AN INTRODUCTION TO YOUR GERMAN
SHEPHERD PUPPY
This has be kindly reproduce with permission from
Jean Duff {
Willowdale GSD's }
A NEW PUP
Congratulations! you have
recently acquired a German shepherd puppy over the age of 6 weeks old and
hopefully it will be, and continue to be, a source of enjoyment for all the
family. This short guide is to give you some background as to how the German
shepherd pup would have been reared and his/her feeding habits. Also perhaps
some hints on how to deal with the initial problems (or joys) depending on your
outlook!!!!
The German shepherd puppy should be apparently in excellent health and condition
having had a veterinary examination during the course of his inoculations,
notwithstanding that ideally the puppy should be traumatized as little as
possible during its change of home. This is a very stressful period for some
German shepherd pups and great care should be exercised. Do not be concerned
with the fact that German shepherd puppies will exhaust themselves in play very
quickly and 'crash out ' so to speak on the spot, ie sleeping within minutes.
This is absolutely normal and it is also extremely common for the heart to
over-react at times due to prolonged or additional excitement. As the German
shepherd pup grows these occasions become less and less until it learns to cope
admirably with all situations it encounters.
Inoculations
All necessary precautions should be taken as there is a poor recovery rate, and
at best leaving the pup seriously incapacitated, from the canine viruses.
Dog License
The dog license which you have shown me should be kept up to date.
Toilet training
The easiest method is with papers and if this system is used training should be
accomplished within weeks. If the weather is good the German shepherd puppy
should be fed and kept outside until it has 'performed' and then you should
shower it with praise. It learns quickly from 'praise'. If in the home, place
the papers within reach of the pup, plenty of them to start with, and gradually
reduce the number until one only is at the back of the door and eventually it
waits at the door to get out. Do not stick the German shepherd pup's nose in any
waste product; this is absolute nonsense and achieves little.
General training
Do not slap a German Shepherd pup with papers this is very cruel and achieves
nothing except to teach the pup to be frightened of papers. To get a German
Shepherd puppies attention it is always best to use an enticement. To correct it
lift the German Shepherd pup by the scruff of the neck and shake it, repeatedly
saying 'no'. This is what the mother German Shepherd does (well obviously does
not say 'no'). Be consistent - do not let it on a chair one moment and then
chase it the next. Do not string sentences such as "oh! do not do that' - just
simply NO. One word commands and never say 'come here and sit down' - this is 4
commands to a dog. One word commands is all that is necessary - do not confuse
the animal with more.
Feeding
Well this is crucial to the growth and development of the young individual.
There are many excellent products, such as Royal Canine, Eukanuba, Hills, Beta,
Bento, Pedigree, and provide the right formula is obtained . They are all very
efficient. Through time if wished, one can feed meat or other dietary items. Be
careful however, German shepherd pups are wise creatures and if they get used to
steak they will demand steak.
At times with the changeover of diet or indeed just at times, the German
shepherd pups stomach may become upset and diarrhea ensue. Provided there are no
other symptoms such as vomiting the following procedure is advised. Keep all
food away from the German Shepherd pup , even though it wants it , and offer
water only (not milk). Give the German Shepherd puppy an appropriate dose of
Kaolin and Morphine (or alternative) over a period of 24 hours. If the diarrhea
has stopped feed a little white meat an then perhaps some scrambled eggs. Very
little at a time . After another 24 hours you should be able to ascertain the
extent the upset has cleared and then you can put the pup back to its regular
feeding but very gradually with small amounts at a time . No not worry about the
weight it will soon put it on when back to normal. If however , the is blood
being past or projectile vomiting is taking place a visit to the veterinarian is
essential.
Do not add any extra vitamins to the feeding provided the proprietary
recommended meals are being used. The German Shepherd pups body will expel any
unnecessary vitamins such as calcium and the fact extra doses can do more harm
than good.
Chewing
Provided the German Shepherd pup with his own toys and this should avoid
problems of the destructive nature but you may have to be patient and wait for
his teething period to finish.
General
The German Shepherd puppy should have been presented to you with pedigree,
kennel club registration and can be transferred for the appropriate fee on the
certificates. We also recommend you continue with your insurance coverage when
the 12 weeks free insurance has expired.
All breeders should be available within reason to answer any queries you may
have regarding your new pup.
In the following pages we have attempted to cover some of the 'little' problems
encountered with German Shepherd pups and hope that the narrative will be of
help. Most problems that arise are toilet training, chewing and noise. These are
dealt with although there is always one which has not read the rule book and
improvisation may be necessary.
Socialization
The importance of the above is manifold in that today's society demands that we
as humans confirm, everything must be in it's slot and ultimately this leads to
the situation whereby there is a place for everything and nothing should be out
of place. Not wishing to remonstrate about the diction that the modern, educated
world is taking we are still left with the irrefutable fact that the demands of
today call for the dog to be sociably acceptable to the human race. What exactly
does this mean! Interpreted literally it means that the dog should not:
* Bark * Defecate * Greet anyone * Run free * Shed * Fight
Society is happy for the dog to perform as:* Blind leaders * Deaf hearers
* Guard(under control)* Experimental material *
The dog loving public oddly enough is not quite in the minority, having ,of the
overall pet owning population 25% of the share. However, the greater majority
see dogs as a nuisance and at best something to run around a yard. So how do we
deal with this situation. We simply have to ensure that our dogs, in as far as
we possibly can, do not cause any reason for complaint as unfortunately the law
and everything else is very heavily weighted against the poor dog. Even the cat
and horse have more support than the dog.
So these issues have to be tackled by educating the German Shepherd dog. Buying
the book and setting it in front of it does not seem to work, so how do we
overcome this?! The sooner the indoctrination begins the better . If we can
start with the German Shepherd pup and teach it a few of the do's and don't then
we will have a sound base to build on.
