[Gowacky]

Hello. I’ve been home with my German Shepherd pup who is 15 weeks old now for 4 days. I could use some advice

 

[Pytheis]

Hello! What kind of advice are you looking for? Crate or house training? Tips on curbing biting? We would love some pictures too.

 

[tim_s_adams]

RUN! Just kidding, welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new puppy/terror!

What's going on that you need advice on?

 

[Jchrest]

Problems with collaring/leashing pup. Has to pin the pup into a corner to collar and/or leash the pup (info from a different thread that was posted by same person). It’s the thread where the 3yr old GSD bit the 70yr old guys arm.

My advice, never corner a dog and force anything on them! Your best bet is to lure them to you with treats, food, or favorite toy. If the pup still won’t approach that way, I would sit in on the floor with my back facing the pup, with collar and leash in my hand, and wait for the pup to approach me. Give them a good girl/boy and a treat. Do this over and over for a few days without actually leashing the pup. The theory is, they will learn the leash brings treats and praise.

Pup is 3 months old (15 weeks), so it’s odd to me that the pup won’t allow a collar or leash. How old was he when you got him/her? Where did you get the pup from (Breeder, rescue, pound)?

 

[Gowacky]

Same pup a few weeks later. Tuff has done so very well and I’m so happy with him. When I got him I allowed him to be loose in the house. He was near feral. I built a backyard fence but at the time he was loose in the house and of course picked out an area where he potties. I’m sensing lots of people doing back flips out there ... lol. Anyway, the time has come to work on this problem and I have a plan but want your feedback before I go with it. My plan is simply to put him outside at bedtime. He will be forced to potty outside. When I get up he will be allowed back inside the house. It’s too hot here for him to be out during the day except briefly. Of course I’ll begin to work on the idea that pottying outside gets praise and I’ll not be hard on him should he pee inside.

 

[Gaia]

I would be terrified to leave a young dog out at night but it isnt winter so i guess he wont freeze to death.
He's too young to have finished all his shots,so hes vulnerable to sickness, that's another worry.
At least build/buy a dog house for him so hes not sleepin in the dirt.

 

[sebrench]

I'm glad that he's doing well, and it's great that you've decided to work on the problem. He'll need to be supervised or crated when he's inside the house or he will most likely continue to make mistakes inside. I'd recommend either crate-training him, using an ex-pen, or blocking off a small area in your house (a bathroom/laundry room). Be sure to clean up all mistakes with an enzymatic cleaner so that no scent remains. Good luck.

 

[Gowacky]

You’ve likely read about my challenge with Tuff. I was very reluctant to pin him or corner him to add the collar and leash but he needed a vet visit and I ran out of time and was forced to do it the hard way. The result was not the set back I feared. In just a short time he accepted the leash. Then I took him to the vet and there was no issues.

 

[Gowacky]

Gaia, Tuff has a 10x30 covered patio with ceiling fans. He’s not sleeping on the dirt. I even leave the light on and he sleeps by the door.

 

[[email protected]]

I would be most concerned about someone stealing the puppy or a potential predator like a coyote. I’m not sure where you live, but here we have coyotes.

I would try crate training and monitoring his water. I take up the water bowl an hour before bed time. It took me a while to house train Axel. Even at 8 months old he will rarely have an accident, but it does happen and honestly it was my fault, so I don’t get mad at him.

Just stay consistent and I promise it will work out! Putting him outside won’t solve the issue. I do hope you find a solution.

Gaia, Tuff has a 10x30 covered patio with ceiling fans. He’s not sleeping on the dirt. I even leave the light on and he sleeps by the door.

 

[LRP]

Gaia, Tuff has a 10x30 covered patio with ceiling fans. He’s not sleeping on the dirt. I even leave the light on and he sleeps by the door.

Our puppies sleep outside as well, our male has been sleeping outside on his own from 10 weeks on. We have a patio which we kept him in when he was small but he hopped through a fence and from that point forward we allowed him to roam on his own. We got our female when she was 3 mths, male was 4 mths. They have always slept outside. They have beds inside on the patio but they choose to sleep out in the grass/dirt. We have cameras and motion sensors so we can keep an eye on them and make sure no one comes near the backyard.

I know a lot of people crate there dogs at bedtimes but we only crate them when we need to have the backyard open. Our dogs love being outside, they love exploring and digging. They have plenty of shade, water to drink and water to play in. They have secure fencing all around them.

We have coyotes yes, but our male is larger then any coyote I have seen. I would feel bad for any coyote who tried to creep into our backyard - lol

 

[Miika's Mom]

Coyotes

Coyotes do not necessarily work alone. One coyote is sometimes a lure to bring a dog back to a pack where it is killed.

One dog is no match for a half dozen or more. Coyotes around here are taller than my dogs.

Just saying.

One of the reasons for a fenced yard (this was before they decided it was more fun not to come when called) was to keep mine safe as they hate coyotes and will go after them. Periodically, actually pretty regularly, one or more will come to the fence after dark just to harass them.