Hello everyone. I lost my 1 1/2 year old german shepherd. she tried to follow my roommate by climbing over the gate in our yard and got hit by a car. Both pelvic bones and her spine by her sacrum were broken. she was paralyzed in the back and the vet said she didn't know if she would ever get her feeling back, so we put her down. One of the hardest things I have ever done. She was a wonderful dog and just gorgeous.

the house felt empty and I immediatly went and bought another dog. Here are the issues. We took her at five and one half weeks old (I know I shouldn't have, but we did). The man said they were weaned and ready to go and after I got home I began reading about socialization and was sick. By then it was too late. We had had her about two weeks.

She is quite a mouthy biter. She missed out on her socialization and I am sick about it. we are working with her on this, but will it help to bring her to a puppy playtime at the vet? Or will it hurt more than it will help?

The vet said that she is very dominant and very bright. She is also extremely vocal.

we take her out and expose her to all sorts of scenarios and she does well. she is curious and seems to like people and other animals. She is also crated.

I guess my main question is about the biting. Is she "ruined" bcause she left so early? She seems to bite much harder than my other dog did. Last night I began to teach her the sit command, using treats and she does very well with it. she, of course, settles down and stops biting while we are working on this. I thought perhaps a positive distraction and command would be the first step in stopping the biting. Is this correct? I also tell her no very firmly, when she bits, and substitute a toy. Sometimes she gets very wound up and at that point I take her and put her in her crate until she calms down. We have also held her muzzle with our hand (not hard) and told her no. we also put her on her back and growl at her but I have to say, she doesn't respond as well to that.

It was rather shocking to hear the vet tell us how dominant and bright she was, after only fiv minutes. apparently she knows her stuff.

The dog has a lot of interaction with us. are we doing the right things and is ther anything else we should be doing. We have Ed's basic obediance tape.

Have you checked out Ed's e-books? He has one on biting puppies that would be helpful (I'm not really sure how to link it, if you can't find it someone can probably put up a link for you).

I'm not sure I would immediately assume the vet knows her stuff, she could be right or she could be way off base. Not having seen your puppy I obviously can't say :-) but I haven't met very many vets that really know squat about training or temperament (or feeding for that matter, but that's a different discussion).

You may also want to consider that pack structure DVD, and if she really is very dominant the dominant dog DVD. I also LOVE the 8 to 8 puppy DVD.

As far as the biting, read the e-book if you haven't already. Patience and consistency are the most important things to keep in mind. If you keep working with it, it will get better.

Your Puppy 8 wks to 8 Months
Establishing Pack Structure with the Family Pet
Philosophy on Dog Training
Becoming your Puppies Pack Leader
Training Puppies Not to Bite

Above are a few to get you started. Remember that this pup is VERY young so keep that in mind when reading these. All puppies bite, it is how they play, communicate and learn. Therefore, if he/she is biting you, redirect onto something acceptable for hime to have his mouth on, or use a favorite treat.....raw ground chicken, turkey or beef works really well.

Since this pup is so young, I would wait on the Dominant Dog DVD but there are some good articles on it to read and keep in mind while she is growing. This behavior may diminish once you start implementing pack leadership.

Any opinions on the puppy playtime? No dogs over a few months ar allowed.

 Quote: Valerie Marie Villars

Any opinions on the puppy playtime? No dogs over a few months ar allowed.

What do you mean Valerie? Are you looking for suggestions on playing with your pup?

 Quote: Carol Boche

 Quote: Valerie Marie Villars

Any opinions on the puppy playtime? No dogs over a few months ar allowed.

What do you mean Valerie? Are you looking for suggestions on playing with your pup?

She's talking about allowing her puppy to interact w/ other puppies (group setting), I think...

I don't like the idea of groups of young puppies because of the possiblity of disease transmission. I'm surprised a vet would encourage this as most of them don't recommend that your dog gets out much before it completes it's "puppy series." I don't vaccinate so I wouldn't go near a group of puppies with my pup, but even if I did vaccinate I don't have enough faith in them that I'd do it anyway.

I hope that made sense, I can't seem to get my words together tonight, lol.

 Quote: lynne barrows

 Quote: carol boche

 Quote: valerie marie villars

Any opinions on the puppy playtime? No dogs over a few months ar allowed.

What do you mean Valerie? Are you looking for suggestions on playing with your pup?

She's talking about allowing her puppy to interact w/ other puppies (group setting), I think...

Ahhhh, thanks Lynne.
I don't think that aside from socialization that puppies or dogs need interaction. Maybe if there are multiple pets in a household and you want them to "get along".
All my dogs tolerate or ignore other dogs, and they do not get to "be together" unless it is supervise by me.

Okay, thanks. My puppy is only vaccinated for parvo and distemper and aftr the puppy playtime at the vet on Tuesday, they made a point of shoving pamphlets about vaccinations at me and telling me that two dogs at the kennel had kennel cough. They were really pressuring me in a "nice" way and it aggravated me, as I was very clear about my dog not being vaccinated. Thanks to Ed and his website, my dog eats natural food, although it's not the raw kind he really recommends. I did quite a bit of research after finding this site and quite agree with the no vaccines. In fact, I have learned a tremendous amount from this website. I guess Doucette won't be going back. She is actually becoming quite the little dog now and has gotten a hold of herself on the bad biting. She is so intent on the sit, that she completely forgets to bite.

Anyway, thanks all so much for your replies. So I guess you think she will survive being taken from her litter too early? She really is a bright little thing and catches on quite easily and is calming down when appropriate, nicely.

Oh yeah, I was talking about a group setting for puppies to play, at the vets office, because I thought that may offset her being taken from her litter mates so young.