# German Shepherd / Lab Mix



## Jason1A (Feb 28, 2015)

Hi everyone hope all is well and thank you in advance for any advice.

I put my 15.5 y/o husky in march and finally feel like its the right time for another dog. I'm in Los Angeles for a consulting gig that was supposed to take 2 weeks but i finished in 3 days. So my client said take a vacay on him. My friends neighbor has a 9 week old half German Shep and Half Lab pup. The pups mother had health issues and couldn't feed her pups so they were bottle fed since 3 or 4 weeks. He has had zero shots since birth and during the last 2 days I spent with him, he was loosely monitored and allowed to drink standing water. In the Personality and looks department he's more GSD than Lab. He loves to jump off these 2-3 ft tall planters onto the grass. Before he made his first jump, I watched him evaluate the situation and after a second he went for it. After that first jump he was hooked I watched him continue to jump for the next 30 min before he was out finding something else to get into. He's sociable, pretty fearless and a ball of fun. 

I think this little dude is just what I'm looking for. He's going to be sent to a rescue or shelter if someone doesn't take him. My concerns are obviously he hasn't had any shots and the person who has him now admitted he has no clue how to handle these dogs. if I pick him up today you bet we are going straight to the vet. I'm from LA but live in NYC and mosquitos are a huge problem when it starts to get warmer and humid, not sure if that such a major concern here but that gutter water can't be too clean. I worry the little guy could be riddled with parasites, money isn't a issue I just don't want to deal the worst case scenario.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Why not get him to a vet for testing and evaluation and go from there?


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Shots and a deworming should be done along with a general checkup, that would be my main concern


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Was the mother dog involved in raising the litter besides not being able to feed them herself?
How long were the siblings together?


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

Sounds like a pup that needs a good home! Hopefully you are it. Is the pup in LA or NY? If you are in LA and plan on flying pup to NY you will need a health certificate anyway so why not vet now and see how the pup is. 

Just know that he will need a lot of socialization if mom has not been involved in raising her pups.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Kayos and Havoc said:


> Just know that he will need a lot of socialization if mom has not been involved in raising her pups.


...with socially skilled adult dogs to teach them "dog".


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## viking (May 2, 2014)

He sounds wonderful! I don't see any reason, from what you've stated, that you shouldn't take him home with you. You're going to the vet's and can get all the necessities squared away. As for other challenges, eh, you'll have challenges regardless. So long as you're committed to him, you'll manage it.

I happen to know a GSD/Blk Lab who's now close to 1 year old. My nearly 4 yr old GSD and he have been great pals since he was about 6 mo's. Kind of big brother role for my boy, which he has clearly enjoyed. He's a lovely boy, funny and smart. Went through a phase at about 9-10 mo's when he was getting unduly rough with other pups but I think his owner has addressed it.

Best of luck and post an update!


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## Jason1A (Feb 28, 2015)

Well its been an interesting 24 hours. I met to the original owner of the pup and from what I can tell he doesn't know jack didly or squat about the pups situation and its clear the little guy has never been to the vet. He didn't seem to care and I didn't want to leave him with the jack hole any longer who kept referring to him as the problem one without ever trying to figure out what the problem is. When we spoke on the phone he said I could have him but I wanted him to sign a release form stating that I was taking possession of the pup and he was relinquishing all rights to ownership or any future earnings from the pup(just in case) and that I would be responsible for all costs associated with the pup. I showed up after a lunch meeting in a suit and all of a sudden the "free just take him pup" became $300. I knew I had to take him when he was yelling at the little guy for nothing like it should've just understood. Whatever I paid the guy we signed papers and I pray I never see that lump of flesh again and if I do.... 

sorry, I digress I have possession of him and I think he is awesome. He lacks some social graces that the mom would normally teach but my brothers 18 month old Golden Retriever has taken him under her wing and they've been inseparable at this point. He has a very healthy appetite and that little guys prey drive hehe he is starting to pick up sit very quickly. I have a appointment with the vet this morning to get him up to date on everything and to address the excessive urination( 3 times an hour) however he did sleep through the night(5 hours) without waking up. He drinks a lot of water, more than any of my previous dogs at this stage. I'm hoping he doesn't have diabetes, really really hoping thats not the problem. Fingers crossed.

I'll post a picture once I'm past 3 posts.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Jason1A said:


> I'll post a picture once I'm past 3 posts.


Well I can help with that!

I don't really do the puppy thing but lots of info here and sites here, keep in mind for the future.


