[No Imagination]

Good day all,

My dog; 5 month old GSD (Faust)

When I first got Faust, everything was great, and everything is still great, but I am starting to wonder if his current mood is simply his independence coming out (which would be fine), or if there is an issue with our ‘bond’. This is probably just a first time dog owner stressing over nothing.

Our training is 99% positive reinforcement, the only time he gets corrected is from biting (while playing/running with my g/f, he would jump up and bite her on the ass… that’s a no-no) – other than that, there is no physical corrections, so I don’t think I am being to ‘hard’.

When I call him, he comes. When I pet him, he just sits there, no tail wagging… when I stop petting him, he walks away, lays down. I am probably just anthropomorphizing, but he always looks ‘sad’. We go for daily walks, I take him off lease and we play… but he is just ‘blahh’.

He’s healthy.

Is this something to do with his development/personality? Will he grow out of it? Or is there something (specific) I can do to help reinforce our bond (if needed).

I can tell he is very independent and confident, which is what I wanted in a dog (and the breeder, who I trust) told me he was (before I even told her what I was looking for).

Thank you

** Because everyone likes pictures **

 

[Stosh]

He's so cute! It's probably a phase, but do you take him to an obedience class? That really helps with the bonding and trust.

 

[No Imagination]

He's so cute! It's probably a phase, but do you take him to an obedience class? That really helps with the bonding and trust.

I do not, but that is not really an option. We do go out, socialize with several people and their dogs, there is a huge field (5x5 miles) where I run him off lease, work on retrieve and some light SAR (when I say that, I mean, hide the toy and go find it), and play with other dogs (he seems to love it). We do that 2x a week.

Most of my friends that work with their dogs and the clubs within my range are primarily strict working/herding dogs, cattle mostly - Definitely not what I want. The one obedience class/group that is offered in my area is flaky at best, not going to get involved with them.

 

[PaddyD]

Pups go through a fear phase at that age and may be more shy for a while. They also start to realize some of their capabilities and become more independent and life becomes more about what they want than what you want. Just be patient, he will most likely become more enthused to be with you soon.

 

[Stosh]

I was going to say the same thing!

 

[No Imagination]

Thanks for the replies - I think I am just going to take it as you said - a phase, and just watch him.

On a side note, I did something I have not done since I was a little kid (with my dog). Got down on all fours with him. Wow... he turned into a different dog. Got very excited, was jumping all over me (and a LOT of nipping, which I thought for the most part, we broke ) - I balanced the correction to the nipping with fun, and we wore each other out

I going to take a nap

 

[Stosh]

I was going to ask if you ever do that with him- ours still nip a bit at twice that age when you get on the floor with them and I think they probably always will!

 

[Cassidy's Mom]

Maybe now you're more fun than you were before.

I get down on the floor with puppies all the time, I do a lot of my training with them when they're little while I'm sitting on the floor. Play with him and make training fun and you may find that he's much more engaged with you.