# My first Pet - German Shepherd Puppy



## troy_mia (May 26, 2011)

Hello all,

Today completes my first week of ownership of Pet 

I bought it from the breeder in Virginia. 

Here's my experience of flying with him in AirTran (I was very nervous as I had no experience ever dealing with a puppy and that too in the flight):
He was whining a lot for most of the time in car when I was driving to Airport a 1hr 30min drive.
In first flight; he only whined when the plane was descending to land.
In second flight; he only whined for 3-5 mins again only when the plane was descending too.
No accidents all the way from breeders place to Mine. Total duration 9 hours(3.30 pm to 12.30 am). One potty break at Airports Pet Relief area at 6pm.

At home, he was crying all night long even though I was sleeping very next to the crate. I guess; it will be the case for next few days too. And now a week later he doesn't whine at all but he keeps playing with making noises lol. 

His schedule:
7 am - Take him out - 1 mile walk
7.30 am - Food 
11.30 am - Take him out - 0.5 mile walk
1 pm - Food
4 pm - Take him out - 0.5 mile walk
7 pm - Take him out 1 mile walk + Train + food 
11 pm - Take him out.

Food: Orijen LBP. I am not too sure; what is the right amount of food for him but I am feeding him 4oz, 3oz and 3 oz. Is it more or less of a 9 week old puppy? Raw diet only on the weekends.

The commands he obeys so far mostly on his will is : Sit, Down, Come(works only when I am feet away from him - when I hold the leash and call he would never get up) and Wait (works only if is walks ahead of me when I am not holding leash).


The biggest problem are : 
*Play bites*... His needle like teeth hurt a lot and has bruised me. I have tried the most common stuff posted on the bite inhibition and nothing worked for him 
- Making a high pitch sound of being hurt.
- Play time over for few minutes.
- Didnt try any bitter sprays yet. 
I hope this play bites fade away after few months.
Sometime he would be playing with toys and all of a sudden decide to playbite on hands or legs.
*Prey drive*... If he gets hold of the pants he will never let it go. Deviating to other toys only lasts for few seconds and he will back at me ... lol
Humping... 
*Getting the leash on*... He just wants to bite. I have tried giving him treats and running around with leash too.
*Walking*... Very reluctant to walk away from house. Food can only get him from one place to the food place but not a step more. Only way he walks with me is I drop the leash and walk 5 to 10ft away and he will happily match foot to foot for any distance. Only time he walks with me holding the leash in hand is when walking toward the house.

One day my dad took him for a walk and he saw a dog across the street and he was barking non-stop. Second day I took him and one of my friends came across with his dog and he started barking and I sat down to calm him down and it worked. They sniffed and we walked in opposite direction; I didn't want him to play with dogs yet. Next day onwards; if he sees a big dog either barking or just passing by; he would just sit and watch him walk past. (I really hope this behavior continues).

The Sire and Dam Info : 
Line-breeding for the progeny of VA1 Ober von Bad-Boll and V Ylona von der Piste Trophe - German Shepherd Dog

Puppy Pictures: 

I haven't picked up a name for him yet. Possible options were Sam, Remo but still thinking if there are better options...

* *** Pictures delete by MOD, max size pics allowed 800 X 600 ****

Sire:









Dam : 









I am just wondering what he will look like when he grows bigger. 

Thats all from me. I have learned a lot from reading the threads on the forum. And there is still a lot to learn...

And I hope to correct my mistakes too; that's why I decided to post my experience.

Thanks.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Congrats on the new pup- you have to pick a name quick!! Don't worry about the leash yet, just get him to follow you. The best thing you can do for the next few weeks is play play play. Get into a puppy class at your local obedience training club


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## Loneforce (Feb 12, 2012)

grats on the new guy... I like the one name you was thinking about REMO has a nice ring to it ...good luck to you


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## Whiteboy (Jul 19, 2011)

Congrats and welcome, all that walking in the scedual might be a little muć for a puppy


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## KaiserGSDLove (Oct 21, 2010)

troy_mia said:


> Hello all,
> 
> Today completes my first week of ownership of Pet
> 
> ...


How old is the puppy? From what I know GSD pups are prone to joint injuries and shouldn't be taken on prolonged walks. A couple miles a days for a small pup seems like too much.


