# Happy Family Needed



## DBerger04 (Mar 23, 2010)

Hello my name is Dan and I just rescued a 10month old 80lb GSD named Jerry (the German). He is great outside on the line and I leave him in my Bedroom while I am at work and let him out during lunch. The issue is my parents have 2 dachshund and my sister has a chihuahua. The dogs are spoiled and were never trained properly. Jerry wants to play with them. Hes very big compared to them. The others are very defensive.

They are calm after a few moments with the 3 amigos in there kennels and jerry laying rght outside them. wagging his tail trying to lick them.

I know that he is probably in his teenage stages. I want to get him to professional training classes in mid april. I have been looking up ways to train him and work with him everyday. 

We are going to try to familiarize them more and more like we did tonight, I have had him for about a week now.

My question is what are some good ways to get him to socialize with the smaller boys and have them be comfortable around him.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

With him being so young and big, and the other pups being so small........ accidents can happen even if everyone is playing. So I think you have a good plan right now to manage the situation and keep it calm.

Meanwhile, I'd be trying to find OTHER larger doggy friends for your new GSD to play with. Dog classes will be a HUGE help. 

I googled and found these places to train:

new haven ct dog training - Google Search


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

did you inform the rescue you got jerry from that you had other dogs in the household? did they provide information on adding a new dog into the mix?

To make it easier I would take Jerry out for A LOT of exercise and really wear him out so he isn't so crazy around the other dogs. Could you maybe take Jerry and 1 of the other dogs out in the yard and play ball with them, both dogs focused on the ball and not each other

what are you doing now to try and introduce Jerry? How are the other 3 dogs around other dogs? You said they are poorly trained are they social? Since the other dogs are not trained you're going to have a lot of work with Jerry if the rest of the family is going to let him get away with whatever.


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## DBerger04 (Mar 23, 2010)

I have laid down the lay about my dog. The other 3 are good but avoid bigger dogs for good reason.

I was looking at ABC Obedience they are literally 5minutes down the road from me.

i can try to play ball but the other pooches are about 4 years old, the taco bell dog is about a year or so, but hes scared. It is a lot of factors, jerry gets excited and then scared as well due to the others snarling and such. I try to excersise him a lot. its been raining lately so its tougher, once the weather breaks he'll be in the yard all day playing and stuff again.

Thanks for the help. I like this dog a lot but unfortantly I can not get my own place just now. My friend and my uncle have said they will take him if it doesnt work out until i get my own place. my uncle has had GSDs longer than I have been alive.

Also he accidently pulled down half my deck, it was pretty funny, my dad would disagree but it was his fault.


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## DBerger04 (Mar 23, 2010)

would letting him play with them, but muzzling him for about 30minutes to an hour be bad? I thought this could be an option, I have to do some more research on it.


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## BoomandBolt (Mar 15, 2010)

I wouldn't muzzle him. It would make him more scared and defensive IMO. We have to muzzle our ACD but its a last resort and has to do with people. I would never muzzle him and then put him with other dogs


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## aubie (Dec 22, 2008)

A good way to get them used to each other is to take them out on walks, especially with the weiners. This lets them be near each other in a controlled manner, getting used to seeing and smelling each other. Plus, if they're not already being walked, the weiner dogs need to be walked anyway, they are prone to obesity if they don't get the right amount of exercise.


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## DBerger04 (Mar 23, 2010)

i will definatly suggest that. We did phase 2 today, Jerry was running around the house with the 3 amigos on there cages. they were pretty calm jerry was laying down in front of them. I gave them all treats and made sure jerry got his last. I am going to keep doing this. I will definatly suggest the walk thing, the weiners just dont like to be around him since he is so playful.


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## DensterNY (Feb 1, 2010)

I have a somewhat similar situation with my 9 month GSD (around 80 lbs) and my 6 month French Bulldog (15 lbs) and worked with my trainer to manage their interactions as my GSD is so large and powerful she can hurt him accidentallyeven playing.

We worked on a lot of different exercises to help them bond which includes walks together with both dogs at first on opposite sides of the street and then very gradually over the course of days we brought them closer together. Second, we have their two puppy pens right next to each other so as they settle and relax during the day they keep one another company. Third, we feed them together - again with some distance but now they're friendly enough to share water and even take a look if someone left some extra.

We also do group training which I feel has bonded them the most. We have a group name and give them instructions to sit, down and stay as a group and then reward them also for settling together. We also let them have structured play but have a break time command to lead them apart when play gets a bit too rough. 

It's worked wonders so far and though they'd like to romp around the house we've taught them that it's a heck lot more rewarding to play nice together. Actually, it's the only behavior that earns them pan-seared medium rare strips of skirt steak so they're very very motivated and in fact try to play conspicuously nice in front of me hoping that it gets them this reward.


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## DBerger04 (Mar 23, 2010)

ya we are trying. we had the 2 wieners out while he was playing in the big room and they were running around. he just wants to play and they do not, if he didnt nip so much when playing with people id let him get close but one nip could end the other dogs. We are gonna try to take them on a walk saturday and sunday, but it seems like him playing near them really calms them down.


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## DBerger04 (Mar 23, 2010)

Jerry has been camping out with the others down stairs. Now the issue is that he likes to bite me. He will grab my arm and shake it, I pin him to the ground and tell him no. I keep doing it until he submisses. However if my mom tells him down and no, he gets done real low and pees a little. Is he testing the waters or is there a severe behavior problem in the workings.


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