A good diet is important. Avoid most foods found at grocery stores, as they are loaded with fillers that really have little nutritional value. Lamb and rice formulas seem to go over well with GSDs and give them a healthy and shiny coat. With a relatively heavy shedding breed, you will really appreciate a quality food, as it will have some bearing on the amount of fur you will need to clean up. We feed Diamond All Natural Lamb and Rice, or RAW here. If you prefer that your pup not be weaned to raw from mom, just let us know.
Feed stores often carry brands not found in grocery or pet stores. We also recommend Taste of The Wild, Blue Buffalo, Wellness, Solid Gold, Natural Balance and Merrick which can normally be found at Petco and Petsmart. Your pup comes home with a bag of the food it has been on here with us (if weaned to kibble). If you plan to feed another food, use what we send home to gradually switch the pup to your chosen kibble for an easy transition on it’s stomach.
Follow the feeding guide recommendations on the bag as for portion sizes. Feeding too much is not a good thing. With larger breeds prone to Hip Dysplasia, you want puppies to grow slowly and steadily. If you opt for raw feeding, we are more than happy to get you the correct information on how to prepare and get started.
Nails are another important care point. We start trimming them weekly from 2 weeks of age here, but they do get sharp fast! Whether you choose to use a dremel or nail clippers, start acclimating the pup to it from the start and keep up on those nails every week.
When it comes to treats (for training and otherwise), I suggest avoiding giving too many ‘snausages’ and other such items. For teaching important commands, such as ‘come’, Natural Balance food rolls work VERY well. Get a roll, cut it up into small chunks and store in the fridge in Ziploc bags. They smell great to the dogs, really motivate them, and are nutritional.
From preparing for puppy, to dealing with puppy…here we go!
SOCIALIZE, SOCIALIZE, SOCIALIZE !!!!! I can’t say it enough, and you can’t do it enough. That cute little fuzzy puppy is going to grow up into a protective and decent sized adult, the experiences it has NOW are going to greatly impact how it does and/or doesn’t react to things as it grows. The quandary comes in where safety is concerned. Puppies should not be out in grassy areas frequented by strange dogs, around strange dogs, in pet stores, or anywhere else that they can pick up contagious things before they have had all of their shots. Yet vital socialization time comes in before those shots are complete. Dogs that you know and are UTD on shots, and friendly are great ways to socialize the pup with other dogs. Puppy kindergarten classes are usually set up with this in mind as well, and are great. Let that pup meet as many people of all different shapes and sizes as you can. Babies, children, men, women, neighbors, the mail man, the UPS man, everyone you can. Get pup out and about to hear different noises, encourage confidence, ignore fearful behavior. At about 12 weeks of age you may see a ‘fear phase’. This is a normal phase in puppy development. Do NOT coddle a puppy or dog exhibiting fear. No baby talk, petting, picking it up, or any of that. Ignore it. If the fear is directed at an inanimate object or something of the sort, encourage the pup to investigate it! The phase will pass, and if you have handled it correctly, and no negative experiences have occurred, the pup will come out of it better than ever. Also keep in mind that you may experience another at about 6 months of age. Handle it the same way. What you are aiming to do with socialization is give the pup a good broad base of experiences to build off of. You are proactively working toward totally avoiding nervous, fearful and/or aggressive behaviors to strange things later in life.
Crate Training. This is important as well, and the crate should be a good and safe place for the puppy. It is important to acclimate the pup to the crate as soon as possible. Make it comfortable, but only large enough for the puppy to turn around and lay down. If the area available is too large, the pup will eliminate in one area and sleep in another. A blanket and some toys to make it feel like home, and entice puppy in with treats. Do not close the door at first, let the pup go in and out as it pleases and work up to closing the door when it is comfortable. After that, do NOT let the pup out for being loud and crying/barking. It is only allowed out when it is quiet and calm. You do not want to send the message that being loud will get the pup what it wants.
