Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hi Everyone,
I will be in Yellowstone for two weeks so I will be unable to post until June 15, 2013. However, Spencer, my 29-year-old son will be posting updates on our puppies that we have for sale, and he will be running the kennels for boarding. Our Pet Supply store will also remain open.
Sincerely,
KeystoneGermanShepherds
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hi Everyone,
The American Kennel Club (AKC) requires that breeders permanently mark their German Shepherd Dog puppies with an individual tattoo number or microchip. We at Keystone German Shepherds & Kennels have always tattooed all our shepherds, but about three-years-ago when AKC came out with the AKC Companion Animal Recovery (CAR) with their International Chip, we were quick to jump on board with the AKC CAR program. We now tattoo all our puppies and offer the service to microchip your new puppy for $20.00.
Microchip Your Dog With AKC CAR Program
Having both a tattoo and microchip is the best way to protect your new German Shepherd Dog puppy from theft and loss. Having your new puppy tattooed and/or microchipped is the only legal way that you can prove that puppy is your dog short of collecting DNA from both parents and paying for expensive testing. Having a microchip tag on your puppy’s collar will deter some thieves. In addition, in most jurisdictions dog pounds are required to check for tattoos and microchips and should attempt to find the owner before adopting out or destroying an identified dog. This provides extra protection for your German Shepherd Dog if they become lost.
What Me Get Lost?
AKC CAR program only charges $19.95 for a onetime and lifetime registration fee, which provides you a web page for your puppy, which you can change and update all your pertinent information, such as moving to a new home or changing veterinarians.
Ask me a Question and I will provide my opinion. Also, please see our web page: KeystoneGermanShepherds
Sincerely,
KeystoneGermanShepherds
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hi Everyone,
German Shepherd Dogs, adults and puppies love to swim. Even young puppies are fearless when it comes to water. My daughter loves to walk our new litters around a little trail that goes around one of our ponds. One day while walking a six-week-old litter in late Fall she heard a splash and turned to see a little male puppy that jumped in the cold water and was swimming to the middle of the pond. She panicked and was afraid that she would have to jump in the freezing water to save the puppy. However, she started clapping her hands and calling at the puppy and he turned and swam straight to her and the shoreline. He was cold but okay once she dried him off.
Over the years, we have on occasion heard the bad news that our customers’ German Shepherd Dog, puppy or adult had drowned in their pool because the dog did not know where the shallow end was located. The shepherd had either jumped or fallen in the pool when nobody was around and then drowned when they could not get out.
Practice Pool Safety With Your German Shepherd Dog, Puppy or Adult
If you own a pool, you can safely own a German Shepherd Dog, but you must get them in the pool and show them the shallow end and the steps. If you purchase a puppy or adult in the winter when the water is too cold to get in with them, you either must show them the shallow end by you staying outside of the pool or do not allow them unsupervised access to the pool. If you decide to show them how to get out when the water is cold have a long pole with a net to scoop them up if they panic before finding the shallow end.
Having a pool with a German Shepherd Dog can be fun and safe. However, take the time to make sure they are safe.
German Shepherd Dogs Love the Water
Ask me a Question and I will provide my opinion. Also, please see our web page: KeystoneGermanShepherds
Sincerely,
KeystoneGermanShepherds
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hi Everyone,
Introducing two or more dogs to a new German Shepherd Dog puppy can be an anxious experience because you will be worried that the older or larger dogs could potentially hurt the puppy. The first thing you must remember to do is present a relaxed mental attitude so that your existing dog(s) does not become anxious or nervous at the time of the introduction. So take a deep breath and carry your new puppy into the house and allow your other dog(s) to come up and sniff the new puppy while you sit on the couch loving the new German Shepherd Dog puppy. Once the existing dog(s) lose interest in the new puppy allow the puppy to roam around the house and approach the existing dog(s). If the existing dogs do not lose interest in the new puppy, after several minutes in your lap place the new puppy on the floor and allow the dogs to meet each other. This should be closely monitored by you until you are absolutely sure the older dog(s) will not harm the new puppy. If you have outside dogs then the same exercise can be done in your backyard.
