# HEY ALL YOU PUPPY OWNERS.... LISTEN UP!



## TNGSD (Feb 15, 2008)

It seems we have lots of new puppies on this board with lots of questions about food, weight and training issues. I don't know much about forums and how to do stuff but I thought it might be cool to start a thread for puppies around the same age where someone could suggest a game or idea for puppy training/imprinting/socializing each week that we could all try and then we could compare notes about what worked or didn't work! *I mean really where else can we obsess about razor sharp teeth, what we are feeding and the consistency of our puppies poop at any given time!* Those of you with older dogs can check in too and give advice since you have already been through this! If you are like me you feel like you have an awesome pup with unlimited potential...as long as you use this critical period of development wisely and don't screw him up! With all of the unsocialized, fearful dogs out there we have to take this seriously and make sure our pups have everything they need to succeed!


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## butch33611 (May 4, 2007)

Thats a good idea, Ill be sure to stop in from time to time to check in. Sarge is about 4 but id still like to see how this goes.


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## ajharris (Apr 30, 2008)

That sounds awesome!! I could use all the help I can get with Ace. He is 7 weeks old, almost 8.


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## TNGSD (Feb 15, 2008)

Ok! Radar is just over three months, Probably a little over 20 lbs, eats Innova puppy 4 or 5 cups a day and is still on the skinny side and is in to everything!!!!

We have been working on sit, platz, recall and a little on stay. We do this positively usually with a clicker. He is doing well but still sometimes needs a visual prompt for platz. We do lots of drive building with balls and tugs. 

His breeder and trainer just showed us "two ball" this week. In an attempt to burn off some of the energy he gets just before bed time we throw a ball for him to retreive and when he is almost back to us we throw another ball so he will drop the ball in his mouth and turn to get the other. The biggest mistake we were making with the ball was throwing it way too far. Out trainer said to start off- toss it low to the ground not too far and then be ready to throw the second ball and just the right time to get him really going fast. He could not visually track a tennis ball as it was being thrown until just lately and I guess its because we were throwing it from our standing height, not low to the ground and way too far away! It seems like common sense the ball should be thrown at their eye level, not mine, but I really didn't hink about it! Now I can throw it fast and high and he will usually see it. 

What are you working on?


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## ajharris (Apr 30, 2008)

Well, right now we are working on the "no biting" and crate training. The crate training is going alot better than the biting problem. He is getting better though. 

Ace eats Pedigree puppy chow for now. I am going to start him on a BARF diet within the next week. I have been adding some burger to his kibble every day, reducing the kibble and increasing the burger.


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## VSellar (Jul 31, 2007)

I will definitely be joining you guys from next week! I am getting my second GSD on Tuesday. She is about 10 weeks old now, but I am not sure of her exact b-day. The joys of crate trainings, house training and poop nalysis. I have missed it so much! NOT!!!!


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## Smithie86 (Jan 9, 2001)

On that young, we hold off on the two ball


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## Helly (Mar 31, 2008)

Jackson is 10 weeks old....already learned sit, come (for the most part), rings a bell to go outside to potty and getting a little better at being in his crate...but he is all puppy for sure right now...the biting is driving me up the wall.


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## Eve-Lynn (Apr 28, 2008)

Hi there. We have a 4 1/2 month old male named Link. He was house trained in a couple of days and took well to the crate (the breeder had introduced the puppies to it). We are still working on the nipping. Every once in a while those hormones seem to take over and he goes crazy, usually it is feet he likes. We are on our second last Puppy school this Sunday. At Obedience school he has learned to sit, come, lay down, stay (sometimes). We also right now let him walk on a loose leash but he usually stays at the heel position and he encourage him to sit at each corner before we cross the street. He eats 4 cups of Acana (kibble made in Alberta, Canada). He now only eats twice a day so 2 cups in the morning and 2 at night. He goes anywhere from 10pm to 11pm until 8 am without going outside, we don't restrict his water.

I am new to the forums and have loved reading all the posts. Have found some really useful information.


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## Eve-Lynn (Apr 28, 2008)

Hi there. We have a 4 1/2 month old male named Link. He was house trained in a couple of days and took well to the crate (the breeder had introduced the puppies to it). We are still working on the nipping. Every once in a while those hormones seem to take over and he goes crazy, usually it is feet he likes. We are on our second last Puppy school this Sunday. At Obedience school he has learned to sit, come, lay down, stay (sometimes). We also right now let him walk on a loose leash but he usually stays at the heel position and he encourage him to sit at each corner before we cross the street. He eats 4 cups of Acana (kibble made in Alberta, Canada). He now only eats twice a day so 2 cups in the morning and 2 at night. He goes anywhere from 10pm to 11pm until 8 am without going outside, we don't restrict his water.

