Dog questions

[Croghanite]

I am getting a 1-2 year old german shepherd tomorrow. The dog has been kept outside in a fenced in area of about 50' by 50'.
I plan on keeping the dog outside with shelter.
I have never had a dog.

Anyone know how to train a dog to go woo woo in a specific area of the yard?
What should I do to get him acclimated to my kids and home?
Are there any good resources online that could help me out?

Thanks

 

[OPC'n]

Stop! Don't do it! You'll never get to go on vacation again!

 

[glorifyinggodinwv]

Congratulations, a new dog can bring a lot of joy to a family. But, as sjonee pointed out, you may never go on vacation again! But, with a German Shepherd, there are several things to consider. One, would be the history of the dog. A well-trained German Shepherd can be one of the best dogs ever, but they can also be very territorial, dominant, and demand a lot of attention. An untrained GS or one raised in a bad environment can be a handful. The age of your kids would also be a factor, especially if there are young children. I am not an expert, but I have raised a couple shepherds and been around people who have been very involved in their training. My brother-in-law has been an officer in a K-9 unit in Florida for many years, and he praises the breed, but knows they require training and attention on a consistent basis. There are a number of resources on the internet, but you will find from any google search, conflicting, and sometimes, downright wrong information about training. Oddly enough, the Monks of New Skete have been highly praised for their training of German Shepherds and have published a couple of books worthy of reading.
Monks of New Skete
Although, the PC crowd has come to criticize them because they think some of their training methods are too harsh.
Also, you said the GS was raised in a fenced in yard. I am assuming your yard is also fenced. Most GS people say you need at least a 3 to 4 foot high fence at the minimum. Ours is 3 foot and our GS has never jumped it. If the dog is tied, it will require a lot of walking and attention to deal with the energy level of the breed.
As far as barking goes, most GS will bark at anything they think is coming close to their territory, unless they are extremely well trained.
I hope everything goes okay and some more knowledgeable folks on the PB chime in.
Blessings to you and your family,

 

[turmeric]

The Monks of New Skete would tell you to bring the dog inside at night. It will be good protection for you and won't bark. If it's outside, it will bark to get your attention, as it is a pack-animal and not designed to spend hours alone. Also, this will facilitate bonding without which you won't be able to train it. You should also be the one who feeds it.

 

[Croghanite]

He has been on an automatic feeder and water system as well. Is that bad?

 

[ReformedWretch]

It sounds like he's not gotten much human interaction so training him may be difficult. My wife and I watched "The Dog Whisperer" on National Geographic and everything he teaches helps us tremendously! His name is Cesar Millan Welcome to Cesar Millan's Official Web Site

 

[jaybird0827]

I strongly encourage you to consider taking a dog obedience training course. If you have a Petco or PetSmart near you, it's possible they may offer that. The important thing is that the dog understands that you are the one in command. If you aren't, no one will know it better than the dog!

 

[LawrenceU]

I train dogs, retrievers specifically. I've also worked with GS and GS/Wolf crosses in the past. Growing up I had a Huskie/T-Wolf, 25/75 cross. What Chris said is right on the money. They are highly social animals. What you have described with the auto system sounds like a badly neglected dog. GS are wonderful dogs. Good bloodlines are very intelligent and very sociable. They need interaction with people from a very young age. Do you know anything about this dogs pedigree? Is he registered? I'm not being a blood snob. Pedigree can tell you a great deal about potential social and physical make up of a dog.

I note that you said you have never owned a dog. This might not be a good situation for you unless you can hook up with a good experienced trainer who will devote some time with you. That will most likely mean money for you. If the dog has been left alone for the majority of its time and the dog is intelligent he will probably appear to be hard headed to you. Especially, since he is already old enough to have 'figured out life'. If he is not intelligent and has been left alone he could be a very dangerous dog.

You could be on a real gem. I can't tell you what to do, but I would highly recommend that you have the dog evaluated by a good trainer who has worked with GSs. He can observe you and the dog and tell you whether or not it is a good idea.

If you are not up to it a viable option for the dog may be a donation to a K9 unit.

Oh, let me add this: A very good book that can be an eye opener to dog training is Don't Shoot the Dog!. It actually is more than a dog training book, but it is centered around dog training. There are many misconceptions in the public eye about what effective training is. It is not 'breaking' a dog. It is training a dog. A broken dog may be calm, he may obey you, but he will not be doing it to please you and in some instances he will be waiting until he sees an opportunity to seek revenge upon you - especially in intelligent breeds. This may be an attack or it may be destructive behaviour.

 

[Croghanite]

Thanks everyone. I got the dog and drove three hours with him in the back of a work van. He never even whimpered. This dog is awesome!

He was never on a leash. I put a collar and a leash right on 'em and the dog walks with you perfectly. If I say "no" he stops whatever he was doing or stops where he was going and comes to me. He doesn't pull on the leash either. when he feels it tighten he eases up.

The dog very rarely barks. All my neighbors have dogs that bark constantly and he just looks at them. I left him outside and my neighbor was having a huge and very loud party last night. The dog barked two times and I went outside and said "hush" and pointed at him from 30 feet away. He didn't bark again.

