Hi , i took on a 4 yr old gsd, i waited and evaluated, i saw what temperment phantom was, he was pretty easy going , i let him settle into his new home, phantom settled in very well indeed, i didnt force him in any way, i was firm but gentle, he responded, i couldnt have wished for a better dog, none of the modern psychological crap!!! he was a dog, im a human!! we had a fantastic relationship for 10 yrs, he had a stroke at 14 yrs , very quick, thank god!! it was very painful!!! i miss him still, no dog can replace another, they are all individuals xxx

Hi all again.

Right first of again thank you all for the advice it is all much needed .

Now Rocky has arrived today he had no problem coming into his new home done what any other dog would do by sniffing around the house wich I let him do in peace he had no problem seeing my son for the first time today .

Now here's were thing's got a bit more interesting.
I desideed it was time for him to stay outside in the garden and was not happy about it most likely due to the fact his real owener's are gone.He is now crying or should I say whining alot now even going as far as chewing my back door but the problem is if I let him in he may think if I do this all the time I will let him indoor's so I dont want to give him this habit .

I did of course feed him today for the first time and as a treat I gave him boiled chicken mixed with his original food wich he loved and ever since he like's me even more (I think).

Now I did also give him some tablet's that I bought from a petshop to help him stay calm but to be honest I dont think they work .

I would love for him to be indoor's now but if I want to put him out later he will starting whining again or even get worse and this will not be fair on Rocky it may even confuse him (this is only what Im thinking)

Plus I did want to bring him for a walk but a woman across the road told me not to because he will try to run off back to his original home and I do trust her because she also has a GSD.

Now as for my 9 year old Daughter I think I seen what the problem was when she seen him and that was his size and she is now calm so that's one problem sorted .

So if there is anymore advice you nice people's could give I will be greatfull.

Thanks all
Redrum

Well, he'll need exercise so go for a walk even if it's on lead. If you've got a fenced field near you, let him of in that to start with to see how much his recall needs working on.

As for the outside thing, my Jake would go nuts if I tried to shut him outside. He very much likes the company of people and will get very anxious if he thinks he's being excluded. Is Rocky used to being outside on his own? It doesn't sound like he is!

Im confused. How would he be able to run home to his orignal home if he is on the lead?
Is his last home near you?
Do you mean he can never go for a walk due to what your neighbour has told you?
Is this why he has to go in the garden - instead of a walk?

Apologies if im getting the wrong end of the stick.

PS - tablets wont calm him down, that is down to the right training, exercise, handling, and management

GSD's can be a stressy, highly strung breed.
Did the rescue provide a behavioral profile and/or history and/or flag up any particular behaviour issues individual to your dog?
(This isn't the same as surmising what may or may not have happened in the last home and then surmising therefore why the dog does or does not do certain things)
Doesn't the rescue have a back up behaviour/training service you can turn to?
Which rescue was she from?

I would get yourself enrolled in a good local positive reward based training class ASAP.

Try this link and click on your county:

http://www.apdt.co.uk/local_dog_trainers.asp

GSD's get very attached to their owner/provider, put yourself in this dogs position.You have been taken from the home and routine that you know well and the person you are attached to has gone. Another person you have met a couple of times is there instead. This person---instead of giving you the security you want----puts you outsde in the strange place and shuts the door on you, probably shouts when you scratch to undicate you want to come in.

Two things can happen in this scenaro, you can become even more insecure, not understand what is wanted and withdraw into yourself. That will please the new owners because they think you are coping. In reality you are not doing well and learn not to trust the new owner to protect you and may become aggressive or worried. Second thing is that you learn to cope for yourself and stop relying on the poerson who has charge of you. Trust and respect break down.

Basically this is NOT a good thing to doto any confused rehomed dog, and certainly not to a sensitive GSD.

Go out with the dog and stay with him and play, if you haven't got the time to do that Rocky is with the wrong family.

In the house you can gradually teach him not to be clingy and then eventually he wil trust you enough to be confident on his own outside.

You wouldn't shut a distressed and confused child away from you, you shouldn't do it to a dog.

I realise you are trying to do the best for him----just step back and look at the situation through his eyes and think about what he is learning from it The most important thing is that dogs trust their owners.

rune

Hi,

Firstly, why on earth would you bring home a dog (particularly a GSD) and shut him outside? Rocky will need to knwo that you're there for him and that he can trust you. This in itself will take time but if you lock him out, there will never be any trust or respect there.

