New GSD - NEED HELP! - Page 2

Whew.......... Good luck and just get the mindset that this will be work in the beginning. But work well worth it. The few comments before me are good ones. And CALM DOWN. You just brought the dog in to a strange new environment with a strange new person. She doesn't know who you are, doesn't know if your staying or leaving and doesn't know you are in charge, let alone the Alpha or master.

When I read these scenarios and others experiences and then think of mine or others that I know...... some are the same some are different and some are ones you never thought of. The bottom line IMO is results. 

For me, (and this is for me) and definitely not written in stone but my belief. The first six months are crucial to the "being" of the dog. There are no mistakes.......... Just making the same mistake twice or three times etc;  
At times on these threads individuals are touchy in what others say; How to do things , what to do and what not to do. What defines an EXPERT? EXPERIENCE? Trial and error. 

Here is what I would do: (Why did the others give up the dog?) I 'll say it again but there are soo many variables involved. Without knowing or asking how much you know of /about the dog before you acquired it I'll speak as if the dog is mine: I don't know if the dog is NIPPING, BITING, ROUGH HOUSING or just being mouthy? If no one has ever put boundaries/OB/discipline on this dog then she is thinking she is untouchable and the Alpha. So you have to establish that "NO" means "NO". Nipping when? When you're trying to pet her?, hold her? Put a leash on her? Take her outside? Bring her out of the vehicle? Give her food or water?Or just plain all the time? I would just let her settle in her new home as long as it's long term/forever. Don't give her up at the first sign of chaos! Do you have other dogs? Maybe that's why she pissed/crapped in the house. It's a new place and you have to WATCH her and maybes she's stressed and definitely not on a schedule. But in time that will be under your control.
I would have her in a crate,(good size) so she's comfortable and relaxed. She's got to acclimate to her pack and her new home. INo harm in crating her but you need to work on bonding. Concentrate on you first, the children will come later. If she's been the boss or allowed to do whatever she wanted for 7 1/2 mos. then realize it won't change overnight. (We're, I am) commenting without knowing anything that has happened good or bad in the last 7 1/2 mos with this dog.  Have you ever had a dog before and do you have a dog or dogs now? Will she be your dog? The children's? A pet? Working dog? I would concentrate on if that dog was 8 wks and just came to me. I would bond, make that dog think I am her universe and all comes from me. When she comes out of the crate it's straight outdoors for breaking, (bathroom), excercise, stretching bonding, (maybe food depends on where you are going to feed her) and as soon as she's done back into the crate but I wouldn't keep her in the crate say most of the day and only bring her out a little. If the weather is nice I'd be having her out every couple of hours. Bonding, bonding and more bonding. Watching her time frame for going to the bathroom. And observing her and taking mental notes. What the average person doesn't realize is that a dog has a different mentality than we, humans. That's why when you leave the house they don't know if you are coming back or not. That's why they're are jumping up and down for joy and doing cartwheels when they see you! You walk out the door with your children and come back and it's like "oh hey".  Patience, know how, experience, (and gaining experience), consistency and firmness. Just remember-She's intelligent, has a wonderful mind and it needs to be used. 

Do you have a crate for her in the house?

A seven month old pup, that is not house broken, or trained any manners is going to be a handful at first, but it is not impossible.

My girl was very nippy at that age also. They do grow out of it. 

Treat her like you would a new puppy.  Crate her when you can not watch her.  Take her out to do her business after a meal, after waking up and after play.  Keep her tethered  to you at all times  in the house  until she knows the routine and what is expected of her. Praise her for any behaviours you'd like her to repeat.

Give her lots of exercise,  and chew toys.

I'd love to see some pics!

Lol@Phil I can't say I didn't see this coming. Always good to ask for advise/help BEFORE you buy a dog. Good luck and hope it works out.

Genipher,
With the behavior you described it would be very difficult to get your dog under control with small children in the house.  I know this from experience.  You are better off returning the dog.  If you attempt to get a handle on the pup it may backfire on you and he'll get more aggressive.  Also, it appears she was not housebroken, some dogs are kept outside for a reason.  I choose not to own a dog with high social aggression and high dominance because that fits my family best - and it's your family, not the dog, that's the prime concern here.

 Genipher, it depends on how much time and effort you are willing to put into this dog. As other have said, all of this is NORMAL for 7 month old GSD that has had NO training, and no direction. It really sounds to me that she was a kenneled dog?  The nipping could be excited play - normally 7 month olds have outgrown this, but if she wasn't trained, and didn't have appropriate interaction with people, then it is normal that she still nips. 

If these behaviours are completely overwhelming and you are concerned, I agree that an older, settled dog that is known to be calm and kid-proof would be a better choice. GSD puppies are high-energy, and need a lot of time and training and experience.

If you want to keep her and work with her, you will have to keep her under your control and supervise her all the time. Housebreaking as if she was a little pup: take her out every hour. Praise and reward when she does her thing. NO FREEDOM IN THE HOUSE. She is to be crated, tethered to you, or directly supervised at all times so you can catch the subtle signs that she needs to do her business and rush her outside. 
I can see already that would be very challenging with little kids in the house.

The nipping is how GSD puppies play! She has never been taught any other way, so you need to start teaching her. REDIRECT nipping and biting play to appropriate toys. Always have a tug-like toy on you and close by, and have her grab the tug instead. Play with her! just giving her a toy and walking away is boring, she will want to drop the toy and try to get  you to play by nipping! So patience, patience, patience!!! 

At this point, I would not have her around the little kids - she has no self-control, and it is your job to teach her that, but that means that you have to be with her all the time, and show her what you want. There WILL be lots of house-breaking accidents, and there will be some knocked over little kids, and there will be some more excited nipping - so you need to decide if you are up to putting in the time and effort to work through these issues, or if the best thing is to find a more experienced home for her. 

 

Yes, always make sure you reward the dog for biting you by redirecting it to a tug.  Some of you people make me crazy.  Although, without the p#*s poor advice a lot of you give out,,,,,,I might be out of business.

 Why would you punish a puppy for wanting to play?  The OP can do the yelp and turn her back and walk away thing too, that sometimes works. I'd rather show a puppy what I want than to leave it hanging and confused. 

Never used my knee. My dogs don't nip. See, the other way works too! 

But at this point, I doubt the OP will want to keep the pup anyways. 

If I were in your shoes I would have grab that dog by the skin onn her neck, then quickly put her on her back without hurting her and would have said "NOO" or some sort of sound that would make her realised I am boss.

I got my self a 4 old pup, he was a very big boy for his age, and he was growling at me over a bone... My Girl friend was afraid. I on the other hand was like "this is not happening under my roof, I am boss here" went to him , he did the same to me, I did to him what I have already said at the start and from then on he knew who was the boss.

It seems like you need to take charge and need to do it quickly, dont be afraid of the dog. otherwise she will start to run the show in your house.

On regards to the poo, well what do you expect.. she is being there only few days, give some time and teach her, even better create her at night.

On regards to her getting on your furniture, just kick her off and with a strong tone of voice tell her "Noo", "OFF"  or whatever you want, and once again show her that you and your family are leader over her.

Hope it helps

Phil, before I do anything with a dog, I'd like to be able to ask with conviction, " What would PHIL do?"

Can you please drop a crumb or to for me to follow? I'm generally pretty quick with minimal direction, I  just never,ever  knew it was a trick question.