Hopefully, this forum is a good place to post occasionally about my new best friend and get the thoughts and opinions of other dog parents. If not, I’m sure a moderator can point in the right direction.
Today is January 6, 2016. Negan has been with me since Christmas (a gift to me…us…from my wife). He was adopted from his litter on the 23rd of December, making him 6 weeks old at that time. Today, he is 8 weeks old and I’ve done the best I knew after spending well over 40 hours on Leerburg watching videos, reading articles, and taking the free course. I had a great plan for an 8 week old but I got a 6 week old instead and I had to throw out a lot of my plan and just wing it paternal instinct style while I did what I could to help the little guy adjust to being completely removed from his littermates and being thrust into the human world all in a matter of one day. I think I’ve done right by the little fella but I’m not on the footing I expected to be on day 56 of Negan’s life.
So far, I have a great puppy with a lot of energy, focus, and drive. I didn’t get to pick him myself but I am certain I would have picked this one. He absolutely adores me and the feeling in mutual. We’ve learned eye contact gets a treat. He knows sit (offers eye contact to shore up the odds of a treat!). He doesn’t always wait until we are in the grass to pee but I’m using leash pressure against his harness to help him understand and he doesn’t fight or protest much. I’ve used marker training to help encourage the use of stairs (he goes up fine but doesn’t like down so much). His attention span is VERY long and never bores of any activity involving treats. He does distract easily. Today, we played the food game in front of his crate because he ALWAYS begs to get in and then begs to come right back out (I load the crate with treats each exit). So, today I sat him in front of the crate he wanted into so bad and must waited him out until he gave me the puppy dog eye…YESSS!...treat. The game went well and I simultaneously made progress with two problem behaviors at the same time: nuzzling the treat bag for treats he didn’t earn and trying to tear down the crate to get in. It seems like I have the core concept of operant conditioning down already and so does Negan. Heck, we had a thoughtfully aware sit two days after Christmas when we started experimenting with training just to cure some of his overstimulated whimpering. After two assists from me while saying SIT followed by YESSS! + a reward, he looked at me very inquisitively while slowly backing his bottom towards the floor…marked…rewarded…he knows SIT like he was born knowing it!
So, he’s obviously doing great but I’m getting increasingly nervous about several of the choices I make moving forward. I’m just going to lay these out in a list and maybe someone will know something about one or more of them.

1.) I played some tug with Negan and he caught on beautifully but I got nervous that marking a behavior then rewarding it with a toy would somehow ruin the maker I’d previously charged with food. I’m wondering if I will ruin food training by starting so early. I’ve set that activity on the back burner until I know more about it.
2.) I would have left Negan downstairs by the door in his crate if today (8 weeks old) was my first night at my home but I had to scrap that plan because he was just too young at 6 weeks old to be completely alone, in my opinion. Now, I want to move his crate to the downstairs by the door but I’m afraid that after setting the precedent that moving his crate will cause a lot of hurt and distress that will actually work against my potty training goals. After 12 nights of being woke up every hour or two I am mentally and emotionally exhausted. Last night was the first night he had a number 1 in his small crate and I can only guess that it was because I finally slept through one of his fits to get outside. Should I be ignoring his pleas during the night? Should I move his crate so I can?
3.) I’ve read so much alternative information about socialization. I had not fully settled the question of petting vs not petting with regards to strangers and also the question of playing vs not playing with other dogs when Negan was given to me. I allowed, and encouraged, both of those things over the last two weeks because, more than anything else, I wanted Negan to feel safe and happy and loved after being taken so early from his litter mates. My in-laws have a motherly mutt that played with him alongside the several small children that are in my family for the two days before we met. I had to allow this to continue for sake of family diplomacy one full day past Christmas. Negan seemed to love it. At six weeks, I was great with it as well. Now, I’m very unsure. The more I see Negan in action (while training especially) the more I see Ed Frawley’s argument against allowing Negan to become distracted by other dogs and people. Also, it can be very dangerous. Yet, most of the other sources of training material and dog health insist that “interaction” is necessary to socialize a dog to not be afraid around other people and animals. Look, I just want a happy dog that I can keep safe. He’s not a protection dog or a service animal. I doubt we will ever compete. But, I have to know that when my dog is trained that he will not run off after other dogs or people that he thinks are his new friends. I’m really torn on this one, still.
4.) We have a local dog trainer in town I’d like to work with in addition to using Leerbug. It’s clear to me that Leerburg has a “method.” I like it. I like it because it available to me 24/7 and I can make full sense of it. It’s not the gospel. It’s just well delivered and I already see that it works. My concern is that this other trainer may have methods that conflict with a system Negan and I are already coming to understand. I don’t want to undo the progress we have made.
5.) My wife and kids. I can’t tell you how lucky I am to have a family that tolerates a man who spent so many hours preparing for a dog he didn’t even own yet. I’ve been watching these videos and taking notes and buying tools and supplies for over a month now (I expected the puppy in February – not Christmas). So, I have all of this information and all of the concepts in my head and I have an understanding of how things should be with Negan. My kids come in and rile Negan up while issuing commands he doesn’t know. My wife says the marker word with no treat handy. They let him into his crate when he begs to go in where he just eats the loaded treats and comes right back out. I’m lucky to have them…really…but I’m wondering how to react in front of the dog regarding these things. Will he still be able to be trained to “lay down” even after my wife and kids have barked this at him a thousand times before I start to work on this behavior?
6.) How do I teach “lay down”? I don’t recall seeing that on any video. I’ve seen sit, recall, out, yuck, eye contact, and a couple others but I don’t remember seeing “lay down”. Can you recommend a good video?

