[Kelly Knight]

Hi everyone!
We got a pure bred German Shepherd 4 weeks ago. She's nearly 11 weeks old. Has been pretty good in the way of sleeping, but is a barker and a biter. We have been doing all the right things, restricting food and water close to bedtime, keeping her active and stimulated, slowing down towards bed time and at night she goes into the laundry with our other 8 year old lab x staffy (who is very calm). We haven't had any drama, she tends to sleep from around 10pm until 6-7am at which point she cries. The second I bring her out of the laundry she is full on and barks constantly at our other dog (to play I would assume).

The last couple of nights when we've put her to bed she doesn't stop crying. We have gone in and tried to calm her but she goes next level feral, barking and biting. Took her into our room and she barks at everything, barks at the other dog, barks at me, barks at not being able to get on the bed, everything. I put a toy in her mouth to make her quiet, and then she wants to rip my arm off.

We are struggling with the fact she is so noisy at times when people are trying to sleep (we have a housemate and neighbours who apparently can hear!). Running out of patience ...

On another note, whenever we walk her, she cries the entire time. Scared, tired, cold, I don't know but it gets to the point that she claws at my legs to pick her up.

Help!

 

[MineAreWorkingline]

You have a three year old on your hands. Tell me she is crated at night and not left unsupervised with an adult dog.

 

[Jchrest]

So which part of the typical land shark behavior are you having issues with?

The crying part? Yeah, that’s because puppies have to relearn a whole new world that no longer has their mother or siblings. I’d probably cry too.

The biting? Imagine a human baby. How do they start learning about their environment? By putting everything in their mouths. Puppies don’t have hands, so they can’t pick things up to put in their mouths, so they can only use their mouths. German Shepherds are notorious for the behavior you are speaking of. That’s why the are called land sharks.

Is the puppy crated? If not, you are setting both dogs up for failure. The puppies teeth are sharp as razors, and can easily puncture your senior, causing her to snap at your pup, with a not so great ending. Even if that never happens, why torture your senior with a puppy that wants to go go go. A senior deserves space and rest.

The barking? That’s how they communicate. And if she’s barking at night, she either needs to go potty, or she isn’t feeling comfortable in her environment. If she left loose in the room with the senior, that could be a good reason.

I would recommend doing a lot of research on GSD puppies, and their normal behavior. Nothing you’ve explained seems to be out of the ordinary.

If she’s crying during a walk, are you dragging her? Or is she walking beside you? What are the temps in your area when you are walking her? She’s not crying because she likes to hear herself, she’s crying to communicate something to you.

Biting? Yep, get used to it. It is not abnormal for the breed at all. Have lots and lots of toys available, and when she gets bitey, redirect her with a toy, and give her verbal praise when she stops biting you and starts biting the toy.

What kind of training are you doing with her? Training is a great mental stimulater, and helps with the zoomies (running crazy circles everywhere like a nut job), and with that bitey part as well. A well stimulated and tired pup is a lot less motivated to bite.

If you don’t have a crate, buy one ASAP. Put the crate beside your bed at night. That often curtails the whining and barking at night, unless she needs a potty break. Some people put the crate on their beds if the whining and barking is still an issue, and slowly work towards getting it on the floor.

I have 3, a 9yr old, a 2yr old, and a 4 month old. They get limited time together, and that time is usually them all just napping near each other because I’ve tired them all out.

I train and work the two younger ones individually, it’s important that she gets one on one time with you. My senior gets less work and training, and more loves and cuddles because she doesn’t need as much stimulation.

Good luck, and enjoy your new lank shark puppy!

 

[tc68]

Ditto on the crates. IMO, they're life savers. Get her used to one now. Some day you may need to keep her at the vet's overnight or travel with her or you may have guests over your house and they don't like dogs or any number of reasons. Teaching your pup that a crate is "relax" time can help solve a lot of your problems. My dog will go into his crate by himself and take naps in there. It's his "safe and quiet" place. The only time I close the door to the crate is when I leave the house.

You said, "keeping her active and stimulated, slowing down towards bed time..." How much do you do? Are you doing too little? I used to hear this saying a lot: "a tired dog is well behaved dog." Get what that means? If your puppy sleeps all day, it's going to be wired at night when you're ready to sleep. You've got to drain some of that energy, but the key is...don't overdo it. Training is one way to drain the energy. Playing. Walks. (Btw, be careful of walks and meeting other dogs, if your pup hasn't gotten all her shots yet.)

Also, your pup is still learning how to behave in your household. There's bound to be some "bad" behaviors like the barking. Maybe apologize and explain to your housemate and neighbors and take them out to dinner or buy them a "peace offering" gift. If they're reasonable people, they will understand and deal with it until you get it together. Do your best to placate them otherwise this situation could be a lot worse and stressful for you.

Last thing...don't give into your puppy's tantrums. You're just setting yourself up for problems to continue or to get worse. She'll learn that throwing a tantrum will give her the attention she wants.

 

[LRP]

Not even sure you should be walking an 11 week old puppy this soon. She cant be fully vaccinated and they don't need much exercise at this age.

You should never leave a puppy alone with an adult dog. You should be crating the puppy anytime you can not be there to watch it 100%. Until the puppy is used to the crate, she is going to cry. That is normal and just like a baby, you need to leave her alone to cry and get used to it. Just make sure she has peed and is safe.

It doesn't seem like you did much research on the breed, I would suggest reading up - ALOT - on German Shepherds, especially on the puppy stage so you know what you are in for. She will be like this for a while.

 

[car2ner]

For housebreaking / potty training, I used a timer with both pups. I took them out regardless of it they needed to or not every 15 minutes even if they were sleeping. Then 30 minutes, then an hour at a time. So worth it.

A toy by itself us boring. A toy that you play with together is excellent. I suggest you watch some videos about the power of playing with pups (leerburg or the collared scholar are the 2 I usually recommend)

you've gotten some good advice already, this is just me extra 2 cents.

 

[Frisco19]

RE biting, my pup will be 11 weeks tomorrow. He goes through portions of the day when he is relentless at biting. It's all playful for them even though sometimes they growl. Just keep feeding them toys and when they nip at your feet, hands, arms etc., say no and stick a toy in their mouth. Be patient, it will stop and yes it is frustrating! You just want to pat them for god sakes!

 

[LuvShepherds]

Put a large crate in your bedroom next to your bed. If you don’t have room make room. Put the puppy in the crate at night and leave her there until you decide to wake up in the morning. Unless she has pee, she stays in the crate until you get up. My dogs never cry or whine at night because I am right there with them.