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We got a puppy!

3K views 19 replies 14 participants last post by  RiverSong 
#1 ·
A friend of ours has given us his dog. His youngest child (6 months old) is severely allergic to him, and he can't be kept.

He remembered that we used to have a German Shepherd a while ago before we had to put him to sleep. He lived to a ripe old age of 12 years ;)

His name was "Lako", but for the life of us, we couldn't remember it, until we associated it with the word "Wako".....which has stuck and that's his name now. lol

He's 18 months old, and well trained. He's still hyper and in puppy mode, so it's an adjustment for us.

 
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#5 ·
Congrats Michelle ....Wako is a beautiful boy. My son has a female shepherd about five years old now that is colored the same as yours. I hope you have years of friendship with your new friend...:)
 
#9 ·
Thanks all !

I'm learning that he has a higher than normal prey drive, which to be honest, is scaring the crap out of me.

I've moved my hand tame birds to the basement with the others (It's a finished basement, not dark and dingy and gross) because there is a door to that room that can be firmly closed and he can't get in.

I've already trained him not to go upstairs to the bedrooms, all it took was a few firm "NO's" and he got it. Do you think I've managed to get him to stay at the top of the basement stairs? NOPE! He desperately wants to go down and play with the birds in a not so playful way.

:(
 
#12 ·
I absolutely love GSDs, they are my second favourite breed after Border Collies. He is truly gorgeous. 4 years back I bought a lovely little girl GSD pup from a breeder that was breeding them to sell as security dogs. He assured me she'd make a good family pet regardless but she ended up developing chronic ear infections that could be managed but never cured and they made her crazy and aggressive. We toy'd with the idea of putting her to sleep and ending her misery but someone ended up taking her on and trying to help her. I wonder every day if they succeeded and if she's OK. She was a sweet dog and it wasn't her fault that her ears always hurt.

I hope your story has a better ending, I hear that when they turn 3 it's like a switch flipping and they become much calmer and easier to train.
 
#14 ·
Thanks all !

Update on puppy behavior.... a *slight* improvement. He will stand at the top of the basement stairs, looking down. I can see that he really wants to go down, but he's stopping himself. (This is when I'm on the main floor with him)

The problem starts when I go down the stairs. He only wants to go down when someone is down there. Otherwise, he'll stay where he's supposed to be.

So for now, he goes outside when I tend to the birds, that way I don't need to fight with him trying to get him to stay at the top of the stairs.
 
#15 ·
Holy smokes you guys!
I just had to run to the basement to pack away my sprouting supplies. The dog was inside, I told him to "Stay" at the top of the stairs.
He stayed where he was as I went down, opened the door, and closed it behind me. I was fully ready to open the door and see him on the other side, thinking he'd sneak down as soon as i was out of sight.

Not so !

I opened the door and he was lying at the top of the stairs waiting. Needless to say, he got TONES of praise and love for that! Let's hope this is the start of a good trend. :)
 
#19 ·
Puppy update:

He no longer feels the urge to come down the basement stairs, he doesn't even try to sneak down anymore! He'll come to a complete stop as I go down, and i can hear him flop on the floor, and he'll be laying there waiting for me to come back.

Upstairs is a different story! LOL. At first he had no interest in going upstairs, and I was really happy about this! Now it's a game to him, to see how far he can slowly slink up the stairs before I notice and correct him. :rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
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