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Five things to do before bringing your new puppy home

Those little balls of fluff are adorable, but life can become miserable without accomplishing at least these five tasks first:

  1. Buy a crate. A crate is an indispensable tool for house training, as well as keeping your belongings and your puppy safe while you are gone. Crate-training takes a few days if your breeder hasn’t already started it with your new puppy, but most puppies take to it quickly if you are diligent.
  2. Choose your vet. If you don’t already have a veterinarian for other pets, ask your friends, co-workers or breeder who they recommend. If possible, schedule a “well puppy” visit with your veterinarian for the day after you bring your puppy home. (Most breeders will require the puppy be examined by a vet within 48 to 72 hours of purchase for the health guarantee to be honored.) When shopping for a vet, don’t hesitate to ask about recommended vaccination schedules, costs, restraint methods, and whether the clinic offers any “extras,” such as boarding or microchipping.
  3. Enroll in a puppy kindergarten class. A training class for puppies aged 8 to 18 weeks is a vital component of your new puppy’s life. These classes will not only get you started on the basics of obedience training and house manners, but should also allow your puppy the opportunity to play with other puppies. This is a must if you plan for your puppy to interact with other dogs throughout its life. Again, ask friends, your vet and breeder for recommendations, and visit the class in advance of enrolling, when possible.
  4. Prepare the menu. Decide before you bring your puppy home what food you will feed. Kibble, raw, home cooked or frozen — the variety of choices at the moment is astounding, so take some time to research options before selecting a food or feeding method. The solution is to choose an option that meets your puppy’s nutrient requirements, and that you feel good about preparing and feeding.
  5. Get some toys. What’s life with a puppy without dog toys strewn about the house? Choose sturdy, easy-to-wash toys that appeal to your puppy’s desire to chew. Rope tug toys and “puppy” chew bones are fine, so long as your puppy is only playing with them while supervised. Do not allow a puppy to chew any toy not specifically labeled for chewing (especially rope or cloth toys). Buy enough toys that you can rotate a couple sets in and out of your puppy’s life — they’ll be like new again!

When should I start training my German Shepherd puppy?

“How old does my puppy have to be before I can begin training?”

This is a question I am asked often. The German Shepherd puppy in this video is 10 weeks old; but you don’t even have to wait that long! “Training” starts the day you bring your new dog or puppy home to live with you — GSDs are learning all the time. This is why it is easier to prevent problems and bad habits than to solve them later.

But what most people mean when they ask this question is, “How soon can I expect my German Shepherd puppy to start performing tricks and basic obedience behaviors?” Happily, the answer is the same — immediately. Clicker training is an easy and fun way to accomplish this.

What EVERY single pet store that sells purebred puppies does

Germany May Be Reunited, But German Shepherd Bloodlines Aren’t

Fjandi - Associated Press
AP Photo/Franka Bruns

West German shepherd Fjandi stands on the grounds of the German Shepherd Breeders Association in Berlin, Monday, Oct. 1, 2007. As the country celebrates 17 years of reunification on Wednesday, some animosities between the formerly communist East and capitalist West remain and few are as doggedly contested as the fight over whose shepherds are superior.

You’d think they were talking about the North American/European German Shepherd bloodline split: “Our dogs are healthier and have a better personality,” Gerlinde Schultze, a 20-year breeder of East German lines, told the Associated Press on Wednesday. “Those overbred shepherds in the West are merely about good looks.”

Breeders of West German lines, of course, disagree. Such a rift is not unusual to most breeds in the dog fancy, but whether because of its popularity or in spite of it, the German Shepherd has evolved into several “types,” or looks, each preferred by its promoter. Besides the obvious North American and European division and the recent news-making East-West German split, there are strict enthusiasts of overall show or working lines, Belgian lines, Czech lines, British lines and Scandinavian lines; not to mention the long, dilute and white coated dogs, eschewed by most German Shepherd breed standards.

