Hello-
I have a question about bonding with a 13 week old GS puppy. Are there better ways to do this? Kaiser follows me from room to room, except when he is having his nap in his crate (where he can hear everything going on). When he does nap in the living room, tethered to my chair, he is asleep at my feet and when I move, he wakes and want to move with me. If I leave the yard, just to put something in the truck, he whines for me, even if he can see me, and I talk to him ALL the time. People must think I'm nuts, but oh well!!
He is extremely smart (well he IS a GS after all!!) We have our 2 daily walks of 30 minutes, and we train (PLAY,PLAY) for 5 3-minutes sessions a day. He wags and bows at the cats and wants to desperately play with them, but they have other ideas right now! He walks on the leash and only pulls when he wants to really smell something, which I let him do at his own pace.
I think he sees my husband and daughter as more the playful littermates, and me not so much, but maybe that is because I am home with him all day?
I have started the marker training and he is a quick learner, I just want to do right by this little guy and have me be his world like he is becoming mine!!
SORRY so lengthy, any information and input is greatly appreciated!!
THANKS!!
P.S. The picture is after a romp in the creek by our house, and he is looking at me, my daughter took the picture. So I guess you could call that focus!!
I have the LB DVD's Your Puppy 8 weeks to 8 months/Pack Structure/Marker Training/Basic Dog Obedience, and they have been invaluable.

Melissa, It sounds like you are doing fine. If you are asking why he is more "excited" to see your husband and daughter, yes, I would say it is simply because you are with him more than they are and they probably interact with him differently than you do as well. It is all good.

It's just a concern to me that he is not so "waggy" towards me, like he is to others, and even to the cats. He does put his paw up in submission when I put his collar on, and he licks my hands and shirt as well when I am doing this, and his ears are down and he is "talking" to me in that all familiar GS squeak I guess this is submission, and that he views me as Pack Leader?
He is still very "mouthy", and wants to put EVERYTHING in his mouth BEFORE he even smells it!! I do not remember having a puppy like this one in the past?
Does this go away after the teething? And also, I am sure maturity and being neutered brings some "calmness"? It's been 10 years since my last puppy and things get forgotten and lost in translation!

Melissa, you sound like you are doing great with Kaiser!
I am home all day with my two, and what you describe sounds nearly identical to my situation.

They follow me everywhere, but when my husband comes home, they go crazy with joy to see him.
But have you ever left him home with your husband to run an errand?
It will be the same joy when you come home, I promise.

In fact, my husband says that when I leave, Kodi lays in front of the door and won't leave it for a while.

If you are doing all the training, feeding etc, you will be the dogs "everything" I promise.
Good job starting marker training!

Oh, and just one more thought. I actually want my dogs to enjoy the car rides. So I end up taking them when they are pups with me to many places. This way, they actually get to love being in the car and enjoy being with me there too.
Sometimes people forget this and never take the dog in the car except for the Vet, and then they end up having trouble with the dog not liking car rides.
Just a thought to consider.

Joyce-
THANK YOU for all the support!!
I have left Kaiser with my husband and daughter while I run errands, and in fact I have had to leave him with my teenage daughter all day a couple of times, just lately, but she sounds and acts just like meand when my husband has tried to do things differently while I am gone and my daughter QUICKLY corrects HIM and tells him "that's not the way Mom wants it done"!! I think that is too funny!! So in a sense, I'm not really gone !
I have gotten Kaiser used to the car, and I have a safety harness for him, when it is just him and me, and he can sit in the front seat and see everything! Other than that he is in his crate in the back seat of my truck. We are going to try to get him out every weekend. We are about 20 minutes from the mountains and plenty of forest!
What is the appropriate amount of exercise for a puppy his age, without harming his skeletal structure, because I heard that they aren't supposed to run alot while they are younger. We have a game of chase in the yard twice a day (twice just on weekends)- my daughter holds his harness and I walk away and go around the house and then I call him and he races to me to find me, and I get all gushy over him! This is usually just an hour or so before bed to burn off any pent up energy.

 Quote: melissa leuzinger

He is still very "mouthy", and wants to put EVERYTHING in his mouth BEFORE he even smells it!! I do not remember having a puppy like this one in the past?
Does this go away after the teething? And also, I am sure maturity and being neutered brings some "calmness"? It's been 10 years since my last puppy and things get forgotten and lost in translation!

Falcon's nickname as a pup was "Hoover" after the vacuum because he snarffed up anything and everything within grasp while walking. The road leading to our home is gravel so that was VERY challenging, but just like a toddler has to be watched, so do pups. I used "leave it!" and pulled lots of stuff out of his mouth for a while, but it does pass.

I deeply regret neutering Falcon - it is the one thing I wish I could have a "do over" on. Boys are born with those things for more than just procreating and when they are removed too early, they miss out on the benefits those hormones are intended to provide. (I'm not well versed on this so this is definitely the "layman's verbiage" :blush There are pros and cons on both sides, but I would suggest doing more reading on that subject prior to the surgery. At least consider waiting till your boy is 2 years old and his skeletel system is fully developed... jmho.

Calmness... hmmm, eventually. Falcon just turned two and is MUCH easier to live with than he was for a while.

Where can I find more information about Neutering? Do you have a link? What kinds of differnces does it make hormone wise?

Melissa, I just went up to the "search leeburg.com" box in the upper left hand portion of the page and typed in "neutering male dogs" - that will get you started. Folks far more knowledgeable than me will chime in.

Try this article:

http://leerburg.com/neuter.htm

With my own personal dogs, I haven't found too many reasons to neuter (and I am not a breeder - yet lol). The last male I neutered, I did because the vet said it would 'calm him down.' Coulter is now about to be 6 years old. He is starting to calm down now, finally, sort of. I think the neutering may have med him worse. I obviously can't prive that, but for quite a while after the surgery, he was almost impossible to deal with. I kept waiting for him to calm down, but he didn't, in fact, he seemed worse.
I have since left my other male intact so far. Same breed for the most part, the intact male is easier to deal with, more focused, etc. I don't know if that has anything to do with the hormone state or breeding/raising differences, but there is a very definate difference.
My neutered male is the one who marks/mounts everything, the intact male does not.
Best wishes for a long happy healthy life with Kaiser. Sounds like you are doing a great job with him.

Lisa-
Thank you for your reply. It helps to make an informed decision. I have had a spade female GSD and my last male GS was neutered, and I saw no difference as he was pretty mellow to being with, but I can see how it could affect them.
What kinds of dogs do you have?
I just wonder if it is breed specific or if it is just the same across the male spectrum in general?
More reading and research to do!!