A lesson learned... - Page 3

This is not a reference to 'sport' dogs, or even GSDs, but it is worth
noting in combination with things that other posters - and your (offline)
friend - have said, and it applies to all dogs, IMHO:

Because they are first and foremost dogs rather than machines, they
are individuals and will vary in their response times to any given set of
circumstances.  She may well turn out to have more 'drive' than is being
predicted, but you have to give her time to adjust and develop, and it has
to be the length of time she needs, not what someone else reckons it
took their dog.  People sometimes lose sight of this in the commercialised
to & fro of dogs to do competitions with.

Friends of mine are heavily involved in rescue Shepherds, and there are
various rescued dogs of many breeds that I have had the pleasure of knowing,
from the day they were adopted.  These dogs all had something in common
with your dog:  they were not tiny puppies, they had already known a year
or so of life, something traumatic may or may not have happened while they
were transferred from one place to another, or immediately prior to that move,
or they may simply be faced with adjusting to the new owner, having given
their attention to some other human(s).

At any rate it isn't uncommon for the settling-in process to take a few weeks,
or even a few months, before they are established enough in your home to
show you the 'real them'.  Any dog bred with a temperament strong enough to
more quickly overcome this very natural reaction is the frosting on the cake.
Have a little patience, do as you have been advised by posters here, then ENJOY
THE CAKE WHEN YOU DO GET IT!   Linda.

No "DDR" blood in the fatherline - but that´s not important - your dog doesn´t know about former borders

I guess it´s an American breeder, and Alasko was imported titled ( if I´m right he was not used as a stud in Germany )
Once again, did you see this girl in her home surrounding?

Female, 12 months old, raised by the breeder ( on a ranch in the nowhere, together with several adult dogs )...
This girl will need a while ( if she is okay, she should be fine within 4 weeks ).

 

And maybe this is a blessing in disguise;  I brought home a 10 week puppy almost 5 years ago and she has not stopped since she came here;  constantly barking, raising hell, picks on the boys and pulls their ears, tries to bark and run while walking;  flunked obedience (we dropped out) hides the doggy toys, is a food hound, do not leave any food unattended. counter surfs, raises hell at the vet's, today I am taking her to the groomers, we will see they  will probably ask me NOT to come back.  This bitch has been a terror since she arrived.  There you have it.  Sooooo, I am thinking what a nice girl your new girl sounds like...Give her time to settle in, it does take some longer than others and enjoy every minute with her.  She will tell you when she is ready for something new.  Good luck  Nan

Thats funny Nans....(probably not for you though).

NO not funny to me at all.  She is actually what I truly call "Hell on wheels" and I have raised and trained a lot of puppies thru the years;  she is probably one of the worst of all time.  Smart though thank god, at least not untrainable to boot.  BUT, the energy she takes becomes wearing to say the least and at almost 5 years old she is still going strong.  She is just one of those...  Nan   So I say enjoy the new girl, I know I would...

"Raised in a kennel like any other breeder." 

NOT ALL BREEDERS RAISE DOGS IN KENNELS. And definitely not until they're a year old! 3 months old...sure, better than a crate when you can't watch them, but there's a difference between using kennels and RAISING dogs in kennels. I have a very hard time calling someone reputable if they're throwing all their dogs together and keeping dogs in kennels so much that they're weirded out when they leave the breeder's house. That's both genetics AND environment. The best genetics cannot make up for a life totally devoid of stimulation and experience. 

Like others have said, the sire is not East German. The sire is West German working lines. 

... 

 

I'll pretend I never read a word;-)

Aww, give her a chance. Her life has been turned upside down--doesn't matter if she had it good or bad. Let her settle--make friends with her. Some of the most previously damaged, isolated dogs turn out to be the most loyal, loving, fun dogs.  I am certainly not saying she had it bad.
So what if she doesn't have huge prey drive--work with pack or food drive. Take it slow, reassure her, play with her & give her treats. Many times, "nerves of steel" are nothing more than a dog with huge prey drive and many times so much prey drive is hard to live with. True courage & loyalty need to be developed & cherished. U need to earn it.
Let her get to know you before you tug with her.  Get down on the gound with her, call her to you & let her know it's ok to take a toy (ball or tug), throw it for her while you're on the gound & encourage her to bring it back.Roll around on the gound with her.  If she doesn't get excited by treats skip a couple of meals & make sure the treats are high-value (cheese, boiled chicken or beef) she'll come around.  Learn how to reward.
Watch Ivan Balabanov, Michael Ellis videos.
Dogs don't learn when they are stressed.  This system is an excellent beginning.  You can reduce stress & see results immediately by using a just a few simple principles.  Click the link below:
Bridge & Target



 

For what it's worth my male was like this in terms of very little prey drive for the ball/rag when he was younger.  

A lot of people told me to give up and get rid of him, he'd never make a Schutzhund dog.

When he got to about age twenty months, the lightbulb went off.  He's not a dog who is all about prey during bite work, he brings a healthy dose of aggression onto the field with a bit of prey mixed in and he just needed to get to an age where he could be worked in BOTH drives.

He's just turned four and I have an IPO I and IPO II on him with high tracking and protection scores.  He'd also have high obedience scores if he wasn't hampered by his handler.    But seriously, if I was more than just a hobby sportster he would already have his IPO III on him.  

Moral of the story, his father is West German Working Lines and his mother is Czech.   He simply took a little longer to mature and I had to have patience and I had to figure out what worked for him, training wise and I feel I was GREATLY rewarded for my faith and patience.   He's a wonderful dog, not just because he goes out and kicks ass on the trial field but because he comes home and is the most mellow, laid back ambassador for the breed that I could ask for.