Firstly I'd like to say hi to everyone in the forums( I'm new to the forums ). This is an excellent site and I often find myself absorbing so much information from here at any spare moment of time. I own 3 videos of Ed's, the 8 weeks to eight months, the basic obedience and the dominate and aggressive dog one. I haven't watched the one on aggression yet, but I will within the next few days. Probably tomorrow.

Anyway..I have a bit of a problem on my hands. I've been looking for months for a GSD pup to my liking, turning down a few here and there and had no real luck. Well my family knew of this and the day before yesterday my dad had called me, saying he bought me one.

Problem is...she's only 5 weeks old..The lady claimed GSD's have been in her family for over 40 years, having recently been handed to her and her husband and they have one stud dog and two females( the mother of my pup was said to be an import from germany ). The dogs looked amazing ( saw pics ) but she said her vet told her it was OK to separate puppies at 5 weeks..blah.

I know the stage of learning about respect, pack leadership, etc is in effect. She's not timid of loud sounds or strangers or extremely nippy-yet. I've had her vet-checked and she passed with flying colors, her puppy shots and start worming in about a week or two.


Well I'm stuck and I want to try and avoid any problems from this seperation. If there's anything I can do to prevent a lasting effect of having her taken away so early.

Oh..here she is..and sorry for the long-winded post.

** Oversize pics deleted **

Hi, Heather,

Welcome! I am sure that you will get help with your questions(s). I logged on when I saw the pics because (as nice as they are) they are much too big. They force scrolling on the page, and will force scrolling for every post that follows.

If you can't re-size, please delete them and link us to them in a Photobucket-type account.

Thanks!

And again, welcome. :-)

Welcome aboard!

Bringing a dog home at this age isn't ideal- but it isn't the end of the world, either.

Could you try asking the breeder if you can bring the pup back for another three weeks to be with the mother. She's already been paid, so I don't see why she should mind too much.

Thanks for the zippy replies and sorry about the images. I hope those are a bit better.

Well, when my dad went to pick he was told that saturday ( tomorrow ) the rest of the puppies were getting picked up, leaving just the mother. She's got another pregnant female there about to have her own puppies, I think that maybe she needed the room or something..who knows.

She still wouldn't have other pups to play with.

 Quote: Heather Perring

She still wouldn't have other pups to play with.

That's okay. She'll have you, which is what you want anyway.

Personally, I wouldn't take the pup- not because of the age factor, but because I'd be distrustful of the breeder, and therefore the dog quality.

Do you feel comfortable posting the kennel name, or can you PM it to me?

I don't know what you plan for this pup, but if this dog is going to be a working dog (PPD or Sport), then this is a wonderful opportunity to do some early imprinting.

Since she is so young, I'd keep her in a crate right next to your bed at night. Be prepared to set your alarm and wake up every hour to take her out.

She will probably holler and cry the first couple of nights. Don't set yourself up for failure by letting her out of the crate.

If you plan on feeding kibble (look into a natural diet though, It'd be fantastic to start her this young), then let the kibble soak in warm water for her before you feed her.

Read up on vaccinosis and make your decision as far as that is concerned.

Your pup will be fine. This isn't going to permanantly mess her up.

Imprinting? Can you go into that a bit on how to do that exactly? She follows me around the yard and comes when I talk to her if she does happen to wander a bit.

The owners didn't seem dishonest by what I hear. She was an old lady. Wrote out receipt and seemed to love her dogs. They lived out in the country on a huge beautiful lot. They had the kennel in a weird off-garage thing and it was very clean and neat. The other dogs were out back in a larger pen attached to another garage-like building with holes cut in for them to access.

I'll PM you the names.

Oh and she's been eating fine, been soaking the kibble and she gobbles it and drinks as well.

Imprinting would be work-specific.

For example, if you want to do SAR with her, you might hide some tasty (and smelly) hot dog bites under scattered straw, to help the dog learn to use it's nose. This would teach her that using her nose leads to good things- a lesson that will stay with her for life, when learned at such a young age.

For a Ring Sport/Schutzhund dog, one might familiarize her to the sound of the clatter stick, whistle, gunshot, and other commonly used items.

If she is just to be a family pet, none of this is a major concern.

 Quote: Alyssa Myracle

Imprinting would be work-specific.

For example, if you want to do SAR with her, you might hide some tasty (and smelly) hot dog bites under scattered straw, to help the dog learn to use it's nose. This would teach her that using her nose leads to good things- a lesson that will stay with her for life, when learned at such a young age.

For a Ring Sport/Schutzhund dog, one might familiarize her to the sound of the clatter stick, whistle, gunshot, and other commonly used items.

If she is just to be a family pet, none of this is a major concern...

But all great ideas for all pups. The using her nose can later be funneled into fun nose oriented games, and all dogs benefit from being able to deal with noises and work/play despite them.

I would help this pup to learn that there is nothing more fun than you, no matter the future. NO corrections, just fun and keeping her from making mistakes, those will come much later. For example, when saying her name, make it a party for getting her attention. When calling her to you, even more so!!! If an accident happens, realize that she didn’t know better, and that you need to watch better. Little things that make a HUGE difference later, and besides, it is so much fun to love up on the babies!

As for the kibble, after raising dozens of pups form birth (I do breed rescue, especially when a pregnant female Rott comes in), most five week old pups don’t need their food moistened, but as a way of keeping them hydrated it does not hurt. I strongly suggest you look into a natural diet for her, as mentioned. I will never go back!

Here is a great e-book to learn a little: Feeding A Raw Diet

And a TON of other info: Leerburg's Feeding Dogs Article

Got your PM- sent you one as well.

The kennel has a website:

http://www.hubnerhaus.com

Welcome, and your pup is adorable!

In my opinion, this breeder doesnt sound very caring
for her animals.

The breeder I got my dogs from, well, he had 4 pregnant
at once - they didnt breed last year at all, but this year
they all got pregnant within a few weeks of one another.

This man, Russell, cared for each litter, himself.
He had them crated in separate areas of the house,
and he also has 4 acres of grass for the dogs, a beach
access pool for them. Just amazing.

He TRULY loves his dogs and pups, and what he does.
That is what made me feel good about getting my pups from him.

He even babysits your pups if you go on vacation!
Kai will be staying there next week, while we take a mini vacay.
He would rather take care of the pup, than have the pup stuck in a crate for days on end in a kennel.

We went there today and Kai played with everyone and swam and I guess what my point is, is that its a VERY GOOD IDEA to get to know your breeder as a person.

Just my .02 cents!
Enjoy your baby.