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puppy questions.

2K views 10 replies 10 participants last post by  dogfaeries 
#1 ·
ive had my german shepherd for about a week now, hes 8 weeks old today, hes very intelligent, but im having trouble keeping his attention. I have an Italian Greyhound who is very high strung and wants to play for hours, to the point where she wont leave him alone most of the time, and unfortunately due to her breed she is too fast for me to catch her to get her to stop. My problem is with trying to train him and keep his attention, whenever my other dog is around he can't keep his attention on me for very long, and im worried that she is going to "ruin" him in a way. or make him "bad" does anyone have any tips for me? please help!
 
#3 ·
Hi. I have a 10 week old GSD pup and a 6 year old Goldendoodle. I do some training with the two of them together, but, the majority of the time I separate them for any formal training I do.

Do you have a gated area where you could do training with just one dog at a time? Are they crate trained? You could crate one while training the other.

My puppy is also learning a lot from my older dog, but, sit, stay, come, etc, I have taught him with no one else present.

Good luck with the new puppy!
Lorraine
 
#4 ·
Why do you have to catch your greyhound? Can't you call her to you and put her in a crate?

If you try to train a baby puppy like this around a major distraction like a dog that wants to play and is bouncing around and running, then you are climbing a waterfall. Cut that out, or YOU might ruin your dog. Don't blame the other dog.

You are going to have to outwit your dogs. We are in deep doo doo if we have to physically catch them or physically force them to obey. The dogs have us out tooled, on the one, and the other, well, who wants a dog who obeys them out of fear? Humans are better than dogs at planning and thinking and motivating. Play to your strengths. Don't climb waterfalls.
 
#5 ·
Their attention span is short at this stage. There are so many things that's new to them. I wouldn't focus on one object if I am him. I would focus on early socialization then training (search this board for socialization). Over the next month or two, you will slowly discover what gets her attention. Some dogs are more food driven and some are more play or prey driven. You will have to adjust to his preference to get his attention. Give him some time too... you are only with him 1 week.
 
#7 ·
Separate the two dogs when you are working on obedience or any type of training. Set up your puppy to succeed by not expecting too much too soon - and expecting focus at this age with the other dog there as a draw and a distraction is expecting too much.

As long as you are separating them, take some time to work on obedience with your Greyhound too! Having an untrained dog around will undo the training you do with your pup, as the Greyhound will be a bad example.

I would say that your puppy is getting too caught up with your other dog, and you are running the risk of having him become too doggy - he'll be more bonded to your Greyhound, and you will always struggle to get his attention and to get him to listen. Maybe let them have an hour of play together a day - and they are separated outside of that time, each with a lot of one-on-one time with YOU so you can train them and have them more responsive to your desires.

I like selzer's analogy - climbing a waterfall!
 
#9 ·
Yes. This.

I've had several adult iggies with GSD puppies and iggy puppies with adult Dobes. You have to be vigilant, or you could end up with a broken IG.





 
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