim or get your head straight and figure out how to handle that ish. thank you for the kind words.


----------



## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Frisbees...throw out the **** frisbees


----------



## jennyp (Jun 18, 2011)

onyx'girl said:


> cta and jennyp...just think of what you've learned because of your dogs. That should make you feel a bit better! And remember the saying "old dogs _can_ learn new tricks", it isn't too late


Thank you for that


----------

