Need some advice ! Please help!

[Lilyedithanguiano]

My boyfriend and I have an awesome 12 week old gsd female puppy. So far she's been amazing the potty training has been going great and she's been a very calm puppy. Only problem I have is that anytime he comes home from work he will make her super hyper and then 5 minutes later he'll stop playing with her and just let her run loose in the house. My biggest problem is that he lets her run loose and I'm really strict about supervising her because just like children , puppies don't know any better yet. To top it off she's gone into the habit of running around in circles and from my knowledge that's just my puppy displaying boredom especially if she starts finding stuff to chew and bite. He thinks I'm being over exaggerated with everything. To top it off he started getting her into the habit of jumping on couches and to make matters worse I'm no more but a few days away from my due date. I need help explaining to him that there needs to be ground rules and that just because she's a dog doesn't mean she gets free run. It will only make it easier on him when I'm gone for a day because its already been established by my puppy that I'm pack leader. Thanks for the feed back and reading my pregnant rant


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[KZoppa]

Sounds like you need to send the boyfriend to puppy school. Obviously YOU know there needs to be rules and boundaries. The problem is getting him to see it. My husband learned really fast there needed to be rules and boundaries after my first female GSD went after him. We adopted her and he decided that instead of staying home and letting her get to know him, he needed to go fishing instead. When he came back home and tried to come in the house, she went after him. He decided to listen to the trainer after that. I wish you luck. You're going to have your hands full. It can be done but your boyfriend needs to be on the same page.

[Mrs.P]

Maybe if you sit down together and type up a list of "rules" so you guys can be on the same page? My husband and I did that prior to getting our pup as sort of an emergency/pet-sitter guide and we have it on our fridge now. It has really helped my brother who is visiting us for a month and home alone with our pup while we're at work.

Also perhaps reminding him that as a 20lb pup its cute now but may not be so cute when shes 70lbs and you have toddler in the home. Good luck!

[harmony]

I mean this in no mean way but tell him to grow up if you are having a baby soon, that is the last thing you need a dog acting like that when you are doing better, and they (the other person) don't know how. Last thing you want is a dog jumping on a newborn.
I have a very high working dog and no couch for him, the kids can run and play, scream and the cat can run, but we have rules and I mean we have rules and so do you with a newborn

[Lilyedithanguiano]

Oh my god! I glad others don't think I'm being exaggerated ! Lol it does seem like I have to take him to some dog classes! And like I always explain to everyone who sees her she's small but she's big! And from the looks of it , it seems like I will have to drag him to obedience classes with me because he never seems to believe me! I'm at least grateful my brother was able to teach her to sit and I was able to teach her stay,but if worse comes to worst I will have to spray the house with vinegar so she doesn't get in the areas I don't want her to get into. And I do agree on the phrase don't let your puppy do what you wouldn't want her to do as an adult dog. 70lbs of dog is definitely a handful! Since you guys are more experienced in this than I am. How can you tell who the pack leader is ?


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[Lilyedithanguiano]

Harmony you definitely aren't being mean in any way! As a mother we are protective of our little ones. And as much as I love my Ivy, if no ground rules are set then she might need a new home until my boyfriend grows up. I already knew my hands were full when I accepted the idea of having a puppy and a newborn together. But I'm more than willing to handle it especially since I have my brothers to help me with her. What I loved about ivy was when I went to go purchase her from her breeder, she was very playful yet calm. And she still is when It's me around. But bring on the boyfriend,my son,and his nephews and poor thing gets all hyper and sometimes I don't think she's actually enjoying it. She gets to the point where she scratches the room door to go in her crate. :/


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[KZoppa]

Its not about being a pack leader. Its about a mutual respect between you and the dog. It has to be earned. Since you're raising a pup and soon a newborn child, just with training and boundaries, your pup will look up to you. The thing about this breed is they learn very quickly from a young age who will enforce the rules and who wont. Its definitely a heck of a lot easier to manage a 15 lb puppy and teach them the rules and obedience than it is to handle a rowdy 60+lb puppy/adult who has been taught its okay to be mouthy and obnoxious.

