Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hi Everyone,
Today I am going to discuss socialization for your new German Shepherd Dog puppy. Socialize and do it often. Once your puppy is over 16 weeks-old and has completed the majority of their immunization program, start taking them to public places as often as possible, Dog parks are good, but to acclimate them to strangers and even stranger situations, I prefer Home Depot or Lowes, which both are dog friendly. Also Bass Pro shops allow dogs into their stores. In addition, well used walking and jogging trails are an excellent choice because these often allow interactions with people and their dogs while enjoying a bonding experience by walking your puppy.
While German Shepherd Dogs’ temperament and personalities are as diverse as are the varied breeders across the country, socialization is beneficial and is often necessary to ensure your German shepherd Dog is balanced and well adjusted. If you love the breed, and want to promote them, then it is your responsibility to ensure a good German shepherd Dog citizen.
Well socialized Male Heidelberg’s German Shepherd Dogs
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hi Everyone,
Today I am going to discuss whelping boxes. I am a strong advocate for the use of enclosed whelping boxes especially for the first time mom or for female that is the family dog and are likely spoiled. Enclosed whelping boxes mean just that built in such a way that the mom cannot leave her puppies unless let out by her owner.
The perfect dimensions for a whelping box for German Shepherd Dogs are 48-inches by 48-inches for the base, and the height should be a minimum of 48-inches tall, but 60-inches is better and still allows for most owners to peer over to make sure all is going well with the newborn German Shepherd Dog puppies. Simple construction with the use of ¼-inch plywood is all you need. Adding 2×4 around the base will also serve as a rail to provide protection for puppies that crawl behind mom. The 2×4 base provides a space for the puppies to crawl away if mom falls asleep and traps the puppy between her and the wall.
New German Shepherd Dog Puppies
If you find that your German Shepherd Dog mom wants to jump up on the whelping box walls so she can look around to see what is going on outside her whelping box. You must make her stop this before she accidentally comes down and steps on one of the puppies. If she will not stop after telling her that is not allowed, you can drill a series of holes every six inches at the top of the whelping box and install 1 1/4-inch pvc pipes to block her from being able to jump up and see out.
The advantages of using a whelping box are that it forces mom to stay with and care for her puppies, and the enclosed whelping box keeps mom’s body heat in the box, thus keeping the puppies warm. In addition, if needed, you can hang a drop light with a 100 watt bulb placed approximately 12-inches from the floor to keep the puppies warm.
The major disadvantage is that it is difficult to climb in the box for cleaning purposes, and someone has to let mom out every few hours to relieve herself. In addition, if mom has an upset stomach and has diarrhea, she will fowl the whelping area. Although rare, when this may happen mom is usually careful not to fowl her puppies, which is a good thing because washing newborns is dangerous since puppies cannot self-regulate their own body temperatures.
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hi Everyone,
Today I am going to discuss companionship for your German Shepherd Dog puppy or adult. German Shepherd Dogs are gregarious, social, and pack animals. If you or your family spend the majority of your day with your German Shepherd Dog then your puppy or adult will never feel alone, and interaction with the human family suffices for the German Shepherd Dog’s need to be a part of a pack.
However, if you and your family are like most of us and heading off for school and work at least five days a week, you may consider getting a companion dog for your German Shepherd Dog. You do not have to spend big money to purchase another high quality German Shepherd Dog. You could check into pound or rescue dogs.
If you consider a pound or rescue dog, you should also consider getting the opposite sex of your German Shepherd Dog. Same sex dogs with German Shepherds Dogs may fight for dominance within the pack that includes you and your family, whereas, opposite sexes naturally assume their role in the pack without usually fighting.
In addition, you should consider getting a large dog that can withstand the rigorous and rough play of a German Shepherd Dog. My personal favorite is a Labrador or Labrador mixed breed. If you want a smaller dog, Corgis are an excellent choice.
German Shepherd Dog Females, Kennel Mates Grooming Each Other
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hi Everyone,
Today I am going to tell how to train your German Shepherd Dog to assume the heeling position from the position of setting in front of you after performing the come command from a sit-stay or down-stay position.
The heeling position is where your German Shepherd Dog is sitting to your left waiting for a command from you before proceeding. To train your German Shepherd Dog to assume this position from any position during the obedience training class it is best to start from the sitting in front of you position.
The Heeling Position
From the heeling position place your German shepherd Dog in a sit-stay or down-stay. Tell them stay and place your open hand directly in front of their face then step in front of them. Reinforce the stay command and step away from your German Shepherd Dog to the end of the lead. Then call their name and say come. When your German Shepherd Dog comes to you make them sit immediately in front of you and offer them a treat and praise. From this position have a treat in your right hand ready to give, and take the lead with the same hand letting them see or smell the treat. Say the word “Assume” and walk them around behind you using your right hand. It sometimes helps for you to take one step back with your right foot while leaving your left foot in place.
