persephone

a 4 mth old scalper of humans!!!! Poor little pup.

I don't think one can guarantee behaviour in dogs who you have never seen, in an environment you don't know ........ , guaranteeing one's own dogs' behaviour is hard enough :p

Agreewith Aziah - wait until you get your pup - then IF she needs a flea treatment, weigh her and make your purchase

Hmmmmm not sure about this - there are impetuous folks around ..and kids who may get in first Perhaps get some professional advice - someone who can see the dog, and who knows ways of maybe changing this behaviour?

..and that's what it's all about .. guiding/commanding so that pup will be successful and gain his reward the first time (even with lots of help)

Thanks for the update, thommomac - hoping for continued improvement!

I like this attitude That's how I was taught to train dogs as well ...

a bit of the first ..and a lot of the second ,is my guess ;) and throw in some good genes ..

My guess is that you are reasonably experienced at handling a pack .. and your dogs are housed in kennels, managed according to compatabilty, and worked as a pack? That is a different scenario to living in a house/backyard as pets .... and, yes you are crazy :p :p but having FUN!!! For the average pet owner , I would not recommend getting brother littermates.

Thanks for the explanation.... appreciated. It sounds a bit complicated for me .... giving the dog time/attention in order to NOT give it time/attention ... but if it works well for you and your dog - then fine .

yep! Sounds sensible

hello:) You and your puppy need to play the 'swap game' and to do lots of recall training;) swap is something I start really early ... and if pup is carrying a toy, or a sock or a stick.. I make sure I have a little bit of food ,or a better toy ... get pup's attention.. make eye contact, and ask them to "swap"..showing them what I have .. as soon as they drop their prize, they get the special thing to keep ... practise this LOTS ... always making sure you pick up /take gently what pup has in their mouth It is just so useful later on .. and teaches the pup to trust you .. and that giving up something, leads to a nice thing happening Recall training is also something to be practised several times a day ... with pup's dinner as reward, maybe... or a nice toy, or a cuddle .. and the most important thing is to NEVER repriman your pup when it DOES come back to you.NEVER! Whether it has just eaten the leather couch..or pee'd on the bed .. if it comes to you, it is the best dog in the world at that moment and - chicken necks may too small for your pup, if she swallows them whole try her on wings, or turkey necks, to avoid potential choking ;)

Kiera & Phoenix ... having not done 'time outs '... for obedience training ... just to settle a dog down.... can you (or someone) explain how it works? I am lying on the bed, my dog comes mooching along and annoys me .. I say "Sit,Hamlet" he doesn't .. he just stands there..then wanders off ... I get up, take him by the collar and put him in the bathroom for a few minutes. he lies down on the mat & goes to sleep.... how does this teach Hamlet to pay attention to my command? Honest question.... because I can't grasp the concept, sorry.

Welcome life is not really a continual fight for dominance you have a BIG puppy, playing TOO ROUGH for a tiny puppy. It is similar to a 5 yr old human playing with a one year old human.....VERY different sizes, and ways of playing ..and a potential for injury and , No, I don't think you should have bought two the same age .............. but perhaps you should have waited until your first one was mature and settled . Sorry,I have no suggestions for you, other than to separate them when you are not around....

Must admit to not understanding a time-out for not sitting? Time out for being very boisterous /bouncing/barking etc ...but I usually say "sit".. no compliance? Well dog gets put in a sit, then praised lots ..so "sit" doesn't mean "ignore and be put out of sight".. "sit" means "I do such & such and get praise"

If the owner won't even keep his dog on a leash in the park... I doubt he would be willing to contact/work with a behaviourist Sounds a sad outcome for the dog.

was the meet&greet at your house, or elsewhere? Perhaps he is different 'at home' yes, he was vet checked...but did the vet specifically check his spine/legs/joints?

OK ... I ask you to vacuum the house. You say no. I say 'I'll keep this $2 I was going to give you' what is your care factor? Extremely low. Because the value you see in the potential reward was low. Your dog is the same. Wow, dont get a cuddle, meh, whatever, moving on. You have a male GSD. He needs his brain challenged which boils down to more then pat or no pat. Push the boundries with him, withold things he likes if you dont want to do anything else with him and get him revved up a bit. If you cannot manage that join a dog club that can show you how. I love it when people bring me 'stubborn' or 'stupid' dogs and I have them working within a session. They're just unchallenged and nonchalant really. That is some very good advice you just got from Nekhbet. Indeed it is

BARF?

yep - food is something to be valued/worked for/ appreciated by using hunger/achievement as the 'gravy' ;)

have no idea- but WOWWWWWW!

Does Max enjoy his food at mealtimes? I suggest you try T O T Also- if you think that a dog will not obey you -DON"T ask it to do anything ;) Every time you say 'sit',and max walks away ... that is what he's being trained to do . How often do you do obedience training at home? They need to practise doing the RIGHT thing, to learn it .... I have never used food or toys to train dogs .. our dogs only get praise/cuddles, etc when they do what is asked- so praise is worthy of their learning/obeying ..... - try to NOT praise your dog for just walking past, or looking cute ;) I suggest you practise N I L I F, as well.

How awful for you Poor little pups. This is such a horrible thing hanging over the head of a new puppy owner ... worried all the time , trying to keep a pup safe .. what if they scratch/bump themselves while there are no humans around ? What if they need surgery? No chewing bones or sticks in case of injury...and, yes, teething , never knowing if/when it was going to happen hard decisions for you to make -

sheltieXchi ?