# Adopted a retired police k-9, and she ignores me....



## dwnelsonjr (Jul 1, 2010)

I don't know if this has been covered before, but if it has will someone please point me in the right direction. A friend of mine gave me a 2 yr old GSD today, her name is Tori. She has been through Narcotics training but she hasn't really done much police work because she will chase a cat and is an agressive alert. While I was at his house, she did everything he asked of her for the most part. "Heel, sitz, platz, etc..." But when I got her to my house, she completly ignores anything I say to her. She won't sit, platz, or even so much as look at me. Is this normal behavior? How should I go about gaining her trust and get her to obey my commands?


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

Bond with her.

This may take months, weeks, days, all dogs are different.

Play with her, tugging is great. Join a basic obedience or agility class to share experiences. Take her out and about with you and just spend time with her.

It will come.

Good luck and have fun with your new girl. Oh, and pictures are welcomed here!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I agree, and you do have to engage her mind so she'll be healthy in her head as well as body. 
I walked a GSD at the shelter, she sat on command had manners, but wouldn't engage with me at all, as she didn't know me from Adam. 
No eye contact, and I didn't expect it from her. We have to earn their trust and then they will bloom and give it back tenfold! 
Congrats on your new girl, I look forward to pics, too!


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

I agree with Elisabeth

you just got her
she doesn't know you or why she should listen to you. She doesn't realize this is her new home. Bond with her, show her you are the most fun interesting person in the world


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

elisabeth_00117 said:


> Bond with her.
> 
> This may take months, weeks, days, all dogs are different.
> 
> ...


What Elisabeth said. You just changed her home and owners so have a little patience to let her settle in. It will come before you know it and then you're going to have a blast!


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## dwnelsonjr (Jul 1, 2010)

First of all, thanks for the reassurance! I will get pics of her up very soon, once she has been groomed of course. The officer that had her before me kept her outside, so she needs to be groomed. This is my first experience with a GSD so I guess I am jumping the gun. I've seen GSD's in action and I know they are capable of doing a ton of neat things, and I'm anxious to get to that point. But she isn't agressive toward me, which I expected, so that is a huge plus. She is definatly going to be pampered compared to her former life.


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## acrburg (Jun 27, 2010)

A 2yo retired narcotics dog??

btw, unless you were raised in Germany, please skip the annoying German commands. If you're not convincing and consistent, the dog won't respond.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I believe she was not retired, just trained and a wash out due to the aggression and high prey drive? I would still use German, she already knows and has obviously been proofed on the commands, she is just learning a whole new world~ inside instead of kennel, all overwhelming at this stage of her transition.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

acburg, acburg, i don't think you know GSD's.



acrburg said:


> A 2yo retired narcotics dog??
> 
> btw, unless you were raised in Germany, please skip the annoying German commands. If you're not convincing and consistent, the dog won't respond.


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

To the OP, 

if she has been outside her whole life and now moving inside of a home you're also going to need to work on house manners and potty/crate training...just like she's a new puppy


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## Relayer (Apr 29, 2010)

doggiedad said:


> acburg, acburg, i don't think you know GSD's.


She already stated that it was her first GSD.


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## JazminsMomSami (Jun 29, 2010)

Relayer said:


> She already stated that it was her first GSD.


acburg is not the person who asked the question. acburg is the one who said to not use german commands. The other person was telling acburg that they dont know GSDs.


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

Relayer said:


> She already stated that it was her first GSD.


acburg is not the OP, you should read that persons post history. nice 1st post


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## Relayer (Apr 29, 2010)

sagelfn said:


> acburg is not the OP, you should read that persons post history. nice 1st post


LOL... you're right! Oops. The dogs could care less what language their commands are in. German is annoying? acrburg should hear the commands in pig latin... that's annoying!!


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

Thanks for giving this girl a home! I think you will love her and the breed once you bond with her and get to know each other. 

GSD's can tend to be standoffish with folks they don't really know, once she knows you her loyalty will be boundless.


