I am a brand new GSD puppy “mom” and hope this is the online new puppy forum or “support group” where I can ask questions and get feedback?
In preparation for this dog I have purchased many Leerburg videos and watched all of them multiple times – Pack Structure, Raising a Problem Solving Puppy, Power of Training with Food, Marker Training, Raising a Working Puppy and several others. But watching expert trainers do their thing is a lot easier than actually doing it myself and does not look anything like my training sessions. Additionally I have read several books including Monks of New Skete, The Everything German Shepherd Book and The German Shepherd Puppy Month by Month. I have watched countless YouTube training videos. I thought I was prepared but now that puppy is home I don’t feel adequately prepared at all.
This pup has been with me for about 3 days and is about 7 ½ weeks old and has not gone through all his vaccinations. My vet has advised me not to get him involved with dog classes for another month but I really want to get him off to a good start so I’m reaching out to all of you who have GSDs for help.
I’m trying to determine an optimal schedule. He is not house trained so if I don’t watch him every second we will have potty accidents. His schedule has been in crate for a couple hours then a potty break and drink. Sometimes after a potty break I will let him hang in the kitchen ex-pen for a couple hours before another potty break. Then back into the crate. He settles down and is quiet in the crate for the most part. Then a couple times a day I have been taking him for short walks up and down our road (probably less than a quarter mile in total) or around the yard . Also I have been doing little short training sessions that are nothing more than: his name – reward, his name – reward … , the first steps in charging marks and trying to get him to attend to me followed by reward.
He is, of course, crated at night beside my bed and we’re up several times in the night for potty breaks and then back to bed. I have been trying to do a little bit of training before breakfast when he is hungry and before dinner.
During our walks he was doing pretty well but today when I tried our walk he was pretty uncooperative so I picked him up and put him back into the crate. Is this to be expected? I think I was expecting a puppy to be more willing and eager to get going. Are we on the right track? He is the most indifferent puppy I have ever had in terms of paying attention to me. Is this a German Shepherd thing?
Also we have had a few short play times of tug and general interactions with me sitting on the floor of his ex-pen.
Also I have a zillion questions (1) how soon can I expect him to begin learning his name? (2) How soon should he begin attending to me when I do things to get his attention? (3) What are realistic age appropriate expectations? (4) How do I know if the amount of time he spends with me vs time spent in his crate is the correct balance? (5) If one thing in training doesn’t seem to be working, what are some reasons why not and what might I do differently? (6) Am I setting criteria too high or too low? (7) How long does it take to begin building a relationship with a GSD puppy? (8) ARRRRHG the biting is horrendous!
Am I in the right place here??
In preparation for this dog I have purchased many Leerburg videos and watched all of them multiple times – Pack Structure, Raising a Problem Solving Puppy, Power of Training with Food, Marker Training, Raising a Working Puppy and several others. But watching expert trainers do their thing is a lot easier than actually doing it myself and does not look anything like my training sessions. Additionally I have read several books including Monks of New Skete, The Everything German Shepherd Book and The German Shepherd Puppy Month by Month. I have watched countless YouTube training videos. I thought I was prepared but now that puppy is home I don’t feel adequately prepared at all.
This pup has been with me for about 3 days and is about 7 ½ weeks old and has not gone through all his vaccinations. My vet has advised me not to get him involved with dog classes for another month but I really want to get him off to a good start so I’m reaching out to all of you who have GSDs for help.
I’m trying to determine an optimal schedule. He is not house trained so if I don’t watch him every second we will have potty accidents. His schedule has been in crate for a couple hours then a potty break and drink. Sometimes after a potty break I will let him hang in the kitchen ex-pen for a couple hours before another potty break. Then back into the crate. He settles down and is quiet in the crate for the most part. Then a couple times a day I have been taking him for short walks up and down our road (probably less than a quarter mile in total) or around the yard . Also I have been doing little short training sessions that are nothing more than: his name – reward, his name – reward … , the first steps in charging marks and trying to get him to attend to me followed by reward.
He is, of course, crated at night beside my bed and we’re up several times in the night for potty breaks and then back to bed. I have been trying to do a little bit of training before breakfast when he is hungry and before dinner.
During our walks he was doing pretty well but today when I tried our walk he was pretty uncooperative so I picked him up and put him back into the crate. Is this to be expected? I think I was expecting a puppy to be more willing and eager to get going. Are we on the right track? He is the most indifferent puppy I have ever had in terms of paying attention to me. Is this a German Shepherd thing?
Also we have had a few short play times of tug and general interactions with me sitting on the floor of his ex-pen.
Also I have a zillion questions (1) how soon can I expect him to begin learning his name? (2) How soon should he begin attending to me when I do things to get his attention? (3) What are realistic age appropriate expectations? (4) How do I know if the amount of time he spends with me vs time spent in his crate is the correct balance? (5) If one thing in training doesn’t seem to be working, what are some reasons why not and what might I do differently? (6) Am I setting criteria too high or too low? (7) How long does it take to begin building a relationship with a GSD puppy? (8) ARRRRHG the biting is horrendous!
Am I in the right place here??