First time owner in need of a helping hand

[Masry10]

Hey there everyone i just recently brought home a handsome little guy who is a DS mixed with GSD, it seems as if the DS is really prominent in him so i figured why not make an account here and introduce the little guy Cairo and I, and get some questions answered.

Heres a couple pictures of him, he is only 7 weeks old, but learns very quickly.




I brought him home about 4 days ago and named him Cairo, he is absolutely adorable, and has a great amount of energy. Hes great with little kids, and was amazing at his first vet visit. He also now sits politely before getting his food and water, and knows the command sit! He HATES the leash but will run and walk by my side leash free, which is kind of a good habit as i plan to have him walk by my side without a leash. So how did you get your DS use to the leash?

He is so far house broken but only with pooping, he will scratch at the door and whine when he has to go number 2, but unfortunately he hasnt fully be trained to be outside, although hes slowly learning i feel. Anyone have any tips?

Now onto my biggest concerns... his biting and now he barks at me. He bites a lot and even though he will stop biting when i say "no" he'll do it a few minutes later, then i don't know if he's playing or challenging me, but will start running excitedly, growl and start barking at me. Can someone please guide me in the right direction as to how to handle a situation like that. I must admit i sometime growl back with the mentality and justification that that is how is mother would react if he was doing something she wasn't too fond of.


I Really need any help and any tips because i want to raise a great puppy and need all the help and advice i can get as its my first dog. Thanks everyone!

[johninny]

WELCOME!

as to house-training, i and others just addressed this in ''puppies'': ''potty time''. will just say, at his current age, he simply does not have the physical ability to hold his urine for more than 1 1/2 - 2 hours and may show no overt signs of needing to go [ a state of agitation - play or otherwise - is often a good indicator but may or may not be present ], so preemptive pee outings every 1 1/2 - 2 hours allow him to avoid involuntary accidents. reward and praise him for going in the right location -- and he will ''get'' it quickly and comply as his body allows. not til he is 5 - 6 months old will he really be able to hold his pee like you would expect so be patient and help him out.

will let others address other questions

[Dutchringgirl]

Now, I am not a puppy expert, even though I have a 3.5 yo pup. LOL

If he is only 7 weeks, it sounds like puppy / mommy stuff. What moms do is put the puppies mouth in their mouth, you could hold his snout when he barks or growls at you

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IMG_6927.jpg (12.4 KiB) Viewed 2953 times

This is Thalie disciplining Sadie. When Thalie wants Sadie to stop or be quiet [ all of the time] She will hold Sadies snout.

He could be challenging you looking for his place in his new family, if that is the case, make sure you let him know you are the boss.

He should also always be on a drag line attached to you some how. I would step on it if you are doing something in the kitchen or the like and you cant hold him, this way you can get to him quick and he dosnt leave, to go poop somewhere or get into trouble.

[Smanders]

I am also not a puppy expert and just got my first puppy 8 months ago. However, I think I was in a similar boat to you when we first got Hobbes.

The dutch shepherd breed seems to just be a mouthy breed. Hobbes loved to nip/bite/chase and make strange noises when we first got him. I remember thinking that I didn't have a puppy but actually had a bear cub. He was a crazy little monster. They do get WAY better, but it takes time.

The main thing that I did when Hobbes got mouthy with us when he was little was to redirect. He would nip or be mouthy then I would grab him a toy and let him bite that instead. Constantly. Redirect redirect redirect. I feel like the first couple months that is all I did.

We started a basic obedience class shortly after we got him and the lady training said she would put lemon juice in her puppy's mouth when he was barking at her or being nippy. We tried this with Hobbes, but strangely he seemed to like lemon juice, so that was a fail for us but you could try it. Hobbes also used to like to bite pant legs, which I think all puppies do. One day, when I was particularly busy, and Hobbes was playing "hyena maim the Gazelle legs" (me unwillingly playing the Gazelle) and redirecting was not working I put hot sauce on the bottom of my pants. He hasn't been a pant biter since. However, he was much older then 7 weeks at this point and knew that pant biting was not acceptable.

Hobbes got potty training strangely fast. When we got him I had two weeks off and nothing going on so I got to spend all day with him which helped. We spent the majority of our time going outside. He had to pee like every 30 minutes or less. Every time he peed outside I made a big deal about telling him what a good boy he was and giving him some kibble or a treat.

I remember Hobbes playing crazy hard for a couple hours then napping for a couple then crazy again. If you are in the position to do it having him outside as much as possible seems to really be an effective way for them to not be as nippy when playing. Hobbes really only got nippy when he was inside but for whatever reason when we were outside he would be happy to chew on a stick or roll in the grass etc.

Hope this is helpful, again I really not a puppy expert as Hobbes is my first one!!

