charli73

now you mention that Flava, OH cant jog anymore because he gets the runs afterwards. Perhaps excersise stimulates the bowel. What did the vet say? Its odd she has one solid and one soft/runny one a day.. Shes back on rice and chicken till i can get her looked at, shes got the runs a bit, think its the treats I leave out for her during the day.. off to the vet perhaps..

Let us know hoe Kintala goes, would love to do tracking perhaps once our GSD finishes lvl 7 at ADT.... Are they picky with breeds as Cosmolo asked?

Shoshana, does the dvd go over recalls under distraction, ie other dogs?

Haven't asked him but will make sure I do tomorrow... Its more really soft stools rather than liquid.... but it seems to be after a good run... but she never gets excercised after eating..

What you have typed is very interesting but my concern with that phylosophy is that very few people can control their dogs environment enough to stop any outside stimuli that might trigger a drive response. If that dog responds to that drive stimuli by deciding to run and then gains drive satisfaction what is to say that at some point the dog might have to decide whether or not the payment you are offering (food,walks, cuddles etc) might not be worth as much as the "potential satisfaction of satisfying it's previously unchecked drive just one more time? Surely then, by your last statement you are saying that your recall is not 100%? Not having a go, I am just trying to gauge what you feel is acceptable. IMO my dogs must come EVERY time I call them, no if's no buts.If a dog comes 99% of the time that means that you have a 1% chance that the one time it is running to the road in front of that truck is the one time your call might fail. I find the subject of recall interesting as most people say that their dog is really reliable and then put a proviso there such as "as long as there aren't birds/people/other dogs/cars etc" that to me is not reliable. I might add that until a few months ago I was also one of those people with a proviso. What did you do differently to change this? Spoke to Steve at K9 Force and put a regime in place that has literally changed our lives in as far as what we can and cannot do with our dogs. Before talking to him I would not have dared take our male off the lead as he would have locked on to any moving object and ran,ran,ran. Steve talks to you in a way you can understand and then suggests a solution that works for both you and your dog, he also explains the science behind it all if you want to get that in depth about it. Well if only Steve from K9 were in Vic Id get his help in a flash! Heard great things, training in drive is one thing Id love to do with our GSD...

Hi all, Just wanted to know if anyone elses dog gets the runs after excercise? Our 13month GSD gets this and I wondererd if anyone else had the same, wondering if its normal as its been happening since she was young....

I taught Zoe to poo in one spot down the side of the house... When she needed to go I would take her down there and say "toilet" and praise her heaps when she went.... At about 9 months she tried to test me by pooping on the grass while I was watching but I growled and she ran down the side when I caught her, she did that a few times but she hasnt done it since... shes 13months now.. So it can be done!! and its so much easier to pick up when its in one spot..worth the persistence.

While we're on the topic of speaking the same language, Puppy may be too young but I saw a Jan Fennell dvd the other day and it really opened my eyes on how to communicate with dogs in a more sedate way, not this growling stuff I was shown at school ... its working really well for us.... some agree others dont, although its certainly better than growling and getting aggressive with the puppy which fires her up even more... now she settles down very quickly GSD handler your post sounds very similar to my posts almost a year ago, we had a hard time too.. :rolleyes:

GSD handler, I feel your pain, but a few comments... At 14 weeks they destroy stuff, thats just what they do, and so many times I lost my S#@& at Zoe for chewing stuff but shes a puppy and thats what they do and there is apparently a light at the end if a tunnel... Zoe although she is outside during the day, is an inside dog. As soon as I get home from work shes inside on her bed, she sleeps inside and eats inside and we play inside and out...Could Koda stay out during the day and come in when youre home? She does destroy stuff outside, I would never leave her inside, she would rip up the place so Id rather her ruin the garden and have it look bad for a few years until she grows out of it than eat my sofa or bed and cost me thousands.. Zoe still goes and gets stuff to chew to get our attention inside and then hopes we chase her, and nip at us etc. We used to grab her muzzle and growl at her but it just fired her up even more. Now we simply give her a firm no, and lead her quietly into the laundry or simply separate her from us and she soon learnt that if she acts up she gets the ultimate punishment, being separated from us and she is much calmer.... She didnt start puppy school until 9 weeks and she has been going every week since we got her 7 weeks. Can you find an ongoing training club raher than a 4 or 5 week course? Best of luck and it will ease up eventually but you have a while to go, hang in there!!!

A I kid I was bitten on the face by a corgi as I was patting it while eating... But I was only 3 and still have the scar today. My first step when we got a German Shepherd pup was to teach her that we contolled what she ate and when. Primarily because I wasnt going to have a food aggressive dog. We got her used to being touched while eating and touched her bowl by adding food to it and she has no food aggression issues, just sits quietly for you to put it back as she knows me touching her bowl is good.. Just another point of view... now if only I could get her let me touch her toys

I think it depends on the dog... I let my 18 week old pup off lead and he recalls every time when playing with other dogs. But we have been working very hard on it. I am a firm believer that until your dog has a rock solid recall you should never use the command to come. That way the dog never learns that he/she could just ignore you. I would try out the long line and see if that helps. We have long line and at school today around other dogs she did a recall straight to me and sat in front... I used to never do it off lead but this new "ignore her" if she doesnt recall seems to be doing the trick for us ATM... I didnt realise when she was a pup just how important and how hard recalls would be down the track so we only have ourseles to blame for letting her off lead as a puppy to play and socialise with other dogs... but hey she seems to be finally getting the message now so were pretty happy.

Jess, how old was your dog when you finally let her off lead and she came back while other dogs were around? Do you think its just an age thing? Im being told once she matures she wont be so focussed on other dogs, more on us..