I am new to the forums and have loved reading all the posts. Have found some really useful information.


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## GSD07 (Feb 23, 2007)

Anton is almost 13 weeks. He's on my avatar on the left







I don't do any real training right now, just the basic sit, down, come using happy voice and kibble for the treats. The main thing I'm focused on right now is name recognition, focus and socializing. Also I've started doing some puppy runaways and it's fun! He is such a sweet baby and I want to enjoy his puppyhood as much as possible









He is a very gentle puppy, no nipping. I was thinking that maybe all his desire to bite and nip is satisfied with the older dog so he treats us nicely







He doesn't like the crate but settles down there fairly quick. What I love about him is an ability to settle down next to my feet when he realizes that he's not going to engage me in any game at the moment. When I work at the computer he's happy to snooze under my desk. He is not completely housetrained yet and once in a while he pees in the house when overexcited.

I can't wait till his last shot to start taking him everywhere.


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## lcht2 (Jan 8, 2008)

whats up. tyson is 5 1/2 months old. on the verge of graduateing basic obediance. i have been looking into schutzhund training. our basic obediance trainer is part of a club and im hopeing to join once we are finished with BO. he was introduced to puppy classes at 9 weeks old and by then he had already known "sit" and "down." he was house trained in just a few short days. i could count on one hand how many times we have had to clean up an accident and it was probably more our fault than his seeing how we would get distracted with other things and forget that he needed to go out every half hour or so. 

last time i weighed him at the vet he weighed 50lbs and stood 19 inches tall at 5 months. he is on Royal Canin large breed pup food and seems to be doing good on it, just switched him from eagle pack that he didnt seem to like too well. the nipping and biteing have slowed down a little bit, altho it is no where close to being history.


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## TNGSD (Feb 15, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: Smithie86On that young, we hold off on the two ball


how come? I think we are near you - Mt. Juliet!


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## Smithie86 (Jan 9, 2001)

We are off of 31E; right where Vietnam Vets used to drop into 31E north. Cages Bend area. You know - the area they keep pointing to on the radar during the last two bad storms that came through and tough down north of us  . We are 2.5 miles where the tornados hit 2 years ago on Station Camp.....

Joints are growing. 

Off to work. Be careful today. Warm and storms are traveling in


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## TNGSD (Feb 15, 2008)

Thanks! What SCHh club do you guys work with? I live close to 109 so I am not that far your you! The photos of your dogs on your k9import page are georgous!


soo... why no 2 ball at 3 months? Now I'm curious!

I alsmost never listen to the weather so thanks for the warning!


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## Helly (Mar 31, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: TNGSD
> 
> 
> > Originally Posted By: Smithie86On that young, we hold off on the two ball
> ...


Wow!! My husband is from Mt. Juliet!


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## TNGSD (Feb 15, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: Helly
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> > Originally Posted By: TNGSD
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Really? We are not orginally from here. If you guys ever come back to visit let me know! You will have to tell your husband we recently had a huge shopping area built at the top of mount juliet Rd. with a Target, movie theaters, o'charlies, red robin, olive garden.... and soon we will have a Walmart when the horse farm used to be!


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## Smithie86 (Jan 9, 2001)

Growing joints and bones.


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## Smithie86 (Jan 9, 2001)

nb. watch the storms. bad ones later


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## Mai (Mar 31, 2008)

We picked up Enoch last night and we are very happy with him. He is crying in the crate a lot but that is to be expected. What an adventure this is going to be. Quick question. I keep the water in the crate but he keeps knocking it over because he's crying and moving around a lot. Any suggestions. I was told to let him have access to water until about 5 pm but he keeps knocking it over.


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## GSD07 (Feb 23, 2007)

I never keep any water, food or even toys in a crate. The crate is a place to relax or have a quick time out. But my puppy doesn't spend more than 3 hours in crate during day time. Also my dogs have access to water all the time until it's time to go to bed.


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## KCandMace (Apr 8, 2008)

KC is the only one in class right now. We are working with ramps, noises, sit, down, weeve poles, heel, come and stay. She is 13weeks.

The boys will start soon but for now it is just working on sit and come.

They all get to play in a group session at the dog club.

Crate training is going great! Potty training isn't. They will come inside after going potty outside and go again sometimes.


