STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Tati · Chanel

were looking into buying a puppy...

gingembre1 · Kate Spade

How experienced of a dog owner and handler are you? German Shepherds should really only be owned by people who have a lot of dog experience (And by experience, I mean obedience training, dog handling, etc), and who are willing to put in the time to work with their dog. German shepherds are working dogs, and are happiest when they work - for example, you could do agility classes with your dog, Search and Rescue, learn to track, etc.

Unspayed female dogs are going to be more dog-distracted and more grumpy/moody. They do bleed when they're in season. If you have children, you definitely want to spay your dog. Females tend to be snappy when in season. A spayed female will be more calm, even-tempered, and she won't have to go through the discomfort of going into season.

I come from a family of dog trainers and Guide Dog Puppy raisers. In our experience labs turn into wonderful pets. No matter what kind of dog you get, you should attend obedience classes. And always keep in mind, these classes are actually more about training the owner than they are about training the dog. Being consistent with the dog is extremely important.

luckylily · Gucci

The American Kennel Club website should explain their papers and what it means. In my opinion, papers aren't much of a guarantee these days. Pretty much anybody can breed a pure bred dog and get papers for it. While it is important if you want to show or breed your dog, it is MUCH more important that your puppy is purchased from a responsible breeder. You'll want to make sure that the genetic line of the dog is absolutely sound in both health and temperment. For German Shepard Dogs, hip and back health can be tricky and there are medical certifications for those that the breeder should have for the parents.

Unless you are planning to breed your dog, there really isn't any reason not to have her spayed. Female dogs are called "bitches" for a very good reason. Spayed females do tend to have a more even temperment. Spaying also reduces your dogs risk of mammary cancer, which is fairly common.

Oh, when the females do bleed, it is typically for about 7-10 days. Most people put their dog in diapers. My dog likes to point and laugh at the dogs in diapers when we go to our training facility.

Have you considered adopting? There are tons of family friendly dogs out in the shelters. And, even if you have your heart set on a pure bred, there are breed specific rescues all over the country.

poptart · Coach

I agree that you might consider German Shepherd rescue associations. Here's a link to the LA / Orange County rescue - many others can be found by google search.

http://www.gsrescue.org/

Tati · Chanel

this is actually going to be my husbands dog, hes been wanting one forever. and he really wants a german shepherd. i've been reading up on them and telling him everything about them and he still really wants one. hes taking full responsibility on excersice and training (plans on going to classes to learn) and my boys are great with animals, the little one is 3 and is a sweetheart when it comes to our cat. He never picks the cat up or bugs him. lets see how he does when we get a jumpy hyper puppy in the house! i'll let you know if we get one soon or we hold off. we've been talking about a puppy for so long now, i think the time is getting closer.....

i'll look into the rescue assoc. too

any more info. would be so helpful, thanks!

bumblebee · Coach

german shepherds are really smart. as someone else mentioned, they are also working dogs, so you might be able to adopt one that is older and has worked for a long time and needs a home in its "golden years." i think that's probably what i would do, esp. as a dog like that would be very well-trained and good around people.

Cortney1982 · Chanel

I had a female lab mix and she was a good smart dog. She would walk us to the bus stop in the morning (quite a long walk down hill on gravel road) and she knew what time to be waiting for us for when we would come home to walk us back home (which I was grateful for since there was some unleashed mean dogs along our walk.) Such a sweet dog she was.

bex · Chanel

just to throw my 2 cents in on getting your female spayed for a better temperment...

doesn't work. at least it didn't work for our two labs we had. they both continued to be the same dogs they were before the operation. i don't think that spaying them is an easy way to fix their temperments... i think you have to choose a dog with a sweet temperment...

just my 2 cents though...

Sunshinegirl · Kate Spade

Tati,

I worked for the Humane Society for eight years and can tell you lots about owners and dog owners.

1) If he really wants a shepherd, contact people with shepherd experience so you know what you are getting into. If you live in an apt. consider that they are very vocal dogs (of course, any dog can be vocal) and can upset neighbors. Even if you live in a home and are planning to keep it outside, consider how vocal they are.

