New member and GSD owner
 

Hi there! Just wanted to introduce ourselves :) My name is Robin and my little girl is Soto. We named her after Victoria Soto (the teacher who hid her children in the connecticut school shooting to protect them). We felt that name was fitting as she was a protector of her children and we wanted our little girl to protect ours. Soto just turned 11 weeks old on Friday. I was hoping to ask a few questions regarding her behavior and see if this is normal or not. :confused:

First, I must say we couldn't have gotten a more loving dog. She has the sweetest temperament and is very devoted. Just wants to be next to us every minute. Her ears came up at 10.5 weeks but within days, ended up floppy again. One is up and the other now is laying down. I think i've heard that this is normal. The other thing is that she puts her ears back ALOT. Like cowardly back. I'm hoping that is not a sign of submissiveness. We have had a couple bad experiences in the past with 2 Golden Retrievers who ended up very submissive :(

Also, man.. is she a whiner. She whines all the time. When I take her in the car , she is a big scaredy cat and whines through the whole ride while trying to get into my lap while i'm driving. When we got home this morning after going just down the road to drop off kids at school. I carried her from the car and put her on the floor in the garage so she could walk into the house and once inside she started whining. I'm praying this is just normal puppy behavior for now. I always thought German Shepherds where suppose to be on the more brave side and protectors. lol

We did buy her from a reputable breeder who raise family dogs not champion, police type or Schutzen (sp?) type dogs. She is huge already and the previous litter had all their females at over 100lbs at 9 mo's. So she will never be more than a house, family dog which is fine. I'm guessing I'm just nervous that we may end up with a submissive big scaredy cat. lol.

It's great to be part of this forum and I have enjoyed looking at all the pics of your beautiful dogs. Any advice you can give from experience would be so wonderful.

Thanks so much!!! :hug:
Robin & Soto[IMG]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8097/8...b3e8efe6_z.jpg
DSC_4583 by bishrl, on Flickr[/IMG]
Soto at around 9 weeks

She's darling!
Ears go up and down, flop over, lean.........its all common at her age.

Odin was quite the whiner too when he was small and puked every time we got in the car. He doesnt whine anymore, but GSD's are normally very vocal, especially pups. Mine have a lot to say most of the time. I usually just agree. ;-)

Awe. thank you. We love her to death. She absolutely loves hugs!!! When i took her to the vet for her check up and shots, the first thing she said to me was that she was very vocal. lol

Here is a picture I just took of her today : )
[IMG]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8331/8...3c89dbb7_z.jpg
DSC_4796 by bishrl, on Flickr[/IMG]

Hello Robin, welcome to you and to your beautiul little girl Soto. She is still very much a baby at 11 wks and everything is new and scary to her, as she ages she will grow out of most of that as she matures. Yes they are very vocal, try not to overwhelm her with new things or force her into situations that make her feel insecure. Make all things as positive for her as you can. Good luck.:welcome:

Until I seen these pics I have never seen a pup look exactly like my GSD. Something is always different. This pup looks identical to my dog when he was that age. Beautiful markings. I will say there will come a day in the next couple months its ears look to big for its body but that dont last long lol. Congrats on the beautiful pup. If you ever question what it will look like grown up I have several pics at different ages.

I love the name, and love where you got it from, I almost got a tear in my eye... She is a beautiful girl! My 10 week old pup whines when in the car unless I put her on the floor then she seems to be fine... and she is generally VERY vocal as most GSD's are!

Thank you so much for the warm welcome and advice. She is such a lover and we want to make sure we are doing everything right. :hug:

Thank you so much for the post. I always try to find dogs that look like mine and have searched high and low for progression photo's online to see what she may look like as an adult :) I'm so happy to read this. I would love to see some photo's when you have time to post.

Blessings!!

Awe thank you so much :hug: