My girl is 4 months old, and she’s been with us for 2 months. I’m struggling with potty training, socializing, and keeping her healthy. She’s sick every weekend either diarrhea or vomiting! And took her to urgent vet, her own vet, gave her medicine and she got better for a day and now she has severe diarrhea today. I think she ate some sorta red berries that fell from a tree in our yard. Took her to the dog park and she’s terrified of other dogs. I’m miserable and not able to live my normal life. Thinking about giving her up to a better parent.
I’m failing as a gsd puppy parent
- Thread starter auskid
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- german shepherd dogs
@auskid I am a fellow GSD puppy owner, ours just hit a year. I’ll try to tell you what we did.
Potty Training:
1. Puppy pads everywhere, like almost cover your floor with them in one room. Every-time she goes to the bathroom on a pad act so excited & happy, lots of praise, pets & high values treats. Gradually take the puppy pads away until you get to a point where you only have one patch in the room. Continue the same reward etc. Once your pup is consistently using the puppy pad, start to move the puppy pad day by day towards the door, get to the point where the puppy pad is literally right at the door. Then, when you see puppy going to use it, open up the door and make pup go bathroom outside. Same rewards & praise.
Socializing:
So for me, I thought socializing meant my dog has to play with other dogs to socialize, and I thought if my dog doesn’t get to play with other dogs then he will never learn how to play appropriately. Boy was I WRONG. The goal is for your dog to be neutral in the presence of other dogs. Your dog can play with other dogs just fine and you might get to a great point with that, but that doesn’t mean your dog is socialized if they lose their mind every-time they walk past a dog on leash. The goal is neutrality & calmness around dogs, not playing with other dogs.
I ask you to please consider not using the dog park anymore, I am a firm believer that dog parks teach your dog bad manners, and there’s always a chance of someone bringing their badly behaved dog & a fight breaking out, and it’s not a cause of IF it’s a case of when. All it takes is one fight to create your pup to be fearful, reactive and defensive around other dogs. Instead, find one, two, or three other dogs that have owners who are passionate about training their dogs to be well behaved, and set up controlled play dates. Watch videos on dog body language, it’s fascinating and so useful to know when introducing your dog to other dogs. Fights take 0.2 seconds to explode, but usually the warning signs are there.
For us, the socializing we like to do now is:
1) sitting on a park bench and watching dog walks past, rewarding our dog for calmness
2) walks around the pet store on leash, rewards for calmness
3) controlled play dates with dogs & their owners that I trust, never leaving them unsupervised and keeping the playdates short to avoid anyone feeling overwhelmed
4) going out for dinner & bringing our pup along with us. When people approach to say hi, give them a treat to give to your dog, this helps to prevents your dog from having stranger danger in the future.
5) inviting people into our home
6) allowing children to hand a treat to our pup with an open palm while I’m holding the back of the collar (he now LOVES children.)
Stomach problems:
Well, dog park can heavily contribute to that. Dog parks are full of feces and bacteria, and pups usually haven’t built up enough immunity to be able to cope with that.
What food are you feeding? We use Purina pro plan puppy large breed sensitive stomach. It works great for us after having some problems like yours.
When your pup has diarrhea add pumpkin into kibble, this will form it up.
We use evolutions probiotics, they are packed with superfoods and great strains of bacteria. If you’re not in a position to afford probiotics add natural Greek yogurt to kibble as this is a natural probiotic.
Puppy blues are real, and I cried everyday for the first 6 months lol. Remember GSD’s are not a pet, they are a lifestyle. Just keep working with her, doing your research. Please message me for any help you need, I’ve been through it all! And please, please, don’t use the dog park anymore.
Potty Training:
1. Puppy pads everywhere, like almost cover your floor with them in one room. Every-time she goes to the bathroom on a pad act so excited & happy, lots of praise, pets & high values treats. Gradually take the puppy pads away until you get to a point where you only have one patch in the room. Continue the same reward etc. Once your pup is consistently using the puppy pad, start to move the puppy pad day by day towards the door, get to the point where the puppy pad is literally right at the door. Then, when you see puppy going to use it, open up the door and make pup go bathroom outside. Same rewards & praise.
Socializing:
So for me, I thought socializing meant my dog has to play with other dogs to socialize, and I thought if my dog doesn’t get to play with other dogs then he will never learn how to play appropriately. Boy was I WRONG. The goal is for your dog to be neutral in the presence of other dogs. Your dog can play with other dogs just fine and you might get to a great point with that, but that doesn’t mean your dog is socialized if they lose their mind every-time they walk past a dog on leash. The goal is neutrality & calmness around dogs, not playing with other dogs.