I plan on attempting to read up and self train him. Thanks for the help

 

[Athaleyah]

The dog very rarely barks. All my neighbors have dogs that bark constantly and he just looks at them. I left him outside and my neighbor was having a huge and very loud party last night. The dog barked two times and I went outside and said "hush" and pointed at him from 30 feet away. He didn't bark again.

You do need to make sure that he's getting enough attention to meet his social needs. Or he will bark like all the other dogs. I'm not saying you won't do this or aren't doing this. I think this is harder to do when a dog is outside. I've had both inside and outside dogs and I had more problems spending enough time with outside dogs. The inside dogs come and get you when they want attention. Outside dogs often bark to tell you this. At least this is my experience.

 

[Montanablue]

The Monks of New Skete are amazing. I used their methods to train my dog (a golden retriever) and I have a beautifully behaved animal.

 

[Croghanite]

Also... After he got more settled in today, He laid down and gave up his belly to be pet. Doesn't that mean at least he wont kill me.

-----Added 3/21/2009 at 09:07:22 EST-----

This is what I know about this dog. The first owner raised "coon dogs" and somehow this GS was given to his father-in-law to care for him. The father-in-law kept him on top of a mountain in a large fenced in area and "fed and watered him for the past two months". He thinks the dog is between 1 and 2 years old.

I was doing electric work on one of the microwave towers on top the mountain and that's how I found the dog. The dog looked perfect and acted very friendly and you can tell he was smart.

I found were the guy lived and bought the dog. I know I was taking a big risk, but the guy only wanted $25
This place was three hours away from my house and I was not ever gonna come back.

Pastor Underwoods post scared me a bit and now I think I may have a very intelligent dog just waiting for the perfect time to rip my throat apart.

 

[turmeric]

The belly thing is a very good sign. I would bring him inside at night - I don't think he'll kill you. He will come to love you, and i pity the fool that tries to mess with you after that!

 

[etexas]

We have a Bichon. We love her! She is perfect!

 

[Zenas]

Rolling over on his stomach is a sign of submission. That is, in essence, saying he won't kill you, but it's also saying "You're the boss, and I'm o.k. with that."

German Shepards are smart, some of the smartest I've ever seen. Moreover, they are protective. Once they recognize that you and your family are its family, you now have a devoted friend that will die for you with no hesitation. It sounds like the dog isn't aggressive, which means he's not going to "get back at you" through physical harm if he feels slighted. However, because he's so intelligent, he will destroy things. Allow me to illustrate.

My wife has a Maltese who is both very sociable, and extremely smart. He's the smartest dog I've ever seen in my life, of any breed, anywhere. He learns tricks in a matter of minutes in a single session. He knows people by name and will go find them if you ask him to. He loves my wife and likes me well enough. He wants to be around us a certain amount and if he isn't, he retaliates. How? Destruction. He'll urinate, defecate, and strew about anything he can find to show he's upset.

He knows what he's doing is not allowed; he'll do it and run and hide, cower, sit in a corner. He does it to show he's upset though, and demonstrate that he needs something that he's not getting. It's not a demonstration of stupidity, but intelligence.

 

[Croghanite]

The belly thing is a very good sign. I would bring him inside at night - I don't think he'll kill you. He will come to love you, and i pity the fool that tries to mess with you after that!

What exactly do you mean bring him in at night? I don't want a dirty dog all over my house. You bring him in to a specific spot or just let him go wherever he wants?

 

[turmeric]

Make him sleep on an old blanket at the foot of your bed, or just outside the bedroom door. Don't let him just be anywhere, besides he will want to be where you are, most likely.

I certainly hope he doesn't have fleas!

 

[SueS]

A GSD is my dog of choice - I've had two in the past 26 years - the first was put down at 13 years of age and the second, a "rescue" dog, has been in our family for 10 years.

The monks of New Skeet have put out some terrific books about GSD's and their main point is that these dogs NEED human companionship and HIGHLY recommend close contact with their owners. Personally, it pains me to see any dog chained up next to a coop somewhere in the back yard - this goes double for an intelligent breed like a GS. Right now, mine is lying in front of the living room stove, soaking up the heat.

I remember hearing a story about a man who bought two GSD's as protection for his wife when he was away. They were kept in a pen behind the house. One night, while he was gone, the home was broken into and the wife was raped. I'm sure the dogs barked like crazy but since this all took place in the outer reaches of suburbia, no-one heard them. So much for protection.

If possible, include your dog in as much of your life as you can. Socialization is very important with GSD's and the better bonded he is with you the happier he will be and the more you and your family will enjoy him.

 

[JBaldwin]

We have kept dogs all our married life, and I agree that dogs need socialization. Ours crave it. Every time we get a new dog, we clean it up and take it with us everywhere we go, even if it means someone standing outside a grocery store with the dog on the leash while someone shops. We do this, because we tend to take in strays, and we have found they do better for us down the road if they've had some serious "bonding time" with us at the beginning.

We can't handle the dog in the bedroom issue, so they sleep just outside our bedroom when they are in the house. They stay outside most of the time now, but we spend time with them every day.

I would recommend that you spend a lot of time with this dog now, even if you can't spend as much later so that you bond.

 

[etexas]

I like dogs!