- Jun 4, 2011
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I know that there are others here who own GSDs. So I thought I'd try for some sympathy. The rest of you can just enjoy a good laugh lol
Singe is a very "German" German Shepherd. He thrives and order and routine and, apparently, thinks the rest of the family should as well. For example:
mornings. I get up around 5.15 to get ready for work. Leave at 6.15. At 5.10 Singe is sitting beside the bed. At 5.15, he will nudge the bed. At 6.10, he goes and sits by the front door, even though he hasn't gone to work with me since May. At 6.15, he will come get me if I am not on the way out the door. The upside, I don't have to watch the clock and NEVER have to worry about being late from work. The downside? I don't have to work today.
I can tell him to go lay down. And he will. He will lay down beside the bed and be very quiet. Except he stares. I can feel him staring at me. I put him out of the bedroom. He lays in the hallway and stares at the door. I've had Ronnie take him into the living room and feed the dogs their breakfast. I texted him "what is he doing" "staring at the bedroom wall" And it's a very intense stare, the kind that burns a hole through the drywall. I had him take the dogs out to play. He texted me a few minutes later "He's staring at the bedroom window" I've stayed in bed late, just to make a point. Singe stared at the wall until 7.30 when I got up. So, it's not food related, not potty time related, not "I'm bored and want to go play" related. It's 100% "hey, you are supposed to be out of bed by now"
Doing the chores. Singe has decided that the order to feed the outside animals should be: open chickens, feed bunnies, fill water bowls. Why this order, I have no idea. 1 it's the exact opposite of how I do things most of the time, but then again I usually do things in the order I happen to be going that day. And it doesn't matter if it is someone else doing the work. Singe is right there to supervise and insist that it be done "properly"
Leaving the group. Don't even get me started on this. I first thought it was normal "oh Mommy don't leave me" when we started training for the supervised separation. Nope. It's if ANYONE leaves the group. He went with us this weekend when Allie was selling Girl Scout candy. I always take one of the dogs with me. I wait in the driveway while Allie goes up to the door. I thought that his brain was going to explode. He whined. He tried to get in front of her to stop her from leaving. I corrected him and he sat and watched her walk to the door. Then he started barking at me a very clear message of "OMG I can't believe you let her leave the circle!!" Singe has a very clear 10 foot circle that he believes everyone should stay in if walking in a group. This also includes people from the kennel club if we are all walking together to go to an event or demo. Even people that he hasn't met before. We've made the most progress on this. But, I can tell that it rattles his cage even if he isn't acting on the behavior. I've been really making him focus on me, but cant' get him to stop checking in on everyone else.
I know that dogs like routine, esp if they "know" breakfast is at 5.45, potty at 6am, etc etc That's why I never feed at exactly the same time. And I'll wait before I take the dogs out to play. Sometimes we'll play before breakfast, sometimes after. Those things drive him up the wall. But, I don't know how to deal with this guy. He is fine with the training that he can't herd people into doing what he wants, he used to actually try to push you in the direction he thought you should go.
Singe is a very "German" German Shepherd. He thrives and order and routine and, apparently, thinks the rest of the family should as well. For example:
mornings. I get up around 5.15 to get ready for work. Leave at 6.15. At 5.10 Singe is sitting beside the bed. At 5.15, he will nudge the bed. At 6.10, he goes and sits by the front door, even though he hasn't gone to work with me since May. At 6.15, he will come get me if I am not on the way out the door. The upside, I don't have to watch the clock and NEVER have to worry about being late from work. The downside? I don't have to work today.
I can tell him to go lay down. And he will. He will lay down beside the bed and be very quiet. Except he stares. I can feel him staring at me. I put him out of the bedroom. He lays in the hallway and stares at the door. I've had Ronnie take him into the living room and feed the dogs their breakfast. I texted him "what is he doing" "staring at the bedroom wall" And it's a very intense stare, the kind that burns a hole through the drywall. I had him take the dogs out to play. He texted me a few minutes later "He's staring at the bedroom window" I've stayed in bed late, just to make a point. Singe stared at the wall until 7.30 when I got up. So, it's not food related, not potty time related, not "I'm bored and want to go play" related. It's 100% "hey, you are supposed to be out of bed by now"
Doing the chores. Singe has decided that the order to feed the outside animals should be: open chickens, feed bunnies, fill water bowls. Why this order, I have no idea. 1 it's the exact opposite of how I do things most of the time, but then again I usually do things in the order I happen to be going that day. And it doesn't matter if it is someone else doing the work. Singe is right there to supervise and insist that it be done "properly"
Leaving the group. Don't even get me started on this. I first thought it was normal "oh Mommy don't leave me" when we started training for the supervised separation. Nope. It's if ANYONE leaves the group. He went with us this weekend when Allie was selling Girl Scout candy. I always take one of the dogs with me. I wait in the driveway while Allie goes up to the door. I thought that his brain was going to explode. He whined. He tried to get in front of her to stop her from leaving. I corrected him and he sat and watched her walk to the door. Then he started barking at me a very clear message of "OMG I can't believe you let her leave the circle!!" Singe has a very clear 10 foot circle that he believes everyone should stay in if walking in a group. This also includes people from the kennel club if we are all walking together to go to an event or demo. Even people that he hasn't met before. We've made the most progress on this. But, I can tell that it rattles his cage even if he isn't acting on the behavior. I've been really making him focus on me, but cant' get him to stop checking in on everyone else.
I know that dogs like routine, esp if they "know" breakfast is at 5.45, potty at 6am, etc etc That's why I never feed at exactly the same time. And I'll wait before I take the dogs out to play. Sometimes we'll play before breakfast, sometimes after. Those things drive him up the wall. But, I don't know how to deal with this guy. He is fine with the training that he can't herd people into doing what he wants, he used to actually try to push you in the direction he thought you should go.