When your German Shepherd Dog is halfway around behind you, you will need to transfer the lead to your left hand (but keep the treat in your right hand) while still applying tension to continue your German Shepherd Dog to walk all the way around you until they reach the heeling position. Once they get to your left side tell them sit and provide them the treat and praise.
This exercise will feel awkward the first several times you try it but it will become more natural to you and your German Shepherd Dog. Once this is mastered by you and your German Shepherd Dog, you should be able to give the command assume and your German shepherd dog from any position on the training grounds should walk behind you and assume the heeling position.
Saturday Training Class Working on Assuming the Heeling Position
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hi Everyone,
The other day I recommended that you that you add fish (mackerel) to your German Shepherd Dog’s Diet. At the same time I suggested that you limit your German Shepherd Dogs adults to eating fish two or three times a week because all fishes from the ocean are contaminated with low levels of mercury. If you were to feed fish every day to your German Shepherd Dogs overtime they may bio-concentrate in their bodies dangerous mercury levels.
Your German Shepherd Dog puppy or adult needs approximately 3 ounces of fresh meat at every meal. I explained to you how degraded the protein that is found in dry-food requiring us to supplement fresh protein if we are interested in maximizing the health of our German Shepherd Dogs. While fish is probably our first choice, but we can only use fish two or three times a week, so what about the other days?
My favorite is venison, and we package and freeze approximately 6,000 pounds of venison scrap per year. We then cook 10 to 20 pounds of venison per day depending on how many boards we are kenneling and the ambient temperature. The colder it is outside, the more fresh protein, we will feed to our German Shepherd Dogs. On average, each German Shepherd Dog will receive daily 3 to 5 ounces of fresh protein.
Fortunately for Keystone German Shepherds, we have large deer processors nearby and we are able to collect their meat scraps for free. These scraps would end up in a dump if we did not utilize this resource.
If you do not have deer processors nearby, you can use beef, chicken, turkey, or buffalo as a fresh meat source. Just avoid processed meats such as sandwich meats and high salt and fatty meats such as ham, sausage, and bacon. A diet of high fatty meats may cause your German Shepherd Dog to develop acute Canine Pancreatitis. In addition, too much salt is unhealthy for your German Shepherd Dog and places undo strain on their kidneys. Never pour bacon grease on your German Shepherd Dog’s food.
With a little searching for sales, you can usually find good quality meats for less than $2.00 per pound. Buy up these good deals and freeze the meat until ready for use.
Provide fresh meat to your German Shepherd Dog and they will be healthier and love you the more for it.
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hi Everyone,
Today, I will tell you how beneficial eggs are for your German Shepherd puppies and adults. Eggs are extremely economical when compared pound for pound to all other food sources based on digestible protein, fat, minerals, nutrients, and cholesterol.
Eggs are nature’s perfect food package when you consider that everything is packaged in an egg necessary to create a new and complete life. However, not all eggs are equal; free-range and organic eggs are going to have a higher nutrient and mineral content than your production eggs. Nevertheless, all eggs are highly beneficial to your German Shepherd Dog, even the cheap production eggs.
Eggs are more than ninety percent digestible, and no other food source is as esculent. Because eggs are so digestible, eggs are great for adding to kibble mush after a few days to help wean German Shepherd Dog puppies and to get them on solid food.
Add Eggs After a Few Days to Puppies Mush to Help In Weaning
German Shepherd Dogs love the taste of eggs, and you literally cannot feed them too many eggs unless you are regulating your German Shepherd Dog’s weight. You need not be concerned about too much cholesterol from eggs as a part of your German Shepherd Dog’s diet. The form of cholesterol found in eggs is not harmful to your German Shepherd Dog and will not clog their arteries. Cholesterol types found in certain vegetable oils are harmful and will clog your dog’s arteries, but that subject is for another day. Eggs are good for the finicky eater because they like how they taste and may improve their appetite when mixed into their meals.
Eggs must be cooked before feeding to your German Shepherd Dog. Egg whites, and albumen contains a protein, albumin. Raw albumin binds with Biotin, which is an essential B vitamin, thus robbing your German Shepherd Dog of this important vitamin necessary for growth and maintenance. By cooking the eggs, you will denature this protein making it unable to bind to Biotin. In addition, unless you raise your own eggs, a possibility exists that the raw eggs may be contaminated with salmonella or E-Coli bacteria, which can make your German Shepherd Dog seriously ill and potentially could result in death.
Therefore, cook your eggs to ensure against bacterial contamination and Biotin deficiency. Any method of cooking is acceptable. I prefer to scramble a couple of dozen eggs at a time and then spoon them out when needed. I use virgin olive oil to scramble the eggs. Virgin olive oil is beneficial for your German Shepherd Dog if used in modest quantities.
I Promise that I Didn’t Eat the Eggs Left On the Table
Add eggs to your German Shepherd Dog’s diet and watch their coats and general health improve. They will love the eggs and you even more.
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