What one item do you think is indespensible for a new ownerof a GSD? - Page 2

Common sence

All we have ever done is loved our dogs. Hugs, kisses, walks,playing, more hugs more kisses more playing more loving. Reprimanding bad behaviour and rewarding good.  Long walks, ball chasing never bringing it back to me, laughing and patting and saying good dog everytime she would poop or pee outside. Calling " come here " a million times and the millionth and one time she did.. big hugs big kisses. Then finally they get to an age where they just figure it out. They get it.  And all that loving and kissing and playing with everyone and everybody has paid off.  They are friendly, confident,  outgoing and trustworthy shepherds. That's my training manual.  Hasn't failed me in thirty years of owning shepherds.

DDR, thank you for your serious response to the question.  I appreciate it.

I was trying to use a little humor in my question because I assumed folks here would know what I meant about the initial 2 days of yard to crate, crate to yard, no talk, no touch, no eye contact in order to prevent eventual separation anxiety and mess up my already-trained beautiful pup and turn him into a jumping barking ill-mannered dog.  This is a serious undertaking for me and I'm going to do whatever is good for my pup's life and whatever it takes to start off on the right foot - I've even read here the advise on how to treat even an adult GSD, don't talk or play with them for 10 minutes when you come home or reenter the yard - I think one K9 Policeman here said even after washing the car and coming back in the yard, you don't talk to the dog for 10 minutes.  I guess I assumed this initial 2 days of no talk, no touch was the norm, it gives the pup time to realize leaving his beautiful previous home and all his friends and the scents he knows has not killed him and hey, this lady is nice to me and feeds me good food and water and toys and has taken good care of me so I think I like it here, I'm sticking with her.  *sigh*

My breeder 's facility is not a puppy mill, that was a very rude statement to make about Thinschmidt's, you obviously don't know anything about the breeder/trainer,  it's a beautiful place and you can tour every inch of it - which I did, I'm lucky to live 35 miles from it, I met the two parents of my litter a couple of weeks before the birth so I've seen the dogs and touched them, they are very well-mannered but make no mistake, they are fabulous GSDs.  I also attend the weekly obedience class where there are 5 and 6 month old pups who were born and trained there and the owners assure me they swear by the positive reinforcement training used so early and their pups have no separation anxiety issues and really can do a 30 minute down/stay on day 3 after bringing them home and following the no talk, no touch, no eye contact instruction for the first 2 days.  These puppies and dogs are really happy and healthy, and there are plenty of SchH3 Kkl1 champions in the breeding pairs, including mine which both have Zamp vom Thermodos as a grandsire, a dog honored by a thread here.  sheesh.

Maybe this forum is not for me, I was looking for a place to learn more.  I should have known better, after reading the ongoing argument on the Over-Socialization post.


 

SharonCa, it really isn't the norm, so please pardon our objections to the no-talking for two days. This is the first time, in my ten years of experience in the breed I have ever heard of this. Who knows, maybe there IS something behind it, and the beauty of being human is having free will; the right to think and do as one chooses. I personally couldn't and wouldn't do that, but if you want to, and you think it will be what is right for YOU and YOUR puppy, by all means :)

I don't think any of us really meant any harm, we were just collectivly surprised by the two day talking hiatus. 

Yes, Puppy Mill is a diry, ugly word and I don't really think it should be thrown around. It's worse than being called a BYB (Back Yard Breeder) also an insult.

This forum has always had a touch of agressiveness to it, and while it is a GREAT place to learn things, please also consider that this is the internet, where anyone can make any assumption, comment etc... and should be taken as such. I don't know your breeder, have never heard of your breeder (I'm one of those "close minded workingline folks") but you say you visited their facilities and liked what you had saw, so much so that you decided to purchase a puppy. Great to hear! You took a step most of us never do, YOU VISITED AND SAW FIRST HAND. That is VERY important. Some of us, like myself don't have the luxery of visiting a breeder's kennel first hand, and seeing the condition of the dogs, how clean the set up is, how the breeder interacts with his/her dogs, you are very lucky to have seen it!

