NewGsdOwner

Hey guys thanks heaps for the responses. I moved the crate to the garage last night and I put his treats in there and closed the door. This time he only cried for 10 minutes and then fell asleep. I was planning to wake up after three hours to take him to the bathroom, but I slept for 6-7 hours and was in a panic! I thought he would have soiled his crate for sure but to my suprise he didn't. I put his leash on him and took him to his toilet area, but he wouldn't go to the bathroom there for some reason. I tugged his chain softly and wouldn't let him wonder around and he wouldn't go to the bathroom. Once I let him go, he walked around for 10 seconds and went to the bathroom in a different area of the yard. How do I get him to go to bathroom in one specific part of the yard? (In the far corner). Other than that everything seems to be going well. The water bowl issue was just saliva, so it isn't worms and he is settling down nicely. I will keep you all updated, thanks once again for all the useful information. Thomas!

That was very helpful Esky, thank you. I will probably ditch the supermarket food then, I have heard bad things about them before, but I didn't know it was including Purina/Pedigree etc, I simply thought it meant the home-brand Coles or Woolies dog foods, but at least I now know! I will look into feeding seperate meals that way I can put the uneaten kibble back in the packet.

Hey guys, I finally got my German Shepherd yesterday, and I have called him Arnold because he was huge for an 8 week old puppy, bigger than his whole litter :L. I have a few questions that I was hoping some experienced owners could help me with. 1 - I made a bed for him in the garage with some blankets/pillows/favourite toys & a teddy-bear that has the scent of his mother on it. He sleeps find outside, suprisingly only cries a little bit, but when I try to bring him inside to put him in his crate and start crate-training him, he goes crazy and screams and doesn't want to be inside there. Should I move the crate into the garage and let him sleep in there, and every couple of hours wake up and take him to his toilet-spot? He is a pretty clean puppy goes to the bathroom far away in the backyard from where the garage is. 2 - I have only had him for two days so I haven't really started training him properly. I've started doing basic things, but the only thing he knows how to do is sit/down and sometimes roll-over, should I be training him more frequently, or should I give him a couple of days to settle in so that he can get used to things, and then start training him. 3 - The breeder gave me some Eukenuba puppy food and I was advised to add in raw mince. I let him try some other branded dog food and he wouldn't touch it on the first day, but today he was eating it. Should I keep him on the Euekenuba which is pricey, or can I change over to a supermarket brand like Purina Supercoat? 4 - I never leave food out for him to eat. I feed him his meals, and if he hasn't eaten it in 20-30 minutes, or doesn't look hungry/interested in the food, I throw it in the bin, and start fresh for his next meal. Should I keep the uneaten food in the fridge, and feed it as his next meal, or should I throw it out and start over? It is usually mixed with meats and stuff, so could that make him sick? 5 - He always seems to scratch his left side of his belly/thigh and always chews on his genitals. Could this be a sign of fleas? I did a check on him and there were no fleas. He only scratches that side of his body and chews his genital area frequently, I'm not sure if he is cleaning it and its a normal puppy thing, or if it could be fleas. Should I just start giving him flea-tablets? If so, what one would you recommend? 6 - The last thing I wanted to ask was about his water bowl. I find little white things in there that don't move and don't seem to be alive. Could this be larvae that could lead to worms? He drinks the water and I haven't seen any problems with him giving worm like symptoms. He doesn't wipe his bottom on the floor or grass and when I observed his feces there was nothing there (no white ricey looking things). I apologise in advance for the large amount of questions, but I haven't owned a pup in a long time, and I just want to make sure I know everything, to give the little fella the best start in life. I will make sure to post pictures of him, he is a very handsome looking male. Thanks in advance. Thomas!

Hi guys, I'm getting my GSD short-coat pup this Saturday. He will be just 3 days shy of 8 weeks old. I haven't had a puppy for a long, long time. So I just wanted to ask some questions regarding worming and vaccination. As I understand my puppy must be vaccinated at between 10 and 12 weeks of age before he can go on walks and leave the home. How many vaccinations should a pup have before they reach full immunity, is it 3? The breeder has vaccinated him, but I don't know if I should take him to the vet as soon as I get home or when he turns 12 weeks old. Secondly, if I remember correctly, my pup has to be wormed at 8,10,12 weeks of age, I have had some people tell me that I must worm him every month after that, whereas others say every 3 months after that, just how important is worming, I live in a suburban area. I know the main threats are heartworm, tapeworm, and hookworm and roundworm, this sounds like a lot of worming products to buy (but i will if i have to). I have heard there are some products that do heartworm, fleas and all the other worms in one hit, if so could you tell me the names of these worms, and would they need to be applied every month or three months? Also, are these all-wormers safe to use on puppies? Any comments/recommendations will be appreciated!

