Hi Everyone,

This is my first posting. I am quite new to Dog Training - I know the principles, concepts and have some experience though.

I have got myself a GSD pup 4 days back. It has German Showline Pedigree. Today he is 60 days old and it is his 5th day with me in my house. I have a few questions to ask you all, the answers to which are of utmost importance to me.

1. The pup sleeps most of the time (which I know is natural). However, when he is awake, he plays 'mildly' with me just for 10 minutes or so and then just lies down on my feet. Is this fine? I expected him to be more active.

2. How do I develop a good bond with him? Do I scold him mildly for play biting me? Will this not affect the bond?

3. Should I wait to develop a good bond with him before I can start marker training on him? Maybe a few more days as he is very new to my house and me?

4. At this stage, how do I evaluate his drive level? Some facts - He does run away with shoes. He 'mildly' chews on toys most of the times. He does run behind small children when they are playing noisily. He barks at strangers when they come to my portico.

5. 99% of the times, he follows me wherever I go. Can I put a Leerburg 5 foot drag leash on him at this stage? Would the leash not be heavy for him?

Thanks,
Shekhar.

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1. The pup sleeps most of the time (which I know is natural). However, when he is awake, he plays 'mildly' with me just for 10 minutes or so and then just lies down on my feet. Is this fine? I expected him to be more active.

He's still adjusting to his new surroundings, he feels safe at your feet, and the stress of new surroundings and a new life can wear out a pup just as much as exercise. This is pretty typical for a showline puppy. As he gets older and more comfortable he will be more active.

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2. How do I develop a good bond with him? Do I scold him mildly for play biting me? Will this not affect the bond?

Puppies play bite. On top of that, he's a showline dog, so I wouldn't correct him AT ALL until he's much much older. I already don't correct puppies, but for a showline I believe it's alot more important to let them grow up. They tend to be softer and more sensitive, if you put too much control and too much correction on them they can grow up with a somewhat squashed personality that wasn't allowed to develop fully. The goal for you is to make your puppy the most confident dog in the world.

If you don't mind him biting at you then play with him. My pups all bite me. I play games like pretending i'm going to grab their nose, push them around, play rough, let them get cocky and confident. Pretend he's a playful kitten Let him win at EVERYTHING. If the biting annoys you then redirect his attention to something he CAN bite. Go to the auto parts store and buy a leather rag that he can play with. Don't leave him alone with it, he'll tear it up, but play with it and make it interesting for him to want to bite instead of your hand.

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3. Should I wait to develop a good bond with him before I can start marker training on him? Maybe a few more days as he is very new to my house and me?

I'd give him 10-14 days to explore and get used to life, going on walks, wearing a leash etc before doing any training with him. When you start obedience EVERYTHING must be happy and fun. Everything in his life is a game. Don't correct him, don't get frustrated when he loses focus or doesn't listen. When he is over a year old, sometimes 2 years old, his focus will improve. Just keep working at it, play with him. They are only puppies once in their life so let him enjoy it.

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4. At this stage, how do I evaluate his drive level? Some facts - He does run away with shoes. He 'mildly' chews on toys most of the times. He does run behind small children when they are playing noisily. He barks at strangers when they come to my portico.

Unless you want to lose your shoes permanently, don't let him get to your shoes. Don't correct him for it, simply make sure he doesn't get the opportunity to do things he's not supposed to do. Keep a leash on him in the house and put him in the crate when you can't supervise. The barking at strangers tells me he needs to be socialized alot. That doesn't mean everyone has to pet him or play with him, just take him to lots of different places to explore lots of different things and see lots of people walking around. It'll make for a more confident dog in the long run.

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5. 99% of the times, he follows me wherever I go. Can I put a Leerburg 5 foot drag leash on him at this stage? Would the leash not be heavy for him?

Puppies go through a phase from 8 weeks to about 4 months old where they want to be by your side 100% of the time. Around 4-5 months old they will start to get cocky and try and play keep-away, not want to be so close to you, be more independant, ignore you to go and explore new things and destroy your house etc. If you can keep his attention and play with him doing things he is allowed to do then no need for a leash while he wants to follow you. At his 4-5 month old independant stage I would start keeping him tethered to you on leash at all times in the house. As soon as you start to see him starting to get himself into trouble (and it could be younger than 4 months) then begin with the leashing. You can also do it at 8 weeks old, but I just never saw much point in it. At 8 weeks old, either my puppy is in a crate, or I am spending time playing with them.

At around 8-12 months old he will go back to being more attentive to you and wanting to spend more time close to you as they start to mature and understand things better.

Your dog is from show lines, so the things I would focus on most are building confidence, socializing, building a good bond, don't be hard on him, let him grow up first. It's not a competition, you're not in a hurry to turn him into a competition obedience dog by 10 months old. Let him have fun, teach him things with food (you will probably get better results with food than a toy), and don't worry if he gets distracted easily. The drive, focus and attention all comes with maturity.

Thank you so much for the loads of useful information that you have given me.