Omg! Teeth!!!! Strength! Smartness!

[Kaz]

Manfred's teeth grow at an AMAZING rate! Its like if he loses an incisor, it usually grows back within 24 hours. I am not kidding.

He had a little spot right behind his canines before the pre molars start, where there were no teeth. So if ever my hand was in his mouth, that would be the "safe" spot. But he has grown teeth there too!

His Molars (or the saw toothed, sharp cutting things in the place of molars) are immense!

I literally saw one of his pre-molars grow out... his gum showed redness for the day when the molar grew. There was even a spot of what looked like connective tissue, which looked severed, due to the tooth coming out.

The next day it was fine.

I brush his teeth everyday, and I know the inside of his mouth, so no, he had not cut himself, it was just teeth growing at an incredible rate!

I am just freaking astonished!

Also, he is SUPER strong!!

At 5 months he is 55lbs, and he is strong ... so strong, that Renata can no longer really control him if he decides to pull on his harness while he walks.

Even I find it difficult at times.

Manfred walks well, but he is young and there are distractions, especially in busy West LA streets. Especially morons with motorbikes with silencers removed elicit a sharp response from him. He doesn't bark, but does lunge a little.

Needless to say, at the end of a 3 mile walk, my hand hurts!

And yesterday we were sitting on a patio, when Renata had to visit the cloakroom. Manfred waits patiently, but when she came back, the pup was so happy to see Mommy, he lunged, and he nearly knocked me and the chair I was sitting on, off balance! LOL.

His back is (thank god) quite straight, not as sloped. Massive body structure, head and paws. His paws are bigger than the palm of my hands. I still pick him up, but Renata laughs whenever I call him my little pup. And she is true, Manfred is anything but little. His vet is projecting at the least 110lbs. Maybe more (we take him every weekend). And he is not fat. Just healthy muscle. The temperament of a sweetheart, absolutely well behaved. You can take him to the most crowded locale or super market, and he will be chill as a cucumber.

But he does tend to bark at other dogs, especially when indoors and looking out the window.

My only real complaint, at home his only way of showing affection, is with bites. Its a bit hard. Couple that with the new mandolin vegetable slicer I got, my hands are in perpetual bandages!

His teeth are scary, I now understand why the name "Land shark" is so appropriate!

Renata is leaving in 10 days for about 3 weeks in Europe, I am scared! LOL.

I am just in awe of this dog. And to think.... he is going to double in size in the next few months. (Gulp! )

And he is smart!

He learnt how to jump on voice command in literally 5 seconds. To give me Hugs in 5 more seconds.

He almost talks! He communicates. He goes to the door when he wants to poo/pee (not trained for this). He even held his poo / pee for 10.5 hrs when both Renata and I were out on a business trip last week! Fully potty trained, he pee's and poops on command!

I am going to teach him how to scratch my back next. LOLOL.

Nota Bene: This is a rambling post of thoughts, no "advise" is sought.
Sorry if it is more like me bragging about my little boy, but I just love him so much!

[Castlemaid]

Since he he getting so big and strong, might be time to move from a harness to a martingale or prong collar for walks. A harness just encourages pulling.

[Kaz]

Thanks Lucia. But I shudder at the thought of him being on a leash around his neck.

Couple of times, we have tried putting the leash on his neck collar, and it is true, there is an immediate improvement in the way he walks. But some times when he comes across a dog on the street (especially near our home), when he tries to pull or bark, he chokes. I have seen him cough at those times.

I dont have the heart to put a leash on any neck collar.

[jocoyn]

I know you are not acting for advice BUT

Your dog is shredding your hands and he should have learned not to do this quite a while ago. And pulling so hard only you can walk him. You have no control of his head with a harness, and he pulls hard when he sees another dog.

This puppy needs to learn some rules NOW. He has not even hit the defiant teenage time.

I have a 6.5 month one going into that time and he does not lay his mouth on me or pay much notice to other dogs but he has started pulling and otherwise blowing me off and is, in general, a PITA . If I am going to tear up my rotator cuff, it will be playing tug and not being pulled to kingdom come. As much as I was going to try to avoid the prong, he is wearing the prong for now.

I don't know about the size projections - mine really slowed up growing around 6 months and is starting to add some muscle., but I am intentionally keeping him lean.

[Castlemaid]

Find a trainer that can show you how to fit a prong and how to use it correctly. Prongs are self-correcting, and don't choke the dog like other collars. Martingales are self-limiting as to how much they tighten - so only tighten up to a point, then no more. So enough to give a correction, but not enough to choke him.

With his size and strenght, you HAVE to take control. Right now, he is in control, and as he gets bigger and stronger, these behaviours will get more ingrained and harder to re-train. Everyone of your posts shows how much you love Manfred, and how proud you are of him - don't allow things to get to the point where something happens and he is taken away from you. You have to have 100% control to keep him (and yourself) safe on leash.

Prongs look horrible, but they are not painful or cruel. Try one around your arm, (or even your neck!), tighten it up - you'll be surprised at how benign it feels! The pressure is distributed over a large area evenly, instead of concentrating it on the air-pipe like regular chokes or flat collars do. And dogs seem to "understand" prongs and respect them.

I used to be anti-prong, but gave in and tried one on my rescue after I got fed up with her dragging me around on a flat with me struggling for control. I became a convert! Makes life easier and less stressful, and you can enjoy your walks more.