Puppy will need to go out to relieve itself upon waking, after eating, after playing, and just in general about hourly at first. They cannot hold it long, you will need middle of the night potty outings. Pay attention for the tell-tale signs such as circling, sniffing, and whining.
When puppy does have an accident, do not punish. All it will do is convince the puppy that it has to hide accidents from you as the act itself is bad. If you catch pup early on or in the middle of it, make a loud ‘AH!’ noise, and run the pup outside to finish, praise when it does. If the pup has already done it, just clean it up well (using an enzyme neutralizer is a good idea) and make no fuss at all.
In regard to housebreaking, routine and praise will get you there. On your outings, do not play, do not talk to the pup, do not walk around. Plant yourself in one spot and stay noise/motionless until the pup does its’ business. At that point you spring to life and praise, puppy party time!
Puppy biting. It will be an issue. GSD pups are notorious furry alligators. Redirect, all the time, every time. As soon as the pup starts biting you, stop moving, pull out a toy (even a dishrag!) and redirect its’ attention to that item. It will start learning what is and isn’t acceptable to bite/chew/tug.
For the more stubborn pup, isolation. When redirecting fails, place the pup in a blocked off room or area where it does not get to interact with you for a brief period. This will get through to them. Resist the urge to physically reprimand or restrain a biting puppy. This only serves to make it a game, and make them more determined.
Another training aspect we feel important to touch upon here is ‘come’. It is THE single most important command for a dog. You need to know that if a bad situation should arise, you can call that dog back to you before any harm can be done. Start working on it from day one. Always a happy voice, in a STANDING (not squatting) position, and always praise/treat when they get to you. Coming to you should be a FANTASTIC thing in that pup’s mind. Never call to punish.
As for all of your other training endeavors (sit, stay, hell, drop it leave it, etc) keep in mind that GSDs are motivated by pleasing you. Praise will get you what you want, negative reinforcement and hitting are not usually good options.
You can start introducing short training sessions from the first day the puppy comes home. Keep it short at first, just a few minutes, and start simple. Move on as the pup starts to retain commands.
For training advice and help in general, our inbox is always open and our phones are always on. We’re here to help with whatever you need!
Feed stores often carry brands not found in grocery or pet stores. We also recommend Taste of The Wild, Blue Buffalo, Wellness, Solid Gold, Natural Balance and Merrick which can normally be found at Petco and Petsmart. Your pup comes home with a bag of the food it has been on here with us (if weaned to kibble). If you plan to feed another food, use what we send home to gradually switch the pup to your chosen kibble for an easy transition on it’s stomach.
Follow the feeding guide recommendations on the bag as for portion sizes. Feeding too much is not a good thing. With larger breeds prone to Hip Dysplasia, you want puppies to grow slowly and steadily. If you opt for raw feeding, we are more than happy to get you the correct information on how to prepare and get started.
Nails are another important care point. We start trimming them weekly from 2 weeks of age here, but they do get sharp fast! Whether you choose to use a dremel or nail clippers, start acclimating the pup to it from the start and keep up on those nails every week.
When it comes to treats (for training and otherwise), I suggest avoiding giving too many ‘snausages’ and other such items. For teaching important commands, such as ‘come’, Natural Balance food rolls work VERY well. Get a roll, cut it up into small chunks and store in the fridge in Ziploc bags. They smell great to the dogs, really motivate them, and are nutritional.
From preparing for puppy, to dealing with puppy…here we go!