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## KaiserGSDLove (Oct 21, 2010)

Exercise and Play With Your German Shepherd Dog

Some info to read about avoiding giving puppies too much exercise


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## troy_mia (May 26, 2011)

Stosh said:


> Congrats on the new pup- you have to pick a name quick!! Don't worry about the leash yet, just get him to follow you. The best thing you can do for the next few weeks is play play play. Get into a puppy class at your local obedience training club


Without leash its super hard to control his habit of biting the legs and pulling on pants. And plus; he will just go about and eat anything he finds on the grass. 

Once I get him to stop biting humans; I am sure I can teach him basic obedience by myself.



KaiserGSDLove said:


> How old is the puppy? From what I know GSD pups are prone to joint injuries and shouldn't be taken on prolonged walks. A couple miles a days for a small pup seems like too much.


Morning walk is approx 15 min walk but with a puppy it takes upto 20 to 25min based on his reluctance to walk for first couple of mins as he always turns and sits staring at the house. Afternoon/Evening walk is approx 10 min. walk. Is that a long walk time for 9 week old puppy? Of-course I can cut short the time of his walk.

Even after such walk he has so much energy to play. I would like to sit and play with him for long; only if he stops biting. No amount of redirection works for him to stop biting LoL. I tried stepping away from the picture when he does bite.(I play with him a confined place in my place not separated by Baby Gates but some boxes.) He will be jumping up the box for 5 sec and then he will go in down position and think I don't mind that and I will wait for you to come back... and then get you again.


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## ZAYDA (Apr 22, 2010)

Thats a beautiful Sire and a cute puppy. I feel you are excited ready to train a puppy but @ 9 weeks old you may be expecting to much to soon. Allow your puppy to be just that a puppy and get to know his knew home. 

Yes they have sharp teeth but they will grow out of the shark butting stage in time. I would not even walk a 9-10 week old puppy because 1 they can only go to the corner and back & two they don't have all their shots yet. 

Take your time and enjoy these puppy breath days and just keep him save and be his best buddy , allowing him to be. good luck


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Biting humans will not stop for two or three months. Play-biting is rehearsal for adult survival behaviour (hunting, catching prey), so it is deeply ingrained need to act this out as practice. Redirecting, turning your back, etc, is an effort to reprogram this survival program, so it will not happen overnight. Wear old clothes and always carry a soft toy that you can redirect too. Pup will outgrow the bitey stage . . . eventually. 

Go slow with the walks, a mile seems like a lot, especially if he is reluctant to do it. Leash walking is something completely new for pups to learn about, and going away from new, familiar places can be overwhelming. I'd go back to shorter diatances and build his confidence (he is a "he", not an "it"), and use the outside time more as a play time, for him to chase you, or a rag you pull on the ground, or other type games - keep him on a long line, let him explore the world at his own pace. 

Other than that, your schedule looks good, and your pups seems to be coming along fine. The crazy pant-leg and leash grabbing can be his stress outlet. (wear old clothes.  ).


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

Yes, you are in for the biting stage. I carried around an old rope toy in my pocket to put in Raina's mouth when she chewed on something that was wrong. Also, at 9 weeks he missed a little education from his pack. I like to keep GSD puppies with the litter til 12 weeks. The litter goes a long way toward teaching bite inhibition - other than that what you listed is good, just have to keep it up. 

The shorter walks that most recommended are a good idea at this age, not only for vaccination time but to let the little legs get stronger. Remember the puppy has only been really walking for a few weeks at this point,not even months. When pups are little I like to spend a lot of time playing - play can be very educational when done right. You can drag a toy in front of you and back up and let the pup follow the toy. Once it gets the hang of that turn around and drag the toy behind you while you move forward. This and other times when the pup can be next to you in play are the beginning of the pup learning to walk nicely with you on a leash. You can teach a lot to the pup by just handling him a lot. Check each foot, spread each toe, click the ends of the toe nails with your fingernail. This is all in preparation for letting his feet be handled easily to trim nails etc. Also, look in his ears and handle his ears. Look in his mouth a lot and stick your fingers on his gums to rub them when he loses teeth. Teach him to open his mouth for inspection on command - a simple "open" command when first opening his mouth worked for me. Teaching all this when they are young makes it a lot easier to handle at a vet call. Pups that can sit and shake hands are adorable so those are good things to start with to. You are in for a wonderful time exploring just how intelligent your new puppy is. Remember the puppy years go by too fast - enjoy every minute.


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## Jo_in_TX (Feb 14, 2012)

Your puppy is so adorable! Can't wait to see photos as he matures!


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## shaner (Oct 17, 2010)

Just take it slow and it will come. The biting is going to continue for a little whole longer regardless of what you do. You just have to deal with it until one day it will just stop. 