The most essential part of socializing a German Shepherd pup is to train it how
to behave with:
1) People
2) Other dogs
Most of the behavioral components required for both of these are similar. The
German Shepherd dog should not bite, snap, bark at, jump on or run away from
people or other dogs. The most accepted type of attitude society calls for is
for the dog to ignore everything else around it and to pay attention to its
owner. This state of learning can be achieved ultimately with the other dog if
its learning habits are channeled carefully from the beginning.
Coercion in training should be avoided at all cost; but there may come a time
with some very obstreperous dogs when mild force may be the only answer as
against a visit to the vet.
So German Shepherd pups are very much like young children; adult German Shepherd
dogs are much like older children - very little change! When we are attempting
to do anything with the German Shepherd pup and try to imagine what it is
thinking and remember your childhood. Being a devil was always fun and you, the
perpetrator never saw any harm in your devilment. The German Shepherd pup is
exactly the same it cannot understand why it should not do certain things or
indeed more important how to avoid doing these things. It is up to show the
German Shepherd pup the right way, ie to make it more socially acceptable.
We should not be so concerned with getting the German Shepherd pups to perform
precise obedience but rather to teach them the acceptable levels of behavior and
how to integrate into the canine world of the adult dogs and more importantly
how to interact with the human race. What may seem very simple to an individual
may be very difficult to another . For instance some children are frightened of
the dark, others are very daring in the dark. But would you with a frightened
child lock it in the room to cure it! I think not , so punishment is not the
reward with dogs either. We must at all times be precise and attempt to use the
same commands. They are very clever at noticing routines and will anticipate
what you are going to do next before you even know it.
So we must start by teaching the pup to be tolerant and not frightened or
aggressive towards dogs or humans. This is achieved by praise when its doing
what you want and stern handling when it is not.
Some of the habits of dogs most disliked by humans:
*Barking dog
Most dogs bark unfortunately. This is there method of communication. Yet; in
some areas of England there has been bylaws passed that prohibit the dog from
barking!! No-one as yet seems to be able to get the dog to read the bylaw though
so it is not sure how this is going to be implemented. But let us try to tackle
the dog which barks, whines, generally makes a noise consistently.
Many things need to be taken into consideration not least of all the age. Here
we will deal with the young German Shepherd pup. The major reason dogs bark is:
1) Attention 2) Fear 3) Aggression 4) Play 5) boredom
1,4, and 5 can sometimes be interlined. As the German Shepherd pup is after
attention in order to play which breaks the boredom. 2 and 3 are intrinsic
characteristics of the dog and have to be handled in a disciplined manner.
The problem with the dog who barks primarily for attention is that even scolding
it gets the dog the attention it craves. So use reverse physiology perhaps let
it see you so that its attention is drawn to you and not the other way around;
but do not make of it. Keep using such methods or drawing its attention without
paying attention to it and eventually it will become bored with you and prefer
to do other things.
With German Shepherd pups play and boredom are frequent offenders causing the
pup to bark. It is learning and gets excited about everything. Let it have toys
of its own and try to give it attention at the 'danger times' ie when it wakes
up from sleep, before it is settled down for the night and first thing in the
morning. A regular amount of play and interaction at these times will teach the
German Shepherd pup his habits and he will soon learn when the time for play
which relieves boredom takes place and thus his routine will become established
without a lot of noise during the intervening periods.
To control barking through fear or aggression the methods used are similar. The
German Shepherd dog must be taught to respect you and your wishes more than his
own instincts. Training the German Shepherd dog in his stress situations to be
properly behaved will eventually cure this. It will not make the German Shepherd
dog less fearful or aggressive but just more controllable. To control general
barking for no apparent reason there are two methods one can employ. The German
Shepherd Dog can be taught to bark (yes) and once this exercise is learnt it can
then be controlled. Simply by saying NO or any other suitable word you want to
use when you end an exercise. This method means that you have turned what the
German Shepherd dog was doing itself into something you want the German Shepherd
dog to do or not do. You now control the German Shepherd dog and not the other
way around. The method of teaching the German Shepherd dog to bark can be learnt
in obedience training.
The alternative is to shock the dog into not barking. If the German Shepherd dog
gets a scare everytime it barks it starts to think twice. One method of actually
chastising the dog without actually hurting it or interfering in any way with
its future capabilities for training, is to use water. The sound of water and
the very cold effect afterwards has an almost magical effect on the auditory
senses of the German Shepherd dog. One must be ready for the event. Have a
bucket of water handy, stand hidden in a convenient very close by spot and when
the dog starts to bark through the contents of the bucket immediately at it and
shout very loudly NO. With most dogs this is only necessary perhaps once or
twice. With the hardened barker more attempts may be necessary or a stepping up
of the volume of water with the dog left to suffer a bit in his wet
surroundings.
No one method of teaching a German Shepherd dog is correct there are many and
varied ways and each owner must be able to assess his own pet and put into
action the remedy for the problem. But owners must learn to be consistent and
not proceed half way along the cure and then give in. Barking and Noisy dogs are
a big, big reason for many owners selling their dogs or worst still sending them
to the big house in the sky.
*Defecate
Not a pleasant subject, but one nevertheless which appears to cause absolutely
everyone concern. Dogs are not allowed to preform this very personal act on a
pavement, road, park, beach, or any place where the human species is situ. All
other animal life can preform this act at will without any risk of
interference.
The feces of the dog are blamed for toxicarnus, smell, unsightly and many
serious diseases in children. In fact the most common cause for disease in
humans, young or old, is through the cat or fox. Both these creatures pollute
and cause more harmful excreta, full of worms, than any other domestic animal
To be continued ...