My husband and I decided to get DS puppy a couple months back and it has been the best decision ever!! He brings a ton of happiness into our day and keeps us VERY busy and entertained. He is almost 6 months now.
Growing up my family rescued a Dutch Shepherd and he was the most amazing dog ever. Hands down. He had a few quirks (hated strangers with a passion), but was super easy to train and loved us incredibly. We lived in Northern Ontario and his main job was to keep bears and raccoons away from the house, go running with me (as I am a long distance runner) but he pretty much came everywhere with us. We adored him. My husband also grew up with shepherd and loves dogs.
We are trying to do things by the books, as neither of us has ever had a puppy in our adult life but we have had a few slip ups, as I am sure most people do when an adorable puppy is around. We don't let him on the bed, or give him table scraps or anything like that, but from time to time we do play games that perhaps we shouldn't like chase around puppy who has stolen mitten (off my hand!) or very rarely but occasionally tug on the leash game. He is pretty good at the “Leave it” command, but for some reason the leash is almost always the exception. When we are walking he wants it in his mouth. I usually stop walking until he drops it, but then it takes a LONG time to get home!! I recently got a chain leash, am hoping this will help.
There are a couple things that I am worried about and I am wondering if some veteran DS puppy owners can give me some insight.
1. When we are at the dog park and it is time to go, he really does not want to leave and will nip at me when I try and put his leash on. He is mouthy but not overly at home, it just seems to come out when he is already amped up. The only time he ever does this is at the dog park.
2. We don’t have kids, but I have younger siblings that stay with me during the summer, as of now he has had limited interactions with kids, just strictly because I don’t come across many. What is the best way to introduce them? When he was smaller he played with friends kids a couple of times with no problems. I am just wondering if I am overthinking it? My little brother and sister are 7 and 10.
The only reason I think I worry is he gets pretty hyper (nippy) if I am running around like crazy being hyper and my siblings are always like that. Very high energy.
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Any advice ?
- Smanders
- Puppy
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2014 12:10 am
- Tell us about yourself: My name is Sarah, my puppy is named Hobbes. He is 5 months old and full of piss and vinegar. Currently training in obedience and just starting with tracking. This is my first puppy so I am always looking for advice!
Any advice ?
-Sarah & Hobbes-
- LyonsFamily
- Training Dog
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- Tell us about yourself: Odin 5 years
Elli 5 years - Location: Michigan
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Re: Any advice ?
1. I'd stay away from dog parks. There are so many better ways to exercise a dog and you can clearly see how amped up he is even after playing, so it's not a benefit. I don't see the benefit of letting strange groups of dogs run around together without any structure.
2. It really depends on the kids and how they are with dogs and how they'll respect a dog and your rules. I don't know many 7-10 year olds that I'd let interact with my dogs. They're in a crate or xpen in another room when any young family comes over and the door is usually locked. My brother in law (12 now) likes to get in the crate with his dog at home. I think that's asking for an accident and don't think it's even worth trying to educate a kid that's not my own. His mother encourages it and thinks any dogs that don't like it are vicious man eaters.
It sounds like you don't have clear rules with the running around and being hyper, so enforcing those rules when your siblings are there will probably be hard too. I'd never leave them unsupervised with the dog and when they're out running around, that's the ideal time for your dog to take a break and maybe chew a PB filled kong or bully stick. Only allow calm interactions. How long will your siblings be staying for?
2. It really depends on the kids and how they are with dogs and how they'll respect a dog and your rules. I don't know many 7-10 year olds that I'd let interact with my dogs. They're in a crate or xpen in another room when any young family comes over and the door is usually locked. My brother in law (12 now) likes to get in the crate with his dog at home. I think that's asking for an accident and don't think it's even worth trying to educate a kid that's not my own. His mother encourages it and thinks any dogs that don't like it are vicious man eaters.
It sounds like you don't have clear rules with the running around and being hyper, so enforcing those rules when your siblings are there will probably be hard too. I'd never leave them unsupervised with the dog and when they're out running around, that's the ideal time for your dog to take a break and maybe chew a PB filled kong or bully stick. Only allow calm interactions. How long will your siblings be staying for?
Stephanie
'Odin' NV PTA Odin of Another Kingdom RL1
'Elli' Drawing Our Own Constellations RL1 CGC CGCA
'Odin' NV PTA Odin of Another Kingdom RL1
'Elli' Drawing Our Own Constellations RL1 CGC CGCA
- Dutchringgirl
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- Tell us about yourself: I am a mom of 6 life forces - 2 kids and 3 dogs 1 hamster. I live in Ct. I have trained Ringsport and Agility and have 2 DS, one 15 and 7 and a Basset Hound Cookie who is 2
- Location: Ct, USA
Re: Any advice ?
