HELP!! First time dog owners - Page 1

Hi we just purchased a German Shepherd puppy! So excited to start including Rex (he's six weeks old) into our family. But, there's just one teeny weeny problem...Im 27 and Ive NEVER had a dog. Im absolutely clueless as to what to do. I got some books and Im reading them and following them to a T, so much so that my boyfriend is calling me the K-9 police. Currently, Im confused on how to teach Rex his name. Also, were pen training him until he's potty trained...after that he will be able to roam free. But, everytime I stick him in the pen he starts whineing, and crying and screaming bloody murder. But, I ignore him...last night he howled for and hour straight. Should I start discipling him now for that? Also, any advice on how I can include my 2 kids in on the training? My kids are 4 and 8. Also, Im home all day ( I work nights) so should I just let him follow me around all day so long as he's on his leash? Geez, I have no idea what im doing and neither does my boyfriend. And I cant afford training lessons for the little guy. Any advice would be greatly appreciated...Oh I almost forgot my boyfriend has never had a dog either hahaha, were a little in over our heads here...

I would start by getting a crate and rethinking your plan to let him roam free after he's housebroken.  I'm not sure what your pen looks like but based on those I've seen, I doubt it will contain a GSD pup for long.  There are several reasons for crating the dog for a longer period of time, the most important being for his own safety.  Puppies put everything in their mouths, much of which is dangerous.  Do you want to come home to find out that your puppy has ingested a poisonous house plant or chewed on a live electical wire?  Another important reason for crating the pup is for your own sanity...he will destroy your property.  He will chew up your shoes, eat your underwear, trash your furniture, rip open your down comforter, spill your cleaning supplies, tear up your carpeting, rip the woodwork off your walls...do I need to go on?  He will also crap on your floor...even after he's house trained...all it takes is one bout with diarrhea.  Yes, it's still a mess if he's in a crate but at least it's a contained mess.  I reccommend enclosed airline crates as they give the pup a greater sense of privacy and security than do wire crates.  Make going in the crate a positive experience.  Never use it for punishment and give him a treat every time you put him in it.  Feed him in his crate.  He will whine and fuss at first, do not discipline him for it; ignore it and after a couple of weeks or so, he'll learn to calm down in his new den.

6 weeks is a little young to be away from it's littermates there was a lot of interaction that your puppy missed. Your pup is at the beginning of his socialization phase, a lot of behaviours are being formed now, how you interact with this pup for the next two months will imprint him for a lifetime. Punishment at this age is unfair and will only damage your relationship with your puppy, he has no idea what you are punishing him for. Take the pup out as often as you can don't leave him alone outside he needs you for security use this to your advantage. Have him follow you around don't you or any one else chase after him. When I crate train a puppy I spend days with the door open and I toss treats in until the puppy walks in the crate looking for treats. Then I put a bully stick in and as the puppy goes in I shut the door usually he will lay down and chew not caring if the door is shut, when he is done I open the door so he does not feel trapped. In doing this I have built up prior positive associations with the crate and it is not as stressful the first time he has been put in there for real. Ignore the whining if you pay attention to it you are going to reward more whining. Whining is a sign of stress and a lot of stress can cause health problems. German Shepherd Dogs are not a breed that you can just leave on their own, they are smart working dogs that need mental and physical stimulation or you are going to end up with problems.

As far as the name goes just use it when calling him to you he will pick it up in time. Play games where the family takes turns calling the puppy to one another luring the puppy with a chase toy on a rope or rewarding with treats.

As Markobytes points out, 6 weeks is a bit young to remove a pup from the litter as the period between 6 and 8 weeks is typically that in which the pup learns a lot about being a dog. One of the key things a pup will learn during that time is that biting hurts, both from being bitten himself and from his littermates yelping when he bites them.  Since your pup missed out on these important lessons, you can expect him to be mouthy, especially with your kids whom he will now see as his littermates.  Assuming that you aren't looking at this pup as a schutzhund prospect and that at least some of the books you have deal with bite inhibition, pay special attention to this.  Also be aware as a new dog owner that it is never appropriate to leave small children unsupervised with any dog, ever.

Good post Keith!

Very good posts, both of you !

And very patient - I think your puppies are lucky  ;-)


I am deliberately refraining from making IMpatient remarks to the OP, I am sure you can easily imagine what I
would be saying if I gave free rein to my feelings at this time ...

Also, keep in mind that anything the puppy does now, do you want him/her doing that when they are 85 lbs of pure muscle.  Jumping on you is cute as a puppy, but not as a big dog.

I started Rose's (my adult dog) puppies on training from the time they started walking.  For such a young puppy, here are a few of my suggestions:

House Training
1.  Crate training is the best.  See all of the other posts on this; they are excellent.
2.  Potty training:
         1. Breaks after every meal, play time, nap.
         2. Wake the puppy up at least twice in the middle of the night to go.  You will only need to do this until he is about 8 weeks old.  By that point, crate training should be going well and he will wake up on his own in the middle of the night to let you know he needs to go.
         3.  From now until about 11 - 12 weeks, you only have seconds to get him out the door once he needs to go.  Keeping him with you at all times will help you start seeing the clues.
         4.  Bell training works great.  Put a bell on the door.  Every time you take him outside to go potty, use a trigger word and ring the bell.  Make sure the bell is on a string at his head level.  He will quickly get the idea and by 12 weeks, he will 85 - 90 % of the time tell you very clearly he needs to go out.

Commands
1. His name, "come," and "sit" are great at this time.  Make everything a game.  No punishment if he does not get it right.  Good healthy treats. 
2.  "Come" - avoid pulling on a leash to get him to come to you.  This can damage his neck at this age.  Use treats.
3.  "Sit" - avoid pushing down on his rump to get him in position.  This puts pressure on the hips.  There should be videos on line showing the lure/treat method.

Here is a good website for the developmental stages.  Pay close attention to the 2 "fear" stages.

http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/DevelopmentalStages.html

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Welcome and have fun.  Check back at about 12 weeks and we can pass along more training tips.

 

 

Oops, forgot.  Protect those hips and joints for the 1st year at least.  This breed is prone to hip dysplasia.  Protecting the hips and keeping the puppy lean in weight will help to minimize / prevent this.  Once the puppy has had all its shots, swimming is good exercise if you can.

Six weeks is too young but that is the reality that you will now have to deal with. I have been extremely successful in house training my GSD puppies.  We won't talk about my lack of skills in formal training LOL.

I followed the directions from my local humane society and since then have seen many versions of the same method.

When I bring a puppy home, I put a crate next to my bed.  If puppy wakes in the night, I pick puppy up from inside the crate and take it outside.  Puppy's feet never touch the ground till it is in the target relief area.  As the puppy pees/poos,repeat the word you want to use with good attached - like "good hurry" or "good wizzy" etc.  You will end up with a dog who does it on command.

Puppy soon sleeps through the night.  Depending on the pup (usually 6-9 months), I move the bedding outside the crate and on the floor where the crate used to be and tie the pup to the leg of the bed.  When I think the pup is ready, I remove the tie down and keep the door to my bedroom closed.  Whatever my other failings, my GSDs have all been successfully housebroken without stressing them.

Puppy is like any other baby, it relieves itself right after it sleeps or eats.  After the pup has relieved itself, you have a short window of time where the pup can run around.

Good luck,
Michele, Pharaoh & Mariah