[GSDwetkissies92]

I carefully studied my dog today and I've seen that with me, my husband, and my eldest kids she's okay with albeit the jumping which has lessened considerably. However, with the two younger kids (toddler and the 4 year old and the 10 year old) she's almost obsessed with them. He drives and pulls towards them, he whines when they leave the room.

When I got the dog from the owner, I was told she would only eat or drink water if her bowl had a ball in them, she's thunderstorm phobic, and has separation anxiety to the point where she starts chasing and biting her tail.

Around other dogs, she pulls hard and becomes very very focused on other dogs. I have to body block her constantly and keeping nudhing my knees by her head to get her to keep attention on me. She rarely barks but is on HIGH ALERT. The behavior resembles the same behaviour seen around kids except with the kids, she starts whining.

I know that I could train a puppy GSD or a dog that had not had such a LACK of training/rules, because I did train her to do somethings (give paw, go in crate, sleep under my desk, stand by my bed). However, I think that fixing UNWANTED BEHAVIOURS is HARDER? Am I right? Please give me your thoughts and recommendations or criticisms.

As of today, I have returned the dog to the owner who only adopted her to me as a trial basis to see if we could even handle the dog.

*Guys, I lost access to my email and couldn't do a password reset because I don't remeber that either and this computer saved my user. My new user is GSDwetkissies92.

 

[Zoeys mom]

Honestly all these are normal behaviors you'll see in a puppy as well and have to train out. Dogs get excited around other dogs- they want to smell, check them out, and play- it's normal. Puppies are also highly excitable around kids- they jump on them, nip, whine, chase, and follow them- you have to teach them not to just like an older dog.

Getting a puppy is all about training unwanted behaviors and much harder than working with an older dog who has gleaned some standard of common dog sense. Puppies are more hyper, need more exercise, and require much more time than an adult dog. I would say if you couldn't handle this older dog getting a puppy is probably not the best idea

 

[Jax08]

Please do not get another dog. You had the GSD for less than 24 hours. You had a husky for 4 days. If you aren't willing to put the time in to a dog to train it then you really should stick to goldfish. To be quite honest, I have to wonder if you are for real or if you are just yanking our chain.

 

[JakodaCD OA]

hold the phone here, looking back from previous posts,and if your posts match up with your user name. Are you not the person who first had the husky for 4 days, got rid of him he was to much dog, you then said you weren't going to get another dog "just yet", you go to school, you had a large family, (thought you were one of the kids?? didn't know you were married?)

where did this dog come from? And why after saying you were going to wait, did you run out and get a dog, that lasted a few days, and you've returned this one to?

I would be helpful if you cleared those things up.

 

[GSDwetkissies92]

Honestly all these are normal behaviors you'll see in a puppy as well and have to train out. Dogs get excited around other dogs- they want to smell, check them out, and play- it's normal. Puppies are also highly excitable around kids- they jump on them, nip, whine, chase, and follow them- you have to teach them not to just like an older dog.

Getting a puppy is all about training unwanted behaviors and much harder than working with an older dog who has gleaned some standard of common dog sense. Puppies are more hyper, need more exercise, and require much more time than an adult dog. I would say if you couldn't handle this older dog getting a puppy is probably not the best idea

Yes, but remeber this, the dog had NO SOCIALIZATION with kids. It was a 75 lb full grown 4 year old adult who has had 4 years of lack of training/rules/corrections. She slept with the original owners on their beds, she only ate when they ate (she did not eat until I started eating), if I moved her food outside while she was eating and took her there, she would not eat.

I am not in the mood of getting a dog for a while now, atleast until the toddler is 4 or 5 years old. However, I just feel a puppy that has grown up with our family and has receieved proper socialization and lives according to OUR rules is better than adopting a 4 year old untrained freight train who still jumps on people and has never been around kids.

 

[sagelfn]

If you could not handle the dog or put the work into the dog that was needed then yes you did the right thing by giving the dog back.