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

One of the things that's great about GSDs is that they can be very bonded to their handlers. Many won't listen to commands given by strangers. Why Should They? Spend time playing with her. Feeding her by hand is also a good bonding exercise. Hopefully the previous handler gave you a lesson or two in handling her so you know how to cue all her behaviors. In time I'm sure it'll be GREAT. Can't wait to see the pictures.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Congrats on your new GSD!


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

JKlatsky said:


> One of the things that's great about GSDs is that they can be very bonded to their handlers. Many won't listen to commands given by strangers. Why Should They? Spend time playing with her. Feeding her by hand is also a good bonding exercise. Hopefully the previous handler gave you a lesson or two in handling her so you know how to cue all her behaviors. In time I'm sure it'll be GREAT. Can't wait to see the pictures.


I agree with that. When any of us get an older dog there is a big adjustment for the dog with all the completely new people and life they now have to get used to. Some dogs adjust my being quiet and learning. Some act out and are nightmares.

I'd really be taking car rides and going to new places to help bond the dog to you as the 'known' in that arena. Sign up and go to dog classes for the same reason. Doesn't matter the dog may know the commands already, they don't know the commands WITH you in a strange place and that's a huge difference.

I personally would learn clicker training as a fun new activity for the both of you that is only positive and earns the dog tons of treats. What dog won't love that!


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

Use the commands the dog already knows. The dog doesn't know you didn't grow up in Germany and couldn't care less if you are German, American, Hispanic, or an alien from Mars who speaks in a series of beeps and whistles. 

The dog will respond to you when you bond with it and work with it and he learns you are the new boss of the house. I wouldn't wait "months" to get him to bond and then begin responding. Start slow, and reinforce the behavior you want, corrrect the behavior you do not want. Use plently of positive praise initially and as few corrections as possible.

Whether you sound "convincing" or not has nothing to do with how well you speak German (as long as your command is understandable that is). It will, however, have everything to do with how serious you are about the dog responding. For example, if you tell the dog "platz...platz....platz!!.....(big sigh) ....platz....ok, now platz...!" and the dog completely ignores you, causing you to give up the command; the dog is quickly going to realize you have absolutely no idea what you're doing and he's going to wander off and do whatever he pleases.

If, however, you tell him "platz" firmly and give a leash correction if necessary, or get him to follow his nose to the ground via a treat, then praise when he does platz, he will learn that you told him to platz, he platzed, and now he's being rewarded.

You do not need to wait months to train your dog. Proper training will help the dog bond to you throughout.


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## GROVEBEAUTY (Oct 23, 2008)

I agree, she needs time to bond. Spend as much time as you can with her. It will come.


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

Doerak did the same thing when he came to live with me. I figured he didn't realize that he was in his new home and I was his new person. We took an agility class together and that did the trick!


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

I like Carole's advice. 

What do we know about the dog's training? She washed out, but HOW was she trained? All of those commands that you were told she knows may be poisoned cues. Poisoned Cues: The Case of the Stubborn Dog | Karen Pryor Clickertraining

In fact, her NAME may be a poisoned cue. Some people use a dog's name to call them over then do unpleasant things (even if it's put them in a crate they don't like or give them a bath) or simply shout at them using their name. 

That's why when I get a new dog, the first thing I do is change the dog's name. (And I don't pick a name that sounds similar. I pick a whole new name that doesn't sound anything like it.) 

With Tori, since she's NOT RESPONDING To any of the information that she seems to "know" anyhow, what's the loss? If she knows a platz, she'll learn what "down" means super fast, especially if you clicker train it. But even if you lure train it a couple times a day, she'll learn it in a day or two.

Treat her like a pup. New commands, new name. Fun fun fun. Take an agility or freestyle class. Take a BASIC obedience class at a facility that doesn't use corrections. Forget what you've been told she knows. She doesn't "know" it for you. So teach her what you want her to know. She'll probably quickly figure out what you're doing and figure that she's getting paid (with loving attention, delicious meaty treats, tug, etc) to do what used to be "work." Now it's fun to do with her new person. 

