My wife brought home a "german shepard shar/pei mix" from PAWS...

It's too bad that you all didn't discuss what kind of dog you wanted before the dog came home with you, but now you've got it and you want to know...what, exactly? Are you looking for training tips or for advice on whether or not to keep her?

You talked a lot about her supposed breed in your post. I dunno what your pup is, aside from very sweet looking She looks like a serious Heinz 57 girl to me. (Those ears are WAY too big for a Shar Pei, though...) I think it's important to let go of the breed issue, to be perfectly honest. You're not concerned about a breed standard, you're concerned about this particular dog.

When you say she's a bit of a chewer, what are you talking about? She eats your carpet and shoes or she likes her Nylabone? At three months old, she's still a tiny puppy. She needs to be taught what is okay to bite and what is off limits. She is also likely to be teething either right now or very soon. You will encounter a chewing problem with most, if not all, puppies. There are a couple of stickies here on this site that talk about chewing and biting.

I'm not exactly sure what the "independant minded" part means, either. Do you mean she isn't a velcro dog? She doesn't follow you around and hang on your every word? Or do you mean she is defiant, agressive, or unwilling to listen to your commands? Whatever the case, I suspect that, at three months, all she needs is a basic obedience class and some work on her manners. Even if one of the breeds in her background is notoriously hard to train, you can probably get around it since you're starting so young with her.

The dog-shooting neighbor would be a serious concern to me, but I would be concerned about this with any dog, not just this girl. I assume you either have a tall, sturdy fence, will be getting one in the immediate future, or will never let your dog out of the house unsupervised. How has this man gotten away with shooting other people's dogs? Is this not illegal?

I'm just rambling...If you give us a clearer idea of your question, we may be able to give you better answers.

I'm just going to echo everyone else here and say first of all, she's absolutely adorable.

Secondly, it doesn't matter what breed or mix she is. Getting her enrolled in an obedience class is so important. Just as important is that the whole family needs to be involved in her training so that there is consistency. You can't have Mom taking puppy to class and the rest of the family doing whatever they want. It just confuses puppy.

It is your responsibility to keep this puppy safe. If you are insinuating you intend to just let her roam free - well, I won't even go there. A fence, a leash and constant supervision are the only conditions puppy should be outside. As already asked, why is this neighbor getting away with shooting dogs?

She's independent - that probably comes from not having the opportunity to bond at the 7 - 8 week period that is just so important. Given time, she will bond, it will just take a little longer.

As for being a chewer... well yeah... she's a puppy. It's what they do. They have an incredible need to chew. It's your job to teach her what is appropriate and inappropriate to chew. Give her ice cubes or crushed ice... this will help with the teething pain. When she's chewing something inappropriate, tell her NO, take it away and give her a toy and a 'good girl'. Kongs are great chew toys and they come in so many shapes and sizes, raw frozen bones, rope toys soaked with water, placed in freezer bags and frozen. There are so many hard rubber toys appropriate for chewing they are just too numerous to mention here.

The most important thing is to have fun with her. She's a baby and will only be a baby for a short time. Make the most of it. Teach her now and you will have a devoted, loving family member for many years to come.

Inga said:

That is one seriously cute puppy.

Click to expand...

Thank you, her name (given by PAWS) is Abby. She's cute as can be.

I'm wary of her breed for behavior/disposition reasons - a dog in this family will have to be sweet-natured and patient, and those are not traits that are generally promoted among security breeds. I couldn't care less about her genetic mix except as they pertain to her temperamental ability to fit with us.

You bring up another important point about fences, both of my previous dogs were successfully border trained, and didn't stray far from home. The last Schnauzer, Max, never crossed the road without me. I had hoped to find this trait in our new dog. We have 5 acres, but it backs up against literally thousands of acres of forest - wandering isn't really a problem provided she can be trained to not cross the road.

I ask because I can still take her back to PAWS to be adopted by a better suited family, if that is wise and appropriate. If this is necessary, it's better to do it now while she's still a puppy. What I'm hearing here suggests that her behavior is not preordained to the degree that I should be especially concerned.

I think Abby is adorable! She looks like a very sweet little mutt. If you are concerned about the breeds that are in her because of your family, I understand that, however as people have said when you have a mixed breed dog, you never know what behavioral traits you will have. It sounds to me like you are not completely sold on this dog, and if you're not ready to make the committment to train this dog properly and feel comfortable having her around your family, I suggest you take her back to PAWS. It's better to return her now, when she's still an adorable young pup, than when she gets bigger and older and possibly develops behavioral issues. With a face that cute, someone else will be bound to adopt her now, so don't feel bad about returning her. So if you still feel iffy, do it the sooner the better.