No dog parks.
tell the kids to sit quiet and let the dog come to them, then exstend their hand and let the dog make the first move, keep the kids quiet around him and easy scratching for a while.
Keep him on a leash at all times around the kids.
tell the kids to sit quiet and let the dog come to them, then exstend their hand and let the dog make the first move, keep the kids quiet around him and easy scratching for a while.
Keep him on a leash at all times around the kids.
Lisa, Thalie CGC & Sadie, Cookie the Basset, CT
- Smanders
- Puppy
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2014 12:10 am
- Tell us about yourself: My name is Sarah, my puppy is named Hobbes. He is 5 months old and full of piss and vinegar. Currently training in obedience and just starting with tracking. This is my first puppy so I am always looking for advice!
Re: Any advice ?
Kids will be with us for 2 months at the cottage.
That is craziness and I would never let anyone in any dogs crate with them. Isn't the point of the crate so they have a safe space to themselves ? My siblings are very respectful and listen well. Calm interactions is def a good place to start. I do try and have structure with running around and being hyper, it is allowed outside, but not in. When I am running late for work( me being crazy and hyper) then he always picks up on it and gets kind of nippy. For the most part he is pretty calm inside, and when he is not we crate him or go outside.
As for the dog parks, it's not so much for exercise, but for socialization. I'm big on exercise so we are always out, but because we live in a rural area we don't run into to many other dogs and whenever I read anything it always stresses socialization. We are in a basic obedience class right now (hoping to start tracking class soon which is a more structured form of socializing I guess ? Should I just stick with that ?
Thanks for your advice!!
That is craziness and I would never let anyone in any dogs crate with them. Isn't the point of the crate so they have a safe space to themselves ? My siblings are very respectful and listen well. Calm interactions is def a good place to start. I do try and have structure with running around and being hyper, it is allowed outside, but not in. When I am running late for work( me being crazy and hyper) then he always picks up on it and gets kind of nippy. For the most part he is pretty calm inside, and when he is not we crate him or go outside.
As for the dog parks, it's not so much for exercise, but for socialization. I'm big on exercise so we are always out, but because we live in a rural area we don't run into to many other dogs and whenever I read anything it always stresses socialization. We are in a basic obedience class right now (hoping to start tracking class soon which is a more structured form of socializing I guess ? Should I just stick with that ?
Thanks for your advice!!
-Sarah & Hobbes-
- Smanders
- Puppy
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2014 12:10 am
- Tell us about yourself: My name is Sarah, my puppy is named Hobbes. He is 5 months old and full of piss and vinegar. Currently training in obedience and just starting with tracking. This is my first puppy so I am always looking for advice!
- Stacy_R
- Training Dog
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- Tell us about yourself: 3 dogs and graying hair thanks primarily to Tyson...
- Location: Carolinas
Re: Any advice ?
Excellent!!!Smanders wrote:Ok so No dog parks! Got it
Structured socialization is the key.
I will ditto everything Stephanie said and agree with Lisa...calm interactions only.
I would suggest some leash desensitization as well for 2 reasons:
1) You don't want him coming up the leash at you
2) The leash is a great tool for many situations
Let your puppy drag the leash around while you are at home. Every time (yes, every time) he puts it in his mouth, redirect. Tyson wore his leash every time he was outside of his crate for a solid 2 months.
Once your puppy has learned his leash is not a chew toy or a way for him to control you, you can use it as a tool for when your siblings are with you.
~Stacy
Mom to:
Tyson - DS mix (Hendrix's Soul Sibling and Dinga Roo's long lost twin)
Baby Ruth - Miniature Schnauzer
Snickers - Miniature Pinscher
http://www.rescuedme.org
Mom to:
Tyson - DS mix (Hendrix's Soul Sibling and Dinga Roo's long lost twin)
Baby Ruth - Miniature Schnauzer
Snickers - Miniature Pinscher
http://www.rescuedme.org
- LyonsFamily
- Training Dog
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Elli 5 years - Location: Michigan
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Re: Any advice ?
The stress of socialization has changed focus over the years and I think a lot of it now is a result of the humanizing of dogs. Your dog doesn't need to learn to play with every dog it sees, just be respectful of other dogs in its environment. It never has to meet face to face with another dog to learn to be social. What used to be walking in areas that have other dogs around and going to a group obedience class has turned into daycare and dog park free for alls and puppy classes where everyone just lets the puppies play off leash.Stacy_R wrote:Excellent!!!Smanders wrote:Ok so No dog parks! Got it
Structured socialization is the key.
I use dog parks for socialization, but I never go into the dog park. We work, on leash, outside of the fenced in area and practice obedience and loose leash walking with other dogs as distractions. My dogs learn to be around other dogs, but not pick up bad habits.
