Training Tip for German Shepherd Dogs and Puppies: Stop Jumping

Training Tip for German Shepherd Dogs and Puppies: Stop Jumping

Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge

Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge

How to Stop Your German Shepherd Dog, Adult and Puppy to Stop Jumping on You

German Shepherd Dog, adults and puppies are social and pack animals.  Because German Shepherd Dogs are true herding dogs, the pack instinct is very strong.  The reason the German Shepherd Dog  jumps on you when greeting you is because they are trying to get to your face to greet you with a kiss.  This is how the pack leader is always greeted in the wild.  Even if you leave the house or yard for a few minutes, your German Shepherd Dog will have a strong instinctual desire to greet you again with a kiss and, therefore, jump up to your face level.

Now that you know the reason behind this sometimes annoying behavior, you can effectively  develop a strategy to stop it.  First the best way to stop this behavior is to never allow it develop.  Many times, a new German Shepherd Dog puppy owner will allow the small puppy to greet them with a exuberant jump.  The German Shepherd Dog puppy will bounce around with great exuberance and we allow it because they are small.  Therefore, because the puppy is so small it doesn’t bother us or soil our clothes.  Even more so, we encourage this jumping behavior through positive reinforcement by loving on the puppy and responding to the German Shepherd Dog puppy with a high pitch voice that increases his excitement. This behavior is only natural and proves you are a German Shepherd Dog fan and that you love your puppy.

However, do not allow your German Shepherd Dog puppy to jump on you.  In addition, do not allow anybody to let the German Shepherd Dog puppy to jump on them.  When greeting your new puppy go down to his level so that he can greet you with a kiss without jumping on you. Every time that your new German Shepherd Dog puppy does jump on you, push the puppy away and give him a sharp verbal correction such as “OFF”!   Be careful of which command you use because as training proceeds certain commands may become confusing. For example, if you were to use the command “Down” rather than OFF, when you start obedience training “DOWN” has a completely different meaning.

While this training and correction exercise will have to be repeated several times over many days, eventually the German Shepherd Dog puppy will learn not to jump on people.

puppy jumping on mom to give her a kiss

puppy jumping on mom to give her a kiss

Tomorrow, I will post on how to stop and adult or adolescent German Shepherd Dog to stop jumping on you or others. This behavior is much harder to correct because usually it has been engrained deeply into the psyche of the German Shepherd Dog from training errors as a puppy.

Ask me a question and I will provide my opinion.

Sincerely,

KeystoneGermanShepherds

 

 

Vitamins and Supplements for Your German Shepherd Dog and Puppy

Vitamins and Supplements for Your German Shepherd Dog and Puppy

Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge

Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge

Hi everyone,

Today, I am going to explain why we supplement our German Shepherd Dogs’ and Puppies’ diets with vitamins and supplements.    German Shepherd Dogs digestive systems are not as efficient at assimilating nutrients from their food sources as human beings.  Yet, like all Carnivores and certain omnivores such as lions, tigers, wolves, coyotes, and foxes, German Shepherd Dogs have specific caloric and nutrient requirements.  Unlike their wild counterparts that meet these caloric and nutrient requirements by capturing prey and consuming stomachs and intestines that contain predigested vegetation, our German Shepherd Dogs depend on us to provide these dietary needs.  Predigested stomach contents provide the meat-eaters with much-needed nutrients such as complex amino acids, minerals, enzymes, and chlorophyll necessary for maintenance, health, and longevity.

Dry-food companies have recognized that many German Shepherd Dog owners are educating themselves on proper diets for their German Shepherd dog and puppies.  Therefore, several companies are offering their dry-food (kibble) diets with vitamins and vegetables cooked into the kibble. However, what they do not say, is that because all dry-food is cooked at such high temperatures and extruded at such high pressures that almost all vitamins and nutrients are degraded.  These nutrients cannot be found insufficient levels or in a readily digestible form in most all dry-foods.

Nevertheless, many veterinarians and dog food companies are teaching people to feed only dry food. Consider that German Shepherd Dogs are less efficient at assimilating nutrients from their food sources than human beings. Yet, intuitively we know know that if we consumed a kibble only diet for years that eventually we would have myriad of health problems caused by this kibble only diet.