Getting a puppy is much more work and who's to say the puppy you get won't develope issues that require the same or more work? I've had my dog since 8wks of age, I train everyday and guess what he still has unwanted behaviors.

I think you should look into adopting an adult dog (not necesarily a GSD) from a reputable rescue or shelter that doesn't have as many issues.

You gave up on this dog in less than 24hrs right?

 

[Jax08]

Where's that troll icon?

 

[GSDwetkissies92]

hold the phone here, looking back from previous posts,and if your posts match up with your user name. Are you not the person who first had the husky for 4 days, got rid of him he was to much dog, you then said you weren't going to get another dog "just yet", you go to school, you had a large family, (thought you were one of the kids?? didn't know you were married?)

where did this dog come from? And why after saying you were going to wait, did you run out and get a dog, that lasted a few days, and you've returned this one to?

I would be helpful if you cleared those things up.

I am that kids's mother and my son told me about this site and tried to explain how a GSD is much more easily trained and from what I have seen, YES THEY ARE. However this dog had very serious obsessive issues. She would not eat at ALL unless people were eating with her, would not eat food unless golf balls were there and if a dog came you can forget about her listening.

My son did want a dog, and the truth is so did I. He's wanted one for pretty much ever since he saw one as a kid and we thought he's old enough to PHYSICALLY handle a dog, especially dogs like the one we just had who pulled and pulled driving nails into the floor, head driving forward and body rigid. My other children tried walking her and one of them fell down because of how hard she pulled. We worked on the pulling and I can't believe how quickly they learn with proper training but with the obsessive behaviour we saw it seemed like an attack waiting to happen.

 

[sagelfn]

too late to edit my post..

Did not konw this was the person with the husky for 4 days too. Don't get a dog for a few years and then when you do get a dog, get an adult with no issues.

 

[GSDwetkissies92]

If you could not handle the dog or put the work into the dog that was needed then yes you did the right thing by giving the dog back.

Getting a puppy is much more work and who's to say the puppy you get won't develope issues that require the same or more work? I've had my dog since 8wks of age, I train everyday and guess what he still has unwanted behaviors.

I think you should look into adopting an adult dog (not necesarily a GSD) from a reputable rescue or shelter that doesn't have as many issues.

You gave up on this dog in less than 24hrs right?

Before I got this dog, I seriously sat down and read through some of the training here and this morning was reading some of the threads in the aggression sub forum and just had a gut feeling like these were signs. You guys know better than I do how these dogs are. I did not want to take a risk with a dog who I have no background history and who knows what else the original owner was hiding from me, because no one rehomes a dog they've kept for 4 years since she was a puppy.

P.S.
When I spoke with the owner, they said it was okay to bring her back, they would find a new home for her

 

[GSDwetkissies92]

too late to edit my post..

Did not konw this was the person with the husky for 4 days too. Don't get a dog for a few years and then when you do get a dog, get an adult with no issues.

You don't have to tell me, I came to this conclusion myself now.
However I still wanna stick around and read the threads here, this is a plethora of information than can be applied to any dog, Purebred High Drive Working DDR Shepherd or not.

 

[dogfaeries]

I don't know. I personally don't think having a dog 1 day is enough time to tell you anything. I've had rescue/rehomed dogs take weeks to get comfortable with my family. If I went by my experience on the first day, then I would have given them ALL back!

 

[JakodaCD OA]

First of all, it's against board policy to come in here using two different handles, I understand your the "mom" , and now posting under your son's handle. Ok got it.

Second, you cannot expect when getting a dog for "free" that it will not have training issues , and it sounds like you got one that needs ALOT of training that none of you are equipped to handle.

Most kids want dogs, that's great, but if you don't know what your doing, it pays to do your homework PRIOR to taking on something that you can't handle, especially when you have little kids running around because in the end, the parents are usually the ones who end up taking on the majority of "everything" when it comes to a pet.

You stated in the other post, you didn't want to go to training you wanted to do it yourselves, obviously that wasn't working AT ALL.

