# What to know about City Dogs



## MattL (Feb 17, 2011)

Greetings everyone:

This is my first post on the forums. I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Albany, NY. Honestly one of the primary reasons I wanted my own home was to have a German Shepherd Dog. My parents have 2 GSDs Bella(F) and Scout(M) that I have helped raise and done my best to train in good manners. My parents also breed German Shepherds and its been my dream to own one of Bella and Scouts puppies . Unfortunately this week with all the great things happening I was informed by my parents that after a visit to the vet what they thought was Bella going into heat could actually be the signs of pyometra. It is quite possible that she will never have another litter. I am fine with that as we know plenty of reputable breeders with great dogs but I preferred having one of Bella and Scouts dogs. Regardless of the source I intend to get my own german shepherd.

Anyway the one difference between my previous dealings with german shepherds is that I will be keeping and training this dog in a City environment. The house has a decent sized fenced yard and is in a very walkable neighborhood near two parks. I was wondering if anyone in the forum might be able to offer any advice on what I should be aware of with regards to owning a german shepherd in a city. I intend to enroll the puppy in obedience classes and training but would be open to any advice or suggestions as to how I can raise the future puppy into a German Shepherd to be proud of while still living in a city environment.

Thank you


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

I think whether you live in a city or in the country you should do the same thing to raise a well trained stable dog.

Socialization is huge. 

Have you found a new breeder yet? here is a good read http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/choosing-breeder/137533-things-look-responsible-breeder.html


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

GSD's can live in the city, country, suburbs, etc.
you have to train and socialize them but that's with any dog.


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

My dogs spend 8-12 hrs a day in my car. I'm sure sure the city will be fine


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

I live in the middle of the city - in a highrise apartment building - next to an expressway - across the street from the largest mall in the city - next to the bus terminal.

 Extra socialization all the time!


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## JustMeLeslie (Sep 15, 2010)

Welcome to the forum! Good luck on the puppy search. As others have said GSDs are versatile they can be in the country, city just about anywhere.


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## Mac's Mom (Jun 7, 2010)

Congrats on buying your home. Thats very exciting. Good luck on your search for your puppy.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

The main advice I have is socialize, socialize, socialize! A properly socialized dog should be able to handle most living locations. Bianca was raised in a suburban/rural environment but she had no trouble adjusting to living in Chicago at 4 years old (except that she thinks our property extends way further than it does!) 

In a city environment it is even more important to follow the early socialization guidelines. I would go with Dunbar's guideline of being handled by 100 new people by 3 months old (and this means all kinds of people- men, women, kids, seniors, people in wheelchairs, tall/short/young/old/light/dark/hairy/bald/loud/oddly-dressed people, etc... These all need to be positive interactions. It is also important for socialization to acclimate puppies to various locations and substrates. 
In a city you should have no trouble finding puppy kindergarten classes and I'd definitely enroll in those early (you may even want to sign up to save a spot before your puppy comes home, sometimes these classes fill up fast.)

There are books out there about urban/city dogs. I've read a few but IIRC I liked "Urban Dog: The Ultimate Street Smarts Training Manual" by Cis Frankel the best. I didn't necessarily agree with all her training methods but the ideas on what dogs should know and on socialization were pretty good.


Here's a good article by Dr Dunbar:
Bay Woof: News With Bite

And a good site with critical socialization periods:
How to socialize

another good source on socialization/development periods:
Developmental Stages


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