Puppy growling at us over bone! - Page 4

Paula you're right... His feet do look like they sit on an angle at rest. We just went to look at him and they definately do sit outwards. Thank You for the observation as we had not noticed it at all. We hope that this doesnt lead to future issues like a bad elbow score. 

Is there a way that this could be corrected or is it not much of an issue? (We trusted our choice of puppy from a "reputable" breeder who we bought from interstate). This is disappointing. Not in the puppy but in the breeder. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated as we are now quite concerned.

Hi Swifteagle,

I just found this link, maybe it will give you some insight, seems he should outgrow it, and also, I feed my pups adult dog food from day one, along with a raw diet, so I minimize the chance of any bone problems, you will get slow grow and thick bones over time, compared to puppy food, which promotes rapid growth & thin weak bone.

http://www.total-german-shepherd.com/downedpasterns.html  

Google anything pertaining to his "Pasterns"

to fix the problem you have to hand feed you dog and make sure the look at you in the eyes so they know your the MASTER and the food comes from you..  NEVER give your dog the food first with out making them calm assertive.  The submission role is good as long as you make sure he understands what your are doing..When you do the ROLE make sure when he's on his back that his legs are down and he does not be seem tense or his eyes show lot of white puple cuase if so he is not accepting the role... He's young so you can fix it really quick!!!!!!!!!!!!



My female oreo was real bad with food aggression till i hand fed her for 2 mnths.  Now my hole family can feed her or pet her while she eats... But I still feed her seperately from the my male Rocky.. Thats my next mission for them!!!

Let me know how it turns out and Read your dog while he eats or plays with toys cause he'll tell you if he's playing or killing his toys!!

I do think everyone is really on the same page here in philosophy even if not methods.   The owner needs to be the leader, the dog needs to be the subordinate.  I think the problem is that some are wondering if the growling was instigated by inconsistent behavior from the humans in terms of behaving like a leader.   In which case, the correction could be confusing for the pup instead of instructive.   One minute the boss, next minute a sibling pal, next minute a subordinate (baby talk, petting, letting pup climb on you, repeating yourself to get the pup to do something, constantly needing the pup to give you attention, are some of the things people do).   Role confusion for the pup, not certain who is actually in charge.   A harsh correction isn't going to teach that by itself if the rest of the behavior from the owner doesn't match up I think was one of the points.  It will seem random and weird.  Consistency seems to be a point everyone agrees on to establish good relationship? 

I have on occassion "rolled" Echo over for aggression.  Once when she was about 12 wks old she decided she didn't want to have her nails trimmed.  No, I didn't quick her and neither had the breeder (he never trimmed them at all) She just decided that she didn't like it and savagely attacked my shoes.  Thank goodness I wasn't barefoot.  Those tine baby teeth would have ripped me up good.  I put her over on her side and let her know loudly that I didn't appreciate it.  We never have any problems with the nail trimming now.  Another time was over a rawhide chew that I didn't want her to swallow.  Same thing, rolled her over onto her side and let her know that I could take it anytime I wanted.  She now will get up and leave her food, a bone whatever if I walk too close.  She figures if I want it she best get out of the way.  She doesn't skulk or slink away, she just moves over and waits to see if I want it.  Sometimes I do just to keep her in line so I'll take it away and give it back later.  Other times I tell her to bring it and give it to me.  This is just letting the dog know where its place is in the pack.  I won't tolerate a dog even curling its lip at me over anything.  And yes, we do Schutzhund.  Some dogs are much more aggressive than others and Echo is one of those.  She has been hell on wheels since we got her and needs a firm hand.  She likes to push the boundries every chance she gets and I wouldn't have her any other way but she is NOT going to growl or snap at me for free. 

Deb

hey DEB do you walk your GDS and is she kept in a kennel or does she roam free in the house/back yard??

 Swifteagle,

I would  not worry about the feet at this point. Your pup is very, very young and it is not uncommon for them to sit like this. Even if the dog stands and the feet are a little bit what is referred to as "east-west", there is a very good chance that as the dog matures it would resolve. And in any case, photos are often very deceiving. Nice looking pup I say!

Beautiful pup.  My pup was a little weak in the pasterns, kinda looks like your boy is too.  I put him on Vit C and saw remarkable results.  My dad who raises Danes, swears by it too.  Wouldn't hurt anyway. :)

There is NO scientific evidence that supplementing a pup with vitamin C or any other vitamin is necessary unless there is a diagnostic test that suggests the dog is deficient in some mineral or vitamin. In a modern country, feeding modern foods, it is unlikely that any dog is deficient without some active disease process going on. Dogs make their own vitamin C and there is no reason to give them additional amounts. For the record, most new studies now show that giving excess vitamin C to humans is also of no consequence. I would be careful thinking that giving excesses of anything not needed "wouldn't hurt". Excesses of some supplements in canines and humans can certainly cause problems. This is true as well of vitamin C.