[Sailorswife87]

I just got a 2.5 yr old [spayed] female GSD.

She doesn't respond to anything strong or harsh or treats we've tired several different kinds. If you say any command she just looks at you. We've tried different words and hand signals. I contacted the owner and she said I usually let her do what she wanted. But she does know her commands some times we can get her to sit and lay down.

She also has no re-call. Even if your in the apartment with her and have something or call her to pet her she looks at you and goes the other way.

Sometimes she listens sometimes she doesn't.

She gets 3 walks a day each one is 2miles long.
Sometimes we let her off the leash but today she took off so no more of that until she's better with her re-call. The other couple times she was fine.

Plus she whines all the time. We take her out but she just wants to go on another walk. Or she just walks around the whole apartment and whines all night. We've been crating her and she seems to stay quieter that way. Today hasn't been as bad with her whining but I was wondering if it had something to do with her in a new home?

 

[pamperedpups]

Didn't you also just get a Lab puppy? And then did taking in the adult Chi and Pit Bull not work out, or did you get one or both of them, too? How long have you had this GSD?

If you just got the dog, she's probably stressed out. I would play some relaxing music for her as well as use aromatherapy, dog appeasing pheromones and Bach's Rescue Remedy. TTouch techniques (massage as well as the calming wraps) can also be helpful. Once she settles in a bit more I would look into getting her into a (positively trained) Obedience class. You can also start working her mind by playing games in addition to going on walks. There is lots of free training info. already here (check out the stickies) and at the following websites:

http://www.dogstardaily.com << Read the Training Textbook
http://www.clickertraining.com
http://www.dragonflyllama.com << Read Training Levels

 

[Sailorswife87]

I got the lab puppy last year we still have him.

The chi owner wanted him back after a couple days she just didn't feel right with out him so we felt it was best to give him back then.

No pitbull that I re-call.

Almost a week now having the GSD.

 

[TooneyDogs]

Start from the beginning...build a really strong bond with you first. This is attention training...you want her looking at you, following you...wanting to be with you. If you don't want a 'velcro' dog (some people don't) then don't read any further...others will have different approaches.
No pressure to begin with (no commands)....just toss treats and walk away. Two things are going to happen...she's going to start watching you more closely and the big breakthrough is when she starts to move closer to you. When she does that, you raise the bar....will she walk with you? Give treats as you go. Still no commands.
Now, raise the bar again....while walking, ask for a Sit. Mix it up....ask for Down.
What you're doing is changing her perception about you....good things come from you with minimum pressure. Give it a few day and you should be ready for a Recall....just give a treat for comming....no petting/no pressure.

 

[Sailorswife87]

Start from the beginning...build a really strong bond with you first. This is attention training...you want her looking at you, following you...wanting to be with you. If you don't want a 'velcro' dog (some people don't) then don't read any further...others will have different approaches.
No pressure to begin with (no commands)....just toss treats and walk away. Two things are going to happen...she's going to start watching you more closely and the big breakthrough is when she starts to move closer to you. When she does that, you raise the bar....will she walk with you? Give treats as you go. Still no commands.
Now, raise the bar again....while walking, ask for a Sit. Mix it up....ask for Down.
What you're doing is changing her perception about you....good things come from you with minimum pressure. Give it a few day and you should be ready for a Recall....just give a treat for comming....no petting/no pressure.

She follows me a bit around the apartment. If it's at night and I go to the bathroom she comes with. During the day if she's loose and I close the door she lays right outside of it. I do like that idea I'm going to give it a try! Thanks.

 

[Elana55]

You have had this dog a week. These dogs build loyalty to a single person and she may be missing her previous owner.

As to treats.. try something dog awesome. Some dogs love bits of string cheese, some love bits of steak (yeah.. even in this economy). You have to try dfferent things that are just dog-gone good!

Give her time. She has only been there a week.

Spend time with her and no one and nothing else if you can. Brush her and feed her bits of something she likes. Let all the time she spends with you at this point be positive time.

German Shepherds are working dogs. You will need to train her for a job. Obedience training can be "the job" as can a number of other things. When you walk her, reward her every time she looks at you. Pet her. Do things she likes.

The pacing and whining are German shepherd behaviors in my limited experience. When that goes on, I taught my dog to go and lie down. I work her in long sit/stays and long down stays. I giver her a Kong stuffed with Peanut butter. Feed her entire meal in a Buster Cube and not in a dish. She is whining and pacing because she thinks she needs to be doing something (work).

You are dealing with an animal that needs a job and needs mental stimulation (and trust me.. you may find yourself over whelmed when it comes to keeping a GSD mentally stimulated! LOL). Originally the breed was developed to tend livestock. Tending means just that.. keeping them in a specified area with NO fences and out of any crops next to the areas the livestock was supposed to be in. To that end, these dogs trotted all day around the perimeter of the livestock holding them while they grazed and then moving them home at the end of the day. They can trot for hours.

Listen to what Tooney says. He has been training dogs longer than I have.

 

[Sailorswife87]

Elana I brush her a lot she is still sheding. I thought only my horses could shed that much I sit on the floor and talk to her a lot one on one with no one there for hours. My husband is almost always gone and he takes the lab with him since that's his dog.

Her last owner did say she pry missed her and that's what it was all about so I really think your right on that.

I'll head to the store tonight and try and get other things you mentioned like the steak and cheese I've been wanting to try chicken but I'm scared to cook it (don't ask) So I'm waiting for my husband to not be so tired to cook it up for me.

Thanks for your advice it was really helpful.

My husband said she does need a job I'm just not sure what she would really like to do just yet. She has a really high prey drive so something that fits into all of that plus she loves to just run.

 

[Elana55]

Ha.. the Shedding German Shepherd! I feed Atka a table spoon of Mirra Coat and feed her Evo Dog food and it has been reduced a lot. I still brush daily.

If your dog has prey drive, try making retrieving her fist job. This will also help with recall. I would also get a toy (lke a retriever's dummy) and tie it to a 6 foot piece of rope and get her to chase it and play tug of war with you. You can use the game of tug as a reward in addition to food.

You can put her on a long line and throw the toy and tell her to "get it" as she chases it. When she has it call her and guide her in with the rope. When she gets to you, swap the toy she has for a bit of food and then as soon as she gives it to you throw it again. Do not hold onto the toy. Pretty soon she will learn to chase it and bring it back so she can chase it again. You will develop a really good arm in the process.

Another thing I would teach this dog is "lie down." And by Lie down, I mean anytime, anywhere, in the middle of a walk or anything else. This can be used to control her prey drive. If she sees something and wants to chase, you put her in a lie down.

I have no problem with prey drive in my dog or in my last dog. I could request it and they would chase and stop the chase with a single command. These are smart dogs and they typically will learn anything very very fast.

 

[Sailorswife87]

I'm pretty sure my husband was bring home a 50ft training lead tonight to try and work on re-call and that would be perfect for her to try and work with her and a dummy.

She does know lay down but like sit it's very hard to get her to focus my husband calls her goldfish have the time.

Hopefully she does catch on quickly so she can be a happier dog.

 

[hulkamaniac]

For treats, I would recommend hot dogs. I've yet to meet a dog who doesn't like them. The important thing is the quality of the treat, not the size. I cut hot dogs into slices and then quarter the slices. My dogs love them and they're cheap to boot.

Just press the reset button on the dog and act like you have a puppy with no training whatsoever. How would you train a new puppy? You'd make a list of things you want to teach the dog and start there. Sit is good. Let's the dog practice NILIF. Start there. How would you train a pup how to sit? The old fashioned treat over the head is how I would do it. I'd pair it with a clicker myself.

 

[pamperedpups]

Last year? Okay, I know I'm not going crazy... so I looked it up and you posted on 4-05-09 about your new 8 week old Lab puppy.

The Chi was posted about as a possibility on 2-23-09.

The Pit Bull on 03-20-09.

Anyway, it looks like you've gotten the advice you were looking for and I wish you success with this new dog.

 

[Elana55]

FWIW it sounds like your German Shepherd is environmentally reactive. This means she is more interested in other stuff going on than she is in you and what you are doing. I have/had the same issue with Atka.

I would work a LOT of attentiveness. This means the dog looking at your FACE. Whenever she looks at your face you can say "YES!" and give her a treat. Try increasing the duration between YES and the treat to work on focus duration.

With Atka I took it one step further, starting in the house. I used bits of Spam (being military connected you ought to have access to this! ) about 1/2 dime size. I would keep the Spam in my mouth and literally spit the Spam at the dog when she looked at me. I did it consistantly at first and then intermittantly so she never KNEW if I would or not spit food at her.

Because she "never knew" she started looking at my face for longer and longer durations.... because she didn't want to MISS the spam.

I started doing this in the house while watching TV and reading. Next I took her outside. I worked at this and nothing else. Next I mixed it up with Heel position etc etc. in all sorts of places and on walks.

We are still working at it, but I have added the Cue 'pay attention' and she now looks at me when I say that. I have added a new cue in the form of a whistle. A single upward note means "Look at me" and she is doing very well. This is for off leash work on sheep or anything else we are doing.

If you are consistant she will be too.

 

[Sailorswife87]

Last year? Okay, I know I'm not going crazy... so I looked it up and you posted on 4-05-09 about your new 8 week old Lab puppy.

The Chi was posted about as a possibility on 2-23-09.

The Pit Bull on 03-20-09.

Anyway, it looks like you've gotten the advice you were looking for and I wish you success with this new dog.

I went and looked and found nothing posted that I made on my lab. Plus I didn't even get him at 8wks. And he was born on July 31, 2008

About the pit I said we were thinking of getting her but we choose not to due to her condition when we seen her.