Dog People: GSD Questions

[dainerra]

I can tell you just by the fact that she is already needing a new home at 11 weeks that this poor baby isn't from a GOOD breeder. Otherwise, the breeder would have taken her back and found her a new home.

Doesn't mean that she won't turn out to be an excellent dog, just something to keep aware of.

First, she is a GSD puppy. They call them landsharks. lol So you are going to want to look up "bite inhibition" and how to redirect it to an appropriate toy. GSDs are a rough and tumble lot and the pups need to learn how to calm down and be more gentle with humans.

If you find out the parents' names, you can check the OFA database to see if they were xrayed and what the hip score was. Also, her papers will have the breeders name so I would contact them. On the off chance that they ARE a good breeder, they will want to know where their baby has ended up. (Sometimes people will ignore the contract and just give a dog away instead of back to the breeder like they are supposed to!)

No, a working line is going to become "overly protective" if he isn't taught how to protect. Good basic obedience and a job (agility, hiking with his family, etc) are going to be enough to keep most dogs happy. It doesn't have to be schutzhund or even a formal training as long as you keep his mind engaged and make sure that he gets enough exercise. Of course, depending on her lines and her individual personality, she may need more or less exercise.

What training does a GSD need? I've had GSDs and I've had labs and they are nothing alike. All the labs I've met have been obedient, do exactly what you say. GSDs, on the other hand, are SMART. They can learn something new in just a few minutes but don't do well if you are the type of trainer who drills the same exercise over and over. After a few times, they will get bored and start making up new and amusing ways to do what you are asking.

Socializing is going to be important. You want her to meet as many different people and places as possible. That is why (besides BYBs) Peaches sees so many bad examples of the breed. People don't know how important is it to get their dogs out.

That is also why I would recommend you take her to an obedience class. Yes, she can learn things at home with no problem, but you need her to listen to you ANYWHERE. The noise and activity of a class will help both of you get used to working when there is a lot of distractions.

How she will do with the chickens is again an individual thing. Rayden has always been fine with the chickens. Singe squished a few. Not because he wanted to hurt them but because he loves to run and chickens run away and *Pounce* flattened chicken. Now he is fine around them though if he is feeling hyper he will occasionally go "bowling for chickens"' and make them scatter.

OH, and just an FYI, even though I hate the look, a showline dog isn't any more prone to hip problems than any other line. "Pet lines" are actually the biggest victims simply because they are bred by people who don't care what they are producing.

Here's some pictures of my babies..

 

[salt and pepper]

well, I guess i was wrong, good luck!

 

[jettgirl24]

I can tell you just by the fact that she is already needing a new home at 11 weeks that this poor baby isn't from a GOOD breeder. Otherwise, the breeder would have taken her back and found her a new home.

Doesn't mean that she won't turn out to be an excellent dog, just something to keep aware of.

First, she is a GSD puppy. They call them landsharks. lol So you are going to want to look up "bite inhibition" and how to redirect it to an appropriate toy. GSDs are a rough and tumble lot and the pups need to learn how to calm down and be more gentle with humans.

If you find out the parents' names, you can check the OFA database to see if they were xrayed and what the hip score was. Also, her papers will have the breeders name so I would contact them. On the off chance that they ARE a good breeder, they will want to know where their baby has ended up. (Sometimes people will ignore the contract and just give a dog away instead of back to the breeder like they are supposed to!)

No, a working line is going to become "overly protective" if he isn't taught how to protect. Good basic obedience and a job (agility, hiking with his family, etc) are going to be enough to keep most dogs happy. It doesn't have to be schutzhund or even a formal training as long as you keep his mind engaged and make sure that he gets enough exercise. Of course, depending on her lines and her individual personality, she may need more or less exercise.

What training does a GSD need? I've had GSDs and I've had labs and they are nothing alike. All the labs I've met have been obedient, do exactly what you say. GSDs, on the other hand, are SMART. They can learn something new in just a few minutes but don't do well if you are the type of trainer who drills the same exercise over and over. After a few times, they will get bored and start making up new and amusing ways to do what you are asking.

Socializing is going to be important. You want her to meet as many different people and places as possible. That is why (besides BYBs) Peaches sees so many bad examples of the breed. People don't know how important is it to get their dogs out.

That is also why I would recommend you take her to an obedience class. Yes, she can learn things at home with no problem, but you need her to listen to you ANYWHERE. The noise and activity of a class will help both of you get used to working when there is a lot of distractions.

How she will do with the chickens is again an individual thing. Rayden has always been fine with the chickens. Singe squished a few. Not because he wanted to hurt them but because he loves to run and chickens run away and *Pounce* flattened chicken. Now he is fine around them though if he is feeling hyper he will occasionally go "bowling for chickens"' and make them scatter.

OH, and just an FYI, even though I hate the look, a showline dog isn't any more prone to hip problems than any other line. "Pet lines" are actually the biggest victims simply because they are bred by people who don't care what they are producing.

Here's some pictures of my babies..

