Puppy dog training and care, especially German Shepherd
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For the the best outcome you need to be careful when choosing your new puppy dog. You should choose a breed and temperament that is compatible with your own temperament and life situation.
It's very easy to fall in love with that furry little puppy you see in front of you but try to imagine what her or she will be like when full grown. Will you have enough space if you take on a German Shepherd? Are you really willing and able to get up early to walk your dog if you don't have a yard. A big dog should be walked before leaving for work, preferably walked at lunchtime, if possible, and of course as soon as you come home from work. It is possible but it takes more commitment, love and compassion than most people have. Also, if you are unable to spend quality time bonding with your dog, he or she will most likely tear up your place when you are gone, i.e. after the teething period has come and gone, hoping to get more attention from you even if it is negative attention, i.e. scolding.
Size is not the only determination of whether a dog is compatible. For example a Newfoundland is a big dog but is really laid back and would be happy in an apartment just loafing around, if you play and take him or her for walks regularly. Whereas a German Shepherd would not be happy in a small apartment unless you are unusually dedicated. As I mentioned it is possible because I have done it. I loved my German Shepherd, Yoda Boy, so much that I always walked him regularly and always included him in almost all of my activities, sometimes to the dislike of the dog haters. His life was the embodiment of heaven on earth and he didn't have a plantation to run on, nor did he need a collar. Instead, he had a dedicated master that really did love him, with all my heart.
Breed, or hard wired genetics, will definitely effect a dogs tendency to display certain behaviors. If you acquire or purchase a Border Collie for example then you should expect that dog to try an herd you neighbors children. A small nip to a sheep is no problem but nipping your kids or the neighbors kids could get you into criminal trouble. As my father, an ex County Attorney for Lyon Kansas, used to say "the first bite is free but they will pay if it happens again". It will be an uphill battle to rid a border collie of the traits it was breed for. It can be done, but the battles will me epic and it will be a prolonged agony.
If your lucky enough to be able to choose a puppy dog from a litter of puppies then there are some techniques for choosing the best puppy to train that you should know about.
* Pull the string method.
* Clap hands method.
* Let mother decide.
By pulling a string through the litter you can tell which one or ones are curious enough to follow the string. Curiosity is directly related to intelligence. Curiosity may have killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back.
If you clap you hands and the puppy is frightened by the noise then you will have trouble training the dog because of it's overly sensitive nervous system.
Let mother decide is a method whereby you remove all of the puppies from the mother then watch which puppy she goes to retrieve first. This method should not be used to the exclusion of the previous methods, but used in conjunction to get more empirical information about the puppy.
Also, of the litter of puppies be careful of the first one that approaches you because that one already feels like it is the dominate one in the pack. This outgoing behavior is demanding the right to be the first to greet you. Look more closely at the quiet little fellow in the corner. He or she may seem aloof and disinterested but in reality he or she is simply complying with the pack hierarchy, i.e. knows it place and will not make a challenge. The aforementioned dog would be better around children.
Please free to add any comments you may have regarding how you chose your puppy dog, or methods you have heard or read about that sound like a good way to select the right puppy.
posted by Frank Eckdall @ 12:04 AM
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My formal education is as a Graduate Biochemist, RN Nurse, Foreign MD and Unix Administrator, Webmaster
