# Puppy Bonding



## Hackez (Oct 28, 2009)

So after much research I placed a deposit on a German Shepherd puppy. I will be picking up the puppy next Saturday when it reaches 8 weeks of age. We have all the necessary puppy supplies but I was looking for some bonding/training tips.

I spoke to a breeder in the area that suggested to prevent the puppy from playing with other dogs initially to help the dog bond better with me. Though she didn't elaborate on the period of time for this limited interaction with other dogs. (We currently have two dogs and the GSD will make our third)

Is there any value to this advice? I'm essentially asking if you were to bring a new GSD into your home with other dogs how would you ensure he/she kept his focus on you? 

Thanks,

Jeremy


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## WiscTiger (Sep 25, 2002)

I have raised my puppies to be independent of the older dogs in my house. I want my dogs to be indivduals not a pack. Yes they need to learn how to get along with other dogs, but I want them to know how to behave on their own also.

My pups are kept a part from the older dog most of the time, but I do allow limited play interaction with the older dog that would be best for the pup. I don't allow my older dogs to dominate pups, I want my pups to think that they are the king/queen of the walk.

When I allowed more interaction was varied from pup to pup and who I had for older dogs. Usually around 4 - 8 months I start allowing more time together.

I know some people raise the pup with older dogs with no problems, this is just the way I do it.

Val


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Congrats!!
This thread is good for socializing suggestions: http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1089104&page=8#Post1089104 I think you need to socialize from the 8 to 12 week window to be sure your pup doesn't get reactive or fearful. Isolation from things will not help. Though it should all be safe and not overwhelming.
As far as bonding, make your puppy feel secure and confident and he will see you as his leader/friend. 
Don't reprimand him, but redirect him if he is doing something you don't want. Make yourself more interesting than anything else! There are alot of threads in the puppy section, read, read ,and read some more before your puppy comes home.
I have two dogs and added a puppy in the Spring, I let them interact, but didn't let them dominate him...though they could give him corrections if he got to be too much for them. I was vigilant in supervision. My pup is very bonded with me and bonded w/ one of my other dogs. One dog made it clear, she was not that into him, and he understood!


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

I don't isolate my dogs from each other, but with a puppy and an older dog, you definitely want to supervise playtime. I've never gotten a second dog FOR the first dog, but my goal is always that ultimately they will get along well and enjoy each other's company. I don't want to have to play musical crates, so it wouldn't be worth it to me to have more than one dog if they didn't like each other and couldn't be trusted together. Once the puppy is older and I know that they will play nicely I do keep mine together in a chain link pen in our garage when we're gone. They have a dog door to a separately fenced outside run for potties. But until then, the puppy is crated in the house. Many people do not ever leave their dogs alone together, and if you have any reservations about how well they'll all get along and you have a way to kennel them separately, that's something you might want to think about. 

I try and spend a lot of one on one time with the new puppy, and I put the other dog away during training sessions so it's not a distraction. (At that age training sessions are VERY short and fun, with lots of happy praise and treats.) I'll also put the puppy away and keep the older dog with us so s/he gets some one on one time too, especially at times when I can't supervise, such as cleaning or making dinner. I've even put an older dog in daycare a few days a week so the puppy gets used to spending time alone, and then when s/he's old enough, the puppy goes to daycare a few days a week for a couple of months to have some supervised socialization with other dogs without the rest of the pack. When we're home and I'm not working on training the new puppy, everyone is together in the house with us.


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

The only major concern I would have is the younger dog becoming dependent on the older dog for guidance. I had to separate my dogs for a while for real life situational training becuase the 1 y/o was having a lot of trouble thinking for himself with out the 8 y/o around to be his helper dog. 



> Originally Posted By: onyx'girl One dog made it clear, she was not that into him, and he understood!










Morgan was quite clear that she did not want to bond with baby Otto. At 17 months now, Otto is still trying to get Morgan to be more into him. Now that he's a teenager, she's more interested in wrestling with him but when he was a puppy, no way, take that thing away, he's ruining my life. 

They do really like to take walk together now. Both of them are far more excited about walkies when they know they're going together. 

It's been maybe 6 months now that I've seen them working together as a pack, chasing squirrels, alerting me to someone at the house etc.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

> Originally Posted By: SunCzarinaThe only major concern I would have is the younger dog becoming dependent on the older dog for guidance. I had to separate my dogs for a while for real life situational training becuase the 1 y/o was having a lot of trouble thinking for himself with out the 8 y/o around to be his helper dog.


Yep, excellent point. We take our dogs to off leash parks every weekend from a young age - Keefer was about 4-1/2 months old, and Halo was just 15 weeks old when they started going. So they got very used to being around lots of strange dogs on a regular basis, to the point that it's no big deal to them. Mostly they just play with each other and us. But it was extremely important to ME that they not be overly dependent on each other, that both of them have the ability to be social and friendly and comfortable around other dogs without the crutch of their buddy backing them up. Daycare was great for that.


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## Hackez (Oct 28, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: Wisc.TigerI have raised my puppies to be independent of the older dogs in my house. I want my dogs to be indivduals not a pack. Yes they need to learn how to get along with other dogs, but I want them to know how to behave on their own also.
> 
> My pups are kept a part from the older dog most of the time, but I do allow limited play interaction with the older dog that would be best for the pup. I don't allow my older dogs to dominate pups, I want my pups to think that they are the king/queen of the walk.
> 
> ...


By limited interaction what length of time are you recommending? 20 minute play sessions twice a day?