New home, new life, new name, new everything. Even with rather traumatized rescues with zero skills, I've never had this approach fail. With Tori, it should be a piece of cake.  


My guess is that you'll end up with an amazing, happy, confident, loyal dog. :hugs:


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## acrburg (Jun 27, 2010)

doggiedad said:


> acburg, acburg, i don't think you know GSD's.


 vague and argumentative post


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## acrburg (Jun 27, 2010)

Relayer said:


> LOL... you're right! Oops. The dogs could care less what language their commands are in. German is annoying? acrburg should hear the commands in pig latin... that's annoying!!


 German commands are not annoying. Hearing americans butcher the commands is annoying.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

acrburg said:


> German commands are not annoying. Hearing americans butcher the commands is annoying.


You can hear the OP butcher the language over the internet forum? Wow! That is amazing!!! :wild:


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## acrburg (Jun 27, 2010)

Elaborating on what I commented earlier (drop the German commands), if the original trainer was not comfortable speaking German (if he was a cop, he wasn't), and if you're not comfortable speaking German, the command may not come across right for the dog. She'll adapt very quickly to the commands 'sit,' 'stay,' etc. and the commands will come out more naturally for you. This is not rocket science. For any of you whose dog wasn't raised and trained in Germany using the German commands... pathetic and pretentious.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

> pathetic and pretentious


Dang . . . and here I thought I was so cool and smart . . .  

But I have an accent in English too and probably don't sound all that natural either . . . should I just stick with hand signals? Would the judge mark me down in trials?


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## acrburg (Jun 27, 2010)

For the OP, skip all the advice here (including mine). Interview a few pros and spend some bucks for training and advice. This forum seems like the blind leading the blind (with a large dose of undeserved attitude!). Be consistent and (mostly) positive and you're gold.


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## acrburg (Jun 27, 2010)

Castlemaid said:


> Dang . . . and here I thought I was so cool and smart . . .
> 
> But I have an accent in English too and probably don't sound all that natural either . . . should I just stick with hand signals? Would the judge mark me down in trials?


 Can YOU read? YOU speak to YOUR dog consistently regardless of your butchering of the German language. The OP is a NEW owner. The PREVIOUS owner spoke consistently in, most likely, grossly improper German, as you do. Unless maybe the OP and the trainer learned the commands together... BTW I bolded a few words to help you comprehend. You're welcome. OP... RUN!!!


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## Jessiewessie99 (Mar 6, 2009)

acrburg said:


> For the OP, skip all the advice here (including mine). Interview a few pros and spend some bucks for training and advice. This forum seems like the blind leading the blind (with a large dose of undeserved attitude!). Be consistent and (mostly) positive and you're gold.



Sorry this post is rude. I learned so much on this board. You are new here and come on here acting like a know it all. Sorry that attitude is not allowed here. Take it elsewhere. If you don't like this board why did you join?

To the OP- The advice that was given to you from other members here, is great advice.


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## ILGHAUS (Nov 25, 2002)

> Can YOU read? YOU speak to YOUR dog consistently regardless of your butchering of the German language. The OP is a NEW owner. The PREVIOUS owner spoke consistently in, most likely, grossly improper German, as you do. Unless maybe the OP and the trainer learned the commands together... BTW I bolded a few words to help you comprehend. You're welcome. OP... RUN!!!


acrburg, so I won't upset you by speaking to you in German I'll say it in English. Be polite in your posts or you may soon be receiving an official warning. 

As to giving commands in German, my dogs did fine with my german commands with a southern accent. 

Y'all play nice now, you hear?


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

acrburg said:


> For the OP, skip all the advice here (including mine). Interview a few pros and spend some bucks for training and advice. This forum seems like the blind leading the blind (with a large dose of undeserved attitude!). Be consistent and (mostly) positive and you're gold.


???? 

