LoonyLuna

I've been judged a lot, from letting the dog on the couch to giving her breakfast in treat balls and kongs. People think I spoil her... I just don't want her to be bored! I love the dog pyjamas, it would probably cross a line with my OH though, haha ????

As the owner of a 6 month GSD girl I can vouch for mental activity being a great way to tire her out. Obedience class on Sunday morning gives us a lovely quiet afternoon with a snoozy puppy. My girl loves to smell things, so during the week a 15 or 20 minute walk through a dog friendly nature trail gives her heaps of new things to sniff out and takes the edge off her energy. Good luck with your boy!

Oh what a nice idea! Luna is very much a daddy's girl - she is bonded more strongly to my OH than to me, but that's ok, the cats love him more too so I'm used to it. She's great with me though, a very loving puppy...but when there's both of us she does look to him for her cues. We took her to a new area for a short stroll yesterday morning and they were leading the way and she's happily sniffing away...when she's stopped, turned around back to me and wouldn't move until I was level with her, like she was worried she would leave me behind.

Here's a picture of her cute little face

The gremlins thing is so true! We call it witching hour, 6:30 to 7:30 every night.

Far more experienced people than me will be able to give you some great advice, in the meantime I'd recommend having a read through some of the links here: http://www.gsdcv.org.au/vet_info

Particularly the growth disorders and rate of weight gain downloads. From my understanding a GSD pup can look a bit wobbly when going through certain growth periods, but I would have thought it was a bit early yet for a firm diagnosis. Best of luck to you and your pup!

My 4 month old GSD pup does this as well, we just plan for her crazy time now. "You've finished your food? Let's go out into the yard so you can be a maniac"

It's so frustrating! Often they're impulse purchases, and I don't understand how people can add a life to their home on a whim. I'm sure it's a little different if you already have a dog, you may know you can easily add another.

We talked for a good year or so and decided that when we bought a house would be the right time to commit to a dog. Then it was a few months to settle in, then 6 months to find the right breeder. It was such a long research process, but I wouldn't change it... We wouldn't give up our pup for the world - anything naughty she has done has really been our fault, and we've all been learning!

Lol, don't worry she definitely gets meaty bones as well :)

Thanks so much for all the extra info! Pepper has stopped her for now :) Unfortunately moving her crate to the chewing spot isn't an option, and my other half does not like shutting the crate door on her at night (it was a battle on my part to get the crate)... I'm looking into moving the crate into the bedroom, maybe she'd stay in there if we were in the same room.

She does love to chew! She gets frozen carrots, celery sticks, and she is enjoying bully sticks which were a recent find for us.

Thank you for all the suggestions!

My 16 week old german shepherd pup has been chewing on one spot of my skirting boards. I was told chilli paste at puppy preschool (the week before she started chewing, I swear she got the idea from our instructor), but she seems to love the chilli and will happily lick it all off and start chewing again without even pulling a face.

Next I tried vicks, but she rubs herself along the skirting board until it's all over her instead and then starts chewing again. Then I tried bite off spray from Petbarn... I think she finds the taste unpleasant, but powers through. Today I've ordered cayenne pepper with my groceries to see how that goes, but was hoping for some ideas in case this is also a fail.

Extra info:

It's only one corner that she's chewing

It's while we're in bed

It's the closest corner to the bedroom and she likes to sleep right next to it

She does have a crate and eats and naps in there

Sleeping in our bedroom isn't an option as we have 2 cats and that's their refuge, she has the run of the main living area

She does have appropriate chew toys available to her

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

I love checking this thread and seeing everyone's pups! Luna is going through the bat ears phase at the moment :)

Good luck with your search! You could even look at the state german shepherd club and work from there, some show lines will be straighter than others and the club might also have contacts with working lines. My state gsd club was so helpful with our search for our pup.

With our pup we were given:

Signed transfer of microchip details for us to complete

Spare microchip number stickers

Vaccination certificate w/ corresponding microchip number recorded

Certificate of registration and pedigree of both parents along with copies of their hip and elbow scores

The pups own registration was still in progress so that was mailed to us separately.

We also came home with toys, enough food for several days, diet and exercise sheets...

I wasn't worried about not receiving the pups registration on the day, as our breeders are active in the state breed association and we felt that gave us a sense of security.

Riddick sure is a handsome guy!

@Simply Grand - thank you! I hadn't even considered using the play portion as a training exercise to come back and focus. I really appreciate the insight :)

So we started puppy preschool today and Luna had a great time. One of her brothers is at the same preschool and they instantly recognised each other and went in for a loud session of bitey face. She was very polite and respectful of all of the other puppies, and only played rough and loud with her brother, but I'm hoping their familiarity doesn't affect either of them in their quest to be good canine citizens. We stood a few dogs apart for the training portions and that seemed to work so far, but as soon as we were off lead for a play session it was ultra loud bitey face with each other again. On a side note, I'm so happy the instructor told everyone it's perfectly normal for littermates to be so loud together, I was worried that they would all be thinking "Look at those fierce German Shepherd puppies".

Just wondering if anyone has any other tips apart from keeping them a little apart during training portions? We don't have any other dogs at home and preschool is our main socialising time...should we make more of an effort to meet up with other non-related dogs so she gets a good mix of canine interaction? She's currently 11.5 weeks old, and has had her second vaccination. My main desire for her is that she's not fearful or aggressive to other dogs as we live in an area with a lot of dog walkers, and that she continues to learn to be civilised and obedient at home AND in public.

I'm in Tassie and even see him in a finance company TV ad...I think he does a lot of things for the money these days

Anyway, do you think it's appropriate to be asked? Do you get annoyed? Do you consider it a bit much to subject the donation asker to a lecture on why you do or no not support their cause?

I think it's fine to be asked and I don't get annoyed. I would never subject the asker to a lecture - a polite yes or no (or in my case "Sure!" or "Not today, thank you though") is all that's required.

Hi Everyone! I've been busily reading these forums ever since we made the decision to get a puppy, but haven't gotten around to posting. I'd love to introduce you all to our newest family member, Luna the German Shepherd puppy

Poor little guy, his owner AND the system failed him