Also, we have another individual in the household and I want to ensure that the dog bonds with me rather than her. Should play time be limited for the first few weeks with other humans until the dogs comfort zone and perception of who its leader is increases? (I didn't see this in the reading and suggestions above)

Thanks!


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

We do basically what Val does. 

Initially for the first week or so all interaction is through crates where all members can smell and visit to get used to each other but not interact. 









After that we will do leashed walks together, where I will walk one of the older dogs and DH will walk the puppy. The older dog is NOT to pay attention to the puppy. The puppy can smell the older dog, but we're walking not playing.

Once that is going well I will let the puppy offlead around one of the older dogs when they are training. The older dog ignores the puppy and maintains focus on their reward. They learn to be around the other dogs and it's great distraction training! Argos working with a 10 week old Anka on their first time out together.









When the puppy has gained some size and I am comfortable with the progress of our bonding, usually around 5-6 months, then I will let them play together. This is Argos at 5 months with Ellie. You can see that now he has plenty enough size and at this point confidence from previous supervised interactions to not be intimidated by the bigger dogs, who have also been learning to ignore the newcomer. 









I have to say I am immensely pleased with how this has worked out for me. They are all intact dogs training for Schutzhund and they can all share all kinds of resources with each other...food toys, water dishes. No one ever gets really snotty with each other about anything and they all get along very well BUT are very handler focused. I can call any of the dogs out of play because we the People are more important than other dogs. Ultimately though, you will find what works best for you because every situation is different!!

Anka 21 months, Argos 2.5 years, Cade 6 months


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## Hackez (Oct 28, 2009)

Thank you for the informative response.

What would you do if there was another human in the household? 

If I am the primary caregiver with regards to feeding, exercise & training will it bond to me regardless? I'm trying to determine if at the early stages of puppy-hood I should limit constant interaction with others. When I say constant, I mean someone who lives with me and is retired. (Home constantly) As I will be the main trainer I would like the dog to primarily bond with me. The puppy will of course be properly socialized with all sorts of environments, people, etc.


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## Alto (Nov 18, 2008)

Dogs will generally bond with whoever offers the most fun/work/play; puppies should be friendly with everyone (at least if they've been properly socialized by the breeder) - I would certainly not discourage the at home person from interacting with your pup, but as that individual will spend more hours with your pup, you should make sure that you are the source of great things: special treats, great outings, puppy classes ...

At night puppy should sleep in his crate next to your bed, you would be the one getting up every 2-3hours to take puppy out to potty; mornings start with you: potty, feed, play, potty, then crate & off to work (leave takings, home comings should be matter of fact & low key). 

It's great that you have a person at home that can take your pup out to potty & play while you're away, this person can feed lunch etc, hopefully you'll be home for dinner & able to spend the evening with your pup.

You do want to ensure that this person is on the same page with you in terms of discipline (none!), positive interactions, degree of supervision (pup is crated whenever the person cannot devote 100% attention to pup) & so on. I would not allow pup to be out with the other dogs unless you are there to supervise (it's just simpler). 

If this person has very different ideas than you in terms of how to raise a pup, then just ask that pup remain crated except for potty breaks & short play times. 
Of course then it's up to you to crate train first so make sure you have several days at home with your pup before going back to work or things will be rather difficult for the at home person. If you can't co-ordinate pup coming home with several days off work, then you'll just need to compromise & set up some shared routines.

If you're a good leader to your pup, you'll have a great bond


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## Hackez (Oct 28, 2009)

That's exactly the information I was looking for. Since I'm a college student I live with my mother so as far as ideal's we are extremely similar. Considering shes the one who made me fall in love with animals when I was growing up and advocated positive reinforcement I think everything will work out well. This site is just wonderful for all my odd questions. Oh and I have a week of vacation put in from work for when the puppy arrives. Unfortunately that doesn't apply to Calculus.









Thanks everyone!


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

I have raised my own personal pups and foster pups. I have never kept them separated from my other dogs but I have always trained them separately. Every single dog that has ever spent time in my house has bonded to me, whether or not they bonded with one of the other dogs. I just want them to be good companions both for me and for my other animals. Even though some of my dogs have been very close with one another they have never failed to recognize me as their leader.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I think all of the advice/suggestions and experiences suggested are good ones.

I also think alot depends on the puppy itself as well. 

I have had multiple dogs (atleast 4) in my house for around 15 years, I've always brought in a puppy when my numbers were at 3, and have brought in 6 puppies over the years with other dogs in the household.

I've never separated them, and I've never had a problem with ANY of them bonding to the other dog(s) or other person in the household more than me.. I consider myself very lucky and also fortunate that I can spend ALOT of time when I do get another puppy 'with' that puppy. 

I train separately, I do activities separately, another good 'bonding' if your puppy is food motivated, is to hand feed for awhile..

I totally agree, whomever is feeding, grooming, exercising, playing with that puppy is the one they usually bond to the most. 

I basically adhere to what Ruth (poster above) does and it hasn't failed me yet)))

Sometimes we can over analyze, over rationalize when it's actually a pretty simple thing to acheive)

Good luck with your new puppy
diane


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## SuzyE (Apr 22, 2005)

On my fourth dog. Paige helped raise all of them, especially Jazmin.Jazmin was her little project. Jazmin grew up NOTHING like Paige and went on to become a recognized therapy dog.Then Cesar, they kind of bonded because they were both GSD and now Travis. All influenced by Paige and nothing like her so I don't buy into this theory.


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## Jason L (Mar 20, 2009)

I like JKlatsky's set up. This is pretty much what I plan to do with Ike when he comes home next Friday.


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