If you are really concerned about the breeds, there are genetic tests available, one in the form of a mail in kit and another that is supposed to be available this month from your vet. Not sure how long either of these will take, and they probably won't be a good predictor of your dog's temperament anyway. I plan on asking my vet to do the DNA tests on my mutts, but simply because I'm curious. http://www.whatsmydog.com/

I reread all this thread and have some more thoughts for you, as a mutt owner:

It seems to me what you want is a predictable dog that you can fully trust around your family. I know one of your wife's criteria is that the dog not be expensive, but if you desire certain personality (good with kids) and physical (low-shedding, not fragile) traits you should really look into pure-breeds. It would be worth saving up a little bit of money each month for peace of mind. If you're not stuck on the idea of a puppy, you could adopt an adult dog with your desired features from a breed rescue.

Even if you determine what breeds are in Abby, chances are she wasn't bred from the ideal representatives of those breeds. Generally people don't let their show dogs whore around So with mutts you *really* don't know what you're getting. I have two and I love them both. But they're both a little wild and a bit unpredictable. They work fine for my lifestyle, but I don't have any kids. I have had pure breeds (collie and bernese mountain dog) in the past and I would have trusted them enough to lick an infant on the face.

On the other hand, you seem like you would be a responsible dog owner, since you had the cognizance to research and ask questions about your dog. I have faith that you could give Abby a good home, and I'm sure your kids are already attached to her by now You need to ask yourself if you're willing and ready to make the commitment to a puppy, especially one with unknown traits. If you decide to keep her, there are lots of people here who can give you good advice and support while you raise and care for her.

Do you know anything about Abby's life for the month prior to when you adopted her? Generally pups are 2 months (8wks) when they are separated from mom and you said she is 3 months. This is an important imprinting period for pups and her experiences during this time might help you get a better idea of her behavior. For example, was she around children? did she have a bad experience with water? was she completely isolated in a kennel? See if you can find out about her life in between the time she was separated from mom and began living with you.

Whether she has GSD or Rotti I can tell you from experience that BOTH breeds are GREAT with kids. Ill trained and poorly bred Rotties with Gangster type owners have given the breed a bad reputation, but I've been around them most of my life and have only seen a couple that that weren't good around kids and those were abused.

Get your pup into a GOOD positive based puppy class and teach her from day one the life skills she's going to need to be a well adjusted happy part of your family. Here are a couple of training excercises you can start her on now to teach her manners.

Remember that behavior is 20% genetics and 80% ENVIRONMENT. It's YOUR choice how this pup turns out.

Doggy Zen
http://www.dogforums.com/3-dog-training-forum/2522-doggy-zen.html

Rev Up Cool Down
http://www.dogforums.com/3-dog-training-forum/4915-rev-up-cool-down.html

Bite Inhibition

http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm

Greeting People Politely
http://www.dogforums.com/3-dog-training-forum/5291-greeting-people-politely.html


As far as the neighbor issue goes, Fence in an area of the yard close to the house to allow her outside time in. Be sure you or your wife can accompany her outside of the house (you need to do this for housebreaking anyhow.

I agree that the pup is very cute. That said, dogs this age are a force to be reckoned with. I rescued a 4 month old female last April, and boy did I ever discover things, and I've had dogs for 15 years (although they were at least 9 months old).

I agree that you should have discussed all of the issues before you got the dog. Not doing this could cause a strain on you and the dog. You simply must get the dog on a training schedule if you have any hope of this project being a success.

You have a situation that seems difficult, you have just added a major commitment to this mix, the dog will take time until she is at least 9-10 months old to adjust. You must decide if you can commit to this process.

Lots of people get frustrated when dealing with a new pup. Initial bad training which causes bad habits are a major reason so many dogs wind up in shelters. Keep in mind, that when the dog does something wrong, it's not her fault, it's yours. She is simply doing what comes naturally to her and it is up to you to gently correct her.

I think this dog will be a tremendous plus for your family, especially your autistic child. She is perfect for this because she will be able to grow into your situation gradually. She will teach everyone new things and connect you with things you never dreamed of.

Anela

Sorry to resurrect a dead thread, but I want to let everyone know how it turned out.

Abby grew to be the sweetest, most tolerant, best behaved, most playful and intelligent dog we've ever had. She was as close to effortless to train as is possible. It was as if she trained herself. Further, she was perfect for my son with autism, they became best friends. Nothing that he did could annoy her.

We never did determine her breed. Part rottweiler, I think. Probably part boxer too. Whatever. I've come to appreciate the wisdom of the advice that it's not the breed that determines the behavior.

Unfortunately, she darted across our dead-end country road today at precisely the wrong time. The driver of the truck that hit her was beside himself with grief.

As are we.

This is the message in a bottle... just casting it out there. I'm not checking for replies. I don't want anyone to think I'm ignoring them, so let me just give a preemptive 'thank you' to those of you who see fit to offer your condolences, as well as to everyone who provided advice when she was a puppy.

It will be some time, if ever, before we get another pet.