I think GSDs need lots more focus on separation anxiety and issues with vocal-ness such as whining, barking, yelping, etc. more than other dogs. How did you deal with your pup with these issues? Did you correct them for it? Did you use treats? Ecollar? Ignore?
I'm just curious, I like hearing about everyone's experiences.
My puppy had no real whining even when i got her at 7 weeks. But as she is getting older (16 weeks now), she does have separation anxiety. She will be okay the farther I am from her. If she is in the garage, there will be not as much whining than if I am in the same room with her crated. She whines wanting to come out and just be with me. I just ignore her but this also ties in with the vocal issues of the dog. She is very vocal. She will grunt, snort, whine, whimper and make all these noises just playing or being petted. She will cry when in the crate, cry when she's thirsty or have to go potty or wants to play. So half the time I have no idea if she needs to go to the bathroom and I need to let her out, or if she just wants out. If she just wants attention and I give in, it reinforces that behavior so it's very tricky to juggle this.
The way I have been doing it is that I will wait 5-10 minutes and if she continues to cry and whimper hard I will walk to the room but ignore her. Go to the fridge, pretend to get something and then go to her and say "Do you need to go potty? GO POTTY?" and then take her outside. If she goes potty (like for real, not a little tinkle) or if she goes #2, then she gets praise and I immediately play with her with the flirt pole or tug. If she starts doing things like munching on leaves or pulling on the leash and running circles around me and sitting on the grass, I just come straight back and into the crate. The time span of this happening is a few minutes so i'm not sure if it's the most optimal way to do it but it's what I've been using.
What about yall?
I'm just curious, I like hearing about everyone's experiences.
My puppy had no real whining even when i got her at 7 weeks. But as she is getting older (16 weeks now), she does have separation anxiety. She will be okay the farther I am from her. If she is in the garage, there will be not as much whining than if I am in the same room with her crated. She whines wanting to come out and just be with me. I just ignore her but this also ties in with the vocal issues of the dog. She is very vocal. She will grunt, snort, whine, whimper and make all these noises just playing or being petted. She will cry when in the crate, cry when she's thirsty or have to go potty or wants to play. So half the time I have no idea if she needs to go to the bathroom and I need to let her out, or if she just wants out. If she just wants attention and I give in, it reinforces that behavior so it's very tricky to juggle this.
The way I have been doing it is that I will wait 5-10 minutes and if she continues to cry and whimper hard I will walk to the room but ignore her. Go to the fridge, pretend to get something and then go to her and say "Do you need to go potty? GO POTTY?" and then take her outside. If she goes potty (like for real, not a little tinkle) or if she goes #2, then she gets praise and I immediately play with her with the flirt pole or tug. If she starts doing things like munching on leaves or pulling on the leash and running circles around me and sitting on the grass, I just come straight back and into the crate. The time span of this happening is a few minutes so i'm not sure if it's the most optimal way to do it but it's what I've been using.
What about yall?