Please don't judge us too harshly, we may be a sarcastic bunch, but if you are willing to "sort through the poo" so-to-speak, we have a lot of valuable advice to offer.

The no talk upon greeting, yes, that is agreed, but two days sounded steep. Give us a second chance!

"I was trying to use a little humor in my question because I assumed folks here would know what I meant about the initial 2 days of yard to crate, crate to yard, no talk, no touch, no eye contact in order to prevent eventual separation anxiety and mess up my already-trained beautiful pup and turn him into a jumping barking ill-mannered dog."

No, folks here don't know what you mean because it's ridiculous.

"My breeder 's facility is not a puppy mill, that was a very rude statement to make about Thinschmidt's, you obviously don't know anything about the breeder/trainer..."

Believe what you'd like.  I said it's a pretty nice puppy mill and it is but their focus is clearly breeding and selling puppies.  How many of their dogs are entered or placed in national competitions/shows?

Keith, in addition to breeding great GSDs, their focus is training dogs, all breeds, their weekly obedience group classes I've attended had an Akita, a lab, some toy terrier or poodle thing, a golden doodle, all ages of GSDs, one of which is training as a therapy/service dog.  They train there for Schutzhund, all that equipment is all over the far field, and the local club is based there so I'd say these people know about working dogs and how to train dogs.  I'm sure my breeder/trainer does not need me to defend them and would laugh to see where this thread has gone, they have plenty of trophies and huge ribbons all over the office so they must be doing something right.  Showing is something I don't care about because I'm not looking to show or compete, I just want a wonderful healthy and happy dog and friend, though I think I may look into the Obedience Trial and Agility Trial, I want to keep my dog interested and active so that seems interesting to me.  And you'll probably laugh when I say this but one of their dogs, Largo, is on the Eukanuba bag of GSD food... is yours?  Anyone needing to get some obedience training and you live near SoCal, I recommend you go here:  www.alldogstrain.com/184.html   They also board dogs, and speaking as a person who traveled as a job, if I was needing to board my dog, this would be an A+ place to go, it's gorgeous and a great property, they even come to get your dog.  So much for that.  Good thing I have a thick skin and I'm not giving up,  I'm done and would like to get back to my question, if anyone cares:

Any other suggestions for me about that one thing you can't be without for your GSD,  a toy, a treat, food, equipment?  Thanks for anyone willing to share.

 

For a toy, as aforementioned I love the bite rag, but that isn't really a toy, it's more of an interaction based piece of training equipment.

Treats, I love dehydrated chicken strips for dogs. They are fairly cheap, you can get them almost anywhere (Walmart sells them, amoung many other places)

Food, I swear by Taste of the Wild. Absolutly swear by it. It is an All Life Stages food, meaning from puppy to senior it will be nutritionally complete. I also never have to switch as my puppy ages, also a bonus! (I feed the Sierra Mountain Canine Formula version of Taste of the Wild)

Equipment, as has been mentioned, love the bite rags, but I also love exercise pens. I currently have a 48 inch high, 16 square foot radius pen that I love. It has a door in it, and it's big enough that when I want to, I can lay down in the pen with my puppy. Because by some miracle my puppy is housebroken, I treat this as his crate. Crates are absolutly invaluable for training and housebreaking.

Good luck, glad you have thick skin and you are willing to stay :)

Once he's 4 or 5 months old, an eGGe ball and a Jolly ball.  

The BIG Kong balls, not the tennis-ball sized ones once your pup is over 50 pounds or so.  After watching my dog suffocate to death before my eyes when his ball went down his windpipe, I've made it my own little mission to warn people about them.  

Be careful with the dehydrated chicken strips, make sure they are made in the USA, there was a lot of dogs that got sick off of the ones made in China just a couple of months ago, a friends Dogue de Bordeaux almost died from the ones she got at Wal-Mart.