Hi guys, I'm getting my GSD short-coat pup this Saturday. He will be just 3 days shy of 8 weeks old. I haven't had a puppy for a long, long time. So I just wanted to ask some questions regarding worming and vaccination. As I understand my puppy must be vaccinated at between 10 and 12 weeks of age before he can go on walks and leave the home. How many vaccinations should a pup have before they reach full immunity, is it 3? The breeder has vaccinated him, but I don't know if I should take him to the vet as soon as I get home or when he turns 12 weeks old. Secondly, if I remember correctly, my pup has to be wormed at 8,10,12 weeks of age, I have had some people tell me that I must worm him every month after that, whereas others say every 3 months after that, just how important is worming, I live in a suburban area. I know the main threats are heartworm, tapeworm, and hookworm and roundworm, this sounds like a lot of worming products to buy (but i will if i have to). I have heard there are some products that do heartworm, fleas and all the other worms in one hit, if so could you tell me the names of these worms, and would they need to be applied every month or three months? Also, are these all-wormers safe to use on puppies? Any comments/recommendations will be appreciated!

Thanks Miss Danni,I have spoken with the breeder and she has given me her recommendations about what pups would turn out to be the darkest in her opinion, so that is an added plus! Thanks for your tips by the way, it is greatly appreciated.

Hi, KoE and thanks for your response. I hope you didn't misinterpret my query. I would definitely agree that a healthy and happy pup is much more important than colour. I have done my research on the kennel, and I am very happy with the protocols the breeder takes, such as testing for hip and elbow dysplasia, breed surveying both the sire and the dam, and also being registered breeders adhering to the protocols of the German Shepherd Council of Australia, I just think that if I'm getting a puppy that is healthy and happy, why not look for a trait that I find desirable and impressive.

I've got a Vegas daughter from Schaeferhund, her and her sister have both been through their xrays with excellent scores. Have a look at this page http://schaeferhundkennels.com/xilly/xilly.html to see Questa and Quanta - you will notice their mother is quite pale but the girls have stayed well coloured. Its not a recent photo of Questa, but Quanta's is up to date Hey freundhund and thanks for your reply. Your girl looks glamorous! Her mother isn't dark at all, yet she is nothing like her. This must show that Vegas is a strong producer, I will do some more research and hopefully come to a conclusion soon. Thomas.

Sorry for the late reply guys, just finished work not long ago, so I haven't had a chance to give a response. I am very happy with the health of both parents, they have passed their hip and elbow tests, and are both breed surveyed class 1 dogs. I haven't had a chance to visit the pups, like I said I will visit them in two weeks when they will be just over 6 weeks old. From what I have gathered from the experience of people in this thread, in terms of pigmentation, I should be looking for dark toes/feet, dark pigmentation around the nose, lips, and eye areas. I, honestly can't wait to go see the pups, the new house I've moved into has a sort of empty feeling, and I have a feeling the pup will change that . I appreciate the input of everybody in this thread, and any addiotional information will be much appreciated. Regards; Thomas.

Hi Nekhbet and thanks for your reply. From what I have heard both parents have good temperements, a friend of mine who is getting a female from the same litter has visited the puppies, and has been very pleased with their temperements, but I do agree puppies give good indications of their future personalities. I'm not sure whether my old boy was a hard dog, he was a very good guard dog, and was very protective, yet very loyal, is this what you mean by hard dog? Any other information would be appreciated. Cheers!

Hi Miss Danni, and thanks for your reply. Have you encountered any Vegas progeny, or have you used him in your breeding program, you seem to have a lot of knowledge regarding him. The mother has no progeny as this is her first litter, I know the mother has Yacko VomHoltkamper See and Uras Von Trafalga in her pedigree, and she is a medium pigmented dog. Have you seen any older progeny from Vegas, and what is your opinion on dark toes/feet, dark eyes, nose, and lips as an indication for future pigmentation? Cheers! :D

Are you sure that is a dog, it looks more like a horse! he is huge! the parents of my pup are both pretty well pigmented, especially the father, so hopefully I can use some of the tips in this thread. Were the parents of D big? I seriously haven't seen a GSD that big in a long time. He is very masculine. What are your thoughts on paw-size determining the full size of an adult in the future? Some people don't like big GSD's, but the bigger the better I say! :D Thanks for your response!

Hi Bianca, your girl is gorgeous, I bet you're very proud of her. I am quite suprised at the loss of pigment. Thanks for your input!

Volhard test is another way of screening Thanks for that Volhard test link gsdog2, it looks very interesting, and I will make sure to research it before I pick the little guy up. By looking at your picture, your dog seems to have a nice dark mask. It looks beautiful. Is there anything you saw as a puppy, that indicated he would have a good mask, or was it just pure luck?

Heidley, the motherlines are very good with Uras Von Trafalga being the grandfather. Uras provides very good pigment to his progeny as I have heard and seen personally. Have you encountered any Vegas progeny yourself? The only ones I have seen are all very young, so I can't get a good assessment through that. So dark facial p[igment, dark nose, and eyes are what I should be looking for! Thanks for your input, if you have any other recommendations I'd appreciate it. Thomas!