A mile or two isn't too far if the pup goes at its own pace. If the pup is reluctant, you're either going too far, or the pup is scared and you should wait another week or two to try leash walks. 

I was feeding 2 cups to my 8 week old puppy, then I quickly went up to 3 cups, now I'm at 4.5 cups of Orijen and my puppy is still quite lean. You're not feeding your puppy enough IMO.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

The biting of humans can stop immediately if its worked on. I got my german shepherd puppy when she was three months, by the time she was three months and one week she was not biting any humans anymore. She also doesn't chew or destroy anything either I did the same thing with my golden retriever puppy and he learned immediately not to bite humans...he was under 10 weeks...of course my house looks like puppy day care and there are toys of all different textures, sizes, and colors everywhere...but it works.


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## troy_mia (May 26, 2011)

Thanks for everyone's suggestion and tips. I have decreased his walking schedule too on the very same day I posted.

But my problem is that he has stopped walking away from house completely ... lol. He just wont walk more than 15 steps away from the house. He always sits on the grass on left or right side of the walk path and stare at the house or anyone passing by.

Finally found an easy way to walk him; one family member walks way up in front and he will happily walk and follow them (90% of the time) sometime the member in front needs to call him. I ordered an Easy Walk harness for him couple of days back. 



pyratemom said:


> This and other times when the pup can be next to you in play are the beginning of the pup learning to walk nicely with you on a leash. You can teach a lot to the pup by just handling him a lot. Check each foot, spread each toe, click the ends of the toe nails with your fingernail. This is all in preparation for letting his feet be handled easily to trim nails etc. Also, look in his ears and handle his ears. Look in his mouth a lot and stick your fingers on his gums to rub them when he loses teeth. Teach him to open his mouth for inspection on command - a simple "open" command when first opening his mouth worked for me. Teaching all this when they are young makes it a lot easier to handle at a vet call. Pups that can sit and shake hands are adorable so those are good things to start with to. You are in for a wonderful time exploring just how intelligent your new puppy is. Remember the puppy years go by too fast - enjoy every minute.


Great tips.... If I only I can get even a single thing without getting attacked ... LoL. I have been trying to hold his paws and he will come to bite me instantly.

The only thing I do is brush him everyday when he is eating in the morning. 

So tomorrow he will be 11 weeks old, by that age what all commands should be really knowing.

He has a high food drive but he is too impatient when he knows I got food while training. I was trying to teach me Stay and Leave It command; but his food drive and bite me is so immense it's hard to teach him that ... lol. 

His bites has actually increased in the past few days; now he wants to bite even when he is walking with me... he would go 3-4 steps ahead of me and turn and jump and bite me close to the knee.... (It seems like he is training himself to be good at bite work LoL). 

I am very lenient on him since he is just a puppy.


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

troy_mia said:


> Thanks for everyone's suggestion and tips. I have decreased his walking schedule too on the very same day I posted.
> 
> But my problem is that he has stopped walking away from house completely ... lol. He just wont walk more than 15 steps away from the house. He always sits on the grass on left or right side of the walk path and stare at the house or anyone passing by.
> 
> ...


At 11 weeks, a stay and leave it command may be a little too much. You have to start with the small stuff. First get him walking on a leash or off lead in a fenced area. If he has high food drive, use that to train. No food unless he does what you are asking. NILF - Nothing in life is free will work for you. He has to earn everything he gets by doing what he is being asked to do, whether it is sit at the door, look at his feet, etc. If you have a chew toy handy to put in his mouth when he gets mouthy it will help. Do not let him bite on you or chew on your hands or you are promoting bad habits he will not forget. As for brushing, it's good that you can touch and handle him while he has food, but it is better to train him to stand for brushing and grooming. Find a spot you can fasten a lead to for him so he can't just walk away. Then as you pet and brush him to teach him about grooming he has to stand there. If he nips you, say no but don't stop brushing and grooming. The big stuff at 11 weeks is: walk nicely on a leash, stand for grooming, let the feet be handled. When my high drive girl was 14 weeks - (I only got her at 12 weeks from Germany) I did just one toe at at time and treated after each toe. Now I still treat after each foot and she will be 4 soon. It takes constant behavior training but take time - 11 weeks is still pretty young for a long training period but not too young to learn.


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## troy_mia (May 26, 2011)

He was good at walk today. I switched to Easy Walk Harness - although it turned out be little big for him; I think its better than regular collar. Its time for his third round of shots this weekend or Monday.

At 11 weeks old :


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

That is a gorgeous puppy. I love puppy ears!


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