[Masry10]

Thank you all! youve all been such a great help, i take him outside every couple hours he pees everytime, sometimes he pees like 15 min later, but i realized thats when i give him a little too much water, so now im watching the water, also dutchringgirl a couple of my friends told me to hold his snout when he barks or bites but i feel like that AMPS him up so much and sees it as play, but yes, a very good tip thank you i will leave a drag leash on him, so he gets use to it, and Smanders our puppies are identical he does everything you just said your puppy did. I feel like if your pup liked lemons Cairo will like lemons lol, he loves diluted vinegar even though it makes him sneeze. but i will try the hot sauce on my pant leg a tiny dab of it should suffice thats a very good idea! I also took a week off from work to take care of him and i think it was a smart move as they need constant super vision. I feel like hes a little hyena and not a dog lol

[johninny]

to all of the above i would add that you should think about naming the biting or other behavior that you don't want. personally, i have never discouraged mouthiness when it comes to my dogs and my body, but if they use the mouth or teeth in a potentially dangerous manner, i say ''careful, no bite''. as a puppy, if a get a play bite that hurts, i make a sound of pain [ which they will understand ] and say ''careful, no bite''. if that is not immediately understood because he is in exuberant play mode, i will grab his snout or just shove my hand in his mouth so it fill his mouth and say ''no biting!''

i would not be overly concerned with growling and other sounds as long as they stay play growls, etc. i growl back also. he's having fun; have fun back. just make sure that intentions remain fun; if ever there is a serious growl [ where he's not just pretending to be serious for the fun of it - it is a subtle change of tone that only close observers like yourself would know ], then that should be addressed verbally IMMEDIATELY -''NO''- and all play stop and he loses access right then to any object or situation that precipitated his power grab. but if you get everything else right [ with lots of good healthy, close-up play where he learns you are fun but you have safety boundaries ], then you may never face such a confrontation.

i try, especially when they are puppies, to keep this intimate, in-your-face play between me and the dog very gentle [ on my part] and very humorous [ they have some idea that i'm up to no good, but do not know what to expect. it's game-time and it keeps them flexible and un-threatened by the unexpected ].
with 2 1-year old pups, i have again been marveling at how well they have learned to be careful while not losing any of their exuberance or mouthiness [ which works for me].

[centrop67]

Welcome. Gorgeous puppy!

Your description of the biting behavior reminds me of crazy hour (<- search for that on this site), but he seems quite young for this.

You might try removing yourself when he starts this behavior. Look away, turn around, walk away, and/or go to another room for a brief time until the unwanted behavior stops. You will be surprised how removing attention can alter behavior.

Sorry to say - crazy hour may be inevitable, however.

[Stacy_R]

He should also always be on a drag line attached to you some how. I would step on it if you are doing something in the kitchen or the like and you cant hold him, this way you can get to him quick

The drag leash is so useful for so many reasons...I am too tired to list them all, LOL. Tyson wore a leash around the house for about 2 months. It was really cute because he learned how to pick it up and hold it while he was playing with his tennis ball so it wouldn't get in the way. Too funny.

As far as the biting goes, my rule is that if teeth touch skin, the game is over. Tyson learned very quickly that I would get up and walk away if his teeth touched my skin (my clothing and hair are an "extension" of my skin, by the way). Redirecting (as Sara said earlier) to proper chew toys (humans and their clothes are not proper chew toys) is also a good tool. You can try redirecting and if that doesn't work, the game ends. Just stop and walk away, if he barks...ignore. You will see the wheels turning as your dog thinks it through. For the nipping at the heels, I just stopped in my tracks. Tyson put 2+2 together..."if I nip at her heels, she stops and it's no fun." It took about 2 weeks and he stopped completely.

Good luck!!

[Masry10]

Wow thanks again to everyone for all this help, im sorry I couldnt get to all these posts my laptop fried and i finally just finished repairing! So finally lets get back to business and les provide some updates on Cairo.

So he is now coming onto 11 weeks old! time flies! He is becoming a better and better puppy, he has stopped fighting the leash when we go on walks and stopped being a massive pain on a leash which is amazing the drag leash i believe helped along with time, i did name the behavior i want to correct, for example when he bites i say "no bite" and he is actually listening. He stops right away with me, however with friends and family he knows he can get a little leeway so he has to be told more than once with friends and what not. He is also now 80% potty trained. Doesnt poo or pee in the house unless i neglected his needs.

For the most part Cairo is really improving and growing. I have him on simply nourish and he loves it and so do I. Hes still a little vacuum when hes in the kitchen licking up all these little crumbs but hopefully with time hell stop that. I realized with raising a puppy, they still dont know whats wrong and right. With proper correction, patience, and time you will slowly start to see a very good obedient boy or girl shaping up! Oh Cairo has also learned sit,stay,down,kisses,roll over, and paw, and slowly starting to fetch:) Moving on, im wondering if anyone can direct me on some fun games to play with my dog that he would like.

Thank you everyone for all your help. It really really helped me grab the task by the horns and not lose any control over the puppy.

[Dutchringgirl]

that is great news!!!! Time wont stop the licking up stuff, you will. "Leave it" Is a great comand. You could put some food on the ground and teach him to leave it.

[Stacy_R]

that is great news!!!! Time wont stop the licking up stuff, you will. "Leave it" Is a great comand. You could put some food on the ground and teach him to leave it.

Ditto, Ditto, Ditto. We love "leave it" here...and it can be applied in so-many-instances... LOL