Stephanie
'Odin' NV PTA Odin of Another Kingdom RL1
'Elli' Drawing Our Own Constellations RL1 CGC CGCA
'Odin' NV PTA Odin of Another Kingdom RL1
'Elli' Drawing Our Own Constellations RL1 CGC CGCA
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- Global Moderator
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- Joined: Tue Dec 29, 2009 4:19 am
- Tell us about yourself: .
Re: Any advice ?
Question about kids:
Most dogs need to be socialized around kids--and kids need to learn how to act around dogs. And kids...well, they're kids. One minute they're quiet, the next not-so-much. So I'm wondering how two months will pan out, especially without prior exposure to kids; even though her siblings are older, they're still kids. (I can name an embarrassing amount of adults I know who don't think around animals.)
To work outside the core of a park (where there are kids and a fence) might help acclimate the dog however-much to kids' movements and sounds (and varying sizes) as long as OB is at least a work-in-progress and certain commands are known and the owner remains calm and firm yet vigilant.
How often do you work daily on OB (assuming it's daily)? What commands are you stressing? Where is the dog/you in regard to command-response ratio, and depending upon that, are you offering distractions (and are you doing it so that the dog is able to know success)?
Most dogs need to be socialized around kids--and kids need to learn how to act around dogs. And kids...well, they're kids. One minute they're quiet, the next not-so-much. So I'm wondering how two months will pan out, especially without prior exposure to kids; even though her siblings are older, they're still kids. (I can name an embarrassing amount of adults I know who don't think around animals.)
To work outside the core of a park (where there are kids and a fence) might help acclimate the dog however-much to kids' movements and sounds (and varying sizes) as long as OB is at least a work-in-progress and certain commands are known and the owner remains calm and firm yet vigilant.
How often do you work daily on OB (assuming it's daily)? What commands are you stressing? Where is the dog/you in regard to command-response ratio, and depending upon that, are you offering distractions (and are you doing it so that the dog is able to know success)?
Though I can only hope to become the person who my animals believe I am, the things that they have taught me have made me a better human being. ~~~Sharon~~~
- Dutchringgirl
- Global Moderator
- Posts: 5692
- Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2011 3:05 pm
- Tell us about yourself: I am a mom of 6 life forces - 2 kids and 3 dogs 1 hamster. I live in Ct. I have trained Ringsport and Agility and have 2 DS, one 15 and 7 and a Basset Hound Cookie who is 2
- Location: Ct, USA
Re: Any advice ?
I think its more of the kids need to learn to respect the dog. Mine dont get to be around Sadie [ she gets cranky at night] if they dont respect that she wants to be left alone at night.
Socialization is over rated.
Sorry for all of the short posts.
Socialization is over rated.
Sorry for all of the short posts.
Lisa, Thalie CGC & Sadie, Cookie the Basset, CT
- Stacy_R
- Training Dog
- Posts: 879
- Joined: Mon Jun 17, 2013 12:11 am
- Tell us about yourself: 3 dogs and graying hair thanks primarily to Tyson...
- Location: Carolinas
Re: Any advice ?
LyonsFamily wrote:The stress of socialization has changed focus over the years and I think a lot of it now is a result of the humanizing of dogs. Your dog doesn't need to learn to play with every dog it sees, just be respectful of other dogs in its environment. It never has to meet face to face with another dog to learn to be social. What used to be walking in areas that have other dogs around and going to a group obedience class has turned into daycare and dog park free for alls and puppy classes where everyone just lets the puppies play off leash.Stacy_R wrote:Excellent!!!Smanders wrote:Ok so No dog parks! Got it
Structured socialization is the key.
I use dog parks for socialization, but I never go into the dog park. We work, on leash, outside of the fenced in area and practice obedience and loose leash walking with other dogs as distractions. My dogs learn to be around other dogs, but not pick up bad habits.
Thanks, Stephanie... You said what I meant.
And Lisa, I agree...socialization in the way that people mean it today is overrated.
~Stacy
Mom to:
Tyson - DS mix (Hendrix's Soul Sibling and Dinga Roo's long lost twin)
Baby Ruth - Miniature Schnauzer
Snickers - Miniature Pinscher
http://www.rescuedme.org
Mom to:
Tyson - DS mix (Hendrix's Soul Sibling and Dinga Roo's long lost twin)
Baby Ruth - Miniature Schnauzer
Snickers - Miniature Pinscher
http://www.rescuedme.org
- Smanders
- Puppy
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2014 12:10 am
- Tell us about yourself: My name is Sarah, my puppy is named Hobbes. He is 5 months old and full of piss and vinegar. Currently training in obedience and just starting with tracking. This is my first puppy so I am always looking for advice!
Re: Any advice ?