I ask you to please consider not using the dog park anymore, I am a firm believer that dog parks teach your dog bad manners, and there’s always a chance of someone bringing their badly behaved dog & a fight breaking out, and it’s not a cause of IF it’s a case of when. All it takes is one fight to create your pup to be fearful, reactive and defensive around other dogs. Instead, find one, two, or three other dogs that have owners who are passionate about training their dogs to be well behaved, and set up controlled play dates. Watch videos on dog body language, it’s fascinating and so useful to know when introducing your dog to other dogs. Fights take 0.2 seconds to explode, but usually the warning signs are there.
For us, the socializing we like to do now is:
1) sitting on a park bench and watching dog walks past, rewarding our dog for calmness
2) walks around the pet store on leash, rewards for calmness
3) controlled play dates with dogs & their owners that I trust, never leaving them unsupervised and keeping the playdates short to avoid anyone feeling overwhelmed
4) going out for dinner & bringing our pup along with us. When people approach to say hi, give them a treat to give to your dog, this helps to prevents your dog from having stranger danger in the future.
5) inviting people into our home
6) allowing children to hand a treat to our pup with an open palm while I’m holding the back of the collar (he now LOVES children.)
Stomach problems:
Well, dog park can heavily contribute to that. Dog parks are full of feces and bacteria, and pups usually haven’t built up enough immunity to be able to cope with that.
What food are you feeding? We use Purina pro plan puppy large breed sensitive stomach. It works great for us after having some problems like yours.
When your pup has diarrhea add pumpkin into kibble, this will form it up.
We use evolutions probiotics, they are packed with superfoods and great strains of bacteria. If you’re not in a position to afford probiotics add natural Greek yogurt to kibble as this is a natural probiotic.
Puppy blues are real, and I cried everyday for the first 6 months lol. Remember GSD’s are not a pet, they are a lifestyle. Just keep working with her, doing your research. Please message me for any help you need, I’ve been through it all! And please, please, don’t use the dog park anymore.
Also to add, I think a lot of people (including myself at the start) have a misunderstanding of what the word socialized means. Because when we think of humans socializing, we think of us all getting together and interacting.
Think of the word ‘socializing’ as a dog just experiencing the world outside of their home, rather than playing with dogs. That is much more of a better explanation of socializing dogs.
Think of the word ‘socializing’ as a dog just experiencing the world outside of their home, rather than playing with dogs. That is much more of a better explanation of socializing dogs.
missbrielle
New member
this is everything! Well said. I do a different method of potty training but I say potato, not potato.@walmor Puppy pads == No. It will make potty training take 10x longer. And it will simply train the dog to think they should pee inside. They cannot understand the human distinction between a rug and a puppy pad. It's nonsense for them...
Potty training a dog takes about a month or two of dedicated work. Potty a training a dog who has been trained to use pee pads can take many months, even years.
Potty training a dog takes about a month or two of dedicated work. Potty a training a dog who has been trained to use pee pads can take many months, even years.
@auskid Young German Shepherds shouldn’t be taken to dog parks, or be around any dominant dogs. It will make them timid and nervous—two things you never want in a GSD.
Seriously consider giving her up before you do permanent, irreversible damage—and before someone gets bitten or attacked. Adopt an older trained dog, or try an easier breed.
Seriously consider giving her up before you do permanent, irreversible damage—and before someone gets bitten or attacked. Adopt an older trained dog, or try an easier breed.
@mhcapa1 Her vet and the trainer I went to told me to start socializing het when she’s fully vaccinated. I took her to an empty dog park twice early morning so she get used to the environment but she was another dog from distance and freaked out! What age is appropriate for her to be around other dogs?
organicflower
New member
@auskid Socialization should be controlled and, if you haven’t socialized a dog before, done with the help of a trainer. You cannot control the variables of a dog park and, frankly, even for well socialized dogs, they can still be harmful. Look into puppy classes where they have a component that is socialization. Often times they are hand picked groups based off of temperament. That and they will ensure all dogs are fully vaccinated, reducing the risk of illness as even though your pup is fully vaccinated, it sounds like her immune system is not ideal at the moment.
missbrielle
New member
@auskid It’s appropriate for your dog to be around dogs at any age, but not just any dog. Only dogs where you know their owners, and you know they care about having a well mannered dog.
I think your vet did you an injustice by saying “hey go socialize!” And not explain to you what that really means.
You’re not a bad pet parent, just a new one with a high maintenance breed.
I’m sorry for all the crappy comments you’re getting, please ignore them. It is absolutely possible to be a first time dog owner and have a German shepherd, so long as you are willing to do countless hours of research, learning & paying for the help of professional trainers.
Reddit is not always the best place to get help, because people are so god damn judgmental and mean.