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## Jason1A (Feb 28, 2015)

O yea pups named Yogi


Yogi w/ Aria










Yogi passed out at 5AM


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## dylan_and_atlas (Apr 1, 2015)

Yogi is adorable!!! Aww!

Best of luck


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

He is absolutely adorable!Don't worry too much about the excessive water and peeing,probably just feeling a little stressed now.Keep us updated!


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## Jason1A (Feb 28, 2015)

Just got back from the Vet and he is good to go. He got his first vaccines, chip and deworming. His general health is good, but he puked while he was at the vet and threw up a roundworm. He is covered in fleas so its another bath. Just waiting on the poop test this afternoon.

Just glad the pup is in good health.


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## Jason1A (Feb 28, 2015)

Sure glad the vet called right as I was sitting down to dinner with my family. Her poop test came back and she is positive for roundworms and coccidia. Apparently since the original owner couldn't be bothered to take her in for any shots or deworming the vet said the fecal slide was filled with eggs. The vet has him on Albon 125mg 2/day for 14 days and 2 doses of drontal plus a week and a half apart. The worst part is my brothers Golden Retriever was visiting yesterday and they were pooping on the same pice of grass in the backyard.


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## wick (Mar 7, 2015)

Did you guys pick up the poop right away? That really cuts down the chance of them being spread, also since the golden is older she probably has a stronger immune system, coccidia is (from what I have read) mostly a puppy issue due to their very weak immune systems. Diluted bleach may work on coccidia in the lawn to kill it, and won't kill your grass along with it if done at the proper dilution.


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## viking (May 2, 2014)

Totally adorable! Hope to hear more updates as time goes forward. You did a very good thing getting Yogi away from that guy.


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

Super adorable pup!! I hope it all works out!! One thing I would watch is the jumping off of things so much.. not good for joints in a puppy.. that was probably the only concern I had when I read your post.

Keep us posted!


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## RZZNSTR (Jan 24, 2015)

That 5 am pic is great.


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## Jason1A (Feb 28, 2015)

wick said:


> Did you guys pick up the poop right away? That really cuts down the chance of them being spread, also since the golden is older she probably has a stronger immune system, coccidia is (from what I have read) mostly a puppy issue due to their very weak immune systems. Diluted bleach may work on coccidia in the lawn to kill it, and won't kill your grass along with it if done at the proper dilution.


I switched him to the front lawn as he keeps giving me the stink eye when I try to get him to go on the concrete. However its not his choice and he will have to make do. My mother on the other hand was planning on getting a puppy in the next few months and has already asked the gardeners for a quote to re sod the lawn and send me the bill...yay. I looked up your recommendation on a bleach solution and I think a 10:1 ratio will be just enough to not get a scorched earth result.


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## wick (Mar 7, 2015)

Jason1A said:


> wick said:
> 
> 
> > Did you guys pick up the poop right away? That really cuts down the chance of them being spread, also since the golden is older she probably has a stronger immune system, coccidia is (from what I have read) mostly a puppy issue due to their very weak immune systems. Diluted bleach may work on coccidia in the lawn to kill it, and won't kill your grass along with it if done at the proper dilution.
> ...


That sounds like a familiar number, if you do that your mom probably doesn't need to worry much. You didn't mention if you picked up the poop right away that day? Worms transfer to the ground if the poop is left on it. How much was the quote for resodding? Puppies need to be dewormed multiple times anyways! Totally normal for them to have worms when they are little. 

We had to have Wick poop on concrete too when he was little, he hated it! Just have him go in one spot in the yard pick it up right away and spray it with the diluted bleach and you should be fine, there are even nozzles for hoses that you hook the bleach up to and it automatically dilutes to the chosen number. Hands free poop control!! (Ok you will need one had to spray it haha). Also if he goes in one spot if your mom chooses to re sod you will only have to pay for one square


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## wick (Mar 7, 2015)

Uh OHHH!!!! I just looked it up  apparently the coccidia is resistant to all household cleaners including bleach


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Chip18 said:


> Well I can help with that!
> 
> I don't really do the puppy thing but lots of info here and sites here, keep in mind for the future.


Ops over site on my part! Trying again!
http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/6954690-post5.html


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## Jason1A (Feb 28, 2015)

The poop was picked up immediately and Ive been using a shovel to scoop up about 6-8 in. below areas that were soiled. I restricted Yogi to a small area and put newspaper over the dirt for when he goes #2 and am using another area for #1. Good thing is he's becoming more comfortable with his crate and is sleeping up to 6 hours at night. He's still peeing everywhere, even right after he goes #1 hopefully I can get that under control before our flight back to New York on Tuesday. 
Man those puppy teeth are sharp. Its been almost 16 years since I had to train a puppy, so glad forums like this exist and that search feature has been a godsend.


