german shepherd

[heidiho]

And for luba even when i do get someone to take him out he will only eat in the morning and in the evening when i am home,and that is it....Dont need someone to feed him///////////

[mona_b]

Question,how is he with other pups/dogs?....Are you socializing him to different things?

Also,I really wouldn't put up a sign looking for a dogsitter...I wouldn't want any Joe Blow looking after my pup....Check your yellow pages for one...They are much better and are licenced...

[heidiho]

He is great with other dogs,and people,,,take him everywhere i can,he will bark at certain people but once they walk up he is super friendly....Just has a problem jumpimg on people,but my friend came over last night ,we are starting traing but this weeks focus is leash breaking....we go for rides in the car all the time,petsmart,long walks.i was told by vet in the first year you eant him to meet 100 differnet people,and 50 dogs.so i try as much as i can to socialize him./like i went to ice cream store the other night,this older man siad he would sit outside with him while i went in and ordered,it was so cute as soon as i walked in the store he barked and barked for me,just love the bond we have.i got him at 7 weeks and for the first two months i didnt work so i could be with him,so we were together 24/7... i think that helped..Read last night about natures recipe food,now i think i want to try that??

[heidiho]

Ok! the more i look at the ingredients of dog food the more confused i get..my dog bites at his skin alotainly in the ealry morning and at night..What food do you guys recommend??? and what do i not want in my food??? I herad no corn or wheat productsa correct??

[Bill & Bob]

The jumping on people is a puppy thing at this point, but you want to try and stop that while you can. Bob does stuff like that when he sees human buddies he likes alot. He can either jump on them, or run his head into their crotch which doesn't win him any acolades. Especially with the boys when he puts his head under the crotch and does a 'quick lift' move. Certainly an attention getter. Good idea to try and dissuade that now rather than later if the behaviour becomes too entrenched.
As for the pet walker, you might check around for a person who does this for a living. I agree though, you don't want just any person doing it. All of a sudden you find out that they aren't doing things as you would expect them to.
As for leaving a dog outside a store, Bob does the same thing. "The song of the German Shepherd" I call it. A little barking intermingled with some yawning and whining at top decibel and octive.
All I can say is just make sure you know who you are leaving them with. A friend of mine with a very mellow female dog dropped into a store for something and tied her dog up outside. She comes out and some guy is in the process of removing the leash from the pole. The dog didn't think anything of it, but the guy was obviously trying to rip off the dog. He ran as soon as she yelled at him. With a male shepherd you probably won't have to worry about that though.

[heidiho]

Yeah i know,he was an older man,kept my eye on him the whole time...also i was very ahppy when i met my neighbor thought this is great,someone can watch my dog,he was just a little to obsessed with my dog though,then asked to borrow money from me,someone said he was probably trying to get my trust then gonna take my dog out say he got off leash and probably sell him/////i would have shot him right in the head with no issues about it..

[cmt489]

Originally Posted by heidiho

Ok! the more i look at the ingredients of dog food the more confused i get..my dog bites at his skin alotainly in the ealry morning and at night..What food do you guys recommend??? and what do i not want in my food??? I herad no corn or wheat productsa correct??

Yes, you are correct - high contents of corn should always be avoided. Wheat should be avoided if you have a dog that you suspect has allergies or is susceptible to allergies. When buying commercial food, at minimum, the first two ingredients should be meat or meat products.

Re what food we recommend - this is a VERY personal decision that depends on your own budget, your subjective criteria and your dog's personal needs.

In fact, many of us on this board feed our dogs a home made diet, including myself. Oliver only gets a little bit of commercial dry dog food in addition to his combined raw and homemade cooked diet. This is based on his breeder's recommendations. She emphasized the importance of dogs receiving "real" food as opposed to commercial dog food all the time since this is the diet they are designed to ingest. Let's face it, we too could all survive off of fortified cereal and be moderately "healthy" but I don't think anyone will argue that we are much better off eatting a natural, balanced diet.

In my humble opinion, the same holds true with dogs and cats. They will survive on commercial dry food but it is better to give them a natural, balanced diet. Commerical food can be included in this balanced diet.

Remember, the decision is yours and yours alone. Just make sure that you make an informed decision that you are comfortable with!

Michelle

[mona_b]

It's great that you are socializing him...This is a BIG must...

What do you mean by leash breaking?

Call me parinoid,but I would not let a stranger hold my pup while I went into the store...That's just me....

How long has been biting at his skin?...Have you taken him to the vet to get him checked?

Also,for the jumping you need to teach him "OFF"

[mona_b]

Since she is a bit confused as to what she should feed him,I think maybe we should give her a step in the right direction and suggest a food she could get him on........