Welcome Jeff,

Curious, what kind of dog? I own up to reading fast, and overlooking much.

If I might observe, 8 weeks is young. Bonding and gentle, short duration training and lots of play for bonding is probably a good beginning. I applaud your enthusiasm and commitment.

Imagine, if you might, teaching a one year old stuff. Just be measured in your approach to training.

But good on you and your family. Any adoption gets my courses for good in the community award.

Good luck.

I forgot one of the most important parts...Negan is a German Shepherd! I've had a lot of different dogs in my life, mostly rescued mutts and couch surfers from family members but I've never had a dog like a German Shepherd before. The difference is already VERY apparent.

Ahhh. OK Jeff,

Yes, GSDs are interesting dogs. I have three, at the moment, all rescues. All with personalities.

You'll go through the stages of ageing, and it is fun. Be advised, at some phase, there might be a gnawing on anything tendency. Be prepared.

You'll have a good and loyal friend if you are patient and consistent.

Good on ya for getting the wee dog.

There are many more qualified and knowledgeable GSD types on this board. For that matter, there are simply more qualified and knowledgeable dog types on this board.

Welcome again.
Mike A.

Sounds like your off to a pretty good start.

As to getting through the night, I stop any food or water about 6 in the evening.

Are you letting him out when he starts whining?

That's just teaching him how to get you to react.

Don't open the crate door until he calms down then you can mark and reward that before you open the crate door.



He will learn even if your the only one who is consistent BUT he will quite possibly ignore those who aren't training correctly.

This IS NOT out of being stubborn but he just doesn't understand what the others are wanting from him because of their inconsistency.

Your kids have to learn how to respect the puppy just ans the puppy learns to respect them.

I never allowed to much horse play in the house. That should be a calm quite place other wise he will be conditioned to that rough housing as he gets older. Not good in the house OR with kids.

Remember, this will be a 75-85 lb dog as an adult and he will reach that while hes still a goofy young adult.

Going to a trainer that isn't familiar with LB methods may not be to friendly to doing something he/she doesn't use.

Being consistent is a huge part of teaching and learning.

What reward he gets isn't as important IF he enjoys the different rewards. The marker simply means a reward is coming.

If your kids are less then 10 then I would try and keep them from giving him commands.

Ideally, in the learning phase there should only be one trainer.

Using the marker word with no reward when the pup is still learning can easily contaminate the word. It MUST have a reward in the learning phase.

Leerburg has many excellent videos and the one I would start with is The Power of Training Dogs With Food by Michael Ellis.

You will pick up something new every time you view it so it's not just a quick viewing and put it in a drawer somewhere.

ALL of his video's are as good as they get!

Im not a trainer. im with my second GSD. I learned alot with my girl , she was a nightmare at first but i never gave her consistant training but she was very smart and at about 2 1/2 yrs. Did a 180 and was pleasure to share a home with from then on. I now have a boy GSD/Mal mix. I learned alot about these breeds as an M.P. in the U.S.M.C. and had a good idea what i was infore when i brought him home. Hes almost three now and right about 100 lbs. And his 1 year check up weighed 78 lbs... Bob scott hit it right on the head. Be consistent study and educate your self and your family. Shepherds are very vocal and mouthy. Read about body language and posture how the mane stands aswell as there hairs down there back. Growling isnt always aggressive behavior . sometimes its a " i dont want to" or let me sleep. Or its a talking back bad attitude. . and Mike arnold is also correct about their loyalty. Do right and educate yourself and your family. My girlfriend was scared of him till i reaf her stuff showed her videos and got her to better understand the pack mentality and her place in it .as well as his vocalizing. At first she didnt want to hear it becouse shes had dogs her whole life. Pomeranians and Spitz breeds... Now the only time he leaves her side is to go with me. Like i said im no trainer but educating myself i believe has made it possible to have a great relationship with my boy.