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## TNGSD (Feb 15, 2008)

I never keep water in the crate. I have actually been putting Radar in the outside pen now so he does not rub his nose on the crate until it is 100% healed! He graduates his puppy socialization class tomorrow so I will try to post photos. I keep Radar on a short teether while inside (longer than a bout 4 or 5 feet he gets tangled every 10 seconds) so he won't sneak off and go! He is doing well as long as I am on a good schedule with him.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i never heard of two ball. why don't you have your dog bring you the ball and throw it again??? i didn't start training my dog untill he was 4 months old. he was house broken within 2 weeks and crate trained. we started on recall on day one. i would hold him and my GF would be 3 feet way and call him. then she would hold him and i would call him. we treated all of the time.in the house when we did it i would go the kitchen and my Gf would be in the living room holding him and i would call him. we kept increasing the distance. so now he knows his name and comes when called. at 4 months we started with sit, stay, down but only one command at a time. once he learned one thing then we started something else. while teaching him sit, stay, come we always used hand signals along with verbal commands so now he responds to hand signals or verbal commands. then we taught him not walk out of front door when it's open. it's only natural they want to bolt out of the door. he's also taught to walk down the steps when his leash is on and walk out of his crate slowly. now i take his ball and hide and have go and find it. i hide the ball and i come back to him and say"find it" and off he goes. i really like playing find it with him. what else, he's taught not to walk in the street or step off of the side walk without a command. even if i step off of the side walk he stops and waits for a command. there's 6 semi attached houses in a row here. my neighbors like to play with my dog. when he's out front he has this imaginary line that stretches between the houses that he won't cross leading to the road. when he runs across the lawns he stops at each driveway and waits for a command before crossing the driveways. i think next i'm going to teach him to walk backwards. there's nothing like having a trained dog. i think it really builds a bond between the 2 of you. i made a big mistake in his training. when he was younger i didn't have him on a leash alot so teaching him to heel was a problem. he was used to having his freedom. good luck with your puppy. i'm thinking about getting another dog. i like those Golden Retrievers, Shepherd, Golden, Shepherd, Golden, ummmm!!!


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## TNGSD (Feb 15, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: doggiedadi never heard of two ball. why don't you have your dog bring you the ball and throw it again??? i didn't start training my dog untill he was 4 months old. he was house broken within 2 weeks and crate trained. we started on recall on day one. i would hold him and my GF would be 3 feet way and call him. then she would hold him and i would call him. we treated all of the time.in the house when we did it i would go the kitchen and my Gf would be in the living room holding him and i would call him. we kept increasing the distance. so now he knows his name and comes when called. at 4 months we started with sit, stay, down but only one command at a time. once he learned one thing then we started something else. while teaching him sit, stay, come we always used hand signals along with verbal commands so now he responds to hand signals or verbal commands. then we taught him not walk out of front door when it's open. it's only natural they want to bolt out of the door. he's also taught to walk down the steps when his leash is on and walk out of his crate slowly. now i take his ball and hide and have go and find it. i hide the ball and i come back to him and say"find it" and off he goes. i really like playing find it with him. what else, he's taught not to walk in the street or step off of the side walk without a command. even if i step off of the side walk he stops and waits for a command. there's 6 semi attached houses in a row here. my neighbors like to play with my dog. when he's out front he has this imaginary line that stretches between the houses that he won't cross leading to the road. when he runs across the lawns he stops at each driveway and waits for a command before crossing the driveways. i think next i'm going to teach him to walk backwards. there's nothing like having a trained dog. i think it really builds a bond between the 2 of you. i made a big mistake in his training. when he was younger i didn't have him on a leash alot so teaching him to heel was a problem. he was used to having his freedom. good luck with your puppy. i'm thinking about getting another dog. i like those Golden Retrievers, Shepherd, Golden, Shepherd, Golden, ummmm!!!


 How funny you would say you didn't start training your dog until he was four months....why don't you consider working on his recall from day one training? I sometimes do sit on on the floor and toss the ball for him and he does really well bringing it back.... two ball is just a variation of the game. With one ball I make him sit and focus on me before I will throw it again. With two ball he is running nonstop to wear him out quickly.


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## Smithie86 (Jan 9, 2001)

Actually, we do not start any formal training until close to a year. First few months are spent socializing (after all shots), traveling. 

Yesterday, had the 2 young dogs (7 mos) out at training. One had never been there before and was in and over/around, into everything. Even at training, just socializing - they were climbing up on the picnic table, schmoozing with people. The helper (Nationally certified) walked by, both were barking like crazy and WANTED THAT LEATHER.

Today was at the local field with 2 main soccer games going on, kids running around, yelling, screaming, people milling. In and out of groups of people, the 2 pavillions, soccer balls going over head from the practicing groups ready to go on the field. Lots of smells, excellent different surfaces to walk over, crunching cans and bottles -the puppies had a blast!