Thank you for the info Dainerra, very helpful!. She is actually 11 months, not 11 weeks. I don't know if the breeder should still offer to take her back after close to a year and don't know if the people even reached out to the breeder - still gathering intelligence at this stage but I may ask just to see what they say. Good to know about her papers and looking up the parents, I will look them up when I have their info and if we do end up with her I will definitely let the breeder know where she is. I know many sporthorse breeders and they are the same with their foals but often people just don't reach out.

ETA: GORGEOUS dogs you have

 

[dainerra]

Jett, if they are good breeders, they should take her back - no matter how old she is. The breeder of my Singe (the sable) for example, would even help me in rehoming my older dog if it ever came to that simply because he cares that all GSDs end up in a good home. When I rescued a GSD female from the local paper who had SEVERE fear issues, he was available to me 24/7 for advice or just a shoulder to cry on - even though at that time I had never even purchased a dog from him.

Another thing.. I'm not sure if the current owners did this and, if not, it might be a bit more difficult, but as soon as you get her home start getting her used to handling her entire body. feet, ears, looking at teeth. Even if in the beginning all you manage to do is pick up one foot without her struggling, give her a treat.

Bear in mind that, even though she is bigger than many full-grown dogs (probably close to 50lbs or more by now!) she is still a baby and will be for at least another year. Singe, the sable, is 2 next week and he is still a baby and sometimes forgets that he is the size of a moose. Hence his nicknames "Oaf" and "Moose" lol

Also. don't be surprised if it takes her a bit to warm up to you. She is going to be bonded with her family by now and will be missing them horribly. Rehomed dogs also often have a "honeymoon period" where they are quiet and reserved until they figure out the dynamics of the new house.

 

[Redyre Rotties]

I will ALWAYS take back one of mine. I drove 1600 miles round trip in July this year to pick up a ***** who was 2+ years old. If there is any way you can FIND the breeder, they deserve to be notified that the people who have this dog are trying to rehome it. Sometimes people will ignore contractual agreements to return the dog to the breeder.

 

[Kikiriki]

I have two dogs: a farm raised dog we adopted, and a small GSD. When I brought home the chickie girls, the farm dog was perfect with the little five week olds. My GSD was not: she thought they smelled perfectly yummy! I did not allow her near them after testing her. If they were out, she was in, and vice versa. She spent her time right outside the run. I started bringing her in with me, on a leash, and corrected her whenever she made a move toward the chickens. After a week she seemed to learn so I tested her off leash. She needed correction, so we practiced that. About two weeks later, the girls were now larger and the GSD finally seemed to understand they were co-residents: not tasty treats. The chickens will tolerate her walking past, but they do not have the same level of comfort with her that they have with the farm dog, who served as a bed for them at nap time when they were young. All the animals now roam the yard together at will and unsupervised. The GSD does not even chase the girls when they squawk and flap madly across the yard.

My first GSD was a year old rescue: he was wonderful, though he always had an aversion to grown men and would not go near them. After many years, my dad could pet him and the dog would lay on the floor near him and take food from him, but if dad made a sudden move, the dog would make a wide arc away from him.

Neither of my GSD dogs showed inappropriate aggression. I make sure when people come over that the dogs see me welcoming them with hugs or handshakes, and I look at the dogs and smile and kind of project my warm feelings towards them. My first dog once went wild in the car when a group of teenage boys had followed me through a parking lot. Did he sense my own nervousness from 10 feet away? I honestly believe his vicious behavior that day kept me from harm. That was the one and only time he displayed that behavior in his 13 years with us.

 

[babyblue2]

I will ALWAYS take back one of mine. I drove 1600 miles round trip in July this year to pick up a ***** who was 2+ years old. If there is any way you can FIND the breeder, they deserve to be notified that the people who have this dog are trying to rehome it. Sometimes people will ignore contractual agreements to return the dog to the breeder.

This. My parents took back a 2+ year old intact male boxer, my mom was pregnant with twins at the time so it was not exactly the most convenient thing. However all the pups were so great that my uncle took him the instant he found out my parents had him again. That is the point of good breeding.

 

[Oregon Blues]

If you haven't had a German Shepherd before, training is softer and quieter than what you would use for a lab. Often a soft verbal correction is plenty. Harsh correction upsets them. They will pick up a lot of vocabulary and can usually understand some pretty long strings of words, so you can sometimes talk them through something.

I would expect a young shepherd to immediately chase chickens if they aren't trained to chickens, so keep the dog on a leash until it knows a few basic commands like come and leave it. Then take it around the birds and work there, with a "leave it" every time it looks at the birds. She will soon figure out that the birds belong inside the circle of protection because they are the master's property. But they aren't born knowing that and they have strong prey drive.

I would not take any German Shepherd that showed any fear or even nervousness when meeting new people. Don't expect an enthusiastic greeting, but the dog should not shy or draw away when you reach out to pet it. People not the family aren't of much interest, so a shepherd will not normally fawn over strangers.

 

[dainerra]

so??? what did you find out about this little girl?