german shepherd

[heidiho]

Ok! I HAVE NO FURNITURE,SO I HAVE BEEN LAYING ON FLOOR ON MY SHEETS TO WATCH TV.LAST NIGHT I WAS READING A MAGAZINE AND ME GERMNA SHEPHERD{4 MONTHS OLD]WAS EATING HIS BONE,GOT UP TO GOT HE BATHROOM WAS GONE LESS THEN A MINUTE WHEN I CAME BACK HE PEED RIGHT WHERE I LAY ON THE SHEETS,WHY?????????? HE KNOWS TO GO TO THE DOOR WHEN HE HAS TO GO POTTY,IS HOUSEBROKEN//// ALSO GROWLS AT ME IF I TRY TO TAKE HIS FOOD WHILE HE IS EATING... HELP

[cmt489]

In my humble opinion, puppy is testing boundaries to see who will be alpha. Oliver used to do this with my ex. He understood that I was alpha to him but he decided to have a pissing contest - literally - with my ex over who would be alpha male (seeing as his nemesis is my ex, guess he won didn't he - LOL!! ) I actually witnessed him pee on my ex's side of the bed twice (not mine)! He would also pee right in front of him in the hallway even though housetrained.

Perhaps I should listen to Oliver's opinion on any men I bring home in the future... He obviously knows better than I do ...

Michelle

[Bill & Bob]

Well, the dog is pretty young... If I was the dog, I'd sure be wondering why you were sleeping on the floor too. Seriously, I'm wondering if he thought the blanket was his bed rather than yours? He's a male, and I know that male's like to pee on stuff for marking territory. Even inside they'll do that.

If he growls at you when you touch his food bowl, I'd say that you've got some dominance issues to deal with. That would explain the peeing on the blankie too. He wants the bed and is marking it for his own. What happened when you picked up the blanket off the floor. Did he growl at that?

If so, you need to assert yourself as the boss of the house before he takes over. He's at a good age to learn right now too. Shepherds love to learn that stuff and I've found mine likes to know his place in the pack order.

Around the house, Bob knows that I'm the boss. I can take his food, bones, toys, whatever I want, whether he's playing with them or not. I can rummage around in his mouth to look at his teeth and he doesn't say a word. Flip him on his back to look around on the underbelly and no problems.

Now if I could only teach him not to run over to grumpy old men with little dogs in the park and get them started yelling at him that would be great.

[heidiho]

yeah,i know i just got my own place so iam slowly getting furniture.i can take bones,toys put my hand in his mouth all of that,he only growls if i touch his food bowl....i brush his teeth also..And when we go int he car when i stop he has to be the first one out of the car,what should i do about that,same thing when i take him to the front door for a walk???? Is a male/...

[Bill & Bob]

First of all, good luck with the furniture. When I first moved out, I went to the local thrift store and went nuts. Outfitted the whole place for under $140! After that, you can get nicer stuff as you go along. Or, as I have done, replace it all with disposable IKEA furniture. Yeesh.

Hmm, that's interesting about the food bowl. He lets you take toys, bones and everything else away, including brushing his teeth, but won't let you touch the food bowl. Well, you got me there, but I know that the food bowl is a major hotspot for dogs.

As for the getting out of the car first, and going through doors first, that's totally a dominance thing. I make Bob sit five feet from the door to the house when we leave. I go out first and then he can follow. I read it in a book somewhere that it's a dominance thing.

You need to start wearing the A on your team. Here's an article I read that helped me out in the beginning.
http://www.sonic.net/~cdlcruz/GPCC/library/alpha.htm

[heidiho]

Yeah.i dont get it either,loves me to brush his teeth...take his toys right out of his mouth...but cant mess with his food when eating,how do i do that though without getting bit..

[mona_b]

When Yukon was that age he did grawl at me when I was near his dish.I would right away give him a stern "NO".When he stopped,I would praise him and rub his neck...I did this a few times..Then I tried to take his bowl away while he was eating.It was a bit of a test.He growled again.Stern "NO" again.He stopped.I praised him and as I was slowly putting the bowl down,I was rubbing the back of his neck..After that I had no problems at all.With Tron,I had no problem...And they are both GSD's.

As for the car and door,he needs to be taught the "sit" "stay" command..It will make things so much easier for you....