2) Puppyhood last atleast TWO years. It's like having a baby. They are into everything and require tons of time and TRAINING!

3) no matter what sex, get them spayed/neutered. Dont breed the dog. There are enough unwanted purebreds out there. and believe it or not, they are a dime a dozen at shelters.

4) As others have expressed, training is a necessity for all family members. It's not about teaching the dog but more about how to teach the owners to be proper pet owners. Puppy class, obedience training, agility training.

5) i would suggest a shepherd mixed with a lab or retriever. Mixed breeds have a tendency to be more stable.

Tati · Chanel

thanks again for all the info. girls, but my husband fell in love with the girl puppy last night. we haven't got her yet though. we will decide for sure later today if we want her.

the parents are beautiful. the lady is so nice, an expert, very helpful and knowledgeable (sp?) and gave us so much info. showed us pictures of the grandparents, sisters of the dad and mom etc. she even had to show us the dads blood results cuase hes had so many litters in such amount of time.

my husband will be attending a training class that last for 3-4 hours with only a little break in between when the puppy is old enough, i guess thats after the 4 months right? the lady is there a lot too so she says we can keep contact with her if we run into any problems and that we can call her anytime to ask her anything.

do any of use the crate/cage thing when your gone? whats your experience with them? i know a few people that have used it when their dog was a puppy.

and then i gotta introduce my cat to the puppy if we get it. ive read i should let the cat smell the dogs butt first and then they can see each other face to face. thoughts?

i just really want it to work out w/whatever dog we get. our plan is to have it inside w/us all the time like our cat, cause i want them to be part of the family. if their outside a lot its just not the same.

Sunshinegirl · Kate Spade

If you are deadset on getting this dog, talk to the vet that cares for this woman's dog. Make sure that the dog has not had any problems up to this point. I have a hard time trusting dog breeders. They want to make a sale so they will say anything.

and yes, absolutely crate train your puppy. My dog sleeps in his crate every night and loves it. It's his den. Puppies especially need to be crate trained.

Good Luck with whatever you decide.

Tati · Chanel

she guarantees money back if our dog ends up with certain health issues.

so your dog still sleeps in his crate and its not a puppy? i know thats where we would have to leave her when we cant take her to certain places and at night too, anything else i need to know about using the crate? do you think she'll cry the first times we put her in there?

Elle · Hermes

True obedience training shouldn't be started until the puppy stops teething, which is around 6 months. However, socializations classes should be started immediately. For optimal behaviour, puppies should encounter ever situation they can expect to see in their entire lives in the first 12 weeks. If they experience it during that (extremely formative) time, you can bet they'll be fine with it for the rest of their lives. If they puppy you're considering hasn't been properly socialized already, your job will be alot harder. Kids, other animals, strangers, different weather, crowds, sand, gravel, water, stairs, cars, kennels, loud noises, TV, radio, being handled, etc are all things that they should have already experienced by the time you get them. Try googling 'puppy training' and 'dog training' - many helpful resources come up. I would also read extensively on www.akc.org about the breed and to see if the person you're getting the dog from is listed as a certified breeder.

Tati · Chanel

LMonet wrote:

I would also read extensively on www.akc.org about the breed and to see if the person you're getting the dog from is listed as a certified breeder.

thanks!

she is, she gave me all that info too.

and she has 3 triplets that are teenagers and they have kids always coming in and out of the house, football players etc. we were at her house for 2-3 hours and kids were just coming in and out all the time! she told me that we need to have that going on too so the dogs wont trip. she told us we need to have people over and introduce the dog to lots of people so they get used to it. with people coming over, that might be a problem, i dont care for company over all the time

Elle · Hermes

Tati wrote:

she guarantees money back if our dog ends up with certain health issues. so your dog still sleeps in his crate and its not a puppy? i know thats where we would have to leave her when we cant take her to certain places and at night too, anything else i need to know about using the crate? do you think she'll cry the first times we put her in there?