While hiring a competent trainer is usually a good idea, I'm not sure that all of the information in this thread is useless. AND I'm not sure that this dog NEEDs the OP to incur the expense of private sessions. Will it be wasted money? Probably not. But is it necessary? I don't see evidence that it is, not now anyhow. I'm not there. I don't see the dog with my own eyes. But based on what the OP said, this seems like a fixable situation with the advice that has been given. 

I think there is some very good info here. Yes, the whole English vs. German thing is very distracting, but tossing out the whole thread seems rather silly...


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## DFrost (Oct 29, 2006)

ILGHAUS said:


> As to giving commands in German, my dogs did fine with my german commands with a southern accent.
> 
> Y'all play nice now, you hear?


 
You should hear a TN Trooper giving a dog a command in German or Dutch. Did you know "Platz" could have up to three syllables. ha ha. 

One comment I would like to make, I'm glad this person adopted a 2 year old dog. They all need forever homes. I do doubt however the dog was eliminated because it had too much prey drive. More than likely, it was eliminated from training because it didn't have enough prey drive. Test them as we might, on occasion a dog is selected that figures out - no matter how much we try to make it a game, it's work. ha ha They usually don't make it through the class.

DFrost


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## acrburg (Jun 27, 2010)

Jessiewessie99 said:


> To the OP- The advice that was given to you from other members here, is great advice.



No, it is not. Mostly inept advice from pompous and/or inept dimwits.

edit - There are some excellent posts, but the posters are so nice and humble that they get lost in the sauce.


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

I could use the word "spoon" for a sit command. 
A dog doesn't know you aren't pronouncing a word correctly

Hope you enjoyed your time posting, I don't expect you to be around much longer if you keep this up


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## acrburg (Jun 27, 2010)

sagelfn said:


> I could use the word "spoon" for a sit command.
> A dog doesn't know you aren't pronouncing a word correctly
> 
> Hope you enjoyed your time posting, I don't expect you to be around much longer if you keep this up



Exactly. That's why the OP's dog doesn't respond to the commands. Don't know how I could be much clearer but this board seems to be mostly a bunch of 'emo' freaks. Dogs need leaders.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

arcburg, The OP had the dog for a day!!!!
Give him a break and lighten up...you sure are negative, I hope your dogs are happy with such a "leader" There are other boards that welcome your style of posting, or are you already familiar with them and just came on here out of boredom?
Done feeding the troll.......


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## Hunther's Dad (Mar 13, 2010)

acrburg said:


> Elaborating on what I commented earlier (drop the German commands), if the original trainer was not comfortable speaking German (if he was a cop, he wasn't), and if you're not comfortable speaking German, the command may not come across right for the dog. She'll adapt very quickly to the commands 'sit,' 'stay,' etc. and the commands will come out more naturally for you. This is not rocket science. For any of you whose dog wasn't raised and trained in Germany using the German commands... pathetic and pretentious.


What if he was a German cop?

Are you German?

Do you know who Wolfgang Henke is? He didn't have a problem with ANY American's use of German commands during our last trial.


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

acrburg said:


> Exactly. That's why the OP's dog doesn't respond to the commands. Don't know how I could be much clearer but this board seems to be mostly a bunch of 'emo' freaks. Dogs need leaders.


you could have been clearer by saying that instead of insulting people and assuming no one knows how to pronounce things...


> For any of you whose dog wasn't raised and trained in Germany using the German commands... pathetic and pretentious.


My dog knows his commands in English and I guarantee you if you told him to "sit" he would ignore you. The Op's dog not obeying commands has zero to do with annunciation, its that the OP is a stranger. 

emo freaks? dogs need leaders? umm so now you know what type of music we all like and how we train our dogs. :rolleyes2:

na na na na... na na na na... hey hey hey


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## jakeandrenee (Apr 30, 2010)

Good bye!!!!!


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

I think that somewhere along the line acburg fell off his pedestal and banged his head a bit too hard . . . . 

To the OP, just have fun with your new girl, don't worry about what command you decide to use, and how you pronounce it. 