SOCIALIZE, SOCIALIZE, SOCIALIZE !!!!! I can’t say it enough, and you can’t do it enough. That cute little fuzzy puppy is going to grow up into a protective and decent sized adult, the experiences it has NOW are going to greatly impact how it does and/or doesn’t react to things as it grows. The quandary comes in where safety is concerned. Puppies should not be out in grassy areas frequented by strange dogs, around strange dogs, in pet stores, or anywhere else that they can pick up contagious things before they have had all of their shots. Yet vital socialization time comes in before those shots are complete. Dogs that you know and are UTD on shots, and friendly are great ways to socialize the pup with other dogs. Puppy kindergarten classes are usually set up with this in mind as well, and are great. Let that pup meet as many people of all different shapes and sizes as you can. Babies, children, men, women, neighbors, the mail man, the UPS man, everyone you can. Get pup out and about to hear different noises, encourage confidence, ignore fearful behavior. At about 12 weeks of age you may see a ‘fear phase’. This is a normal phase in puppy development. Do NOT coddle a puppy or dog exhibiting fear. No baby talk, petting, picking it up, or any of that. Ignore it. If the fear is directed at an inanimate object or something of the sort, encourage the pup to investigate it! The phase will pass, and if you have handled it correctly, and no negative experiences have occurred, the pup will come out of it better than ever. Also keep in mind that you may experience another at about 6 months of age. Handle it the same way. What you are aiming to do with socialization is give the pup a good broad base of experiences to build off of. You are proactively working toward totally avoiding nervous, fearful and/or aggressive behaviors to strange things later in life.
Crate Training. This is important as well, and the crate should be a good and safe place for the puppy. It is important to acclimate the pup to the crate as soon as possible. Make it comfortable, but only large enough for the puppy to turn around and lay down. If the area available is too large, the pup will eliminate in one area and sleep in another. A blanket and some toys to make it feel like home, and entice puppy in with treats. Do not close the door at first, let the pup go in and out as it pleases and work up to closing the door when it is comfortable. After that, do NOT let the pup out for being loud and crying/barking. It is only allowed out when it is quiet and calm. You do not want to send the message that being loud will get the pup what it wants.
Puppy will need to go out to relieve itself upon waking, after eating, after playing, and just in general about hourly at first. They cannot hold it long, you will need middle of the night potty outings. Pay attention for the tell-tale signs such as circling, sniffing, and whining.
When puppy does have an accident, do not punish. All it will do is convince the puppy that it has to hide accidents from you as the act itself is bad. If you catch pup early on or in the middle of it, make a loud ‘AH!’ noise, and run the pup outside to finish, praise when it does. If the pup has already done it, just clean it up well (using an enzyme neutralizer is a good idea) and make no fuss at all.
In regard to housebreaking, routine and praise will get you there. On your outings, do not play, do not talk to the pup, do not walk around. Plant yourself in one spot and stay noise/motionless until the pup does its’ business. At that point you spring to life and praise, puppy party time!
Puppy biting. It will be an issue. GSD pups are notorious furry alligators. Redirect, all the time, every time. As soon as the pup starts biting you, stop moving, pull out a toy (even a dishrag!) and redirect its’ attention to that item. It will start learning what is and isn’t acceptable to bite/chew/tug.
For the more stubborn pup, isolation. When redirecting fails, place the pup in a blocked off room or area where it does not get to interact with you for a brief period. This will get through to them. Resist the urge to physically reprimand or restrain a biting puppy. This only serves to make it a game, and make them more determined.
Another training aspect we feel important to touch upon here is ‘come’. It is THE single most important command for a dog. You need to know that if a bad situation should arise, you can call that dog back to you before any harm can be done. Start working on it from day one. Always a happy voice, in a STANDING (not squatting) position, and always praise/treat when they get to you. Coming to you should be a FANTASTIC thing in that pup’s mind. Never call to punish.
As for all of your other training endeavors (sit, stay, hell, drop it leave it, etc) keep in mind that GSDs are motivated by pleasing you. Praise will get you what you want, negative reinforcement and hitting are not usually good options.
You can start introducing short training sessions from the first day the puppy comes home. Keep it short at first, just a few minutes, and start simple. Move on as the pup starts to retain commands.
For training advice and help in general, our inbox is always open and our phones are always on. We’re here to help with whatever you need!