All the training guides I've read say not to put the dog in a crate for punishment or as a holding pen when you'r out off the house. It should be a place they feel safe, not somewhere they associate with being lonely, since they are pack animals by nature. Don't go to the dog if they cry when you put them in - it just reinforces the bad behavior. Leave it open for them during the day and put a treat/toy/blanket inside so they can check it out. When they go in, praise them alot. When it's time to put them in for the night, don't force them but try to get them to go in on their own will as much as possible. Then hang around and go about your normal routine so the dog can see you, but don't talk to him. Sometimes it works best if the kennel's in your bedroom so the puppy knows he's not alone at night. Also, the general rule of thumb for the number of hours a dog's ability to 'hold it' is their age in months +1. So if you're puppy is 12 weeks when you get them, the longest you can expect them to 'hold it' is 4 hours.

-- Edited by LMonet at 13:15, 2005-10-28

Tati · Chanel

thanks so much for that info! we plan on putting the crate next to my husband where he sleeps (we dont sleep together, thats another story, ive talked about that in here before).

i plan on buying a book to help out, GS for Dummies.

luckylily · Gucci

Tati wrote:

so your dog still sleeps in his crate and its not a puppy? i know thats where we would have to leave her when we cant take her to certain places and at night too, anything else i need to know about using the crate? do you think she'll cry the first times we put her in there?

Most dogs love their crates even as adults. My dog would actually prefer to sleep in his crate. Our dog has access to the whole house, but he choses his crate. Heck, even on the nights when we invite him to sleep on our bed, he usually gets up and moves to his crate after an hour or so.

Did the breeder expose the puppies to a crate yet? One way to help along the crate training is to give the dog her meals in the crate. Praise her like crazy when she is quiet in the crate, make it seem like the crate is the coolest thing in the world. Dogs tend to follow your lead, so if you act happy, they'll respond w/ happy.

halleybird · Hermes

Congrats, Tati! I would make sure your trainer knows that you have young children, so they can work on specific issues. I have had two German Shepherd mixes -- they are wonderful, but they can be agressive if not trained properly.

As for the crate -- different trainers say different things. We had to stop crating our first dog, Halley, because she was abused before we got her, and she had a severe phobia of any kind of enclosed space, so the trainer recommended not to crate her at all. (I doubt your dog will have this problem, since it sounds like she has been well cared for!).

Our second dog, Sully, loves his crate. He stays in it about 8 hours a day while we are at work. He goes in volutarily, and he never cries or whines. He isn't lonely, because Halley is usually in the room with him. He doesn't sleep there, though (he sleeps with us), because I think 8 hours a day is enough for the crate.

Just please make sure you get a very large crate, because your dog will be big! The crate should be big enough for her to stand up without hitting her head, and big enough for her to comfortably turn around if she wants to.

Oh, and last words...not trying to be preachy, but please get her spayed. There are so many unwanted animals out there, and an unspayed dog is a risk, no matter what. It just takes one time for her to get out when she's in heat... Plus, I think there are some health benefits to spayed dogs, though I could be wrong about that.

I can't wait to see puppy pics!

Tati · Chanel

for those of you concerned, we will be getting her spayed when that time comes

it makes sense to do it, too many dogs out there w/no homes etc.

and i will post pictures as soon as i can!

kenzie · Chanel

Sunshinegirl wrote:

and yes, absolutely crate train your puppy. My dog sleeps in his crate every night and loves it. It's his den. Puppies especially need to be crate trained. Good Luck with whatever you decide.

Agreed! Lily (see avatar) doesn't sleep in her crate anymore at night, but she still goes in there and lays down. It's like her bedroom. We have to leave the door open all the time for her. She would be very upset if it was closed and she couldn't get into it. She also doesn't get crated when we leave the house anymore, but up until she was about 1 1/2, she did. She's 3 now and quite well behaved (usually).

And please spay your dog as Sunshine girl mentioned earlier. There are so many dogs out there that need good homes and so many breeders with purebreds that it doesn't make sense to breed a dog (unless of course, you want to keep all of the puppies for yourself. ). And as far as temperment, I can't attest to that, but spaying does alleviate (or at least greatly reduces risks to) other health problems associated with female dogs.