As others have said, give yourself and your new dog some time to bond, Shepherds are so smart, she will quickly adapt, especially if she gets lot of positive praise and treats. 

I went from using English commands (probably butchered the pronounciation, but my dog did fine), to using German commands almost overnight after joining our shutzhund club. Seems like my mixed-breed native language was German as she figured out what I wanted almost intuitively. 

Main point is have fun, the rest will come!


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## Jessiewessie99 (Mar 6, 2009)

acrburg said:


> No, it is not. Mostly inept advice from pompous and/or inept dimwits.
> 
> edit - There are some excellent posts, but the posters are so nice and humble that they get lost in the sauce.


I really don't expect you to be here any longer. No one here is an emo freak and no one is a dimwit, except for one person(i think most know who I am talking about.)

Seriously get out of here troll.

And they are *German *Shepherds so German should be their second language.lol


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I guess I"m curious as to acburg's 'experience' or 'credentials' since most of us are dimwits here)


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

acrburg said:


> No, it is not. Mostly inept advice from pompous and/or inept dimwits.
> 
> edit - There are some excellent posts, but the posters are so nice and humble that they get lost in the sauce.


Hey, I'm not pompous. I'm not a dimwit. And I've got friends/family to confirm this!

Hm.....but since these sweeping statement included pretty much everyone but acrburg, I've guess this is a backhanded compliment and I'm glad to be counted among the rest of you!!! :wild:

Hey, let me go explain to my championship dogs that they truly are amazing to have gotten so far DESPITE me!!!:hug:


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

love being lost in the sauce!!!


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## chrissie1 (Mar 31, 2010)

Hi, I have been reading this board for a while, but have never posted before.
I'd like to tell you "my story" dw in the hope that it will encourage you to be a little patient with Tori.

Eleven years ago this month I was in a very similiar position to yourself, I adopted an ex operational Police GSD from my local Dog Section (I'm situated in the U.K.), he was my very first GSD also.
His name was Kaine, he was nearly 3 years old, and had been purchased in by the police when he was a puppy. His handler had lost confidence in him as he kept bunking off chasing rabbits when he was supposed to be working. 
They (Police) insisted we have a kennel & pen for him before we could have him - which we did. And to be fair, in the beginning, it was a godsend - he was food & toy aggressive, and wasn't used to being kept in a home environment. 
Here's some of what I did with him - I split his food into 4/5 smaller meals a day & hand fed him them all. I would bring him into the house (always on his lead) 2/3 times a day, to start with only for about half an hour at a time, as I felt that's all he was comfortable with.
We have quite a bit of land, so I took a chair down to the bottom of our field & let him chase rabbits to his heart's content, but everytime he came back to me he got a piece of chicken. 
I "flooded" him with toys, made sure there were too many, & too spaced out to guard - he would guard a rock - any rock - in the beginning. I have children (or rather they were children at the time - 4yrs & 9 yrs) so it was very important that his resource guarding was addressed.
I won't bore you with everything I did - I could write a book!
After a few months he was housetrained, knew some basic house manners & was spending afternoons inside. His saving grace was his obedience - which was immaculate - but that "trust" that some people have posted about, had to be there before he paid attention to me properly.
Yes, I spent a lot of time with him, but really once he trusted me everything just fell into place, and the time I'd put into him was paid back tenfold -he didn't have a problem with us approaching his food/toys, he stopped bunking off so much after the rabbits, etc. 
It wasn't that long really before he was living in the house full time, & just going in his outside pen when we had visitors. 
Then my daughter came along (she's 8, 9 in Sept. ,years old now). I must admit, I did wonder how he would take to a new baby, but he was absolutely fine - he was so gentle with her right from the beginning. She learnt to walk holding onto him, he would walk so slow beside her, & if she stumbled he would hold himself still so she could fall against him.
He was honestly the most perfect dog - gentle with the children & me, good around the house, but very protective over us - a "proper" GSD.
I lost him last October, when he was 13 years old to DM. When I had to have him put to sleep, it was absolutely the hardest thing that I've every had to do in my (nearly) 50 years on this planet. I was (still am - been crying the whole time I've been typing this) absolutely devastated - he was my "once in a lifetime" dog.
It was an absolute honour & a priviledge to have had him in my life - it truely was, I can't begin to tell you how much I learnt from him & how much I miss him.
I also have a 4 year old female - working lines & just a couple of weeks ago welcomed into our house an 8 week old male from the Police breeding programme - I will always have (only) GSDs from here on in.
If I could offer you any advice at all, it would be to spend as much time with her as possible, love her & treasure every moment that you have together, once she's bonded with you & if you offer her firm but fair leadership, I'm sure everything else will fall into place. 
If she were mine, I'd keep her name as well as continue using the commands that she knows - this is what I did with Kaine. 
In her eyes, her world's collapsed & you & her environment are all strange to her, she doesn't understand what's happened & she's probably hoping that her old handler will appear & "rescue" her at any moment.
Just give her some time - there are dogs and there are GSD's.
Chris


