hello

Ricky · #1 10-11-11, 01:46 PM

I joined up for some advice and to perhaps share some advice about GSD.

My boy is called Chester, I went for the breed as a spent almost my entire childhood in the company of the most amazing GSD.

Little vid here: Chester the White German Shepherd | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
And a few pics here: Chester - a set on Flickr

He is currently 11 months old and is almost perfect.

He is displaying typical adolescent behavior, such as pulling on his lead hard, barking at other dogs when on-lead.

In fact all his bad behavior is on-lead.
Off the lead at the park he is great, he absolutely loves to play with other dogs but never too rough. He never retaliates when he annoys adult dogs and 99% of the time follows my commands. He never goes further than 20 metres from me.

I have seen 1000 guides to getting your dog to relax on-lead and to stop the pulling and freaking out when other dogs walk past, both online and on TV but I wanted to ask some seasoned GSD owners their opinions.
I think it is a mixture of the anxiety of being trapped on the lead when other dogs are close and the utter excitement of greeting a new dog that triggers it.
Since I have started walking him in the dark (as winter draws in) he appears to be getting worse. German Shepherds in my experience do tend to have an anxious / scared trait in them.

Also, how do you guys expend your dogs energy in the dark evenings? As I cannot visit my local park after 5pm as it is not lit.
A walk on the lead is not enough for him, he needs to burst into sprints and really get rid of that energy.

Ricky · #2 10-11-11, 01:49 PM

Also, those pictures on Flickr he is about 9 months old.
He is a little bigger now, he was born on 2nd Jan 2011

Caryll · #3 10-11-11, 02:41 PM

Hi & welcome to the forum.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricky

German Shepherds in my experience do tend to have an anxious / scared trait in them.

Also, how do you guys expend your dogs energy in the dark evenings? As I cannot visit my local park after 5pm as it is not lit.
A walk on the lead is not enough for him, he needs to burst into sprints and really get rid of that energy.

I don't think they have an anxious/scared trait at all, but I do think they have a strong protection ethic! They are affected by the dark just as humans are, and may feel that you need protecting! If you stay calm & quiet, your dog will eventually accept that you are not in danger and will calm down himself.

I know it's difficult with the dark evenings, but I tend to give mine a long walk in the early mornings when it's not only lighter, but a lot quieter!

super D · #4 10-11-11, 02:42 PM

Hi and welcome to the forum xxx

jesterjenn · #5 10-11-11, 03:11 PM

With regards to walking in the evenings... We have lights for the dogs' collars and we just let them off as we would in the daylight

Just can't play with toys with them.

Ricky · #6 10-11-11, 03:12 PM

Hi Caryll / super D

Most German Shepherds I have ever known have had a nervous / anxious trait (Not just ones reared by my family). Not a huge or really problematic trait but one that must be contained so they remain confident.

The bitch GSD I grew up with was often nervous around large men, or noises in the house she didn't recognise.
I remember once the smoke alarm battery was going dead so it beeped every 10 minutes to alert us.
This really scared her yet our male Border Collie did not seem bothered at all.

When she hit full adulthood, around 3 to 4 years old she became a lot more confident.

It is definitely a combination of excitement and being perhaps more wary of strangers in the dark that causes my Chester to misbehave. He has very strong guarding instinct and we often have to stop him barking when next door pull up in their drive or someone walks loudly past the house.
Sometimes he finds it very hard to switch-off and relax, eventually an hour after a good walk in evenings he will completely calm down.

If I can just get his excitement / anxiousness on the lead under control, he will the perfect dog.

He follows me around like a total sheep as well when he is in this state, whereas when he is sleepy he is impossible to move. Like a dead weight.

Im laughing as I type this, as I want to rectify this behavior but the 'playing dead' for instance when i need him to move is funny, I do love his little foibles

claire_88 · #7 10-11-11, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricky

Also, how do you guys expend your dogs energy in the dark evenings? As I cannot visit my local park after 5pm as it is not lit.
A walk on the lead is not enough for him, he needs to burst into sprints and really get rid of that energy.

Hello and welcome to the ultimate forum! As you have probably seen on other threads the people on here are not only very experienced but utterly helpful and kind.

With regards to night-time walking i have seen reflective and flashing collars, meaning the dog can go about it's business and you can keep your eye on them. Flashing toys perhaps to help you maintain play and drain energy that way...

Failing that a good long walk will be sufficient, by long i do mean a good 1-2 hours. With a warm coat and good sturdy boots i find a long walk just as enjoyable

Stuart · #8 10-11-11, 03:37 PM

Hi Ricky, welcome to the forum,.. Chester is a good looking dog

I think Chester is feeling uncomfortable on lead because it is natural for a dog when meeting other dogs to have the option to either `fight or flight` [if they dont get on],.. when he is on the lead he cant do either, so he barks,... it might not be simply excitment,... has he been to training classes?

I have always suggested the Gencon to aid walking, but although it works and works well, dogs need to get used to it,...but it would be far better to be able to walk him well with just the normal lead.

Try,.. every time he pulls, either stop dead or walk backwards, make him sit, then continue,.. if thats done everytime then he will soon realise that when he pulls he doesnt get to where he wants to go

When

SDC10102 - YouTube

Ricky · #9 10-11-11, 03:42 PM

hi Jenn / Claire

He gets 3 walks a day, 30 / 45 mins in the morning, then he goes over the park at lunch time for 45 minutes and then about an hour walk in the evenings.

This is obviously our first winter and already both I, and him; really miss our evening walks in the big park opposite my house.
I love winter as a season but i'm looking forward to spring already so we can go on those evening 'off-lead' walks again.

Just need to get him behaving on the lead! Gonna be a long winter

Ricky · #10 10-11-11, 03:50 PM

Thanks Stuart very helpful.

He went to one training class, it was great and I fully intend to go back but I simply cannot afford it at the moment.
Until then I have confidence that I can train him with the right techniques, he does seem very attentive to me.

Calmness is everything though, when he is calm he obeys. Excitement basically turns him deaf to the world!

I dont know what is the best solution when we meet a dog when Chester is on the lead.
- Do you try and calm him and continue so he may greet the dog / cross paths
- Do you avoid the other dog, cross the road and try to correct him and play down the incident (this is what I try to do currently, I want to make him feel like this is not a big deal, so I dont want to make it out as one)

He follows the usual commands, sit, stay, no, gentle (when receiving treats), lay down etc. But like I mention, with the added excitement of another dog in the vicinity if he is on the lead, he will not listen.

As for the usual pulling, I will definitely try the sitting technique.

As he is only 11 months I am also hopeful that in the next 6 months he may just relax a little naturally as well as my training.