I would say reach out to a trainer, do some puppy classes, and continue a relationship with them as your puppy grows into adulthood, so they can be your first point of contact for help & problem solving. Or another German shepherd owner who is willing to spend time talking to you.
Don’t give up, just stay extremely committed.
I think your vet did you an injustice by saying “hey go socialize!” And not explain to you what that really means.
You’re not a bad pet parent, just a new one with a high maintenance breed.
I’m sorry for all the crappy comments you’re getting, please ignore them. It is absolutely possible to be a first time dog owner and have a German shepherd, so long as you are willing to do countless hours of research, learning & paying for the help of professional trainers.
Reddit is not always the best place to get help, because people are so god damn judgmental and mean.
I would say reach out to a trainer, do some puppy classes, and continue a relationship with them as your puppy grows into adulthood, so they can be your first point of contact for help & problem solving. Or another German shepherd owner who is willing to spend time talking to you.
Don’t give up, just stay extremely committed.
sweetsunshine
New member
@auskid It sounds like you’re really attempting to do what’s right for her. Vet and trainer are good first steps. Talk to your trainer again. The training is more for you than your dog. Remind your trainer that you’ve never done this before and that you need specific tasks to work with your puppy on. If your trainer just said to socialize your puppy and didn’t say what that means they’ve done you a disservice.
Socialization is a bit of a misnomer. It doesn’t mean introducing her to other dogs and people. (Though that’s part of it.) it means introducing her to as many new situations as you can. Walking her near a busy street is socializing. So is walking on gravel. Even walking down the street and not meeting the dog across the street is socializing. Meeting people of different ethnicities and who use different tools for mobility is important. (My pup almost lost his mind the first time a kid skateboarded past us but he was young and I corrected him and we ignored the skateboarder and now he’s unbothered by them) you don’t want your dog freaking out when someone tries to pass you on crutches. Working on how you both interact with people and dogs. Is so important. The best thing is for them to pay attention to you until you tell them they can interact with another animal or human. Talk to your trainer about the best way to do this.
As for the dog park, I’m not a big fan. I used to love them and my dog and my experiences at dog parks have been overall positive but there are a lot of people who just unleash their dogs and then spend the whole time there with their nose buried in their phone and don’t pay attention to their dogs. German Shepherd’s are big dogs and few dogs mess with them but it’s not out of the question and dog parks while a good place for a dog to run free are also full of dogs trying to assert dominance and figure out where they are in the pecking order with sometimes 20-30 other dogs they my have never interacted with before. Few people are good at reading dog’s body language. I’ve seen quite a few dog fights. My dog thinks he’s a police officer and tries to breakup the fights. Luckily he’s got pretty good recall but at the dog park he tends to forget his commands.
There are better places for your dog to interact with other dogs. Some pet stores have group puppy play time. (I’ve never done that so can’t say wether they’re good or not) but a more controlled environment with fewer dogs is preferable.
Oh and 16 weeks and fully vaccinated is a good time to meet other dogs. It just has to be controlled.
Socialization is a bit of a misnomer. It doesn’t mean introducing her to other dogs and people. (Though that’s part of it.) it means introducing her to as many new situations as you can. Walking her near a busy street is socializing. So is walking on gravel. Even walking down the street and not meeting the dog across the street is socializing. Meeting people of different ethnicities and who use different tools for mobility is important. (My pup almost lost his mind the first time a kid skateboarded past us but he was young and I corrected him and we ignored the skateboarder and now he’s unbothered by them) you don’t want your dog freaking out when someone tries to pass you on crutches. Working on how you both interact with people and dogs. Is so important. The best thing is for them to pay attention to you until you tell them they can interact with another animal or human. Talk to your trainer about the best way to do this.
As for the dog park, I’m not a big fan. I used to love them and my dog and my experiences at dog parks have been overall positive but there are a lot of people who just unleash their dogs and then spend the whole time there with their nose buried in their phone and don’t pay attention to their dogs. German Shepherd’s are big dogs and few dogs mess with them but it’s not out of the question and dog parks while a good place for a dog to run free are also full of dogs trying to assert dominance and figure out where they are in the pecking order with sometimes 20-30 other dogs they my have never interacted with before. Few people are good at reading dog’s body language. I’ve seen quite a few dog fights. My dog thinks he’s a police officer and tries to breakup the fights. Luckily he’s got pretty good recall but at the dog park he tends to forget his commands.
There are better places for your dog to interact with other dogs. Some pet stores have group puppy play time. (I’ve never done that so can’t say wether they’re good or not) but a more controlled environment with fewer dogs is preferable.
Oh and 16 weeks and fully vaccinated is a good time to meet other dogs. It just has to be controlled.
@ashleydvs Thank you