LenLen Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Hi All, I have an 11 week long-haired german shepherd named Shyla and we are currently taking her to puppy school through our vet. We have an older dog already (Samson - 12 year old chihuahua half maltese) and we still use the vet in Alexandria as we like it there. We have moved from Alexandria to Bankstown 2 months ago and I don't really know the area. We were told that it is vital to continue socialisation after puppy training, but I'm not sure of any places in the bankstown area. With Samson, he's just happy to go for a walk but find him a bit aggressive with bigger dogs, which I don't want to pass on that trait to Shyla, as I don't think I would be able to hold her back once she grows into a full adult (supposedly up to 50+ kilos). Does anybody have any suggestions on where to go and how often should we be taking her to get socialised? Thanks for your help Len Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Bella* Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Congratulations on the new addition, bet she is gorgeous! Have you got some photos to share with us? Just wanted to say unless your shepherd is going to be way over standard, your pup wont end up weighing 50+ kilos. The GSD standard says females should weigh around 22 - 32kg when fully grown. As for socialisations, I would be very careful where you take her until she is fully vaccinated, because of the risk of parvo and kennel cough etc. I am in Vic so cant help you with safe places to go in your area, but someone will hopefully pop in and give you some suggestions. There is a GSD thread in the Breed subforum if you haven't already seen it, please come join in and tell us all about your girl! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LenLen Posted December 11, 2007 Author Share Posted December 11, 2007 My partner says the mum is around 50 kilos, so that's where I assumed her adult size to be. Her final round of vaccinations are for next week, so next week we'll be fine as we still got one more puppy class to go to, graduation. But hopefully, after that I would have found a place to continue her socialisation. We see some dogs when walking them, but no group socialisation as such. Here's some photos: Samson Shyla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LenLen Posted December 27, 2007 Author Share Posted December 27, 2007 Another question, when do we start training/obedience classes, at what age? As there haven't been any replies, maybe I can use the training classes as dog socialisation as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diva Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 (edited) I'm no expert but as you aren't getting many replies as yet - Many obedience clubs have 'kindergarten' classes starting from 3 months of age and a well run kindy class is a good place to continue socialising your pup. I'm not in your area so can't recommend anywhere but if you post in the training forum I'm sure someone would have recommendations. If you have friends with stable, well mannered older dogs they can be an asset too. Just be careful to avoid free running with dogs you don't know or trust, you only want good experiences at that age. She is totally gorgeous. Edited December 27, 2007 by Diva Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coco22 Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 Shyla is so gorgeous! It's good to start obedience class as soon as your can as I was advised that the critical period to train puppies is between 8-16 weeks. During this period, puppies learn very quickly and it is also easier to correct any wrong behaviour during this stage. Obi is 14 weeks now. Due to my irregular working hours and work days, we started puppy class late. Obi has only gone for 1 puppy class just before Christmas and had to take a 2 week break until after the New Year where classes will start again. My friend gave me a book on dog training and it comes with very good illustrations. So right now I am using that as a guide to train Obi until the puppy classes commence again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LenLen Posted December 27, 2007 Author Share Posted December 27, 2007 Thanks all for the replies, yes that's what I suspected as well, keep her training ongoing. The first puppy class Shyla was very anxious and would not stop barking during the class (mind you we only had her for 2 days, so I reakon she was a bit freaked out with all the change). But come graduation she's totally changed and was happy to play and tumble with one of the the other puppies. So I don't want her to revert back to being anxious. Another reason why I'm doing all this research is because I'm having a baby at the end of Jan, so I wanna make sure that Shyla will listen to me when she gets bigger. Thanks Diva, I will look into the training schools in the area for the kindy classes. A guy at a pet warehouse place suggested Steve Austin, and I looked at the forums and he seems well recommended, but is it worth the trip to Dural? I think it takes 1 hour to get there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tess32 Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 I wouldn't be walking her much, she's too young... It will also take up to two weeks for her vaccination to kick in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubitty Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 Hi LenLen would you be able to drive to Peakhurst? There is a WONDERFUL obedience club there which I can tell you more about if you can make it there. They used to meet at 3 pm every Saturday afternoon (they are on summer break now). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonElite Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 The Peakhurst club doesnt resume operation till March unfortunatelly. But there is a club in Homebush Im not sure if they break for summer or not but kavik will be able to tell you if you PM her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LenLen Posted December 29, 2007 Author Share Posted December 29, 2007 Thanks for all the replies. Ok, I will PM Kavik, hopefully they're open for summer. Will do a google search on dog training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marble Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 Thanks for all the replies. Ok, I will PM Kavik, hopefully they're open for summer. Will do a google search on dog training. oww.. thanks guys for the info too i was looking for a puppy training/socliasation club for my new 8week maltese. I live at strathfield so Homebush is close to where i am i will pm Kavik for details :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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