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

chris, what a wonderful story!!! Thank you so much for sharing. What a wonderful first post!


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## DnP (Jul 10, 2008)

I was going to post my story w/ adopting Phoenix, but gosh, chrissie1 gave you the perfect example of what to do. Such a poignant story! Such good advice. 

BTW, and not to hijack the thread, chrissie, I too lost my Dakota four years ago at 13 yo to DM. My heart goes out to you.

Thanks for such an awesome first post!!!!


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## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

To the original poster - welcome to the forum!  

A lot of working dogs will bond very strongly with their handler, since that is the person they spend most of their time with, training, being groomed, being played with, working. So when you take that dog out of its known environment and give him (or her) a new handler, that bond needs to be built before anything else happens. 

The fact that she does not respond to commands, does not mean she doesn't know the commands - it simply means she's in a new and unfamiliar situation, and she has not yet developed a bond with you.

The best way to start is to give her a routine. Actually, that's the best way to start whenever you bring a new dog into the home, because having a routine tells the dog what to expect next, and it relieves a lot of that anxiety that a big change - such as coming to a new home or moving - brings with it. My routines always include times to go outside and feeding times, and I try to be very consistent about when we go out to potty, where we go, how long we exercise, when we come in and eat, etc. at first and then stick with a rough outline of the routine (doing the big things - food, potty breaks, crating - in the same order and around the same times everyday).

While you have a routine in place, also spend a lot of time engaging your new dog in a positive way. Invite her to play with a favorite toy. Get her excited about going for walks around the neighborhood. Start training, offering her yummy treats or a fun toy as a reward. (I start training in the kitchen, since I usually have all attention focused on me in the "room where yummy food is hidden".)

If you have never trained with a dog before, enrolling in an obedience class is a great way to go to learn how to train and interact with your dog, and it's great time for both of you to spend bonding under the eye of a trainer who can tell you what you're doing wrong and what you need to work on. Training is a lot more about teaching YOU than it is about teaching a dog. 

Hope that helps! 

As far as commands go, if the dog was trained in German, there is certainly no reason why you cannot stick with the German commands - IF you are comfortable using them. A lot of people aren't comfortable using commands in a foreign language because they are harder to remember and don't feel as natural as using commands in your own language. If you want to change them to English, there certainly isn't a reason why you couldn't.


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

Chris welcome to you and thanks for posting that wonderful story, post more please!!


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## chrissie1 (Mar 31, 2010)

dw, I really hope Tori is settling in a little bit.

Castlemaid, DnP, & Kayos & Havoc, 
Thank you for the lovely welcome, I've opened a thread on the introductions board and replied to you on there, so as not to distract from helping Tori settle. I hope that's ok.
http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...mat/138336-another-hello-u-k.html#post1853576


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## Namara (Jun 10, 2010)

Congrats on the new dog! I agree with previous posters just to be patient and build trust with the dog. It's a typical GSD trait for them not to immediately trust people.

