I am still not clear about weather this is something he will grow out of. After working with him with the food he is going further and further up the stairs and even following and kids up without food, also since I purchased him I had never taken or required him to go upstairs, I have always worked him on the ground floor and outside. He also will jump into my truck into the crate for traveling with no problem. since I socialized him on the wooden slated patio floor he now will follow me out there and play with no problem and also when I open the door he will go out there on his own. This is what confuses me about this issue, it sounds like you guys are saying that the dog should come out of the womb willing to walk or explore any surface or place without any hesitation. If this is true, then I would like to see a dog of this quality, would that be one to own or would you have to live in a full body bite suit 24 hours a day.

Abdul-Karim,

The floors and other surfaces a more of a symptom rather than the problem. Footing is very important to dogs. If they feel like they can't get good footing they can feel very vulnerable because they don't feel like they can defend themselves. The nerve issue comes up when attempting to introduce a new flooring type to an older dog. If the dog just can't get used to the new situation, it is a nerve issue. Most dogs will demonstrate some hesitance when they can't get good footing, the question is can they get over it and how quickly. With dogs raised in kennels, or on constant good footing, they may lack the experience of poor footing and need exposure to it. This is not usually much of a problem with a puppy raised in the house with the family as they get these experiences from when they come home.

Most puppies that are exposed early to a wide variety of footings won't develop the problem because they tend to be awkward any way so they don't know the difference. In many cases if the puppy is exposed young enough their natural curiosity takes over and they just explore the new area. You will never recognize that there was ever an issue. On slick floors, until the dog learns to maintain the muscle control to keep their feet under them they may fall because their feet slide out from under them. This is not an uncommon occurance with puppies any way. The larger the breed the more trouble they can have with it at different times as they grow.

Another thing that bothers dogs is if they feel they can't turn around to get out of the situation they may have problems. Dogs do not like to back up. They like to see where they are going. This is why some dogs panic in small spaces. The other part of the problem with a young puppy is they have poor distance eye sight. On the stairs a puppy has the problem of not being sure it can make it all the way to the top it can't see, and may feel like it can't turn around to go back down. With a little experience it becomes not an issue because they know they can make it.

A puppy learns many things about dealing with the world almost invisably. If the new substance or situation comes later the learning is more obvious. An example. My BRT puppy was raised on a slick floor. She has no problems with that. She played outside in an area that had a wooden porch and stairs leading up to the porch. Again no problem. She just followed the other puppies and the adults up and down the stairs and on the porch. When I taught her to go over some obstacle equipment near me, there is a high walk over with steps that are about a foot or two high. The entire obstacle is around 7 feet tall. The steps didn't bother her at all, the height did the first time we tried it. She would only go up 2 steps the first time. The second day we tried she went up to about 5 feet. The third time she went up and over with no problem. The forth time she went to the top and would sit and down on the top of the obstcale prior to comming down. Not a nerve issue, an experience issue. As she gained experience she went progressively further on the challenge.

A confident puppy is always the one you want. They are easier to deal with in a lot of areas. This is part of the reason early exposure to as many things as possible is important. The issue of handler hardness is a seperate issue. A confident puppy is less likly to be a problem chewing on it's handler because it doesn't feel a need to protect it's self from new situations.

I agreee that genetics and experience will play a role in floor surface tolerance. My own example is with my 1 year old GSD who lost one of her back legs during whelping. The breeder didn't have the heart to put her down, although most would, and my husband and I being very close friends with them said "we'll take her!" Given her situation, we expected her to have a much tougher time with hard, slick floors and such. But even from the time with her littermates, she was the first to negotiate a small set of stairs up to a wooded deck all on her own. Since then, she has adapted well in our home, especially when we replaced most of the carpet with tile flooring. Nothing seems to faze her when it comes to her handicap. Granted, we will never do any protection work with her, but she still has her instinctual drives which are not diminished by the surface of the floor. Even though she often goes into sliding turns on the slick surfaces, she's dealt with it as a way of life and does not become intimidated.

Some dogs just seem to be able to adapt better than others, and for those that can't, you have to take it slow.

Abdul-Karim:

I guess you never owned a Leerburg pup. Two of mine had nerves of steel.

Richard:

“Footing is very important to dogs. If they feel like they can't get good footing they can feel very vulnerable because they don't feel like they can defend themselves.”

Compared to a dog that does not exhibit this behavior this dog has weaker nerves.

“With dogs raised in kennels, or on constant good footing, they may lack the experience of poor footing and need exposure to it.”

This is another example of masking the issue. Nerves as in drive is a genetic trait. It can never be changed.

Do not take me wrong. As you said it “…the question is can they get over it and how quickly.” Is usually all that is needed. But it still is a nerve issue. Whether that issue affects anything is up to you.

Abdul, I'm curious how does the dog react to thunder, fireworks, vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, lawn mowers, garden hoses, etc.

Milt

Forgive me in advance for this overly simplistic question...What are your intentions for this dog? Protection, sport, pet, ect.....?

Vince,

The point is don't confuse the symptoms with the disease. Nerves are genetic, but all dogs have these issues to one degree or another. Until they have experienced these situations the dog will be a little "nervey" until they figure out the situation won't cause them any problems.

Chuck F. to answer your question theses are quotes from Abdull from previous post


“I have a 4.5 month old GSD, I work all day and keep him crated. After coming home, I give him about 30 minutes outside, feed him wait 2 hours and then take him out again. Problem is he is very mouthy with the kids and I have to keep him crated quite”
“Purchased pup from Protection Agency which prepares dogs for Schutzhund and PP. Dog was evaluated at 8 weeks an again at 12 weeks by good reputable people.”

“I am new to a dog of this quality and want to do it right, I have had other dogs of just pet quality until a drunk guy walked right into the front door (summer day) with my mom and wife sitting in the living room with this big "beautiful" well fed rottweiller welcoming him with licks on the hand, luckly I was home to dismiss the guy.”

Abdull this dog will never be a protection dog. It’s a combination of you ruining him and the dog isn’t capable. Five-month-old GSD is not a baby. What does he weigh 40 to 50 pounds. Also you stated in one of your post that he chased a garbage man and didn’t bite. You sounded disappointed. What’s that about?

Milt

Milt,

Thanks. I remember that post now.

Richard:

You and I rarely disagree. We just have a different style of explanation.