 Quote: Jeff Clanton

(2.) I would have left Negan downstairs by the door in his crate if today (8 weeks old) was my first night at my home but I had to scrap that plan because he was just too young at 6 weeks old to be completely alone, in my opinion. Now, I want to move his crate to the downstairs by the door but I’m afraid that after setting the precedent that moving his crate will cause a lot of hurt and distress that will actually work against my potty training goals. After 12 nights of being woke up every hour or two I am mentally and emotionally exhausted. Last night was the first night he had a number 1 in his small crate and I can only guess that it was because I finally slept through one of his fits to get outside. Should I be ignoring his pleas during the night? Should I move his crate so I can?

Hi, Jeff, and welcome to the board. Congratulations on adding a GSD pup to your family.

In reply to the particular question I've quoted, an eight-week-old puppy is too young to be expected to sleep through the night without going out to relieve himself. There may be the rare exception, but it is not normally the case. Sleepless nights go along with having a new puppy in the house, just as with human babies. The nice thing is the puppy will grow into an adult much sooner! I feel for you, though, and I'm wondering if you and your wife can take turns taking Negan outside for his nighttime potty breaks. He should not be needing to go outside every hour, but at his age, I would expect twice a night, anyway, for at least a little longer.

Follow Bob's advice about removing food and water several hours before bedtime. When you do take him out, make it all business. No playing, no talking too much except to give him whatever your potty words are. Then brief but lavish praise when he goes, and right back inside to the crate.

As far as the eventual location of the crate, in my experience, dogs want to be part of the family, the pack, and most of them are happiest sharing a bedroom with one of the humans. But of course that is personal preference and everyone must do what works best in their own circumstances. Still, six weeks is very young to be taken away from his litter, and I believe eight weeks is still too young to expect him to spend the night in his crate in some location where he is all alone. As you pointed out, this will interfere with potty training if he gets in the habit of relieving himself in the crate.

It sounds like you're already using a lot of the resources available on this site. There's always something new to be found, so keep on reading/watching! It sounds like you are committed to raising your puppy the right way, which makes Negan very lucky, and I believe you will get through it, even though it may not seem like it some days.

Thanks, Bob Scott.

Yes, the letting him out at night when he whines is a real conundrum for me because I want him to go outside (and tell me it’s time) but I don’t want him training me to let him out. This dog is very smart and has already convinced me he is capable of tricking me. He let me know he needed to poo on a road trip at which point I immediately pulled over on I-30 in Texas to let him out on the shoulder. That was great but afterwards he used the exact same languages to trick me into letting him out to play. The kids though it was just hilarious I’d been duped. He also fakes a pee posture for a “Good Potty” reward. Smart!!!!

We do try to work with his whining in the crate when we aren’t sleeping by gathering everyone in the room around the crate, looking at him, then turning our backs on him until he stops whining…his reward is eye contact from his pack. We do this a few times until he calms down and then we silently give a treat. As far as marking that…I don’t even know what point would be right. I’m afraid of marking it verbally then not providing a treat. Maybe I’ll add “hush” before we turn out heads and “yesss” before we turn back around.

I’m relieved that he will still be trained, if only by me. I’ll have to share this info with my wife and kids. They are all on board with good training and want to do what’s best for the dog.

Yeah, the roughing up has been something I’ve had to put a stop to a few times. They got him riled up on the bed and my face was level with Negan and he drew a good amount of blood. Excitement = chewing and biting. He’s just happy.

GREAT to know about the different rewards. I don’t want to lose the mark to inconsistency. He loves tug so far! I’ll give it another whirl.

I have Michael Ellis’s Food and Tug videos. So far, his are the best. He reminds me of a college professor…everything he says is so dense that I have to replay small segments at a time while I write notes. After I finish those I’ll be looking for a good engagement video.

Hey Jason, where did you learn about the growling? Is that an observation that you learned form experience or did you read about dog behavior somewhere? One of the biggest lessons I am learning right now is that I don't read my dog very well...but I know he is constantly telling me stuff.

Cheri Grissom,

Last night went a little differently for me. We didn't allow water after 8 and I turned my alarm on for 1:30, which is halfway through my night. I neither see nor smell and evidence of an accident on his yellow blanket (bad choice, I know, but that's what was clean). So, that's a great start.

Michelle, my wife, is a very hard sleeper. We tried it one night but I ended up being just as awake to wake her up and I would be to take the dog out. LOL. So I take Negan when he needs to go. Moving forward, I'll be letting him out at set times. I may need to make it twice a night.

It's good to know that I can keep the puppy with us in the long run. At one point, we worried that letting him stay with us in our bedroom would be a pack structure mistake for the whole family. I don't remember exactly where we got that idea but it doesn't matter now because I'm just not going to leave my little puppy alone for the night. So, in our room it will be!

Good idea on the "business" only potty breaks.