[quote]
To work outside the core of a park (where there are kids and a fence) might help acclimate the dog however-much to kids' movements and sounds (and varying sizes) as long as OB is at least a work-in-progress and certain commands are known and the owner remains calm and firm yet vigilant.
How often do you work daily on OB (assuming it's daily)? What commands are you stressing? Where is the dog/you in regard to command-response ratio, and depending upon that, are you offering distractions (and are you doing it so that the dog is able to know success)?[/quote
Working outside a park is a great idea to get him used to kids movements / sounds. I don't know why I didn't think of that. We do walk by a bus stop every morning and he is alway very interested in the going ons around it.
We do train with Hobbes daily. Right now we are in a basic obedience course, and every day, just for that class we are supposed to spend 40 minutes working on the commands that we will need for the following week. When we were deciding whether or not to get a puppy a couple months back we had decided that if we were the perfect time was now as I have the weekends off and my partner has Wednesday and Thursday off, so basically 4 days of the week we get to spend the entire day with him. Tuesday is really the only day that we are away from him for more then 5 hrs.However that being said both of us do lots of work at home so during the day we do have to have lots of down time when we are not focused on him.
So far he picks up things really well and we work on a couple of new commands every week and try and keep all the old ones fresh in his mind as well. This week we are working on "stand stays", "down stays" and "sit stays with people as a distraction". He already knows most of the basic commands, such as sit, come, down, stay, roll over, fetch, leave it, drop it, etc. He does them perfect in the house or in the yard when there is no distractions, but we try and work on the ones that he knows when there are things going on or during walks etc when his focus is not entirely on me( haha, trying to work on getting him to keep focused on me when we are outside!).
I am really big on exercise with him as I find I get to sleep a whole lot faster at night if he is worn out and also interested in sleeping. As a general guideline we try and make sure he has an hour long hike at some point in the mid morning and another one in the afternoon or at night. We do several more structured walks during the day and usually walk to a fenced in field to play ball. However, we have had a crazy winter so some of our hikes and walks are cut a bit short in the morning because its -30 (I hate the cold!!). We have a fair sized yard and do spend a good portion of the day ( when its not -30) just playing around outside and working commands between playing.
To work outside the core of a park (where there are kids and a fence) might help acclimate the dog however-much to kids' movements and sounds (and varying sizes) as long as OB is at least a work-in-progress and certain commands are known and the owner remains calm and firm yet vigilant.
How often do you work daily on OB (assuming it's daily)? What commands are you stressing? Where is the dog/you in regard to command-response ratio, and depending upon that, are you offering distractions (and are you doing it so that the dog is able to know success)?[/quote
Working outside a park is a great idea to get him used to kids movements / sounds. I don't know why I didn't think of that. We do walk by a bus stop every morning and he is alway very interested in the going ons around it.
We do train with Hobbes daily. Right now we are in a basic obedience course, and every day, just for that class we are supposed to spend 40 minutes working on the commands that we will need for the following week. When we were deciding whether or not to get a puppy a couple months back we had decided that if we were the perfect time was now as I have the weekends off and my partner has Wednesday and Thursday off, so basically 4 days of the week we get to spend the entire day with him. Tuesday is really the only day that we are away from him for more then 5 hrs.However that being said both of us do lots of work at home so during the day we do have to have lots of down time when we are not focused on him.
So far he picks up things really well and we work on a couple of new commands every week and try and keep all the old ones fresh in his mind as well. This week we are working on "stand stays", "down stays" and "sit stays with people as a distraction". He already knows most of the basic commands, such as sit, come, down, stay, roll over, fetch, leave it, drop it, etc. He does them perfect in the house or in the yard when there is no distractions, but we try and work on the ones that he knows when there are things going on or during walks etc when his focus is not entirely on me( haha, trying to work on getting him to keep focused on me when we are outside!).
I am really big on exercise with him as I find I get to sleep a whole lot faster at night if he is worn out and also interested in sleeping. As a general guideline we try and make sure he has an hour long hike at some point in the mid morning and another one in the afternoon or at night. We do several more structured walks during the day and usually walk to a fenced in field to play ball. However, we have had a crazy winter so some of our hikes and walks are cut a bit short in the morning because its -30 (I hate the cold!!). We have a fair sized yard and do spend a good portion of the day ( when its not -30) just playing around outside and working commands between playing.
-Sarah & Hobbes-
- Smanders
- Puppy
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2014 12:10 am
- Tell us about yourself: My name is Sarah, my puppy is named Hobbes. He is 5 months old and full of piss and vinegar. Currently training in obedience and just starting with tracking. This is my first puppy so I am always looking for advice!
Re: Any advice ?
Opps, looks like I did the quoting wrong, sorry about that!!! Learning curve!
-Sarah & Hobbes-