[heidiho]

it was an old man had to be like 65...had my eye on him the whole tome,yeah the vet has tried pills vitaman e capsules,switching foods,tested for mange,no fleas,he is just allergic to something dont know what,like i said the itching only happens first thing in the morning or late at night,really weird......leash breaking is just another way of saying teaching him to walk on a leash,the guy that is training him had 3 dobermans that were the most incredible well behaved animals i have ever seen in person or even on tv.they wouldnt move unless he gave them the ok.it is amazing and he calls it leash breaking...

[mona_b]

Hmmmmm,never heard it being called that before.

Guess you pup is being taught to "heel"

Is he training him or are you doing it,but this guy is teaching you how?

[Luba]

...'and as for Luba'

Oookay then!

How old are u or how old u acting?

Your posts sound very immature and many people who are experienced and knowledgeable are offering you advise. Perhaps you should keep an open mind rather then make your mind up, put your food down and pretend to be adult.

I for one resolve to offer any more advise to you.

[Bill & Bob]

I agree with CMT. One thing I've learned in owning a dog is that you end up making lots and lots of judement calls for them. Having been on my own for quite a while, this didn't come naturally at first. But your confidence in making decisions for someone else will come in time.
I was getting loads and loads of advice from people. Tell them that you take it all in, maybe use it, maybe don't, but you will make the call yourself. Either way it's good information that will stay on file, and perhaps sway a decision in the future. You are building up a knowledge base that helps you win those little internal arguements with yourself over what to do.

[heidiho]

He walked him on leash and showed me how it should be done,then i took over and walked him and did the heel on my left side,also started to make him sit by the door to go outside and wait til i get out door first then he can come out the door....yeah gotta get new food tonight,poor thing is itching bad in the morning//

[heidiho]

P.S. Now when i feed him i am just petting him saying good boy,well that isnt working either,growled big time this morning..he is like a completely differnet dog when eating,but as soon as he is done he runs up to me all happy,help???? i just dont get it...

[cmt489]

Since your recent posts state that you are working with a trainer, the best advice I can give you is to have the trainer observe what is happening and have him give you recommendations that are specific to your dog. Since he knows you and your dog he will probably be able to give you much better and more specific advice than we can I am sure you will be able to work this out!!

Michelle

[heidiho]

yeah,i showed him last night,so we will be working on that also.as for luba,i sound immature,i just dont care for what you said,was a little rude ,so that is fine with me,give your advice to someone else...

[heidiho]

34 years old///

[Karin]

Originally Posted by Luba

...'and as for Luba'

Oookay then!

How old are u or how old u acting?

Your posts sound very immature and many people who are experienced and knowledgeable are offering you advise. Perhaps you should keep an open mind rather then make your mind up, put your food down and pretend to be adult.

I for one resolve to offer any more advise to you.

Precisely why I have steered clear....granted, there is not a grammar police on this board, we all make mistakes but to do it constantly makes reading even more difficult....is there a spell check option on this board? If not, anyway of asking the powers to be about installing one? Spell check does come in handy in cases like this.

[Luba]

Grammatical mistakes are common and you can over look them, atleast I can.

This scenerio seems to be just a little bit different, ya know!

[Karin]

I do see that now. Thanks Luba.

[heidiho]

Wow,cant we all just get along,no need to get so serious/// i just want to know a good dog food for the love of god//

[Lucky Rescue]

i just want to know a good dog food for the love of god

There are now over 140 posts on this thread. In it, there are MANY recommendations about what kind of food to give. Did you read any of them??? Why are you still asking this?

[heidiho]

For that exact reason,i got about 140 different answers,and what is with the attitude around here,you dont like my question dont &%*%&^ answer it then,or do you have nothing better to do...

[Karin]

Originally Posted by heidiho

For that exact reason,i got about 140 different answers,and what is with the attitude around here,you dont like my question dont &%*%&^ answer it then,or do you have nothing better to do...

Hmm? My question exactly in regards to your very own posts...

[heidiho]

Okee! Dokee! Gotcha//

[heidiho]

Such a friendly bunch///when i beat my dog i will dedicate it to you//

[cmt489]

WTF????

Left field, where the hell did that come from?????

p.s. And no, I do NOT see ANY humour in the "beat dog" reference...

[heidiho]

Just messing with that rude person.....there is just a few people on here that are rude....and take things so serious i thought that would give them something to ponder,wold never hit my dog//// just trying to lighten it up around here///

[heidiho]

see,my point exactly,dont believe everything you read//my god./..