And it turns out, such enthusiasm can devolve into outright ignorance. American Kennel Club spokeswoman Lisa Peterson told the Associated Press for the same story, “In the U.S., there’s only one standard and one breed of German shepherd dogs.”

Huh?

Perhaps she’s conveniently forgotten about United Schutzhund Clubs of America, which is dedicated to breeding German Shepherds according to the SV (German), not AKC, standard. And how many working police and military dogs are AKC bloodlines? And German breeders on both sides of that country are laughing all the way to the bank as they continue to export hundreds of their dogs to North America each year.

Clearly, there is no single standard to which all German Shepherd enthusiasts will agree. But the founder of the breed, Captain Max von Stephanitz, did have at least one ideal in mind by which he determined future dogs could be measured:

“The shepherd dog is a working dog; he was born so, and only as such can he remain a ‘shepherd dog’; the dog which we value and love. His abundance of joy in life must be used and he must be allowed to work even when kept by an amateur.”
— von Stephanitz

The relative newness of the breed may also contribute to its current fractured status. Until after World War II, the German Shepherd was used primarily as a working dog — herding and guarding flocks, and most certainly during both world wars as a sentry and messenger dog.

Most breeders in the U.S. who follow the German, or international, breeding standard use a combination of European lines to breed what they hope will be a better dog. But as many buyers continue to clamor for “original” German lines, the furor over breed type is not likely to die down anytime soon.

Five reasons to avoid invisible fencing for your dog

Reasons I discourage boundary training any dog using an invisible fence, especially a German Shepherd:

    • You still have to train the dog. Many people assume an invisible or underground fence is “plug ‘n’ play” — that is, you simply install it, plop the collar on your dog, and let him play to his heart’s content. This is not the case (as the reputable underground fence dealers will tell you). The dog still must be trained to accept the fence’s boundaries. But the assumption that it is an “easy” way to contain a dog makes me question whether the potential owner is really willing to put effort into the dog’s care and training (i.e., regular walks, obedience), as well as make sacrifices (e.g., increased cost and imperfect landscaping) to accommodate the dog.
    • Electric shock. As far as I know, all varieties of invisible fencing operate on the premise that the dog wears a collar which produces electric shock when the boundary line is approached. Some dogs are so determined to make it through the fence that the shock level must be turned up unusually high. I have seen instances in which a dog wearing a fence collar was inadvertently shocked by the owner’s television, computer or vacuum. (Think of how healthy this is for the poor dog’s mental state!) I have also heard horror stories and seen pictures of third-degree burns caused by fence collars that have malfunctioned. Beware of the underground fencing dealer who tells you this can’t/won’t happen — after all, he’s there to sell you something, not to look out for your dog’s well-being. That’s your job.
    • Dogs can — and will — go through an invisible fence. And once they do, guess what? They won’t come back into the yard for fear of getting shocked; they aren’t stupid. They’re simply willing to take the shock the first time through to get whatever they’re after. And once they’re through, they’re free to chase other animals, get into fights, get hit by cars, be shot at, picked up by animal control, etc.
    • Underground fencing does not keep anyone from entering your property. Therefore, children, cats, other dogs, wild animals and the like are free to come onto your property and tease or terrorize your dog. And dog thieves find underground fencing absolutely delightful — all they have to do is take the collar off the dog and go!
    • This study linking use of or malfunctioning of underground fencing to serious biting incidents. Do we really need to make our dogs more subject to lawsuits and breed-specific legislation? Further reading: “Train With Your Brain” — Green Acres Kennel

Keep in mind this is my reasoning, and there are plenty of responsible rescuers/breeders who will place dogs in homes with invisible fencing. Also understand that a “real” fence can be a hallmark of lazy or irresponsible dog ownership and is certainly not a cure-all. But given the fact that regular exercise can eliminate the need for a fenced yard (a luxury) and given the variety of fencing options available, I’m inclined to turn down prospective homes who insist on invisible fencing, for the reasons listed above.