Im not a new dog or puppy parent. I've had many different breeds throughout my life. My 84 lb pitbull recently passed away which prompted me to buy a puppy. I' thought if I could train my pit to be the wonderful dog he was that everyone loved, I can handle a GSD. NOPE! nothing prepared me for my new German Shepard puppy! Oh my gosh he is a handful! He is the most hyper and willful pup I've ever seen. Maybe too much alpha for me? I work from home so there is not shortage of interaction. His last parvo shot is in a few days and I can't wait to take him out of the house for long walks. What concerns me is when I did take him out to the front yard briefly last week twice on the leash, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to handle him for walks. He's already 40lbs and pulls wildly like he's chasing a cat! He will choke himself by pulling which doesn't stop him in the slightest. I have been working with him in my home on a leash for about 4 weeks. He does okay if I have treats and he doesn't spot something he wants to rip up. Then he's pulling like crazy! Training at home goes well as long as I offer constant treats to the point that his BM's are always like soft serve ice cream. If I don't have a treat in my hand he absolutely will not listen to me. He knows sit, drop it, leave it and come, but without a treat he will completely ignore me every time. Is this normal for his age?
A really big issues is that he constantly bites me and my teenage sons when he's not chewing a toy or sleeping... to the degree that my sons really don't want anything to do with the pup anymore. I don't blame them since his bites hurt like ****, especially when he gets you on the back, inner thighs, ankles, calves etc. our hands and arms are all cut from him but at least those body parts aren't as sensitive... I have spent a lot of money on toys but after a couple days he's bored with them. We can't sit down on the couch to watch tv anymore EVER due to him biting at us, trying to jump up on the couch, growling, barking and lunging at us or terrorizing my 2 small female dogs by doing the same behaviors I just mentioned above. He's very happy with his bully stick for about 15 min and that's been a God send! My 2 other dogs have tried to put him in check and they do growl and nip at him when he wont stop pestering them which has zero effect on him. I have to literally separate them, offer him a bully stick or crate him briefly. It's just strange to me that I've had him since he was 8 weeks and now he's 14 weeks and doesn't listen to us whatsoever and the biting hasn't improved at all. The moment he wakes up from a nap it's like he's constantly on the go to chomp, rip up, destroy, pester anything in his path till he goes down for the next nap. I have read this is just a phase but until he calms down, any advice would be greatly appreciated. He will be starting puppy classes in about 3 weeks. 3rd parvo shot in 2 days. Had a trainer out to my home once. I will be enrolling him in agility for sure when he's a little older. Anything else I'm missing?
A really big issues is that he constantly bites me and my teenage sons when he's not chewing a toy or sleeping... to the degree that my sons really don't want anything to do with the pup anymore. I don't blame them since his bites hurt like ****, especially when he gets you on the back, inner thighs, ankles, calves etc. our hands and arms are all cut from him but at least those body parts aren't as sensitive... I have spent a lot of money on toys but after a couple days he's bored with them. We can't sit down on the couch to watch tv anymore EVER due to him biting at us, trying to jump up on the couch, growling, barking and lunging at us or terrorizing my 2 small female dogs by doing the same behaviors I just mentioned above. He's very happy with his bully stick for about 15 min and that's been a God send! My 2 other dogs have tried to put him in check and they do growl and nip at him when he wont stop pestering them which has zero effect on him. I have to literally separate them, offer him a bully stick or crate him briefly. It's just strange to me that I've had him since he was 8 weeks and now he's 14 weeks and doesn't listen to us whatsoever and the biting hasn't improved at all. The moment he wakes up from a nap it's like he's constantly on the go to chomp, rip up, destroy, pester anything in his path till he goes down for the next nap. I have read this is just a phase but until he calms down, any advice would be greatly appreciated. He will be starting puppy classes in about 3 weeks. 3rd parvo shot in 2 days. Had a trainer out to my home once. I will be enrolling him in agility for sure when he's a little older. Anything else I'm missing?