The number one thing to do when you have never owned a dog is to take that dog to obedience classes so YOU can learn as much as the dog learns.

You have had two bad experiences that lasted no more than 4 days. Puppies are a LIFETIME committment , and are just as much, if not MORE work, than an adult dog.

My advice, is to take your OWN advice, and wait till your kids are older, and you have done your homework..

 

[GSDwetkissies92]

I don't know. I personally don't think having a dog 1 day is enough time to tell you anything. I've had rescue dogs take weeks to get comfortable with my family. If I went by my experience on the first day, then I would have given them ALL back!

True I do understand that it takes time to adapt to a new situation but her behaviour wasn't vague it was very clear she was fixed and focus and was not going away without me pulling on her and her ending up lunging forward and pulling me in the process.

The last behavior I saw with her was an extreme degree of assertiveness when someone even walked by a door. I told my son to leave the room while I stayed with her, my son had been doing everything with her (feeding/walking/etc/training under supervision), he walked by the room with her in it and door closed and she lunged at the door barking, at first she would stay and bark and then when he stopped to knock she ran at the door and started barking. The behavior that I first saw when I brought her home was TOTALLY different and much more calm.

 

[JakodaCD OA]

thats great that you want to stick around and learn,,but you have to be realistic and really listen and absorb what your hearing.

If I sent you my working line dog, I guarantee you'd throw her out within 10 minutes

 

[GSDwetkissies92]

First of all, it's against board policy to come in here using two different handles, I understand your the "mom" , and now posting under your son's handle. Ok got it.

Second, you cannot expect when getting a dog for "free" that it will not have training issues , and it sounds like you got one that needs ALOT of training that none of you are equipped to handle.

Most kids want dogs, that's great, but if you don't know what your doing, it pays to do your homework PRIOR to taking on something that you can't handle, especially when you have little kids running around because in the end, the parents are usually the ones who end up taking on the majority of "everything" when it comes to a pet.

You stated in the other post, you didn't want to go to training you wanted to do it yourselves, obviously that wasn't working AT ALL.

The number one thing to do when you have never owned a dog is to take that dog to obedience classes so YOU can learn as much as the dog learns.

You have had two bad experiences that lasted no more than 4 days. Puppies are a LIFETIME committment , and are just as much, if not MORE work, than an adult dog.

My advice, is to take your OWN advice, and wait till your kids are older, and you have done your homework..

Actually, I am not very computer literate but we forgot the password and email password for this account but apparently this computer saved the info and I didn't even realize I was posting on this username. I will logout and change to GSDwetkissies92. Can an admin close this account?

 

[Whiteshepherds]

When I spoke with the owner, they said it was okay to bring her back, they would find a new home for her

You probably did the right thing by bringing her back.

 

[GSDwetkissies92]

thats great that you want to stick around and learn,,but you have to be realistic and really listen and absorb what your hearing.

If I sent you my working line dog, I guarantee you'd throw her out within 10 minutes

:blush:, I do need experience but I just wanna say from what I personally saw between the husky and the shepherd, I'd have a shepherd any day than ever getting another husky again. Those dogs are just scary, when he'd bark it was like a gust of hot air just blew your face off and shook your entire body.

 

[GSDwetkissies92]

You probably did the right thing by bringing her back.

It did shock me that if someone was recieving their dog back because of behaviour issues that the original owner would try to rehome her ASAP.

That's not right, something IS WRONG with the dog and I just had a gut feeling. I just hope she lands in a home where the owner has no kids or cats and has tons of experience.

The last thing I wanna say is, the dog had a very nice gait and had no curvature or slant in her back, I mean NONE at all, looked more like an Old German Shepherd, but the original owner said she was a "pet store" puppy?

 

[JakodaCD OA]

I have asked the other mods for suggestions on how to rectify the double handle issue, will take care of it as soon as I get an answer.

Just to add, there was probably nothing wrong with the dog, other than it being untrained, ill mannered, and most likely not used to kids.. I'm sure he would do fine in a home where the people were GSD savvy.