Zena was 4 or 5 years old when I adopted her and she had ZERO training. She wasn't even housetrained. She's a 90lb tank with fur. I did all of her training and handling. My husband just sat back and pretty much didn't do anything with her. She still has zero respect for him. With him she growls and becomes the biggest drama queen you've ever seen. She doesn't pull that nonsense with me. If your boyfriend doesnt get on the same page with the rules and boundaries, he'll be the one having the harder time later down the road when he does realize that his actions caused the problem. It's also going to put a great deal of stress on both you raising a newborn and a puppy who doesnt have clear boundaries. An unruly puppy is only cute for so long and then that unruly puppy turns into a big dog that can seriously hurt people.

Drag that boy to obedience classes. Drag him into shelters and explain to him that 90% of the dogs in that shelter are owner surrenders because somebody got them as a cute puppy and didnt set boundaries and when the dog got bigger and more rowdy, they were dumped. Rescues take in tons of dogs every year with behavior problems because nobody took the time necessary to train them before there was a problem.

[KZoppa]

Originally Posted by Lilyedithanguiano

Harmony you definitely aren't being mean in any way! As a mother we are protective of our little ones. And as much as I love my Ivy, if no ground rules are set then she might need a new home until my boyfriend grows up. I already knew my hands were full when I accepted the idea of having a puppy and a newborn together. But I'm more than willing to handle it especially since I have my brothers to help me with her. What I loved about ivy was when I went to go purchase her from her breeder, she was very playful yet calm. And she still is when It's me around. But bring on the boyfriend,my son,and his nephews and poor thing gets all hyper and sometimes I don't think she's actually enjoying it. She gets to the point where she scratches the room door to go in her crate. :/


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perhaps, if you have to rehome her, send her back to breeder (if the breeder is responsible and will accept the dog back without euthanizing). Breeders usually have a stipulation in the contract stating they have first right of refusal if the dog needs to be rehomed for any reason.

If it boils down to a rowdy people around the boys, tether your puppy to you or crate her. Limit her interaction with those who encourage her to be crazy. If they can't play nice, they don't get to play.

[Lilyedithanguiano]

Sounds to me like these men dont know any better lolI love your point. You're absolutely right. It's all cute and fun until they get older. This breed is smart. She learns so fast and keeps a watch on everyone. And yes I will drag him to obedience classes and I wish there were some common sense classes as well. As of now she does listen to me and I have noticed things like she gets really mouthy with him when they play. I love playing with her but she never bites and when she tries a simple no and me not playing with her afterwards seems o work will. With him she will continue to do it without stopping. If it continues after baby is born than I guess someone is going to carry baby around her! I'm happy to hear you adopted! That was my original plan as well but when we went to the pound I was very sad and disappointed to see gsd and other bigger breeds brought back for aggressive behaviors :/ it makes so mad knowing how stupid people can be and how those poor dogs suffer at the wrong hands. If I wasn't so ahead in my pregnancy I wouldn't had mind trying to adopt a bigger dog but it would've been to much work to convert a guard dog into a family dog in such short time.


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[Lilyedithanguiano]

Originally Posted by KZoppa

perhaps, if you have to rehome her, send her back to breeder (if the breeder is responsible and will accept the dog back without euthanizing). Breeders usually have a stipulation in the contract stating they have first right of refusal if the dog needs to be rehomed for any reason.

If it boils down to a rowdy people around the boys, tether your puppy to you or crate her. Limit her interaction with those who encourage her to be crazy. If they can't play nice, they don't get to play.

I know :/ if that's the last resort . I rather take her out to visit my mom or walk in the park than leave her at the hands of rowdy boys. They just don't seem to remember that she is growing quickly and a rowdy adult is dangerous...


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