What are some considerations once a German Shepherd reaches 6 months?
I’ve been a German Shepherd breeder since 2001. Some issues tend to come up more often in German Shepherds. The next few posts will cover temperament and training, eating and diet, factors that affect bone development, and managing intact (not spayed or neutered) dogs, and ears. This post is intended for everyone with GSDs, but particularly recent and future buyers of Shepherd Sight puppies.
Temperament: Not all GSD puppies are socialized well. What does it take to raise a puppy that will become a well-rounded adult? Shepherd Sight puppies are very well socialized, beginning in the whelping box. They are petted and loved by many people from all different walks of life. This encourages them to accept all people and be friendly towards them unless they have a reason not to be. They are exposed to many different smells and sounds like vacuum cleaners and cleaning products. As they get older they are taken to many pet friendly establishments such as pet stores and Home Depot. This allows them to see, hear, and smell many things they would not encounter in a home environment, and they learn to accept situations that are unusual. But socialization does not end when puppies leave the breeder. My puppy buyers are encouraged to continue socializing their puppies as much as possible. This is essential for German Shepherd puppies. Here are a few pictures of Roz, Duke, and Daphne at 7 months with my neighbor and her black Lab:
When GSD puppies are not given the kind of socialization they need, they sometimes show fear, or a lack of confidence. Also, despite good socialization, around 7 to 9 months of age some puppies go through a “fear period.” Care must be taken to make sure that fear does not become the norm.
Here are some suggestions to work through fearfulness in puppies and end up with a confident dog: Make sure that the puppy is given a chance to explore whatever he is startled by and is encouraged to approach and investigate. Do not comfort your puppy in such a way that he will interpret your behavior as praise for a fear reaction. Instead, praise behavior that indicates your puppy is overcoming his fear, such as approaching the thing that startled him and investigating it. Lots of praise for sniffing the thing!
Also, take note of what startles your puppy and approach it from a distance, praising him when he has noticed it but not shown fear. Instead of walking your puppy directly towards some scary thing, walk parallel to it with yourself between the thing and your puppy, showing your puppy that you, the leader of the pack, are not afraid.
Another tactic is to tell your puppy to do something he knows how to do, such as “sit.” This gives him some control over the situation, and he knows what behavior is expected. You can praise him for obeying and sitting when there is a scary thing nearby. This needs to be repeated frequently, as repetition is key to any type of training. With time, he will gain confidence.
If you go to dog training classes, avoid trainers who use e-collars or any kind of shock. I’m not saying that there’s no place for them, but my dogs have never needed them. They want to please and are motivated by praise, even more so than food. This is the kind of dog I like! The best thing about training classes is that you will learn how to communicate with your dog, and you will develop a better understanding of dog behavior. Any classes that you take should be “hands-on” with you always present. I rarely think it’s a good idea to leave a dog with someone for training. Always be present so you are learning alongside your dog.
If you are confident in training your dog yourself because you have been successful in the past with German Shepherds, make sure that you train your dog in the presence of distractions. It’s so easy to have a dog that pays attention to you and always obeys when you’re in your own driveway. The best evidence of good dog training is when your dog minds you no matter what else is happening nearby.
Shepherd Sight dogs are known for their intelligence, and also “intelligent disobedience.” That’s when a dog disobeys for a really good reason, such as when a guide dog refuses a “forward” command when a car is moving in the path. Here are some recent examples of my puppies showing intelligent disobedience: 1) Refusing to go in their crate. When my puppies have gotten overheated outside, they want to come in and lay down on the cool basement floor. They do not want to go in their crates. As soon as they are cooled off sufficiently, they will readily go in their crates. I have to respect that they know when they need to cool down their own body temperature. This is good instinct pure and simple. 2) Refusing to walk beside me on a leash at dog class. My puppy recognized the threatening body language of another dog before I did, and she refused to walk between me and the large threatening dog. Self preservation!
My older dogs are more sophisticated with their intelligent disobedience. Johnny once put his feet on the kitchen counter and then went to me and pawed at my face. There was nothing on the counter. He repeated this several times, and I got mad at him and decided to put him outside. As I opened the door to the room downstairs, it was hot. Downstairs and directly below where Johnny had put his feet on the counter upstairs was a stove with a malfunctioning thermostat. The walls and floor were so hot I could barely touch them. If I hadn’t turned the stove off right then, my house would have caught fire. There was no smoke, just heat that he could feel and I could not. He was trying to show me where it was! When I went back upstairs and checked the empty counter where Johnny had put his feet, it was warm. I had not touched it before, only scolded Johnny for putting his feet on the counter, something he hadn’t done since he was taught the rules as a puppy. Of course he was trying to tell me something. I was a fool for not paying more attention.
Please pay attention to behaviors that seem crazy or not your dog’s norm! Dogs are a lot smarter than we give them credit for. They think differently and use their senses differently than humans, but they are just as smart as we are. We just have to learn how they think.
Shepherd Sight 