Wanted to comment on the German commands:

As a bilingual person, I too hate to hear people butcher another language. However, with training police dogs and such in German, I thought (I could be wrong) the point of doing so was that 1) the criminals would not know what the handler was commanding the dog to do and would give an element of surprise and 2) so that the dog would be more inclined to listen only to its handler. It would majorly suck if the criminal could tell the dog to sit and it would listen (of course I understand the whole loyalty to the owner thing plays a bigger part than that, but you know what I mean). So it really doesn't matter if the words are being pronounced right as long as the dog listens! 

I would personally stick to using the German commands with Tori, mainly because the dog is in a world of unfamiliarity already and to add unfamiliar commands to the mix might be too much. ;-)


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## shilorio (Mar 21, 2010)

acrburg said:


> No, it is not. Mostly inept advice from pompous and/or inept dimwits.
> 
> edit - There are some excellent posts, but the posters are so nice and humble that they get lost in the sauce.


 
wow, get the stick out of your *** and quit the forum if your going to be so rude, first of all its imature, second the OP didnt ask for your obnoctious criticisms, its rediculous for you to be on here if you do not iinjoy it.


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## AliciaMaria (May 8, 2010)

Any updates from the OP? How's Tori doing?


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## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

> However, with training police dogs and such in German, I thought (I could be wrong) the point of doing so was that 1) the criminals would not know what the handler was commanding the dog to do and would give an element of surprise and 2) so that the dog would be more inclined to listen only to its handler.


AFAIK a lot of police and military dogs are imported from overseas and will already have existing training, usually in their "native" language (Dutch, Czech, German, etc.)


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## Namara (Jun 10, 2010)

AbbyK9 said:


> AFAIK a lot of police and military dogs are imported from overseas and will already have existing training, usually in their "native" language (Dutch, Czech, German, etc.)


Lol yeah, that too


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

acrburg said:


> Can YOU read? YOU speak to YOUR dog consistently regardless of your butchering of the German language. The OP is a NEW owner. The PREVIOUS owner spoke consistently in, most likely, grossly improper German, as you do. Unless maybe the OP and the trainer learned the commands together... BTW I bolded a few words to help you comprehend. You're welcome. OP... RUN!!!


Wow, dude, what's your problem? Just get on and start ranting? Nice intro. :/ 

I think a lot of her ignoring the OP has to do with the fact that she's in a strange place, and the fact that GSDs are naturally stand-offish as it is. She's not loyal to the OP yet.


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## cagirl (Apr 17, 2010)

acrburg said:


> For the OP, skip all the advice here (including mine). Interview a few pros and spend some bucks for training and advice. This forum seems like the blind leading the blind (with a large dose of undeserved attitude!). Be consistent and (mostly) positive and you're gold.


Lol I love people who get on forums and can tell how much people have done with thier dogs and what experience people have from posts on a forum. 




acrburg said:


> Can YOU read? YOU speak to YOUR dog consistently regardless of your butchering of the German language. The OP is a NEW owner. The PREVIOUS owner spoke consistently in, most likely, grossly improper German, as you do. Unless maybe the OP and the trainer learned the commands together... BTW I bolded a few words to help you comprehend. You're welcome. OP... RUN!!!


Hmm maybe the officer was german, or spoke fluent german. Man you are a good laugh late at night thanks for the comedy.


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## dwnelsonjr (Jul 1, 2010)

Well, putting all of the nonsense aside, Tori is doing great. I do apologize for not giving an update sooner. I have been letting her out of her pen every day for about an hour and playing actively with her the entire time. She LOVES a tennis ball, which I was warned of before I brought her home. I am assuming she was trained using a tennis ball because she is very protective of it, although she has not shown any aggression toward me when I try to take it from her other than refusing to let it go. As for her training, she was used for a short period of time as a working dog but washed out because she doesn't pay attention well and she is an aggressive alert. She is starting to listen to me a little more, but only if there is a reward for her. If I don't show her that I have something to give her, she goes about her business. The only german command she knows is "platz." which again, only works if I have something to give her. I gave her a bath today which went rather smoothly, but she is definitely going to get groomed in the very near future, her coat has been unkept for quite some time. I would LOVE to make an inside dog out of her, but considering that she doesn't listen and is 2 yrs old I don't think I am going to attempt it. Also, the food that I bought her seems to be disagreeing with her quite a bit, will she get use to it or should I try something different. I'd rather not waste money buying different types of dog food if I don't have to. All together, she seems to be having a great time showing me that she's the boss, and I've had a great time trying to convince her otherwise, lol.


