I remember when we first got Max he was 12 weeks old. I was outside playing with him with a ball. When we were done I was bring Max into the house. He was fallowing behind me and all of a sudden I felt what seemed like a thousand pins going through my hand all at once. Max was trying to get the ball and bit my hand instead.

My technique and my wife’s technique for dealing with puppy biting are different. I will squeeze the snout just above the teeth at the gum line to let the dog know that it hurts. It was what I had read in books and read on various internet sites. This technique works quickly but is painful for the dog when you do it.

My wife uses a different approach. When the dog would bit her hands while she was petting it she would just place its paw in its mouth and close the mouth gently until the dog felt the pinch from its own teeth. This worked well for her.

Sometimes you really have to be careful when playing with your dog and any kind of tug toys. Max my oldest bit through my thumb nail one day re-gripping a tugging toy. He has also dislocated a neighbor shoulder that was playing with him just because his jerk is so strong.

When you have more than one GSD you will have other problems that you run into. There will always be one GSD that is the Alpha male and Alpha female. Some dogs are social climbers and want to be the top dog and others are content in their position. When 2 dogs are trying to be the alpha they will mark their territory even if it is your new hardwood floor. You have to put a stop to it right away and let them know that the house is not their bathroom or play area. A load firm no will put a stop to the behavior.

Some other things to consider when bringing home you GSD. If your GSD is anything like mine they will cry their first couple of nights that they are at your house. Don’t take them into you sleeping area or allow them on your furniture as puppies. If you stop this in the beginning you will not have problems in the future when the dog becomes 100 -125 lbs. and sheds a grocery bag full of fur a day. Our dogs do not go on the furniture and do not eat the furniture. If you have a puppy that you need to leave at home for a period of time while you work make sure the dog is crated.

At our house we have a front and back yard. The back yard is small and only used as a place for the dogs to go and relieve themselves. They are not allowed to go on the front lawn. To get a dog to go only in one area just catch it going in an area that you don’t want it going and loudly say no and escort the dog to the area that you want them to use. The tell them to either pee or poop whatever you normally say. Once they are done praise them. After a couple of times the dog will know where to go.

At our house we have no fence on the property but have half walls that surround the property. The dogs could very well just walk out of the driveway or hop over the wall. I have them trained not to leave the property even if there is a cat in the driveway across the street. It was actually pretty easy to accomplish. The first time one of our dogs left the property I put the dog on a 25 foot cable and started playing with their toys out of their reach by myself. After 10 minutes I walked away and returned 10 minutes later and took off of the cable. The dog was going bananas for the entire 20 minutes and never left the property after that. It has worked with all 3 dogs. I can leave them outside and they will not leave the property even for a squirrel. It’s the only time the dogs have ever been tied up and they don’t like it.

Neil

Our second oldest GSD is Sophie. She is a sable GSD. Last year Sophie had pancreatitis. The vet told us it was from the ground up bone particles that were in her food. We were grinding the entire chicken thigh with the bone in a commercial grinder as we had read in many books on dog diets. Sophie was unable to digest the ground up bone and it crystallized in her pancreas. We almost lost her because of the food that she was eating. Her operation was 3700.00 and a lesson well learned when it comes to feeding. Each of our GSDs have issues with some kind of food or snacks but it’s not the same for all of them. Sophie can’t eat pigs ears without getting the runs. Jessie can’t eat dental Checkups with the runs. Max can’t eat Milk Bones without the runs. When your GSD gets the runs from something that they ate the vet tells you to feed them hamburger and rice ann not give them anything for 24 hours. This is all well and good if the dog isn’t living at the vet’s house. We are stuck with the clean up. The one thing that I found that stops the runs in dogs is Pumpkin. It’s the canned Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin used for baking. The puree will not work. The pumpkin will stop the runs fast than anything else. We keep a dozen cans in the house.

Sophie also gets seasonal allergies that do not require any specific treatment. She has been given Benadryl but it just apsses on its own.

