Background:
We (my wife and I) recently got Keeva, 9 mo .German Shepherd female, we got her one week ago from a GS breeder). She is very calm and submissive, takes walks perfectly, create training took a day, if we let her inside we go first, learned to stay off the hardwood floor (she can only go on the tiled floors, kitchen, entry, laundry area) and does pretty good when told to lay down on her bed which is right by the kitchen so she can still watch us.

I have a few new dog owner questions; maybe I am just worrying too much:

I know it has only been 7 days but, she seems to be pretty sad, doesn’t wag her tail (not very much anyways), shows no interest in playing or toys She did have diarrhea for the first few days but has since cleared up (vet recommended white rice and a little boiled hamburger). She was pretty scared of me at first but is warming up to me, I feed her, I take her outside to go to the potty (does very well now the diarrhea is over), I groom her. She has warmed up to my wife pretty quickly, when she gets home from work Keeva will go up to her and want pets and wags her tail for a couple seconds and that’s it.


Question 1 : Is it normal for a dog that has been taken away from her home to a new home to display this type of behavior (sad, no drive to play)? She was around several other GS at the breeders. Is there something I (we) should be doing, we are establishing pack structure as directed by the videos and reading material. We act aloof around her and do just the basics, feed her, walk her, give plenty of water. It just seems odd that she doesn’t exhibit normal puppy behavior (jumping around, biting things acting like a puppy). I not complaining, she is exceptionally well behaved just wondering why she acts so down most of the time.

Question 2: Is it OK for the both of us to take her for walks? I will walk her in the morning (7:00am), My wife walks her at (9:00 am), I walk her at lunch (11am), I walk her when I get home (5 pm), these are all short walks about ¼ mile at the most. We will then both take her for a walk at about 8pm, about a half mile. I walk her when we all walk together. Does it confuse her by having two handlers during the walks?

Question 3: It seems like Keeva is exhibiting very subtle dominate behavior toward my wife when she gets home. Keeva tries to push her way into pets (not aggressively just mildly playful) and very briefly tries to softly bite her hand which she is immediately corrected for with a NO and then a level 2 correction. Is this the right thing to do, this is about the most playful she gets, I don’t want to discourage her from playing since she doesn’t exhibit any playful behavior other than this

Question 4:, We let her lie on her dog bed while we make supper and eat with very little attention besides saying GOOD GIRL when we walk by. We had her in the crate the first two days and that did not bother her, and figured we could try the dog bed and she behaves very well. She always has a 16 inch lead while in the house and always in my sight. Are we moving too fast establishing pack structure by letting her lay in her bed instead of her crate?

Scott -

I don't correct puppies at this age. At all When you correct her for biting your hands you are telling her not to play. Biting hands is playing to her, she is trying to initiate play the only way she knows how and is being told not to. This is likely why she is not very playful in other ways, she has been taught by you that there shall be no play.

For the biting - redirect to a toy, don't correct her. Show her the proper item to bite and play with this way. Do you try to initiate play with her at all?

I would maintain crate time for her just so she has a secure safe place to be and for potty training. Tethering and crating are excellent ways of preventing accidents. I would also take her out once more between 11 am and 5 pm if possible as that is a long stretch for a 9 week old puppy.

Thanks for the reply, she is 9 months old not 9 weeks.

Scott, is this a 9 week old pup or 9 month old pup?

she is 9 months old

Sorry Scott. i combined the "she is 9 __ old" and "we got her one week ago." I will still stand by my post in that if you want her to play try redirecting vs correcting. Because she is still new I would continue with crating and pack structure, but at 9 months she will not need an extra potty time.

Was she kept with other dogs from birth to one week ago? If so, her behavior is quite normal and I would recommend you keep her seperate from all other dogs for a while until a strong bond has developed and pack structure is in place to help overcome the doggyness. No playing with other dogs or visiting, she needs to learn trust, respect, and develop a bond with humans away from other dogs.

Do you know what kind of handling/training she received before you got her?

What kind of toys do you have for her? Still wondering if you try to initiate play or are just waiting for her to show signs of wanting to play.

She was eith other dogs until we got her. We live in a secluded area so there is no problem with her seeing other dogs.

The only thing the breeder taught her was heeling while walking (which she does almost flawlessly)

Toys, rope type toy, rubber kong ball, kong toy with rope, kong toy that you can fill with treats. I try to play with her but it appears she does not know how.

Thanks

Try some different toys. A towel or old shirt or a piece of fabric, a squeekie toy. Make them prey items for her, flap the towel a little and move it around in a darting motion, same with any fabric you don't mind getting ripped up. Squeek the toy and move it around then squeek it and toss is a short distance from her in the direction she is looking or facing.

It can be trial an error with toys sometimes Once she learns the basics of play with you, introduce the kongs and other toys you have.

I personally wouldn't worry too much about playing yet. Her world was just shaken pretty hard and she's still getting used to you and your life.

I would take it slow and let her get into a routine. Usually I start introducing toys to older rescues around the time they start figuring out my body language. Usually I can tell this when they beat me to the door, begin to initiate contact with me, and begin to trigger before I give a command like "crate" or "lets go for a walk."

Absolutely your wife and you can both walk the dog. I would simply select one of you to do the rest of the training. Only one of your should be the dog's buddy for now and the rest is all mechanics.

I would redirect pushy behavior at this point rather than hard correct it. I usually start with the down which is fast and easy to teach (usually my puppies have it down in about 2 afternoons) and gets the dog off of you and in a more submissive position. Start with you teaching it and add your wife in to do this command later.

Congrats on your new dog, and welcome to the board.

Hi Scott, and welcome.

If I was in your situation (and I have been, with foster dogs), I would have this dog tethered to me as often as possible. It really helps to build leadership and trust for the dog, and to help the dog feel like part of the pack more quickly. This method yeilds results much more quickly than if you allow her to do her own thing and stay on the sidelines, IMO.

Many submissive dogs will not engage in play until they feel confidence and trust in their new handlers. My guess is that she's starting to feel some confidence with your wife and that's why she's initiating things with her. I agree with you--I wouldn't want to discourage that bit of confidence either.

If she's lived with other dogs for the first 9 months of her life, then it's helpful to be mindful that dogs naturally communicate with their mouths. It doesn't have to be dominance (especially since everything you've said about her implies that she's actually submissive); it could just be a matter of her learning how to make the switch from communicating with other dogs to communicating with people.

But, like Jenn said, instead of correcting her I would try to redirect her. I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't engage in tug, though. Submissive insecure dogs often won't do that, especially not when they're new to a place. Instead, why don't you try either some ball play or the squeeky toys Jenn mentioned (don't leave her alone with them though!) and engage in some upbeat and fun obedience.

Teach her fun parlor tricks, like paw or spin. The reason I suggest parlor tricks is because new handlers are usually more upbeat and fun when teaching those because they're silly and the whole point of them is just to have fun with your dog, instead of feeling pressure to teach the dogs legitimate commands. It's important that she realizes that she can win your approval by behaving a certain way.

((EDIT: I just assumed that you're a new handler, but I realize that I might be wrong about that...sorry!))

If she has food drive, use food to motivate her to enjoy being around you, too. The prey drive might come out as she warms up, but if she's to be a pet, it's not the end of the world if she doesn't. Keep in mind that GSDs are typically aloof to people outside of their pack. Maybe once she feels a part of the pack things will improve. It's only been a week, after all!

Good luck!