Excited puppies playing
German Shepherd Dogs are Gregarious and Want to Be Part of a Pack
You should have a fair idea about the tolerance level and aggressiveness of the older and larger dog(s); therefore, if a possibility exists for the existing dog to snap at the new German Shepherd Dog puppy, you should do the introduction while the existing dog(s) are on leash, which may require the help of family members. Even if you have an older dog with a solid temperament if it is a shepherd or larger size dog, I would be hesitant to leave the new German Shepherd Dog puppy under 16 weeks-of-age alone with the existing dog without a couple of days of close supervision. One single act of aggression from the older dog intended only to teach the new puppy manners can severely injure the puppy if you are not there to prevent or intervene. After a couple of days of close supervision, you should know if it is safe to leave the dogs together unattended.
If you have friends with dogs then you can do the introduction in the same manner at your friend’s house. The process should be the same if your friend brings their dog(s) to your house. If you are introducing new puppies to each other there is no reason to go through any pretense, just introduce them and enjoy the show as they discover each other.
Puppies Learn Manners From Older Dogs
Puppies and Adults Can Get Along if Properly Introduced
As always with all puppies, any dogs that the puppy comes into contact with should be up to date on all vaccinations. There is little worse than losing a new puppy to parvo or distemper because they came into contact with an unvaccinated dog that was shedding viruses.
Ask me a Question and I will provide my opinion. Also, please see our web page: KeystoneGermanShepherds
Sincerely,
KeystoneGermanShepherds
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
The best way to retrain your German Shepherd Dog not to be dog aggressive is to expose them to a lot of strange dogs while walking on lead while healing, and when the opportunity arises refocus their attention from the aggressive actions to that of a calm and relaxed mindset. To get your German Shepherd Dog to refocus while it is being aggressive requires a firm action from you that must be robust enough that it will distract them from the object of their aggression and refocus their attention back onto you. For those that are physically able a Kung Fu type grip and a sharp poke into the rib cage of your German Shepherd Dog is usually enough to get them to refocus back onto you. This is not to be done hard enough to physically hurt the shepherd, but hard enough that they will be unable to ignore it and that they have no doubts that you disapprove of their behavior.
Well Socialized German Shepherd Dogs Playing
In the wild, the pack leader would harshly bite a subordinate if they were showing undue aggression to other pack members or a perceived threat. By poking your shepherd in the ribs, you are assuming the role of pack leader and biting a subordinate dog that is misbehaving, and this is how your dog will perceive this correction. If done properly, the dog will turn in your direction and look at you, and at this time you should provide a sharp verbal command of “Leave it”. Throughout this retraining exercise, you cannot become anxious or excited, you must remain calm and exude confidence or your dog will pick up on your negative energy and remain aggressive towards strange dogs.
When the correction is repeated and done correctly over several days your German Shepherd Dog will begin to relax around strange dogs and remain calm while you are walking. Once this begins you can start trying to work this exercise with long leads and allow your German Shepherd Dog to actually interact with strange dogs. You must continue to use a lead so that you can separate your shepherd from the strange dog if either dog begins to show aggression. Only when you are fully confident that your shepherd is retrained can you allow your shepherd untethered access to strange dogs.
For those people that are not physically able to perform the above exercise, electric shock training collars work well to replace the hand as the pseudo bite to your dog. In addition, if your German Shepherd Dog shows unwarranted aggression in the backyard by barking and charging the fence every time a strange dog walks by, the use of a shock collar will place an end to this unwanted behavior quickly.
If the shepherd that demonstrates this behavior towards strange dogs has subordinate dogs in the yard with them, they may lash out at the subordinate when the shock is applied. This is because they believe that the dog closes to them applied the shock (pseudo-bite) and since they are subordinate, they had no right to correct the dominant shepherd. This is a simple problem to fix, just put up subordinate dogs when using the shock collar. You may want to create the corrective situation by having friends or neighbors walk their dogs by your yard until your aggressive German Shepherd Dog ignores the strange dogs after a few corrections from the shock collar.
Socializing German Shepherd Dogs Should Start as Puppies
If you hire a professional trainer to retrain your German Shepherd Dog not to be aggressive towards strange dogs, they will basically be doing a derivative form of the above training exercise. Once they retrain your dog, they will want to retrain you. If you do not follow their instructions you will likely be right back at the starting point with a dog aggressive German shepherd.
Ask me a Question and I will provide my opinion. Also, please see our web page: KeystoneGermanShepherds
Sincerely,
KeystoneGermanShepherds
Aggressive aggressiveness protectiveness
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