[atruepastime]

hehe.. wait till he is 110pounds and dragging you around like a sleigh.. remember harnesses are made for pulling - think horse cars and husky sleighs, and dog neck anatomy & human neck anatomy are totally different - the neck in a dog is very strong, meanwhile in a human the neck is our weak point and so I understand why you instinctively feel that a collar around a vulnerable area would be painful..

Trust me they are a lot tougher than we think.. my gsd used to tow me around with a martingale (at about 8-9 months of age) & check chain. I did feel it was mean because she was choking herself to get to where she wanted, no doubt she didn't think it was so bad because she was happy to voluntarily choke herself so she could go sniff that lamp post that we were walking towards anyway.. once I used a prong collar on her, the choking stopped and she showed no sign of displeasure or discomfort with wearing it, in fact she gets super excited when I get it out.. because it walk time! Best of all I have control over our walks.. so we can walk past a school, cafes, other dogs, pop down to the video store etc., its a fun walk for us both.. and I don't have to worry about being dragged.. if a martingale doesn't give you control I'd skip going down the check chain route and go to a prong (once he is older.. closer to a 10-12 months).. its actually more humane, I no longer worry about her choking herself because the prong does not operate on choking.. I put the prong on my own arm, neck and leg and gave myself a good pop before I was happy to put it on my dog.. I promise you, it looks a lot worse than it feels.. and my shoulders thank me for my decision too..

Think of it this way, its better that he is under control with a collar and to have a more fulfilling experiences in life because you know you can keep him safe in public than to have to keep him locked up or only you being able to walk him.. and him miss out on walks where there are other people..

Happy puppy raising!! Enjoy it while you can and take a million photos.. these months will really fly by and before your know it he'll be all grown up!:-)

[ayoitzrimz]

Originally Posted by Kaz

Thanks Lucia. But I shudder at the thought of him being on a leash around his neck.

Couple of times, we have tried putting the leash on his neck collar, and it is true, there is an immediate improvement in the way he walks. But some times when he comes across a dog on the street (especially near our home), when he tries to pull or bark, he chokes. I have seen him cough at those times.

I dont have the heart to put a leash on any neck collar.

Yea, good luck getting dragged down the street then... I've never seen a german shepherd in a harness outside of protection work and tracking and for a reason

sorry, but if you "don't have the heart" to get some control over your dog, you're not doing anyone any favors (especially not your dog). Just remember, pulling is a strenuous exercise - leash or harness. The dog is pulling because he thinks that is the only way to get the reward of getting where he wants to go. He's "putting effort" and "working hard" to get his reward, and you are encouraging it. I'd strongly suggest you either teach him to walk calmly on leash (by teaching that he will ONLY be rewarded - by moving forward - if he's walking calmly). Your dog is confused, and your stubborness is not helping. Get a trainer and get one now...

Sorry if it's not the most PC reply, but sometimes you just have to speak your mind...

[Holmeshx2]

From someone who did poor leash training in the beginning PLEASE listen to these people. If I could go back and change anything that is what it would be.. I have a 70 lb 14 month old who has poor leash skills and my body hates me for it more then anything. I am working hard to correct it but thats the point I am driving myself insane trying to correct it now because I let it go on for so long, you are at an advantage that he corrects himself when on a collar because mine has learned to desensitize her neck so it doesn't phase her in the slightest. Also, put a prong on yourself and pull it there really isn't anything it looks wicked but isn't and is designed to be more "natural" think mother dog's teeth around the neck for a correction.

Also I wouldn't put much stock into the vets estimate my girl had HUGE paws and grew like a weed she was basically the same size as your male however around 6 months she stopped putting weight on minus like 5 lbs and is still within 5 lbs of where she was at 6 months and she's almost 15 months now.. she got taller and longer but as far as weight it's basically balanced out and she was gaining a good 5+ lbs every stinkin week she just grew like crazy.

Oh yeah, If you are so completely adamantly against putting a collar on the dogs neck then look at the front of your harness there should be a little metal circle ring where all the pieces connect and it's on his chest. Clip your leash there and it will help give more control without buying another harness when the dog starts pulling it turns him back towards you and is MUCH easier on you to handle him because he can't pull or lunge like he was... definitely a wonderful little trick I was taught awhile ago.

[1sttimeforgsd]

Kaz, a prong that is correctly fitted will be your best friend and that of Manfried also. You would not want your lady out walking him and Manny pull her out in front of traffic, I promise it will not hurt your handsome boy.

[Kaz]

Sorry guys, I should have clarified.

I have taken loose leash walking VERY VERY seriously ever since I got Manfred. Since 2 months of age, every day, I have worked with him, trained him, worked with trainers, read, watched videos, and pro-actively sought to get him to walk on a loose leash.

I started by reinforcing the whistle. Whenever he responded to the whistle he got a reward. Then I moved to walking with out a leash. Every time he stayed close, he a got a reward. Then it was every time he looked at me when walking, he got a reward.

Then came walking on a leash, numerous stops / turns when ever he merely tugged. Hours and days spent practicing loose leash walking. Practicing every move, over and over and over again.

My OP was a ramble. And I stated, I am not looking to do anything, than just share some experiences.

I do not have trouble with Manfred tugging while walking. He walks VERY VERY well.

Keep in mind, a well trained GSD can walk well even in a harness.

But an occasional lunge at a distraction from a mere baby is to be expected. Your thoughts are appreciated. I liked especially how "atruepasstime" shared her thoughts.

Yes, I do keep a lot of pictures and videos from every day events.