A vent about the "family " dog

[bkreugar]

Brindlebtch I did not get " Bossy" from your post I got confident and thorough. You covered it all.Thanks especiallly for doing thru the shock collar training.That was very helpful.

Most of your thoughts will not be hard to put into action. I have the crate already.Not sure about putting it DD's room as the cockateil cage is in there but I can work that out.

I get the stressing that DD needs to put a supreme effort into it. I won't have an issue with her washing the dog weekly as she does that already now.I think I WILL have a hard time getting her to consistantly brush the dog.

About the Sit stay come we were working on those before the whole has to be tied 24/7.But not with a trainer.You are like the 10th to suggest that.So I will look into it.

The biggest hurdle will be convincing dh to let her come back IN the house.She is calm when in as she is HAPPY. Also if she destroys anything Dh will be ballistic!!

I really don't know how to convince him without coming off as a emasculating shrew as he mostly is laid back and rarely says it must be XX way. So overiding him makes me feel pretty bad. Again generally in most all things he doesn't care and it goes my way because he says he doesn't care.THIS he cares about!

 

[Camelot Farms]

I agree that she needs a new home and I would imagine that it would be very easy to find her one.

It was nice that you were able to take her in and get her trained and ready for a new forever-home. Think of it as fostering and now the time has come for her to move on to the next adventure.

 

[Brindlebtch]

If you already have the crate does that mean the dog can come inside to sleep?

You might practice the 1/2 hour down outside on the front porch step, for example, until the dog is good with the idea and is calmer about it and then just sweetly ask if she can come in for a 1/2 hour so you can 'practice in comfort' or watch TV or something. That would show DH how calm and obedient she can be (you don't need to actually point that out), and then she can go back outside.
Maybe you could do that for a while, especially when it gets colder, and I bet you could just gradually start extending the time.

This is, of course, only if you want the dog inside. If not, scratch the above.

I am amazed DD doesn't want to comb the dog if she already washes it. You would think washing would be the more onerous chore and combing would be calming for both.

I was given a 9 mo old kennel raised shepherd and had to intially force her to lay still for combing (you should have seen the 50 yr old wrestling the dog). Eventually she got to where she really liked it and would go to sleep as I rolled her around to get to different places to comb. It became kind of a meditative bonding activity.

Shepherds will seasonally shed in great big ugly patches and will look moth eaten and neglected if not combed. Try your best to get DD to comb her once a week or every other week and mark it on the calendar so nobody forgets.

Tell her if she can't take care of the dog properly it has to go.





Kaint spel wuth sh*t toodae.

 

[bkreugar]

(((Brindlebtch))) THANK YOU That is an EXCELLENT idea!!! Very workable so I do not come off as a witch!!! Thank you!!! Yes I can see how I can manage that, and he would be open minded as opposed to me hitting him over the head.

I don't know about sleeping in the crate inside but with the door shut what oppisiotion could he have?Do they always howl if it is new for them? SHe was in the crate at night when she was a puppy. Then she only wimpered loudly in the morning when she wanted out/attention.It is a LARGE one that the previous guy left here (along with acres of other both useful and non useful junk).

I think DD would not want to brush dog EVERY day.She would get tired of it I bet , but we'll see.

(((Brindlebtch))) you are very WISE. trying to run roughshod over Dh will not work .

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

my husband is so over indoor animals too, he cringes and we sometimes argue over new fosters coming in as he knows I am a sucker for keeping them, BUT he also agrees that if we have one then it must get the best care, ask you DH if the dog should stay or go, let him know that if it stays she needs more than just a pat on the head and food, she needs companionship as you all are her pack and she wants to be with her pack. If he cant agree to let her come inside, (heck keep her in all day while he is at work, crate her when he is at home or kennel her when he is home) get her to being the PERFECT indoor dog, then he cant complain! Oh and while pricey they are so worth it get a FURMINATOR, just make sure you use it outside with a LARGE trash bag near by lol that is the best brush in the world! I use it on our dogs (boxer, chihuahua) our cat, my parents dogs (basset, beagle, shepherd) and my uncles Jack Russel. You would think it was snowing around here with all the fur a flying lol lol

 

[ChickenFanaticAB]

She sounds like a pretty good dog that will probably be very easy to train. The brushing really isn't too bad, and when done consistently prevents it from being a massive job. Try to get DD to brush her right after her walk when she is already calm and she will probably just lay there. It is really no different than spending time petting and loving on the dog, which hopefully she does anyway. It is true that she may never be ok around the chickens, but you could probably train her to behave herself around the indoor bird as long as you are supervising them. When the bird is around (in it's cage to start!) just correct her anytime she shows interest in the bird. Soon she will ignore the bird, and while you don't want it flying around her head in the same room, she could be trusted to ignore it's cage.

I have always had indoor/outdoor dogs, and while a hyper pup can be stressful to have in the house at times, if you make sure she is calm before she comes inside, she will probably be fine. As far as crating at night goes, this sounds like it would work very well for you, and if she did whine, it probably wouldn't last more than a night or two. After that she would probably go in on her own knowing it was her bed. Sorry so long, don't want you to give up on the pup! With proper exercise and discipline a GSD will be a great dog for many years!

 

[bkreugar]

Yes she IS mostly a good dog.She will walk or run with us.In April when she was just 4 months, she and dd WON the "strut your mutt" group for running the local 5k together.I was COMPLETELY amazed that she kept up the WHOLE way.I was running with them. So from there we would take her on our runs.And she ignores my horses completely and will keep up trail riding with us also.

She is not mouthy anymore (I got her over that), and loves to ride in the car for errands. The chickens is DEFINITLY her only bad behavior (other than getting into neighbors trash.)but again I think that is boredom.

 

[ChickenFanaticAB]

One thing I would be careful with is running her too much. Large breed pups can end up with major joint problems, and this is exacerbated by too strenuous of exercise at a young age. While it is a great way to burn energy, I would stick to walking for longer distances, and let her run while playing fetch or other shorter distances until she is about one year old. She may end up being fine, but GSDs are particularly prone to hip/elbow problems, and it might not be worth the risk. If you happen to have a dog park nearby, they are a great place to socialize and let pups burn off lots of energy!

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Many people here encouraged me to get a shock collar for my hyper standard poodle. I was at wits end. So I bought one. A good one. One I could zap from 1000 yards away. Expensive. And worth every penny.
I have not got her completly where I am comfortable leaving her alone, but we are leaps and bounds better than it was.
And I use it for what ever I don't want her to do. Like jump on a piece of furniture ect. bad behavior gets a zap. She figures it out quickly.

 

[BorderKelpie]

So far, you have recieved some excellent advice. One thing that may help. My (extremley hyper ADHD) BorderCollie X Kelpie has learned that he is to remain on his bed, we have a pretty bed in the living room and an easy to wash one in my bed room. There is a throw rug in the kitchen, he is to sit or down on it only. No dog hair in my fridge!!. All are placed on bed chucks (liners for hospital beds), that way, the dog hair and skin oils don't end up in the carpet (as much). lol It makes clean up easier. If you wash the beds every week, the odor is cut down considerably. I have also found that Simple Green (diluted) gets the oil marks off the walls where he leans. Maybe, DH won't mind as much if the house is easier to keep up. GSD's do shed copiously, as do my Kelpies and Border Collies, every little thing you can do to make clean up a bit easier will help soften DH a little (I hope). I wish you all the best, you have some hard work ahead of you, but, if you all stick with it, it will definatly be worth it!