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## Helly (Mar 31, 2008)

My biggest issue with Jackson right now is his selective hearing....he will be 11 weeks old tomorrow...doing very well with basic commands, but dang when he goes outside to potty its as if his hearing switch is turned to the "off" position. If I move toward him with a firm "come" he gives me a woof and scampers off..he knows better, I know he knows better...


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## GSD07 (Feb 23, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: Helly
> If I move toward him with a firm "come" he gives me a woof and scampers off..he knows better, I know he knows better...










Selective hearing starts when they become teenagers. Jackson is a tiny baby right now, and he does exactly what is expected! You move towards him and he runs away, what a fun game!! He doesn't know anything yet, even the basic commands, so please don't be to hard on him and yourself. You are imprinting him right now, I wouldn't even call it training.


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## Kayla's Dad (Jul 2, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: GSD07
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Exactly right. You want to use word association with the actions you want to imprint. So instead of....



> Quote:If I move toward him with a firm "come" he gives me a woof and scampers off..


Change that *firm* come to a *happy* come and move/run away. And when he starts chasing you... "Good come!!"

You can also have a toy in your hand and start playing with it (instead of the pupy) while you move away. Again when he starts toward you -- "Good come"


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## ajharris (Apr 30, 2008)

Okay, Ace is now 8 weeks old. Today we had him in a pen while we were working in the yard so he wouldn't get ran over by the mower or tiller. He barked the whole time and skinned the pads on his paws. How can I help him to settle down while we are trying to keep him safe? Once we were done with the tilling and mowing, and let him out, he was fine. He could see us the whole time.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

we did start recall from day one and house training and crate training. all of the other stuff i didn't rush. i've owned other Sheps and the trainers always said bring them to them at 4 months. the last Shep i had was 20 years ago or more and that trainer said bring him to me at 4 months old the same thing with his current trainer, bring him to me at 4 months old. the first time i heard the 4 month thing i thought, shouldn't you start training before that age?? well i went along with what the trainer said and everything turned out fine. my boy is 11 months old now and he's still learning new things but at this point he's well trained. from the time i brought him home at 9 weeks old we didn't do much more than house breaking, recall and getting him use to his crate. with the crate training the breeder started crate training him before we brought him home so that was easy training. so, your pup is 4 months old how is he doing with his training? does he listen?? does he do what you ask?? ask around, has anyone else heard about starting training at 4 months old??


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

he's 8 weeks old so young. of course he wants to be with you. i would pen him and crate him for short periods of time while he can see me and just ignore the rants. i also would do it several times a day for 5 minutes or 10 minutes a session. i was lucky my boy came with some crate training. i asked the breeder to crate him several times a day before we brought him home. when we got him he whined 30 minutes or so the first night in his crate. the next night maybe 15 minutes and the third night 5 minutes and it was all quiet after that. as far as house breaking we taught him out every 15 minutes and increasing it to hours. over night i taught him out every 2 hours and increasing that time. we never used paper. paper training is good but i the GF and i were in a position where we could watch him all of the time. we took off from work for a month when he first came home and we had and have a full time 
sitter. when i say full time sitter i mean she has a key to the house and she pops in whenever we need her. your pup will learn that the crate is his friend. don't use it for punishment. within a week our boy was going in and out of his crate whenever he wanted.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

put him on a leash.


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## Jennifer McClellan (Mar 7, 2008)

Well CJ is 12 weeks old, loves his crate, peeing in the house and eating tags off of everything. He sits, stays and comes (mainly when food is involved). He chews on everything and all I can say is I wish my razor for my legs was that sharp. We tried the yelping which worked for about 2 days and now he thinks we are playing when we yelp and comes back for more. Putting him down doesn't work because he is tall enough he jumps back up to where ever we are at. The giving him something else to take his mind off of the fingers works until he realizes it isn't the fingers and then looks for them. The only one who he doesn't chew on is David our 2 yo human. (I think they had a talk about it because I heard a "NO EJ let go" and then David rolled him across the floor.

CJ is eating Nutro but is getting pickey and wants table scraps. Yesterday he jumped up on the coffee table to help himself to David's mac n cheese. Another talk happened after that. 

I love CJ but there are days that I think to myself what the heck did I get myself into especially when I am cleaning up the third pee spot in the house after having him outside for an hour.


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## Helly (Mar 31, 2008)

Yeah, that re-directing doesn't always work so well...Jackson will nudge his toy out of the way to go straight for your fingers, toes, hands...whatever...


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: AmandaHOkay, Ace is now 8 weeks old. Today we had him in a pen while we were working in the yard so he wouldn't get ran over by the mower or tiller. He barked the whole time and skinned the pads on his paws. How can I help him to settle down while we are trying to keep him safe? Once we were done with the tilling and mowing, and let him out, he was fine. He could see us the whole time.


Give him a raw, meaty bone to chew on while he is in the pen or a frozen Kong filled with yummy stuff like pb, yogurt and canned food.


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## Helly (Mar 31, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: BowWowMeow
> 
> 
> > Originally Posted By: AmandaHOkay, Ace is now 8 weeks old. Today we had him in a pen while we were working in the yard so he wouldn't get ran over by the mower or tiller. He barked the whole time and skinned the pads on his paws. How can I help him to settle down while we are trying to keep him safe? Once we were done with the tilling and mowing, and let him out, he was fine. He could see us the whole time.
> ...


I'll show my ignorance here....we can give "people food" to pups? Jackson does love peanut butter, I've only let him have little licks off my finger (really hacks my husband off)


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: HellyMy biggest issue with Jackson right now is his selective hearing....he will be 11 weeks old tomorrow...doing very well with basic commands, but dang when he goes outside to potty its as if his hearing switch is turned to the "off" position. If I move toward him with a firm "come" he gives me a woof and scampers off..he knows better, I know he knows better...


The recall should ALWAYS be positive. You want your dog to think that you are the most fun person in the world. I always make it a game for puppies and have them chase me around and around the yard so they get used to following me. If you need to get your puppy and they don't come when you call then just walk over and get them.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: Helly
> 
> 
> > Originally Posted By: BowWowMeow
> ...


Absolutely. I use unsalted, sugar free peanut butter. It's basically just ground peanuts with a little oil. A little plain, unsweetened yogurt is also great for them. And I use the high quality canned foods like Wellness or Merrick. I mix it all up together, spoon it into a Kong and then freeze it.


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## Barb E (Jun 6, 2004)

Be careful having your pup outside while mowing even in a pen. My lawn mower once kicked a rock out that hit a stump and put a very deep dent in the wood. If that had been Dante it would have been a severe injury.


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## Helly (Mar 31, 2008)

and we went back on the leash for potty time this morning...I'm happier and much more relaxed with him....I think I was expecting far too much from him because he had picked up on other aspects of his training so quickly.


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## Kayla's Dad (Jul 2, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: Hellyand we went back on the leash for potty time this morning...I'm happier and much more relaxed with him....I think I was expecting far too much from him because he had picked up on other aspects of his training so quickly.


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## KCandMace (Apr 8, 2008)

We did good yesterday. I worked with both the pups on Sitz and Platz. With hotdogs as the reward. They LOVE hotdogs. They are not big fans of anything else yet for treats. Turkey hotdogs were $1 a package so I stocked up a little. I should start a thread about that. Favorite treats!


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## Kayla's Dad (Jul 2, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: KCandMace I should start a thread about that. Favorite treats!


Here are two previous threads around treats. You could post to them and get them going again to see if any more ideas are added:

What do you use for training? 

Re: Which treats?


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## nysirk (Apr 15, 2008)

Our little Dexter is almost 4 months now, he is eating eagle pack large breed puppy food, we have been doing basic training, he dose great in the crate he is pretty much potty trained with a few minor accidents during play, he can Sit, down, settle, roll over, stay for almost 3 mins,knows how to "Leave it" learning to walk on a leash well even has done a little bit of Heel work, has learned that nipping people makes them scream outch and has learned very well not to nip, He loves to play fetch and has been doing really good about bringing the ball back, Loves tug but only gets to play it when we start the game, have been socializing as much as possible, need to socialize more more more.

He just has a huge problem with other animals when he is restrained, He loves to play with other dogs and very interested in the cats, and when hes in his crate the cats walk by he barks barks barks barks untill they leave, when outside of his crate he could really care less about the cats, when we are walking on a leash and see another dog he gos NUTS barking until he can meet that dog he will meet sniff sometimes start to play then when the dog walks away he continues to bark bark bark So really need to work on that alot which has proved to be changeling.
I took him to Petsmart for some socialization, and some Rude Lady told me that my pup was Aggressive, thats a 15 week old pup just because he was barking at another dog he really wanted to play with. i Thought it was rude, Its clearly frustration with him, that he cant go play with the other dogs not aggression, however it sacred me because I don't want him to come off as a "Vicious dog" or have this lead to problems down the road So thats really been the hardest part of this training, so hopefully more and more socialization will help


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## Mai (Mar 31, 2008)

Enoch will be ten weeks old this Sunday. I'm wondering how long do I have to get up at 3 am in the morning. When will he be able to "hold it" all night?


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## KCandMace (Apr 8, 2008)

We take the pups out at 10-11pm and then they are ready between 5 and 6 to go back out. 

It was Rex's turn to go to school today. He doesn't like crowds that much and prefers one on one attention. But over all he did great with the kids.


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## Mai (Mar 31, 2008)

So you're saying at 10 weeks of age we can do this with Enoch?


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## KCandMace (Apr 8, 2008)

That is up to Enoch. If he can hold it or not. Just saying ours can at this point. Try it and see. Is he asking to go out at 3am or are you waking him?


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## Mai (Mar 31, 2008)

I'm waking him up but he uses the bathroom when I take him out.


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## Kayla's Dad (Jul 2, 2007)

Don't wake him any longer. 

Let him sleep a bit longer and wake on his own. That may mean you still get up a little earlier and wait a bit but it should give you a good sense of how long he (and you) can sleep. 

Just be ready to get outside quickly when he wakes up.


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## KCandMace (Apr 8, 2008)

Then extend it to 4am and see if he can hold it. Then try 5 am...
He might just surprise you with being able to hold it all night.


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## Mandalay (Apr 21, 2008)

I have been extending Mandalays potty times during the night by 30 minutes. When she started having accidents in the crate at night I went back 30 minutes for a few more days and then added 15 minutes. Sometimes I wake her up to get her out and sometimes she starts in just minutes before the alarm goes off.


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## Jennifer McClellan (Mar 7, 2008)

We have found that the stupidest thing worked for CJ and his mouthing. We stop petting, put up our hand like a stop sign and say stop. He stops!! Can you believe it? A stop sign with my hand and saying stop. Who would have thunk it.


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## Mai (Mar 31, 2008)

KCandMace,

Well we tried it two days ago and he held it until 6 in the morning! Thanks for encouraging me to try it. Now I can get a full night's rest.


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## KCandMace (Apr 8, 2008)

Congrats.









I had to adjust the pup's collars today... Man do they grow fast! 

I just need to teach them to catch the flies for me. We live out in the country, like farm country with cows in, yes IN, our town. I killed at least 10 big fat ones yesterday! UGH


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## whims (Feb 15, 2008)

Hi!
I have a 13 week old. Try a radio on low at night for a few nights - keeps the pup company. NO WATER after 7:30 pm or you will never get housebreaking down. I stop water at 7:30- 8:00pm and he sleeps thru the night NO ACCIDENTS! We got the pup together with his sister GSD who is 2yrs. old several weeks ago thru the trainer and they are wonderful together! GOOD LUCK!
WE ARE IN LOVE WITH OUR PUP!
Diane


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## Helly (Mar 31, 2008)

OK, Jackson is back from the vet...three months old and weighs 27 pounds....doc said that was a healthy weight for him, but he still seems a little thin to me.


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## KCandMace (Apr 8, 2008)

The boys went to the vet today for shots. At almost 13 weeks they are 18 and 20 pounds. I didn't see the vet. They are to cheap here for a vet to see each animal so some E-3 soldier gave the boys their shots and Rex his microchip. I really wish I could afford to see a German vet for each visit.


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## gmcenroe (Oct 23, 2007)

Our GSD puppy will be 18 weeks old tommorrow. She is doing great. As far as training, she was house broken in a day or two, a couple accidents on my part of not getting her out in time. We have done some light obedience training with her and besides "go potty" she knows sitz, platz, steh, hier, and crate (time to go in your crate). She sleeps a lot during the day when I am at work. Her typical routine is awake at 5:30AM for potty and breakfast, then I take her for an hour walk to the park with some ball fetching and playing with some other dogs if they are there. That pretty much tires her out until the afternoon, she goes out a few times with my wife during the day, and has all the water she wants, but is pretty much in the house. She likes to go for walks, but lately she has started plopping down sometimes on the way the park and I have to coax her to get up and keep going. She just stares at me testing my patience. If I keep walking and don't look back she will run up to keep up with me. She is great at the park retrieving her ball. If she gets some good scent she might be distracted and forgets to bring the ball back. In the evening after dinner I usually take her out for another walk, then she is pooped out for the night. On weekends I take her out a lot to differant places to encounter differant situations, sounds, dogs and people. Sometimes she is funny and will bark at silliest things like a plastic bag waving in the wind or a bright garbage bag, or the neighbors bright green motorcycle. I also take her too Schutzhund club every two weeks where she is just working on prey drive and gets to meet up with some of the other GSDs. She loves doing that. I also work on her prey drive with her at home every few days for a few minutes. She eats twice a day and looks lean but strong weighing 42 pounds. She used to bite a lot when we first got her but now she is pretty good about it. She also is pretty vocal with her noisy toys and loves to chew on a rawhide like bone thing especially since she is teething. She lost her first tooth last week. Her favorite playmate is a 3 year old GSD down the street from us who tolerates all of her running around, and under her. She is a lot of work, but its all fun for me and the family.


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## ajharris (Apr 30, 2008)

Ace is almost 3 months old now. I am having trouble house training him. He will be in the outside pen for an hour and a half, when he comes in he pees and poops. It is like he won't do it out side. What do I need to do? He is also still biting. Suggestions please.


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## tracyc (Feb 23, 2005)

Almost three months old...is like, 11 weeks old. That's still a tiny baby. I'm not sure how long you've been actively housetraining, but I think you might be expecting too much too quickly. 

when he's outside for an hour and a half--are you out there with him--to praise him when he does go? 

My routine for housebreaking is this: when the pup is indoors, he is either in a crate or next to me, being watched like a hawk. Pup goes outside every hour, and after waking, playing, eating, or drinking. 

If he eliminates outside, he gets lavish praise, and then we go back inside. 

Repeat 500 times.


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## thor wgsd (Jun 18, 2008)

Hey all,

Great thread.

Our WGSD is now almost 4 and a half months. I weighed him yesterday and he is 46(!) pounds, man is he growing fast. People are already starting to cross the street when I have him outside, I don't blame them though since he still enjoys using those razorsharp teeth on human skin. 

From the second day he has never gone potty inside and he holds all night with no problems (I do work from home and he has the opportunity to go to the backyard when he wants during the day).

He knows come / sit / down / stay / up / shake / to your place / sit before crossing the street. He does everything fine inside and outside if there are no distractions (or if I "force" him to look at me). 

Where I live (argentina) there is a LOT of stray dogs and I used to be very afraid of letting my dog meet them, but my vet said it was ok (he has all his shots, including rabies now) so I now I am actually using the strays as socializing oportunities. By now we know most of them and they are actually really nice and well behaved, I guess they have to be to survive in the streets.

Things we are working on:

- Focus and attention outside 
One of the things I do is I take loads of toys to the park where there are loads of dogs, people and noise and play - working on breaking that "locked" look he gets when he sees something interesting (kid running / another dog / birds etc). Also following the tips given to me in another thread: http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/ubb...true#Post715798

- No more nipping (and that means clothes and bags as well)
Still doing the "ouch" thing, but I think I am going to try a waterbottle to see if that gives more effect. When he bites me jeans and I go ouch he's like; jee, I didn't even touch you!

- No jumping on ppl
This is a hard one as I let anyone that wants pet him and "dog-ppl" enjoys when a puppy jumps on them, and I still find it rude to say to strangers they have to ignore him. 

- Roll over (for fun)
From a down I make a rolling movement infront of his face with a hand full of treats until he rolls over. He currently does 3/4 of a roll so I reckon in a week more we'll be there. 

- No barking when he can't do what he wants.
I am thinking of making him bark on command and from there move on to shut up but I am not sure how to do this yet.

Then of course there's trying to control him when he gets the puppy zoombies at the wrong place/time but I am not sure it's even worth trying









This turned out to be longer than expected, well well









Cheers,

-Thomas-


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## thor wgsd (Jun 18, 2008)

AmandaH: When I couldn't get mine to go anywhere else than the backyard (he would always wait until we got home if we were outside) my vet told me to bring some paper with his urine on (ie: his smell) and put it where I wanted him to go. So I brought some to the park, waited until I thought it was time and put the piece of paper down, he smelled it and went straight away.


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## Cameo (Feb 1, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: Everett54
> 
> 
> > Originally Posted By: GSD07
> ...



I want to stress the importance of this post with one of my experiences. My pup is now 6 months old - but when he was 
only three months, my son took him outside off leash and when
Failte decided to investigate a little further then normal my son
yelled for him to come back. His tone of voice I guess scared the
pup and he simply ran the other way. Since there is lots of bush behind he was out of sight almost immediately.
I work 40 minutes away so when my son called me and by the time I got home it was more then an hour gone. I drove around the back road once before parking - so there is another 15 minutes.
I grabbed the leash and walked into the bush calling Failte, here pup pup, woo hoo, here pup pup in as happy and carefree voice as 
I could. About 20 minutes I heard crashing in the bush behind and
when I turned around Failte stopped - I could see four little brown legs through the trees. He still wasn't sure if he was in trouble or not - but I bent down and called Good puppy, come puppy in a really happy tone and when he came he got all the praise he could get. After all, he came when he was called so he did what he was told. 

If I had not been as carefree sounding (even though I was in a complete and utter panic inside, I could have puked easily enough)
then I am positive that I would never had gotten him back. 

You can't give them **** for running, only praise when they come when called as that is what they remember. This is too important
and that poor pup could have been lost in the bush all night at the very least - coyotes could have gotten him or someone taken him if he survived the night in the bush.


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

Sounds like things are going great so far!



> Originally Posted By: thor wgsd- No jumping on ppl
> This is a hard one as I let anyone that wants pet him and "dog-ppl" enjoys when a puppy jumps on them, and I still find it rude to say to strangers they have to ignore him.


If you're worried about telling people to ignore him and sounding rude, how about approaching it in a different way? Tell them that you're trying to discourage your puppy from jumping up and are trying to teach him how to greet people politely. Ask them if they'd like to help. And then instruct them that as long as he's sitting they can move towards him. If he gets up they should stop and wait for you to put him back in a sit. 

I've used kids in the neighborhood to help me train my dogs, and they're always happy to help. Even if it's just to keep doing whatever they're doing while I use them as a distraction for focus work - riding a bike or a skateboard, tossing a ball around, I always thank them for helping me train. I think most people would appreciate that you're working towards having a well mannered dog, and wouldn't mind taking a few minutes to help you either.


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## Kayla's Dad (Jul 2, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: Luca_stl
> 
> 
> > Originally Posted By: AmandaHAce is almost 3 months old now. I am having trouble house training him. He will be in the outside pen for an hour and a half, when he comes in he pees and poops. It is like he won't do it out side. What do I need to do? He is also still biting. Suggestions please.
> ...


In addition to what Tracy said:

One thing I have going on with Lancer (9 weeks old) and use to our mutual advantage is that he does not want to potty near his living/playing areas. This is one thing that may be going on with your puppy. If he is viewing the pen as his living/playing area, then he may want to eliminate elsewhere. Are you giving him some time and a chance to explore an area away from the pen to potty before bringing him indoors? If you are bringing him straight into the house, then maybe (from his viewpoint) he has not had a real chance to potty.

Lancer is only allowed a small amount (time and area) of freedom in the house and that is only right after he has gone to the bathroom outside.


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## Suezzz (Jul 13, 2008)

Our pup is 12 weeks old. He seems to sleep A LOT!!!! He runs around, plays, torchures the kids with his nipping for a short period of time. Then back to sleep. Everyone keeps saying how skinny he is. He is about 28 lbs. His appetite hasn't been that good. His ears were up now one is down, and has no signs of going up in the near future. He does see the vet this week. Not sure if this is normal for a puppy or not. How much should he be sleeping?


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## Kaisergsd (Jul 9, 2008)

Hello All,

Kaiser is 12 weeks old and I am not sure how much he weighs. He goes back to the Vet this week. He weighed 13lbs at 9 weeks. I am thinking he is around 20-25lbs(does this sound right) 
He is a terrific puppy. He is pretty much house broken. He usually wines by the back door when he needs to go out. He can sit, lay, stay, heel on and off lead. He comes when called. All commands are rewarded with Food and physical praise. 
In the house he is exceptional. There are about 30 minutes collectively throughout the day where he is a biting terror. 
We have started time outs and that seems to work. I am also teaching him kisses with reward to keep him from nipping. 
My children are very good with him... but he seems to pick on my 2 year old alot. She is about his height when on his hind legs.. He is constantly nipping at her and biting her little arms and belly. 
She of coarse crys but that doesnt deter him. 
I have tried redirection, I have tried timeouts. I think he thinks she is a playtoy. 
Yesterday Kaiser was enjoying a Kong bone thing and the kids were sitting next to him and all of a sudden he got aggressive. I had never seen it before but now i know what to look for. I informed the kids that they had to leave the pup alone while he was eating. That it was instinctual. 
Regardless it scared the poo out of me. 
Other than these minor things we are super happy with our pup!!

Oh and we feed him Science diet puppy for large breeds. 
My vet told me to only feed him twice a day and the bag says only 2 1/2 cups a day. Does this sound right? All I know is he is starving in the morning and night time. And I also feed him about a cup of kibble during training times...


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## babyjake (Jul 14, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: AmandaHAce is almost 3 months old now. I am having trouble house training him. He will be in the outside pen for an hour and a half, when he comes in he pees and poops. It is like he won't do it out side. What do I need to do? He is also still biting. Suggestions please.


Mine too is 3 months and 30 lbs. He's going to be pretty good size. My suggestion on the potty training, use a 4 foot lead and walk with him while he is trying to go. I used potty as the command word first, now we've moved onto pee & poop.

This worked wonders for me, since my backyard is not fenced as of yet. Even if it was, I'd probably still use this method. Cause he gets instant reward once he goes, which tells him "I did this...it means I get rewarded with praise." Cause their attention span is short at such a young age, and the power of repetition works wonders.


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