Try and think of it like this - Rocky is in this situation through no fault of his own. He won't know why you've removed him from his family and then shut him outside and ignored him. You need to try to think of what you can do to make sure Rocky feels safe and secure.

Eventually, you will be able to teach Rocky that he can spend time alone without you. Obviously at times you have to go out. But you shouldn't even be considering leaving him alone at the moment. GSDs by =nature can be very clingy, even the more independent ones and if you get that balance wrong to begin with, you will create a lot of problems that take a long time and a lot of effort to sort out when they could've been avoided.

Also, you must walk him, give him lots of exercise and mentally stimulating things to do. This will prevent him from becoming bored and will help to build the bond between you.

He needs to be enrolled in a positive training club asap, so you can get tips on training and he can be socialised a little with a new environment, new people, new dogs etc. Do you know any of your neighbours? DO they have dogs? Could you walk Rocky with them and their dogs? In time, this would also help with walking on lead and with other dogs too.

Finally, how on earth is Rocky supposed to run off to his old home? Are you intending to walk him off lead? By all means do so if you have somewhere that is completely enclosed. If not, then you should wait until he trusts you. At the moment, even if his recall was fantastic with his previous owner, until the trust between you have formed properly, what reason does Rocky have to come back to you when recalled?

Laura xx

I am surprised that the lady across the raod said don't walk him! Unless she meant just on the night you brought him home but that would be based more on giving him time to suss out his new surroundings...

I've just rehomed a GSD cross (corgi of all things) but he's pretty much all sheapard..

I finding that Jones wasn't keen at all being in the garden on his own, so we went out with him he's building his time up slowly but surely a lot of different noises out there he's not used to or sure about...

I would say let Rocky in the house, bonding with the family first is more important than whether he will or will not stay in the garden on his own.. when he feels safe and secure in the family home he most likely see the garden as his little escape a place to relax etc...

As to the walking, with Jones, he's on a normal slip lead for urban walking but because he's very nervous and needs to learn not to be frightened by every car, click person or bike etc we keep these to early morning and late night, with an daily outing to the beach or the hills as we accustomise him to sounds etc...

When we are on the beach or the Hills we use a re-call lead, which gives him quite a bit of freedom to roam but we always have the ability to internvien if needs be... Boy does he enjoy this...

In general I've always been told to allow around 6 weeks before letting a new/rehomed dog off it's lead... But some might be sooner and some might take longer to know that they will come back when called..

Oh dear, you haven't got off to a good start with poor Rocky. Shutting him outside away from you all will be extremely stressful and confusing for him. Why do you want him to be shut outside alone?

He is with a new family and in a completely alien place - he needs to be spending his first few days getting used to you, learning to trust you and to feel comfortable with you all. He also needs plenty of exercise - on-lead initially until you are sure he will recall to you when you let him off. The best way to bond with your new boy is to be kind to him, let him get used to you, give him plenty of nice walks and treat his good behaviour - not banish him outside on his own

Out of interest, did he come to you from a rescue centre or directly from his previous home? Do you know why he was up for rehoming?

I agree with the others, that you should be looking to enrol yourself and Rocky into a training class asap, that uses only kind, positive methods and who ideally has GSD experience.

please dont lock him outside,

you need to get to know each other, shutting him outside may well make the whole new start a disaster,

Sorry, but you may not like what I am about to say, but I have serious worries over whether you are actually the right home for this GSD.

GSD are a very sensitive breed, they need to interact with their owners, that means living indoors and being part of the family.

Excluding the dog to the back yard for most if not all of his time is going to do nothing to make him interact with your family.

Not to mention GSD`s have a strong guarding /territorial instinct... you banish him to the yard, he may see that as somewhere he has to "gaurd" and you dont want to bring out that guarding instinct to the forefront of his charater./

What if you allow that to happen, and your daughter or her friends go outside when he is there, and he decided to protect his territory.

Such breeds , that have a natural guarding instinct, need to be socialized with ALL members of the family and ALL aspects of family life, he needs to meet people and other dogs, he needs to NOT see any part of your home as his territory ,(somewhere to gaurd ) and banishing his to the yard is only going to bring out a trait you dont want.

Sorry, but I have doubts you are the right person to own this dog.