# GSD Puppy Sleeps All day...



## Raquan (Oct 10, 2015)

I just got Simba a couple of days ago, he is now 7 weeks old. There is a problem. He is always extremely sleepy!! He was up to eat, then I immediately take him outside, in which he poops and refuses to play/get trained. I domt know if this is normal puppy behavior or not. Please help!


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## Raquan (Oct 10, 2015)

All the time!


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## Milliegsd (Nov 24, 2015)

Aww handsome little man. Yes this is perfectly normal for his age, he's still only a baby and babies sleep a lot! Don't worry though the energy will pick up as the weeks go by.


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## Julian G (Apr 4, 2016)

Yea they sleep a lot as pups, sometimes 18 hours a day!
Perfectly normal.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

A couple of weeks from now you might be wishing he slept more


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## JunYue97 (Aug 17, 2016)

Your puppy is so cute I wish mine sleeps like yours. Now when I try to pet her at home, I have to watch for her bites Mine sleeps a lot too, but she would wake up when I try to go anywhere away from her. She refuses to play outside as well, and prefers greeting strangers or just laying there instead.


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

They sleep a lot like a human baby.
You have another post about your breeder - just thought you'd like to know most breeders keep the pups until they are 8 weeks old.
Don't worry about playing or training now, he needs time to adjust to your home and routines. Let him rest and bond with you.


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## Raquan (Oct 10, 2015)

Gretchen said:


> They sleep a lot like a human baby.
> You have another post about your breeder - just thought you'd like to know most breeders keep the pups until they are 8 weeks old.
> Don't worry about playing or training now, he needs time to adjust to your home and routines. Let him rest and bond with you.


The problem is he is not driven by anything. Not play or food, so I don't know how I will train him. It may be becuase of his infancy. And potty training has been a rough road. Only reason he has about one accident every 3 days or so is becuase we don't give him a chance to mess up.


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

Raquan said:


> The problem is he is not driven by anything. Not play or food, so I don't know how I will train him. It may be becuase of his infancy. And potty training has been a rough road. Only reason he has about one accident every 3 days or so is becuase we don't give him a chance to mess up.


You took him home too early. He is a baby. When we had our pup, she had accidents inside all the time. You can buy some potting training pads. Don't worry so much about that and his drive. Sleep, food, elimination and love for the next week and that about it.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Raquan said:


> The problem is he is not driven by anything. Not play or food, so I don't know how I will train him. It may be becuase of his infancy. And potty training has been a rough road. Only reason he has about one accident every 3 days or so is becuase we don't give him a chance to mess up.


Then you're doing it right.You don't give him the chance to choose the wrong place to potty.Sleeping,eating,potty training,crate training,and bonding with you is all you can expect for a couple of weeks.Enjoy him and get to know each other.


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## Raquan (Oct 10, 2015)

dogma13 said:


> Raquan said:
> 
> 
> > The problem is he is not driven by anything. Not play or food, so I don't know how I will train him. It may be becuase of his infancy. And potty training has been a rough road. Only reason he has about one accident every 3 days or so is becuase we don't give him a chance to mess up.
> ...


But I see al these people around me getting a full sit/stay/down by 8 weeks. It just doesn't seem possible to me. He won't even walk on a leash, I get that he is 7 weeks old, but is it really a difference from 8? I just let him wear the harness around during play time to get used to it.


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## Milliegsd (Nov 24, 2015)

Every puppy is different, don't try comparing you'll drive yourself nuts. Wait for him to adjust some at home and you'll start to see a bit more of his personality and interests start to develop. For a 7 week old all you should be focusing on is potty training and bite inhibition. My first girl had no interest in toys until she was 3-4 months old and very little food drive. She's 13 months now and just recently started loving fetch! They grow just give him time


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

He is very young and at the stage where he is growing quickly. Puppies sleep a lot during the day. In another week or two, that will change, and you will start to see more interest in food or toys and in you. Breeders usually keep a puppy until 8 weeks or older so they are physically mature enough to be away from the kennel. You may also end up with a quieter and mellow puppy which isn't bad for a new dog owner.

Yes, 8 weeks is very different from 7.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Raquan said:


> But I see al these people around me getting a full sit/stay/down by 8 weeks. It just doesn't seem possible to me. He won't even walk on a leash, I get that he is 7 weeks old, but is it really a difference from 8? I just let him wear the harness around during play time to get used to it.


What they don't tell you is that doesn't last.They are pretty compliant at a young age for a short time and will follow your hands to sit,down,and stay.They aren't really "trained".It's good practice for learning positioning later on but they are not trained.What they are doing is laying the foundations of ob.And it should be incorporated into play.Please just relax and enjoy his puppy hood.


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

dogma13 said:


> *What they don't tell you is that doesn't last.*They are pretty compliant at a young age for a short time and will follow your hands to sit,down,and stay.They aren't really "trained".It's good practice for learning positioning later on but they are not trained.What they are doing is laying the foundations of ob.And it should be incorporated into play.Please just relax and enjoy his puppy hood.


Ain't that the truth!! We had the "perfect" puppy until adolescence.


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## SadTales (Jul 20, 2016)

Normal puppy behavior. At 8 weeks old my puppy was constantly sleeping, and passing out every where, even passing out on his soccer ball toy! Since he's young, it makes them very hard to train because a puppies span attention span is very short. I wouldn't focus on training him right now, I would make your number one priority creating a powerful bond with him, while your second priority is potty training. Since he left his litter mates and mother a week early.... Bond should be on the top of that list. Also get your puppy use to handling .. So, get him used to his paws being touched, being picked up, etc. You won't regret it.

I regret trying to train my puppy at 8 weeks, all it did was cause me frustration, and unnecessary stress from worrying thinking my puppy isn't 'normal' since other puppies are doing it at like what, 6 weeks? 8 weeks, yet, I was stupid for thinking that because every puppy is different. Not to mention, your puppy at that age is like an infant, that's like... Expecting an infant baby to crawl already.

To this day, I wish I focused on bonding with him a lot more, even though our bond is strong now.. Since that age stage goes by fast. At 4 months, he knows multiple tricks. He picks up any new trick in less than 8 minutes, it's so much better training them when they're older, faster, and less stressful and frustrating.
Enjoy your pup while your pup is small, it doesn't last long! 

And you are potty training him perfectly correct. I wouldn't get pee pads, since it makes potty training even MORE work, but you are most definitely doing it right.

Like others have said, do not worry about drive now, that'll poke out later, when my 4 month old was a pup, he had no drive at 8 weeks, the only thing he would chase was my 4 year old nephew, rather than interact with any of us, cutest thing ever seeing him run behind our nephew all around the house, he loved him, seeing him waddle around following behind, as he got older his drive picked up.

Focus on bonding <3  They don't stay young that long, enjoy it while you can! I wish they stayed that small.

And you're lucky he sleeps all day, my puppy LOVED to bite everything, feet and hands, made you wanna cry at times.


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