ok i have a 10 week old pup and a 2 yr old both are GSD's my 2yr is not a working dog,when i am raising this pup for work "eiother shc or SAR" i am hurting on the no corpural punishment so far i have not dont it but the pup is bringing down havoc on my 2yr olds life and wifes

things the pup does:
attacks my older dog while i am playing with him
attacks and barks at my older dog while he is eating
i can read the frustration on his face when his natural reaction is to bear teeth or growl i tell him to stop and as the great dog he is he does so with out questioning

But i do need to stop the puppy form doing this i have so far tried the picking up by the tuft and shacking as soon as i let her down she just springboards back at him i have tried playing with her and her atten seems to allways get distracted by him even if he does nothing i have stopped all signs of Domenance from my older dog but now i need to set them for my pup and sugestions would be a great help
btw i have read lots and will be getting some videos with next pay check but till then HELP ME PLS!!!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

Do you have crates for both dogs? If not, do you have at least a crate for the puppy?

The pup shouldn't be bothering the older dog when he eats, you should make sure of that. Also, I wouldn't put the two in a situation where they are fighting for your attention... put one in a crate, deal with the other. I am not saying that you CAN NOT have them both out together, but do plan to control the little monster while he/she is out.

The older dog has every right to show teeth to the pup if he is eating and the pup is being an a$$, that is how dogs communicate, but for the safety of your pup, this situation should be avoided.

Hang on... it will get better... in 6 months or so LOL. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

i try and avoid it as much as possible but u have found my flaw i have never done much crating i am a softie some times but i guess i have to my older dog deservers it since he is a more relaxed dog

Trey - you need to show the pup you are not going to put up with behavior as such. If he misbehaves, he goes to the crate, just as when we were kids and our parents sent us to our rooms.

But the crate is also a good place - all my dogs go in their crates every night - it is also their place of solitude.

Takes time and patience, just like raising kids.
Good Luck
Mark

Trey,

In such condition both shouldn't be let off free when either one is eating. Food defense is a very big deal to the dog as it is a survival matter. To him food is like salary and I would think you won't like someone else messing with your salary either rite?

In most instances I see that there is not enough early socialisation for the puppy. I would suggest that you try to correct this behaviour. Put the puppy on leash at some far distance when the other dog is eating. Any negative behaviour gets a pop and and then ignored. this carries on when the dog does not show any forward behaviour give him a bite of sausage. Work those from a distance first until the behaviour is controlled . This takes time and don't try to rush it. When the dog is perfectly ignoring the other dog move in closer. End the session ensuring the junior totally ignored the other dog and he gets his turn to eat. If you see that the junior is too fixated on the other dog and ignoring uou and everything else means you have gone too far ahead. Move back 5-6 steps and try again. You may have to start from a mile in the begining <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> When successful on leashed you need to do some proofing for reliability. The idea in this excercise is to make the puppy understand that disturbing another when they eat is no fun but ignoring them at that time I gets great attention, praise and excellent treets from the two legged ones.

Good luck and happy trying. Better solve this problem now as Junior is getting more mature, more agile and powerful. For a working dog in training, a good practise is to have a kennel or a crate where they can be confined to their safe heaven. BTW, crates as a place of solitude I like but not use crate as punishment area. This gives very negative inprint to the dog.

Trey, I cant speak to Shutzhund but if you are going to do SAR, that puppy will probably spend countless hours in a crate in the back of your vehicle with all the windows open. (This means you are best to train him to allow people to approach the vehicle with him in it and for other dogs to walk past the vehicle without him exploding)

Many teams with GSDs around have a rule that if they are not working they are crated. So I would get the puppy used to that right now, even if you are a softie at home.

I just feed mine separately....The worst fights I have had were over food and it is easy to prevent.

Very sage advice offered about crates and feeding. Being a softie has nothing to do with crates. I brought home a pup and already had a 2 yr. old working dog. Yes, it is a lot of work!

The pup will continuously pester the older dog as long as he can get to him, no matter what. Mine still does, even now at 13 months.

Feed your pup in the crate at feeding time, which will also give your older dog some peace. You will have to play, give attention, groom ect...each dog individually and preferable out of the sight of the other for a little while. Dogs can get very jealous.

Do allow short, supervised interaction between the two dogs. At this pup's young age, still in housebreaking mode, walk him individually. Don't attempt to walk the dogs' together, that will really try your patience.

The last thing you want to do is continually punish the pup for being a pup. If you get too harsh with him, he won't be worth squat for SCH, as he will always be anticipating a punishment.

Remember, the crate is the dog's bedroom, HIS place and not a place of punishment. When my dogs are in the house they will often go to their crates and lay down on their own. Crate training your pup will teach him security in the crate and give you and the rest of the family some peace. It will also make it easier when the time comes to transport him places. Now crate training, thats a different subject, get some earplugs...... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

LOL, If I even to into the kitchen get a cup of coffee, my puppy dives joyously in her crate thinking of good things to come.

Originally posted by Maggie Baldino:
The last thing you want to do is continually punish the pup for being a pup. If you get too harsh with him, he won't be worth squat for SCH, as he will always be anticipating a punishment.
I tend to feel that if he is worth training in SchH, he better be able to withstand a correction here and there.

 Quote:

Originally posted by Mark Addison:
Trey - you need to show the pup you are not going to put up with behavior as such.

Absolutely!!

 Quote:

Originally posted by Mark Addison:
If he misbehaves, he goes to the crate, just as when we were kids and our parents sent us to our rooms.

But the crate is also a good place - all my dogs go in their crates every night - it is also their place of solitude.

There in lies a problem.. if you use the crate as a punishment tool, the dog will treat it as such.. Remember, they are much better at reading body language than we are at controlling it!
Just teach the pup limits.. they deal with that just fine. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />