Ive been doing alot of reasearch latley on ways to help my dog as she is still a 5 month old german shepherd puppy and I want the best things for her of course. I want to mention before all of this information I am only 22 years old so I am still young and want to be well educated not just someone who does everything wrong and am a patient person to do the right things.

Raw Food
Ive learned that raw food is the best way to go no doubt and it might be a little bit more expensive but it will save money in the end in one way by going to the vet and the dog will look better overall. I'm defiantley going to make the switch and I've looked and dog research I just want to be 100% comftrable with what I know and how to implement it. Ive looked at the same menus here on leerburg and done research else where. I just recently started looking into this but I know my trainer in my obidence class feed her dog/dogs raw food so that is another source I am going to pick information from.

Breeding
I love my dog to death and she is a great dog. She has a great temprement and good drive. She loves to please. I would love to get the experience of breeding dont get me wrong I have read up on other posts and done some research and realized it is not for everyone. I have also read on leerburg about ed saying its best to breed only working line german shepherds not show dogs. I dont know if I am going to breed my current german shepehrd or not. She is only 5 months old so there is also alot of unknown factors that I would still have to consider. She is great around other dogs and loves people to. She will sit and be quiet while another dog is barking at her from a distance and just be fine. I just dont want have this great dog sitting around that could be great for the breed and do nothing about it. She has good lines with alot of titles in her ancestry as with sch3 etc.. But I just wanted to do my research and get information as she is still young only 5 months old which brings me to my next topic.

spaying
I was planning on get my dog spayed about 6 - 7 months of age beacuse well thats what I always heard from he said she said and thats what my vet said would be best for her. But after doing some research I've read that it would be best to wait untill she is at least full grown about 12 months and if I want to do other stuff like protection training then even later most like 18 - 24 months. I like in an apartment right now but am getting a house soon but when ever i take her out on a walk or something there are some dogs out being walked by thier owners and I know I can handle her and keep her safe while she is in heat. I never take her off leash when outside.

I cannot think of anything else but this is just some of the stuff I have been researching and have learned just over the past week. Anything you can add or give your suggestion on would be greatly appericated.

RAW FOOD: Glad to hear you're going raw. Besides the sources you mention check out the raw fed Yahoo groups as well as http://www.rawfeddogs.net. There are also several excellent books. They do tend to be more b.a.r.f. related than prey model but can still provide you with some excellent information.

BREEDING: If there's even a possibility of breeding her in the future you should title her and have all appropriate health and genetic tests done first. The earliest she should be bred, if at all, is after she's 2 years old. For one thing, she's not fully mature until then and, even more important, you can't have her hips and elbows tested (OFA'd) until she's two.

SPAYING: This is something to discuss with your vet as well as the breeder you purchased her from. My current bitch (a Toy Fox Terrier) won't be spayed for a few years yet because she's going to be shown in conformation and MIGHT be bred. If your dog is going to basically be a pet then spaying before or just after her first heat would make things easier for you. But, if you want her to be able to fully participate in schutzhund and other sports, or be trained as a personal protection dog it would be best to wait until she's fully mature before spaying. Of course if you decide to breed spaying is a moot point for at least 2+ years.

It's not that difficult to keep an intact bitch as long as you remember that there is nothing, including trying to chew through walls and fences (of any material) that males won't try to get to your bitch. And, your bitch might be a totally willing and cooperative partner in the attempts. In other words you don't even let her outside in what you THINK is a 110% secured yard or kennel run unsupervised; not even inside in a crate if you happen to have an intact male around, including a visitor's dog.

Hi Andrew,

I agree, feeding RAW is a great way to do what is best for your dog, and you will find lots of experience and tons of support in that endeavor on this site. I began feeding my 16 month GSD RAW after finding Leerburg and feel really good about having made that change.

Breeding a dog is a huge, huge responsibility, and you are certainly doing the right thing in doing your research. I know more experienced folks will give you some insight on this subject, but my advice, since you asked, would be to put all of your heart and soul into raising and training this dog to be the best ever companion and sport dog you can train and leave the breeding to the pros. There are so very many dogs bred with the best of intentions which only end up producing more pups which are also bred with the best of intentions, etc... JMO. (Something tells me that you are going to end up coming to this same conclusion yourself, after more reading and training your dog and being around other sport dog owners.)If however you DO decide to breed her, absolutely do not do so until she it titled, hips and elbows checked, etc...

Had I found Leerburg earlier and learned what I now know, I would not have had my male dog neutered. Period. Biggest regret (only one really) I have with Falcon but not one I can do anything about at this point. If you can keep your female safe and under 150% control when in season, I would let her mature prior to having her spayed.

It sounds like your pup has a dad who is committed to raising a sound, healthy and well trained dog. :-) At twenty two you sound very mature and ready to take on all the responsibility which goes with owning a dog, and I wish you all the best.

Pictures! We love photos of dogs!

IMHO

don't spay until the second full heat cycle

don't breed untitled/unproven/untested dogs

Start teaching cute tricks.....instant chick magnet and a good way to get your dog socialized

 Quote: Dennis Jones

IMHO

don't spay until the second full heat cycle

don't breed untitled/unproven/untested dogs

Start teaching cute tricks.....instant chick magnet and a good way to get your dog socialized

As always... Dennis can say in three sentences what I try to say in numerous paragraphs...

Dennis, I love the way you boil a conversation down to it's bare bones. LMAO.

(And to Andrew, Dennis is absolutely right).

 Quote: Meredith Hamilton

Dennis, I love the way you boil a conversation down to it's bare bones. LMAO.

(And to Andrew, Dennis is absolutely right).

( in my best Bill Murray voice)


It's NAVY training MA'AM !

thanks for all the advice everyone. Not sure if I am going to breed her beacuse there is a very slim chance that the margin is there and I wouldnt breed her without all the proper tests and tests and only if she does get titled etc... But i will for sure try to teach her some tricks and take her out and see what we can do. She loves to entertain.

Marker training, marker training, marker training. Did I mention marker training?? Easy to learn and if she likes to perform, this will be right up her alley!

Having an intact Bitch isn't too bad. You just have to be diligent in making sure she is contained during her cycles.

My old girl is in heat right now, and my males are driving me crazy though, even though they are both neutered. The high pitched screaming barking gets old quickly!!

One good trick to know is that hydrogen peroxide gets blood out of carpets, upholstery and other items. I have found that men's underwear turned backwards work pretty well as a diaper for her when she is in heat