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
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
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hi Everyone,
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
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hi Everyone,
First, I would like to apologize for not posting daily, which was my original plan for this blog.However, as we have moved into spring, mowing and maintenance work has dominated my time.I see now that I will not be able to always post every day.However, I will post as much as possible and after I get caught up with all my work, I will post on a more regular basis.Please continue to check our blog for new posts, and look in the archives for post that may be germane to your current situation or questions regarding German Shepherd Dogs.
Retraining your German shepherd dog not to be dog aggressive is not an easy task and will take a concerted effort and time to correct.Retrain rather than train is because your shepherd was not always dog aggressive, and likely you had a large part in the development of this behavior as your puppy grew up.Either you did not socialize the German Shepherd Dog enough as a puppy by exposing them to strange dogs and people or when you came into contact with a strange dog while walking your shepherd you gave the wrong signals, which encouraged the aggressive behavior.
12-Month-Old Heidelberg’s Nelson Being Socialized to Strange Dogs at a Dog Show
German Shepherd Dogs that are bred correctly will have the propensity to be protective of their owners and their owner’s property including the owner’s other animals.If not nurtured and developed correctly this predisposition to be protective can be demonstrated in aggressive behavior to strange dogs that come to close to the owners or owner’s property or even while on a walk.
Because your German Shepherd Dog is aggressive towards other dogs does not mean that your shepherd is evil or a killer. If this is your thought process then you need to understand that your shepherd is just doing what they were bred to do and because of your lack of training experience it is your fault not your dog’s fault. In your German Shepherd Dog’s mind they are protecting you from attack from strange dogs when they show this aggravating behavior of charging at strange dogs while you are walking with them.From this perspective, while frustrating, it is a little harder to be angry at your dog now that you know they are willing to risk injury and even death to protect you from what they see as a perceived threat.
German Shepherds Will Protect Your Property From Strange Dogs and People
If your German Shepherd Dog is dog aggressive then it is imperative and solely your responsibility to keep your shepherd from contacting a strange dog outside of your property until they are retrained.If your German Shepherd Dog hurts another dog outside of your property get your checkbook out and start writing a check.While you are writing a check, then write another one out to a professional trainer to retrain your German shepherd Dog.
Basically if your German Shepherd dog is dog aggressive, you have four choices: 1) return the dog to breeder or get rid of the shepherd and the problem then get a poodle because you do not understand dog psychology well in enough to own a German Shepherd Dog; 2) ignore the problem and keep your shepherd on your property away from strange dogs; 3) retrain your German Shepherd Dog yourself; and 4) hire a professional trainer to retrain your dog not to be dog aggressive.Tomorrow, I will continue this blog by focusing on option 3 and 4.
Ask me a Question and I will provide my opinion. Also, please see our web page: KeystoneGermanShepherds
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Trimming Your German Shepherd Dog’s Nails Conclusion
One of the most frustrating and difficult activities you may ever attempt with your German Shepherd Dog is trimming their nails if they resist or fight. Today I am going to tell you how to train your German Shepherd Dog adolescent or adult to sit still while you trim their nails.
This training will take patience and persistence and will require you to perform theses exercises daily for a month or more. However, the exercises only take 5 to 10 minutes and have a secondary benefit of bonding closer to your German Shepherd Dog. Do not attempt to trim your German Shepherd Dog’s nail until they successfully complete the below exercises.
Every day as with the puppy, sit with your German Shepherd Dog adolescent or adult and rub and massage them to get them to relax. Once relaxed play with their feet. If they become anxious stop and go back to rubbing and petting them. Continue daily with this exercise until you can hold their feet and spread their toes without resistance or anxiety.
Every day after you play with their feet, place your German Shepherd Dog adolescent on a grooming table. Good quality grooming tables and neck harness can be purchased for approximately $100.00 to $140.00. You need a grooming table if you own a German Shepherd Dog, therefore, invest in a good quality table that will last your lifetime.