[heidiho]

He does know sit and stay,but he gets so excited when i stop the car,he just will not sit while i open the door and get out...the food thing i have tried petting him while he eats he gets real stiff ears go down then he turns his neck and then growls,i just know i am gonna get bit one of these days,do i even mess with the food thing??

[MBRA518]

Originally Posted by Bill & Bob

Now if I could only teach him not to run over to grumpy old men with little dogs in the park and get them started yelling at him that would be great.

Humm.. yah when you fiqure that one out... let me know please...

[Luba]

You can't predict he is going to bite you.

But you can do your best to teach him now. He is young and needs your guidance.

When you say hasn't eaten in 10hrs to you mean because he's been asleep or you've been away?

Your pup should be eating 3/4 times a day, how often are you feeding him?

Sadie is slowly being reduced to 3 full meals and one 1/2 meal and she is 5mons old.

She eats at 7:30am 12:00pm 6:00pm and 10:00 / 10:30pm


When and what are you feeding your dog and how much?

[melanie]

some of you have asked why a dog would need to have food removed- this is why i have to take food away (mainly bones)- firstly i have small children around often, i always seperate her before feeding but there are those moments when i need to know she wont kill someone walking past the bowl. i dont take her food these days (only during her younger years), she is fine with me now touching it (i can add food when she eats ect) and anyone can walk past. when i walk near her bowl or touch it she couldnt care less.
Most importantly- when charlie was younger we had a bad stick accident, a very large stick lodged in ground when thrown and charlie came in and scouped it up, it went through her tounge, down her throat a d through to the base of the tounge, it was horrific, her neck was stuck backwards from the stick and i had to remove it, oh i will never forget the way she screamed poor baby, chill up my spine (the vet thought i was in worse shock than her).
so the stick caused sever nerve damage and she cannot feel most of her tounge, when she finds a bone, (gee those little buggers can hide anywhere) her tounge falls sideways when eating it and she actually eats the tounge. she has had almost half her tounge removed from chewing it and causing it to turn to dead meat (her tounge is now has a square in it). so if charlie gets a bone it is imperative that any human and mainly me can get the bone off her, of course i try and give her something as a replacer but that is not always possible. so yeah there are some pretty good reasons for charlie not to be aggressive over food and there is not so much tounge left so we cant loose anymore, my vet agrees that without her tounge she cant live and that is what i will do anything to avoid. and please dont throw sticks for dogs, my vet has told me many a stick injury story.
just thought i would give a bit of an explanation of some of my reasons. and boy does her tounge look funny, and it is full of little holes that her teeth stick through, i think she looks like a pirate dog

[mona_b]

I was wondering about the feeding also Luba....

GSD'S are prone to Bloat....And it can be life threatening and very expensive with surgery...So yes,3 times a day is right...

Yukon and Tron get fed 2 times a day now...But dry is left out when they get the munchies.....

[heidiho]

My dog eats 2 x a day ..... Was told that by a few vets,do not want the puppy to grown to fast,also gonna take him off puppy food at 6 months because of that reason also

[heidiho]

p.s. he is eating science diet puppy,was on sensitive skin because he bites at himself but that did not help//

[Luba]

Melanie you're absolutely right you do need to be able to take something from the dog or be safe around kids. But kids can never be left alone with a dog EVER.

Right now this pup needs to learn quite a bit, so in time when he learns to trust her it will work out.

People don't realize (not saying in this situation) that teasing a dog to take it's food or bone or treat makes a dog very unpredictable and irritated.

Also, playing games like tug of war are a big no no! It teaches the dog to be aggressive towards us and our hands. Fetch is fine tug of war out of the question.

Mona as for the kibble being left out, Your dogs are adult and well trained ..you know them inside and out and you can do that, ....you know what you're doing With a dog that has these tendancies towards food you can't let them have control over when they eat. And for pups it's not a good idea, they develop control over food patterns and think they are 'alpha'.

Your dogs are well trained Mona and yu can do that.

Sadie has never ever shown me any aggression that way and I still feed her meals and never leave anything down. she gets to chew on her bones and I take them away when I feel she has had enough. BUT she gets a small treat before I take it from her to remind her she is a sweetie and being a good girl. Never had a problem yet, hopefully I never will.

[heidiho]

I dont think it is teasing the dog,but i do think it is confusing for the dog