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Help needed with craigslist byb rescue

2K views 17 replies 13 participants last post by  Chip18 
#1 ·
So I rescued Duke after I saw an ad for an AKC registered 2 year old male GSD. That was all the info listed. It turned out that a woman was trying to set up a puppy mill and her neighbors shot the other dogs for wandering on to their property so she was dumping the last one.

He has a great temperament with people and dogs alike. Not aggressive or fearful of either. He is really just a giant 2 year old puppy who I'm guessing was never taught anything and never lived in a house. He was hesitant to even enter my house, and once inside was pacing around quite a bit like he wasn't supposed to be in there.

So here is the Good:
1. Like I said he has been very good with everyone he has met so far, which has only been the two roommates and our landlord. No barking/lunging/growling or anything just wagging tail and new person excitement.
2. Not reactive to the dogs in the yards next to us. His demeanor is all play. Even with the other dog going crazy at first, his hair went down fairly quickly and he was just wagging his tail and looking back at me like "dude when do I get to go play?"
3. Very quick learner, it only took him a little while hanging outside to realize that jumping like a crazy person gets you ignored, and sitting in front of someone gets you pets and praise.

The not so good:
1. He is still jumping, although not nearly as much as before. Now they are more excited jumps I guess? Usually when going outside he won't jump on people just in the air. I still would like to train him out of this because he is so big. He weighs about 100 pounds
2. He is very mouthy, walking around the house if your hands are at your sides his mouth will almost always be on them. He never even closes his mouth, and it's only on the hands, but this definitely needs to stop.
3. He has absolutely zero interest in toys. I've tried squeeky tennis balls, tug ropes, the toys with a water bottle inside. Heck he barely had interest in a meat bone until I held onto it for him to chew. Do you think he never had toys and doesn't know how to play with them?

And the different:
1. He will only eat if I hand feed him now. He ate in his crate perfectly fine the first night. Didn't eat the following morning, and ate fine the next couple days eating parts of his meals out of a kong in the crate. But the past 2 days he just walks away from the bowl unless I hand feed him. Is there anything to this?
2. We're still in the "two week shutdown" period and during his inside, out of kennel time he will often go lay down at the end of the hall out of site. Is he trying to get away from me or am I reading in to it to much?

Overall I've only had him for 6 days so I'm not expecting rin tin tin obviously. I guess I just want reassurance that I'm not on the fast track to screwing up this boy. Right now we're doing NILIF, although not sure how diligent the roommates are on that. Currently in the middle of doing a shutdown with him, we go out every 2 hours or so and we run around since he has zero interest in toys, and I work on leash manners with him since he pulls like a t-rex. The only other thing I can think to mention is an incident with the landlord where he mouthed his ankles as he was walking around the house. Sorry for the long post, I haven't had a GSD since I was a kid and I really want the best for this guy!
 
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#2 ·
#3 ·
Grats on yer boy. Any pictures yet? Some dogs just aren't into toys; some doegs will start playing with them after they see other do so (sort of an "I don't want it but I don't want you to have it" thing) some just get more playful as they get comfortable. The fact that he is already reducing jumping shows you're handling that they right way.

Jelpy
 
#4 ·
going to lay down at the door is probably just from the idea that he is more comfortable outside than in. (It may take a while).
Why does him holding your hand (with his mouth) "got to stop."? If you think it must -- You could ask for an alternative behavior - perhaps offer to hold one end of the tug and him the other when he does this. That way if he wants to hold hands, he can go get the tug for you.
 
#5 ·
I'm not seeing a problem with him eating from your hand, right now. USE THAT! Make him work for his food through obedience.

IMO, he's probably mouthing your hand from habit and to get attention. Get your hands in the air when he does that and walk away not saying a word. he will learn that doing that gets him the opposite quickly.

Jumping - teach him an incompatible behavior like sitting.

I don't see any red flags in your posts and sounds like you are doing everything right. :) just give him a little while to settle in.
 
#18 ·
IMO, he's probably mouthing your hand from habit and to get attention. Get your hands in the air when he does that and walk away not saying a word. he will learn that doing that gets him the opposite quickly.

Jumping - teach him an incompatible behavior like sitting.