German Shepherd Dog Grooming Table
Once on the grooming table place the lanyard over their neck and brush them out. If they show anxiety reassure them. Make the exercise of being on the grooming table a good experience for your German Shepherd Dog. Once they have become comfortable being on the table lift their feet up in the air and spread your German Shepherd Dog’s toes. While playing with their feet on the table, groom them by brushing and using a shedding comb, and acclimate to the nail clippers by gently rubbing them on their body and around their feet.
After Your German Shepherd Dog adolescent or adult has become comfortable with the above exercises, you are ready to start trimming their nails. If possible have another family member to help hold your German Shepherd Dog on the grooming table. Confidently start trimming their nails. You will likely clip two or three nails before they realize something is not the same. Once your German Shepherd Dog realizes what you are doing they will become anxious and start resisting. Back off from the nail trimming and reassure your German Shepherd Dog by brushing and petting. Once they calm down start clipping their nails again. Repeat the calming efforts as needed. The first time that you do clip their nails it may take 30 minutes, but hang in there because it will get better each time you trim their nails.
The above method is the best method for training your German Shepherd Dog to sit calmly while you trim their nails. However, you may speed up the process if you lack the patience for the above method and you have a strong assistant. This method requires laying the German Shepherd Dog on their side on the grooming table. The assistant needs to hold the dog down distributing their weight on the neck and head and applying pressure to the rear legs. Do this as calmly as possible and within two or three nail trimmings your assistant will be able to hold onto your German Shepherd Dog adolescent or adult in a sitting position while you trim the nails. Eventually you will not need the assistant.
German Shepherd Dog Restrained on a Grooming Table
Trim your German Shepherd Dog’s nails on a regular basis and they will love you the more for it, and you will love having doors and door jams without scratch marks ,
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hi Everyone,
Today, I would like to discuss a grooming tip for your German Shepherd Dog, adult or puppy. Because German Shepherd Dog’s are relative clean in nature, they require very little grooming maintenance other than a good coat brushing a couple times a week and nails trimmed ideally twice a month. Many German Shepherd Dog owners never clip their dog’s nails because their puppy was not properly trained and conditioned to have their nails trimmed. Now as an adolescent or adult it is a nightmare to clip their German Shepherd Dog’s nails. Other owner are afraid of accidentally cutting the quick. Thus, many German Shepherd Dog owners avoid clipping nails or take their German Shepherd Dog to an expensive grooming service or veterinarian.
It is a health hazard to allow your German shepherd Dog’s nails to grow long. Sooner or later, due to the high activity level of your German shepherd Dog, they will snag and pull an entire nail off. Such an injury is highly susceptible to serious infections that can result in amputation of a toe.
While your German Shepherd Dog is a young puppy acclimate them to nail clipping by playing with their toes while they are being loved in your lap, on the couch, or in the floor. Make it a habit to play with their feet and toes by grabbing hold of the foot and spreading their toes apart. This conditions your German shepherd Dog puppy to be relaxed regarding having their feet and toes messed with. Then clip Your German Shepherd Dog puppy’s nails routinely at least every other week. If you do this as your German Shepherd Dog grows up, you will be able to always clip their nails without problems.
Human toe nail clippers are ideal for your German Shepherd Dog puppy, but eventually you will need to purchase a good quality scissor nail clipper as shown below. Never use the the guillotine type clippers on German Shepherd Dogs. Guillotine clippers tend to dull quickly and crush the nail rather than cut, which results in discomfort for your German Shepherd Dog.
Scissor Type Nail Clippers
Below the photograph shows the correct place to trim your German Shepherd Dog nails. The cut should be made in front of the quick where the nail starts to hook over. If nails are white you can see the quick, however, most our German Shepherd Dogs have darker nails making it impossible to see the quick. Through experience you will know where to trim the nail to avoid cutting into the quick. When you do cut into the quick it will cause some pain and bleeding, and you will need to apply styptic powder. Do not be afraid of cutting the quick because “it will happen”, but as you continue to trim your German Shepherd Dog’s nails you will learn how close to trim.
Tomorrow, I will discuss German Shepherd Dogs that resists or fights nail trimming and tell you how to train them so that their nails can easily be trimmed.
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