Our GSD was us at 5.30am for the first 6 months or so, but then for the next few months she would cry until we got up and it drove me mental. She would bench surf, grabbing what she could to get our attention but now she is 13months she sleeps in until 8.30am... They eventually learn to sleep in. Its hard now but will get better..

Our girl is also terrible with Recall when other dogs are around so I dont let her off lead.. I was once told not to ever practice of lead as if they dont come they learn to disregard what you say however... I had a GREAT idea sugested to me and its wokring miracles.. play with the dog in your back yard off lead and call out "come" and if puppy doesnt come go inside and stop playing for 10-15 mins.. The dog soon learns to continue playing she has to come.. We have been doing this at home for a couple of weeks now and she is consistently recalling, with a sit in front of me and then I continue to keep playing with her.... and at school she is going grea too. She has finally learnt to come or no play. We are going to practice this with more distraction than a ball flying around the yard soon. Yet to try it off lead but not going to try it anytime soon until she is faultless. Hope this helps, as it certainly has helped us..

My mums dog was 4 when he started lifting his leg. It wasnt until he saw another dog lifting his leg up that he realised "hey thats how Im suppose to do it".. funny stuff.

All Zoe did was sleep,eat, play, sleep eat play..... at 14wks it seems totally normal, enjoy the rest while you can!!! Rajko needs all the sleep he can get, thats when their little bodies grow and he has some growing to do!!! It seems very normal to me.. If it worries you to the point of concern get him checked by the vet but Im sure its nothing to worry about.

Wouldnt some basic obedience incorporate the sits drops, stands which you are training anyway, they all involve the dog wearing the lead which may help get her used to it? A prong collar would help with walking but if she hasnt been taught to heel when walking, with turns etc and standing by your side or simple obedience like behaving on a lead that may be your first problem, obedience also gives your dog the message that you are the leader? Im not sure what type of obedience you have/have not done, so Im not flaming you, I just think it might help establish you as leader first...does that make sense?

Our shepherd puppy ate stones when she was a pup... It only lasted a few days. We had lilydale toppings so they were pretty small stones which passed naturally without any problem. She grew out of it...

We had 2 weeks off work when we got our GSD puppy and shes alone while we work. In the first 2 weeks we went out for an hour to start with, then the next day 2 and a few hours the next day to get her into a routine neve making a fuss when we left or returned we ignored her until she calmed down and she has adjusted quite well although always excited to see us when we get home. We also walk her in the morning and at night.. Im not sure I could leave her inside ever but a smaller dog would be ok.. If thats what the pup is used to then it should be ok..

A picture would be good! and a word of warning, GSD's are sooks and they cry alot, nobody told us when we got one, just a trait I guess. We still go out to the toilet with Zoe when she goes at night so she doesnt get disracted and we grabbed her snout and growled when she mouthed us also...

Im no expert but this is my experience with barking...and have had some great advice from a great trainer. Sounds like someones puppy has found their voice! They bark for 2 reasons, alert or attention... If its alert barking theyre trying to tell or warn you of something, attention they want something ot want you to pay attention.. Our dog found her voice and we kept telling her to be quiet when she barked heaps outdoors. The more we told her off the more she did it as she was getting attention.. till we worked out what bark she was making.. When she barks for attention we ignore her and she has learned it wont work so she has stopped. When she alert barks she usually has her hackles up, noise from neighbours yard, cat, possum, although Its her job to protect if she doesnt calm down after I reassure her then I will bring her inside or tell her 'enough' She has stopped her nuisance barking and has calmed down heaps..The more of a leader you are the less your dog will feel he has to protect you and bark to protect/alert you....

Rob, There have been some great honest replies, I think you have some great opinions everyone.. here is mine.. We got our first dog 11 months ago, a GSD as my husband and I always wanted one.. So many times I freaked out, cried and wanted to take her back just as I didnt realise how much time, work and patience was involved to help train and love the perfect little destructive monster...My husband said he would support my decision whatever I wanted to do.. Now she is 13 months although she drives me insane sometimes I just am so glad we got her... I just LOVE her to bits and am very proud of the work we have put in to train and socialise her... It was damn hard work, and we chose a breed that prob wasnt the easiest first off, but the reward is her.. I really hope your wife can get into training her, it willl get more fun maybe once she starts to see the results... Im sure 'Marley and me' will make her shed a tear.... Best of luck with whatever you decide to do..

Thanks a lot - it does help. I started being very assertive and calm with her this week and it is definitely helping. I am using the 'nothing for nothing' philosophy. It seems to really be helping. The barking is still going though (high pitched yelp) which drives us nuts. We're also trying to ignore her. Will keep everyone posted as to how she's going. Keep it up, it took a couple of weeks even 3 to get our girl to realise we werent going to pay attention to her bark for no reason, but the trick is figuring out which bark she is making.. she is soo much better now with barking.. and NILIF works wonders too!

I agree with everything that has been said above... In relation to the barking though, our Shepherd when she found her voice she worked out we would come out and tell her to be quiet when she barked, so she started barking even more for attention. Working out whether she was after attention or alerting us to something took a while but if it was attention barking we ignored her... she would run inside to check if we were watching her then she run outside again... After we ignored her for a while she has since stopped barking for attention.. and alert barking I let her know its all ok, and tell her off only if it wont stop but shes pretty good now... Jumping up? We just taught her she would get a knee up if she jumps and no attention until shes sitting... Thats all i can add but hope it helps???

My GSD cut her pad open on her smashed ceramic bowl.. She left bloody pawprints everywhere and was limping for a week or so.. I had the vet check it out but thank god it wasnt deep enough to need stitches.... Just pain killers for a day or two and she was good as gold. We did put her pad in diluted dettol....