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

I'd highly recommend an obedience training class. It's a great opportunity to learn, have fun, and bond with your dog. 

I really see no reason why you can't make a house dog out of her. I adopted Nova in December and he was 2.5 years old. He'd been either cooped up in an outdoor kennel or boarded his entire life. He has definitely adapted to being an indoor dog (the other day I was hanging out on the deck enjoying the sun while all three dogs were inside in the air conditioning, LOL). I would keep her leashed to you while she learns the ropes.. this is also another great way to bond with her.

As far as her not doing anything unless you have a reward, well... that's okay too. Reward her for obeying commands, and then you can gradually phase out the treats. Once she bonds with you, her reward will be making her owner happy and getting praise. 

As far as food is concerned, she may get used to it. Sometimes a "cold turkey" switch from what she was originally on can cause loose stool for awhile. You can either find out what she was eating before and gradually wean her off of it (mixing in more and more of the new food and using less and less of the old food) or you could try adding a tablespoon of 100% pure canned pumpkin to her food to firm up the stool until she's used to the food.


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## cagirl (Apr 17, 2010)

Dont count her out as a house dog. I just got Riley and he is an intact male dog ( that will change soon) and he is adjusting very well. We had to set boundries and I dont give him full run of the house but a few hours a night and he is doing well and loving it. I also think it has helped us bond a bit faster as he is always with me. 

The food thing is probably because you did the cold turkey switch. Riley did the same thing, so I fasted him a day and the next 2 days I fed him rice and cottage cheese then the 3rd day I added small amounts of food. It has done the trick. 

I second the obedience class, I have trained many dogs but will be doing a class with Riley for bonding and love to train with other dogs around so he gets use to ignoring things around him and listening to me. 

Sounds like you are getting along well and wish you many good years ahead.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

> She is starting to listen to me a little more, but only if there is a reward for her. If I don't show her that I have something to give her, she goes about her business.


That's EXACTLY how it starts for all of us. Come on, why 'work' for no pay off. What you learn as you train is INITIALLY we have to reward all the time, then we can start fading the rewards and using them randomly (but still using them).

One of your problems with the bonding is cause you refuse to keep the dog in the house. Just using baby gates and closed door to keep her with you will start the bonding process much better. Specially if you are able to continuously have teeny training session with treats/toys as rewards during your normal walking around the house during the day.

I keep a treat jar in my kitchen and when I have a new puppy (like you do) every time I go into the kitchen we do a teeny obedience thing (sit? down?) and my pup gets a treat. Makes it WORTH following me, focusing on me, paying attention to me, and LEARN FROM ME.



> I would LOVE to make an inside dog out of her, but considering that she doesn't listen and is 2 yrs old I don't think I am going to attempt it. Also, the food that I bought her seems to be disagreeing with her quite a bit, will she get use to it or should I try something different


Get that dog in the house!!!!! Don't know who the heck told you a 2 yr old can't learn and be in the house. That is wrong wrong wrong. But it will take time and TRAINING (which you are avoiding by keeping the pup in the yard). Be nice if you could work on this so the dog can be a true part of your life that you can take everywhere and do anything WITH. They LEARN to listen/focus and obey us with time and consistancy that you just will not get if the dog is mostly outside. 

Train her just like you would a puppy in your house. Just realize she'll learn even faster cause she is older. You better be socializing her and taking her on car rides for meet/greets or you'll end up with more issues down the line. 

DOG CLASSES!!!!


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