I don't see any red flags in your posts and sounds like you are doing everything right. :) just give him a little while to settle in.
Yep 7 years and Rocky still likes to do that. If I give him the chance not an issue with me. Depends on the dog. :)
 
#8 ·
Ok so quick update and a little more info. Most important, a friend of mine came over while we were in the back yard and duke walked up to him, sniffed then started growling and lunging and barking, I barely got a hold of his collar. I realize this is probably my fault for not doing a proper introduction. So I put him in his kennel and gave him a kong to chill out for awhile. After about 20 min if my friend even gets up off the couch he starts growling and barking. I even put a blanket over the kennel to help calm him down more but he's still growling and barking every once in awhile. What should I do as far as introducing him to strangers? Does he need to stay crated for now if a new person comes over so he can see they're not a threat?
 
#9 ·
I would avoid expecting him to interact with strangers until he has acclimated to his new home, you've gotten to know him better and he has bonded to you. Right now he is extremely stressed, completely out of his element and away from anything he finds comfortable and familiar, and doesn't yet have enough of a relationship with you to trust you and follow your lead when it comes to how to interact with visitors. You've had him 6 days. That is no where near enough time yet for him to adjust and bond, or for his true personality to really surface. Depending on his temperament and past experience it might take 6 weeks. It might take 6 months. Until he's fully adjusted and bonded to you and the two of you have a strong relationship and one where he will cue off you on how to react, avoid situations that could be problematic.
 
#10 ·
It takes some dogs a while to settle and their true nature to show. Whatever you see the first 3 weeks are likely not it or not all of it. Once a dog settles they normally become more playful if they aren't already, this includes becoming more food and toy motivated and possibly more aggressive as well (ie. territorial usually comes later). Having a dog to show him will help him if you have friends with good stable dogs that he can learn from. I think one month is usually a good time when you will see more of himself come through.

Unless the dog is underweight I wouldn't fuss too much about his eating habits. Not sure if it has to be with the kind of food you're feeding too.

Initially I'd suggest to make the dog comfortable and feeling safe. I wouldn't expect too much more than that nor assume how he's like the first couple days is how he really is... just watch all his actions carefully for the first few months even if you think he's ok around dogs/kids/people right now. It's too early to tell anything from just 6 days.

Just some thoughts based on my fostering experience.
 
#11 ·
Thanks for all the helpful information and reassurance guys. It really has helped ease my mind that the best thing to do is stick with our routine and let him come around on his own terms. Right now we're working on a sit stay before coming out of the crate, and going outside. He's not a charger but I figure it's good practice for when we do them in a more distracting environment. Occasionally when he's laying down inside he'll let out a big ol groan, is he bored or are GSD just more vocal dogs? I want to take him to get neutered as well, should I wait a little while longer until he's settled to do that or is that something I can do now? Here's a couple pictures of him, I have more on my phone that I'll upload soon.
 

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#12 ·
Here's a couple more pictures of the big goofball. He rolls on his back in front of one of my roommates all the time since he knows it will get him pets. I think he has my roommate trained at this point :rolleyes: The picture of him on his back is him being a butthead and deciding he didn't feel like going in his crate. I'm thinking of getting a flirt pole to see if he has interest in it since our exercise regime is lacking, and he could care less about any toys. Sorry if I'm rambling about random stuff, I just love this boy :) and am happy to be a part of the GSD crowd.
 

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#14 ·
Good it is you who rescued him! He seems like a sweet guy. Also, since I am dealing with dog reactivity, you are lucky that you don't have to deal with it :). Do make sure to not let him meet any dogs while you are walking him so he gets in the habit of ignoring them. Good luck with him!!


My take on the hand mouthing thing with our dog is its his way of trying to lead me somewhere. Usually its a toy stuck under a couch or a table or put away on a counter. Since they don't have hands they try to grab our attention with their mouth. I usually just say 'what is it?" and he walks to where he wants my help.

Ofcourse I don't know if this is the situation with your dog, but just throwing it out there. Perhaps yours just wants affection.
 
#15 ·
Just want to say thank you for helping him and for caring that you do the right things for him. Welcome to the board.

Oh, and nutrition is VERY important, please feed him a high quality food. It makes SO much difference.
 
#16 ·
Thanks for the warm welcome and all the support guys! Yeah I made sure to get him on a good quality diet since he had been eating some crappy farm supply food. I've got him on TOTW right now, which I'm mixing with a locally made natural raw meat dog food. This has finally gotten him to start eating on his own :) As far as the mouthing goes, I think it's almost like hand holding. It's like he has to have his mouth on my hand if I'm walking somewhere. I also got a glimpse of his crazy puppy playfulness finally. He picked up an apple core in the house and started tossing it to himself. This promptly caused him to start running around the house at full speed chasing the apple as we kicked it around :crazy:. I don't know how many of you have hardwood floors, but a whacked out 100 lb "puppy" rampaging around the house = free moving service.
 
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