Dog Training & Health

[skytheo]

i have a 9 mnth old german shep she is a lovely dog and wants lots of affection but she has many issues to and i need help as if i cant get her trained my partner wants me to get rid of her. she is toilet trained but if she is able to roam the house she will soil indoor and i dnt no why also she pee's every time my partner goes near her, aswell as this she has a terrible tendancy to chew every thing and ne thing she can get to i really need help it would be much appreciated ty

[meezermom]

Hi Skytheo and welcome to SeeFido..........and the wonderful world of German Shepherd Dogs!!

I can tell you right now what a major part of the problem is......your partner!! The tip off is the dog pee's everytime your partner goes near her....The dog is afraid of her or him! My guess is your partner is not overly fond of the dog and the dog knows it. Shepherds are very sensitive to this and the situation will soon escalate into fear aggression. You are not going to like that at all! Your partner has a poor expectation of what to expect from a puppy and a nine month old shepherd IS a puppy! I don't care how big she is, mentally she is very much a puppy! My eleven month old shepherd is a big dumb moose with no brains at all......My almost 4 year old is much different. The others have settled down and are mellow and obedient.........However, by now your puppy should have completed a puppy training class and possibly a beginning obedience class. Shepherds require training! They simply cannot be untrained. They are too intelligent and not trained, they will get into a tremendous amount of trouble! I think you have discovered this already! What things do you have for her to chew on? A chew rope is good as is a sterilized bone that you can stuff with things and even one of the big joint bones that Petsmart and such are carrying now. These dogs need to chew. Things she is chewing which she should not should be sprayed with Bitter Apple. She needs work and attention, a lot of attention. A shepherd is not a breed that can be ignored. They need to be with their people. As she is having accidents in the house, my guess is wherever she has had them has not been treated with an enzyme cleaner such as Simple Solution. It is necessary it be done. She can smell where she has gone and is going back to the old places. Then, put her on a waist leash and do not permit her to roam as she pleases. With a waist leash, she has to stay near by. She can't sneak off to do what she wants! If you can't watch her, crate her!

Then you need to have a heart to heart discussion with your partner. If your partner does not want to work this through, I would suggest you try to re-home her. Otherwise all of you will be miserable and fear aggression is no fun to deal with....You may want to have an on site trainer work through this with all of you as they can see the interaction and how to fix things. You partner does need to accept and love the dog as she is though and not be so critical. Dogs do have accidents. They get things torn and dirty too....If this is unacceptable, having a dog is not realistic.... Shepherds are a loving affectionate breed that need training and require being with their people. If this isn't possible, think about what is best for the dog....... be glad to give you any other help you need!

[skytheo]

ty 4 ur response i understand were u r comin from but my dog has bin awkward wi my partner since he bought her home but he has only ever loved her and showed her affection this is wot i dont understand i am the one who does all the trainin i keep her very active she has lots of toys chew toys, toys u put treats in bones etc i aint sure if its due to her previouse home we just really want to help her get through this. my partner wants to keep her but he dont believe its fair on our kids to live in this situation but they too love the dog and want her to stay.

[meezermom]

You are missing the point! The dog doesn't care that he brought her home and loves her......she is afraid of him!! He may be a big guy with a loud hearty voice and it scares her....He may have a habit of moving quickly and it scares her! He may be leaning forward when he stands and to a dog, that is a dominance position. It does not matter what he says, it is in body language that she is reading! She is showing fear........ If she came from a previous home, which you did not mention, there may be issues that need to be addressed. However, based on the information you gave me, I gave you the information you needed based on more than ten years experience with German Shepherds Dogs and forty years of training. It sounds like the only one who is uncomfortable with her is him..........you and the kids aren't. So he needs to do the work and figure out what it is he is doing. And you need to figure out what her other situation was like to see if there is a root there. So maybe he should be writing in and discussing this and see if we can figure out what is going on....

[Jasmer]

Meezer is dead on, here. While taking a dog in and showering it with affection can bring a positive change for the dog, due to the way their thought process and instincts work the dog will not associate rescue with your partner. You and your partner may be making the mistake of applying human reason and emotion to your dog. Your dog, though an intelligent, affectionate creature, is not a human and does not think or feel the way we do, though there are a few similarities.

Since everybody wants the dog situation to work out then a lot of work and research will be required. You'll want to look into an obedience trainer, somebody who can observe typical interaction with the dog. Google NILIF and put it into effect immediately to bring about some structure and therefore security for the dog. Go to the local library and check out some books on dog training and canine behavior, preferably books that are up-to-date and not from the 1960s.

As Meezer said your partner may be unintentionally frightening the dog. He may have a loud, deep voice, he may be large and intimidating, or he may make quick, sudden movements that frighten the dog. Have him work on speaking to the dog in a calm voice and lower the volume of his voice if it seems a little loud. Have him work on not leaning forward when he approaches the dog, and to not approach the dog quickly. Have him sit down on the floor or a chair and softly call her over to offer her a treat or a toy.

As for chewing and sneaking off to do bad things, keep her leashed or crated when you can't keep her within eyesight at all times. If you catch her in the act of chewing tell her to "leave it" and offer her one of her own toys instead. She's a smart dog and will learn what is hers to chew and what is not. Buy some bitter apple spray and hope she's not one of the handful of dogs that doesn't mind or even likes the taste. You can rub a wet bar of soap on some things as well to discourage her from chewing or licking it.

Get her properly crate trained for bedtime and those times when you simply cannot keep her supervised. Keep a collection of toys and/or treats that she can have only while in the crate to make it more appealing to her.

In the end it's important to keep a mind that a puppy will be a puppy and many dogs don't outgrow puppyhood until they're close to 2 years old. Work on obedience training, preferably with a trainer, make sure she's getting enough play time and exercise. It's important not to go overboard with the exercise as large breed puppies can be over-worked despite their abundance of energy, which can predispose them to hip dysplasia, arthritis, and other joint problems later down the road. Be careful on those joints!

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[skytheo]

i want to say thank you to both of you for your replies i will be trying every thing you have said hand hopefully things will be better it is much appreciated ty very much