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1K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  Daisy&Lucky's Mom 
#1 ·
So we adopted a pup almost a month ago. She's 8 months old now (as of the 23rd). From what we are told, her prior seven months were in the backyard primarily. She's also not fixed. Behavior wise, she's been pretty quick to pick stuff up and has been amazing indoors. But what are the things medically I should be concerned with? We asked the prior owners for info but it's been lacking so far. The only info I am offered is the parents are both 'large'. There are supposedly papers but I've yet to see them. Just looking for advice on what to do at this point. We had to do the basic shots even...


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#2 ·
What a beautiful expression!

If she's been in for a vet visit, has had a fecal test (stool sample), appropriate vaccines, and is on heartworm/flea/tick preventative as appropriate, you're probably on the right path. :) Some preventative care varies based on where you are, geographically - some insects, parasites and diseases are more prevalent in some areas than others.

Feed her a quality food and do fun training games. Eight months old is still very much a puppy - there are lots of good threads on this forum for age-appropriate exercise.
 
#8 ·
Thank you! Yes, we've had the bulk of that done and she has a clean bill of health. I am looking into the rattlesnake vaccine as we live in Southern California and our yard is adjacent to a big canyon with lots of wildlife (coyotes, bobcats, etc.) and rattlesnakes could always be an issue. As far as your typical GSD health problems, without parent info, is there any type of preventative care I should be looking into?

Yes, she's definitely still very much a puppy, just with a big body. Lol She's about 70 pounds at the moment.


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#7 · (Edited)
Very sweet looking dog. You are both lucky. She must have settled in with you by now. This is a good time to see if she is social can handle a basic obedience class. Since she was raised in a back yard you may ask a trainer for an evaluation to see if she is ready for a group class. Also check out the methods they use.
I would not get her fixed yet as she is close to her first heat, which is not a good time for this surgery. After that you can always decide when or if you spay her. There is plenty of info here on this forum on that.
Good luck with your beauty.
 
#9 ·
Thank you so much, definitely feeling lucky so far. She has progressed by leaps and bounds in the home life, has yet to have any accidents & sleeps through the night in her crate which is in our bedroom. We've got a 20 pound cat that we have slowly introduced. She gets overly excited sometimes with puppy bows and stomps but it's been good, by and large. The cat is not a runner and will stand its ground, which is probably a good thing in my estimation.

She loves car rides and goes nuts if you pick up a set of keys. We have introduced her to a few friends' and family's dogs with good results but no dog parks or anything like that. My mom has two senior terriers who she gets along with very well. That's a good idea though as far as getting an eval first to see if the trainer feels she could handle a group class.

We're leaning towards waiting to spay until she's at least full grown. I've never had an intact female before... are there issues I should be aware of as far as socializing as well as her behavior and needs during heat?

Thanks for your input!


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