We at Keystone German Shepherds and Kennels consider our dry-food as a caloric base for our diet.  Therefore, we feed a grain and gluten-free kibble that we supplement with vitamins and cooked fresh vegetables.  Our vitamins, Pure Total Dog Supplement” are packaged here at Keystone German Shepherds and Kennels in 3-pound bags of powder that is sprinkled on top of your German Shepherd Dog or puppy food.  These powder vitamins last approximately 2.5 months for one German Shepherd Dog.  Our Pure Total Dog Supplement contains diatomaceous earth, brewers yeast (all vitamin b complexes), active yeast enzymes to assist in digestion, selenium (for bone growth) vitamin c, kelp, flaxseed meal, chicken liver powder, and fish-meal for an extra boost of protein.

We sell these vitamins for $19.95 and can ship for a low fee anywhere in the United States.

Pure Total Dog Supplement
Pure Total Dog Supplement

We feed our German Shepherd Dogs adults and puppies the same diet throughout life. Once weaned, German Shepherd puppies become lactose intolerant and can no longer digest milk products other than cottage cheese, certain cheeses, and plain yogurt. Puppies grow fast and require calcium and other minerals to grow correctly and avoid joint problems later in life. We meet these requirements by adding plain white yogurt and our Pure Total Dog Supplement to their diet.

If you have a poor eater our Pure Total Dog Supplement will encourage your German Shepherd Dog or Puppy to eat.  The German Shepherd Dog cannot resist the chicken liver powder that is an ingredient in our Pure Total Dog SupplementPure Total Dog Supplement will also stop your German Shepherd Dog adult and puppy from eating wood, dirt, rocks, and poop.  German Shepherd Dogs adults and puppies will only eat these items in an effort to satisfy their needs for certain nutrients and minerals that are found in wood, dirt, rocks, and poop, which are not in a digestible form. These macronutrients and minerals are in Pure Total Dog Supplement and satisfy your German Shepherd Dog metabolic needs for these items.

Try supplementing your German Shepherd Dog adult or puppy with high-quality vitamins and your German Shepherd Dog will thank you with a longer and healthier life.

Ask me a question and I will provide my opinion.

Sincerely,

KeystoneGermanShepherd

Training Tip for German Shepherd Dogs and Puppies: Stop Jumping

German Shepherd Dog Show Results and Reflections: Feb 2 & 3, ’13 Pine Bluff, AR

Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge

Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge

Hi everyone,

We just returned from the February 2 and 3, 2013 Pine Bluff, Arkansas dog show.  We did not do as well as we had planned, but we were able to get Select German Shepherd Dog and Select German Shepherd Dog Bitch.  Therefore, Ch. Heidelberg’s Zeke v. Gennyh owned by Terry and Spencer Cline won two majors and 6 Grand Champion points towards his Grand Championship.  In addition, Ch. Heidelberg’s Kelsey Queridad won two majors and 9 Grand Championship points towards her Grand Championship.

We did not win any class points, but Heidelberg’s Kaito v Carlief owned by Kristen Brian got a major reserve under Judge Roger Hartinger.  On the bright side, at her first show, Heidelberg’s Daphne Oklahoman being shown in 12 to 18 class showed very well for a puppy and placed both days.  Daphne will likely finish her Championship very quickly.

Heidelberg's Daphne Oklahoman

Heidelberg’s Daphne Oklahoman

We may have done much better at this German Shepherd Dog Show if I was physically in better shape.  During the holiday season, I had added some unneeded weight and due to the cold weather my activity level also declined.  Because I got fatigued, I did not present our dogs as well as I could have if I were in better shape.  Needless to say, I am very sore today.

In addition, because of the cold weather none of our dogs were ready to be shown in regards to their training level.  This is entirely my fault due to my reluctance to work with the dogs in miserable weather.  For our next show, I am committed to be in better shape and have our German Shepherd Dogs better trained and ready to be shown.

We had a blast exercising our dogs at the Mike Huckabee Delta Rivers Nature Center.  The German Shepherd Dogs had serious fun investigating the old-growth hardwood bottoms of the delta.

Daphne and Patriot playing

Daphne and Patriot playing

Delta Pine Bluff 6

12 month old Hardy

12 month old Hardy

Pine Bluff Delta Delt Pine Bluff 3

Delta Pine Bluff 4

We will probably not enter under Mr. Roger Hartinger again.  We have shown under Mr. Hartinger several times now without winning any points since 2009 when we won Best in Show and winners dog under him in Enid Oklahoma.  For Judge Stephanie S. Hedgepath, we will only show under her again if she is part of more favorable judge panel for us even though last time we showed under her in 2007 in Gray Summit, Missouri, we swept all the points.

Ask me a question and I promise to provide my opinion.

Sincerely,

KeystoneGermanShepherds