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## wick (Mar 7, 2015)

He is peeing everywhere after going pee? How much longer after? Is he still drinking a ton of water?


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## Chai (Dec 11, 2014)

Jason1A said:


> Yogi passed out at 5AM


Sorry not relating to the health issues....but *OMG little puppy toe beans!*

I really hope Yogi gets better soon! Good job with taking care of him


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## Jason1A (Feb 28, 2015)

wick said:


> He is peeing everywhere after going pee? How much longer after? Is he still drinking a ton of water?


He's not drinking water like its going out of style anymore nor is he stealing my brothers Golden Retrievers water anymore a nip in leg cleared that up. He sleeps through the night now (12AM-6:30/7) or at least won't wake me up until then. Once I get get up I take him outside to pee and then its 2 x Albon 125mg tabs for the Coccidia, breakfast, then outside again to pee and poo

Aprox daily schedule

0630-7 - Wake and pee
07-0703 - 2 x Alcon 125MG
07-0705 - Breakfast
0730 - Poo and usually pee

Then almost every 20-30 min he'll have an accident if he's not napping. This stopped when my younger brother was home with Arya(Golden Retriever 1yr 6mo). I assume he's still getting used of his surroundings since its only been 4/5 days. Waiting to hear back from the vet. other than that he''s a healthy boy and his stomach is getting smaller. He's picking up sit, stay but come and responding to his name has been somewhat of a challenge.


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## Ruger Monster (Jan 29, 2015)

That 5am picture is adorable! How wonderful you took him in  Hope everything keeps going well with him.

Ruger peed A LOT when he was a puppy too, every 30 minutes it seemed he had to pee. Tiny puppy bladders  Hopefully that's all it is.


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## wick (Mar 7, 2015)

Yeah wick peed every 30 min at ten weeks and around 16 weeks started going every hour/1.5 hours. 

Try saying his name, putting a stinky treat in front of his nose then pulling the treat up to your eyes and when he looks at you say "yes" or "good" then give the treat. this will teach him to start looking at you when you say his name. Do it like 10/15 times in a row with pea sized treats in addition to saying his name often. 

When our trainer was having us teach come she had us say "come" then run while patting our knee and making kissy noises or saying "puppy" repeatedly (or wherever peaks his interest the most) and get him to chase us. When you stop and he looks at you then "jackpot" treats (give a few but one at a time because they think it's alot of them) while saying your marker word (good/yes). It really helped get wick to start coming reliably even when I wasnt running away.

I'm glad it sounds like he is healthy! Having a sick puppy is so scary :/ you are such an awesone puppy parent ! He is so lucky


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## Jason1A (Feb 28, 2015)

Got Yogi back to New York on Tuesday and surprisingly it was an uneventful flight. He passed out before takeoff, slept 2.5 hours, peed on the pad in the bathroom, played with the stewardesses and went back to sleep all the way until we deplaned. I definitely got lucky with the wind to our back it only took 4hrs 30min. The diarrhea is over with and he's gotten bigger in the week and a half I've had him. 

He's adjusting well to the apartment and not peeing as often but still missing the pad about 25% of the time. He'll be finishing up his Albon 125 in a few days so hopefully the poop test will show the coccidia and roundworms have gone. O yea he's learned how to run and jump over boxes. I had just moved into a new apt before I left for Los Angeles and was using some 18" tall boxes to block the area to the bedroom during the day. He can now do a short running jump and hop on top of the box. I was really surprised to find him in the bathroom which was blocked off when i woke from a nap. 

He's gone out up and down the block for socialization and house training but i'm keeping him inside for the most part. Very confident pup, not scared to approach people and can chase a toy by himself to wear himself out.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Things are going well then!That's great news!


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## Basia (Oct 7, 2011)

He is really cute! And I love the name. He's lucky to have found you.

There are two pdf books that I found free online somewhere a while back, by Ian Dunbar, called Before You Get Your Puppy and After You Get Your Puppy. They're pretty simple reads but he did extensively cover potty training methods. He really emphasized the fact that the more accidents a puppy has, the more there will be accidents in the future... a positive feedback thing. Food for thought.


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## Jason1A (Feb 28, 2015)

Vet called last night and latest fecal test shows no roundworms or coccidia Yay!


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