This piece of advice may come in handy for anyone that has a GSD that gets skunked. I have had to deal with it with 2 of our GSDs. Max was skunked twice and Sophie once. These are the items that you need to remove the skunk smell completely and any dog owner should just keep them in the house. When your dog gets skunked put a leash on the dog and tie it to a porch or fence. Next pour Tomato juice on the spot that was sprayed. Even if it is in the eye area it has to be cleaned. Rub the tomato juice in and let it sit for 5 minutes. Next pour white vinegar on the sprayed area. Rub it in and let it sit for 5 minutes. At this point your dog is freaking out and wants to run away. Next dowse the affected area with baking soda and rub it in on top of the tomato juice and vinegar. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Now rinse all of it off. After rinsing it off take Murphy’s Oil Soap and rub it into the area. Let it sit for 5 minutes and then rinse it off. The vinegar and tomato juice take the oil out of the dogs skin. The Murphy’s oil soap puts it back in. After you have rinsed off the Murphy’s soap just use your dogs regular shampoo and give it a quick was. There will be no lingering smell.

Neil

I just came across your site by accident looking up a German definition. You have some very good information here for GSD owners that don’t understand the breed or have other concerns about their GSD.

My wife and I have 3 GSDs that are 4, 3.5, and 2.5. Two of them are black and tans and the other is a sable. The oldest is a male (Max) and the 2 females are Sophie and Max.

I’ve read a number of the postings here and see that most people that are asking questions are new GSD owners or haven’t had a pup for a number of years.

When I was younger I was an EMT. One day while answering a call my partner and I went into a house for a person that was having heart attach symptoms. While we were working on the owner two German Shepherds came out of nowhere and pinned us against a wall for 2 hours. After that incident I was terrified of German Shepherds. If I saw one in a fenced yard while I was walking up the street I would cross the street and keep an eye on the dog until I was out of its sight. It’s funny how things change. I now have 3 German Shepherds and I know without a doubt that they won’t leave the property or go after anyone unless my wife and I are in trouble.

Some of the posts here request information on how to make their GSD attack on command or state that the GSD is too friendly towards strangers. My wife and I live in the City and from the beginning my goal has been to have a GSD that would be very friendly to anyone that it met but at the same time know when a person is bad and protect my wife when she was out walking. Our oldest GSD Max is that GSD. Most people think that Max would help carry the TV out for a burglar because he loves people so much.

GSDs do not need to be trained to attack people to protect your family. It is a natural instinct for them to not let anything happen to their family.

Max was a puller when he went out for walks when he was younger. We tried everything to get him to walk slowly and enjoy his walk. My wife is 5′ tall and weights 115lbs. Max stands taller on his 2 rear legs and weight 110 lbs. He has dislocated my thumb pulling and knocked my wife down. The only thing that stopped Max from pulling and made him into a great walker was a prong collar. Most people think that a prong collar will hurt the dog. I have put it on my arm and given it a good jerk. It doesn’t hurt and teaches them not to pull. We can now walk Max with a regular leash without any pulling.

When Max was a puppy I was at a loss as to what to do with him. He used to get car sick and I was 51 when I first got him. He had lots of energy but every time I tried to put him in the car the chase was on. After a month of chasing Max to get him to get into the car I figured out something that worked really quick and easy. I packed Max into the car and took him to the Pet Supply store and walked him through it. He got to sniff everything and meet some people. From there I drove to a local park where there were other dogs. He got to play for a while. After that I went to the local supper market and picked up a packages of raw bones and tossed the bag in the back seat with him. He didn’t eat the bones in the car but kept his nose against the bag. When we go home I took out a bone and gave it to him. After that trip every time I went to get in the car he was waiting at the car door. Max continued getting car sick until he was about 9 months old. We changed to a minivan and the car sickness just stopped.

Our 3 GSDs diet is 2 cups of Eukanuba dry food in the morning and homemade baked chicken with rice at night. We alternate the chicken with tuna 1 day per week. Two of the 3 were finicky eaters and this solved the problem. They also get multivitamins and glucosamine every day.

Owning a German Shepherd is not cheap. Our yearly bills for the 3 GSDs including Vet, bedding, food, etc, runs around 10,000.00

GSDs will bring quality to your life and deserve quality in theirs. Remember at the maximum you will have your GSD for only 14 years enjoy them while you can.

Neil

http://www.shepherdtalk.net/forum

Maybe a visit to your vet for a complete checkup will be a good idea. Can you send pictures of your girl to: pictures (at) germanshepherd-breed (dot) org so we can see her?