Hello there.

I have been lurking on this message board for months now and thought it was high time I come from out of the shadows.  

I'm a first time GSP owner and have learned a tremendous deal from all of you.  Thank you!  

Our boy, Otto, came home in April at 8 weeks.  My youngest son, Liam, a dog lover from the time he could crawl, was ecstatic and would frequently whisper, "Mom, I'm so glad we have a dog." In fact, if it got quiet around the house, I could usually find the two of them snuggled up together and sound asleep on Otto's dog bed.

Otto adjusted amazingly well, was clean and quiet in his crate, slept through the night within the week, and was an all-around love bug.  The boys described him as 90% smart cookie, 10% vampire.

Well, at 12 weeks, Otto was reclassified as 90% vampire, 10% knucklehead.  We had a few difficult months dealing with both a dominant personality and teething.  However, in large part due to our obedience class, we are taking the turn toward full-fledged smart cookie.  Otto will now be headed to field "boot camp" with Greg Dixon to begin his career as my husband and three boys' hunting buddy.

Anyway, I wanted to say hello—and thanks again for the immensely helpful discussion.

Sarah

Here are a few shots of our boy...

Otto at 10 weeks.

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Otto at 5 1/2 months.

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OMG! What a beautiful boy! Our boys are about the same age... Bo will be 6 months on September 6. We have gone basically the same things as you, chewing, dominance behaviour, etc. He was doing really well up until just before he turned 5 months. Now it's into adolesence and asserting his independence, and forgetting everything he was taught . But he has such an amazing personality, that correcting the bad behaviour hardly seems an issue. If you can believe it, when we walk him, people comment on what a calm dog he is . I guess he saves the best for Mom & Dad

Thank you!  That face has saved him many, many, many times.  I swear he is Cary Grant reincarnated.  He's not goofy like all of the dogs I grew up with, but instead very charming and serious.

But then, there are the fangs. 

On the old message board, I recall reading a long discussion about the supplies you should have on hand when bringing home a new puppy.  They forgot one--a healthy supply of Band-Aids!

Thanks!

Yes, Liam and Otto were practically attached at the hip--right up until...oh, yes...teething!  Now things are much better and Liam loves to cuddle up with his self-described "puppy brother" again. 

Here's a picture of Liam and his new best buddy on day 1.  This is just one of those kids that was meant to have a dog!

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OMG--was that you???  The one with the frame and springs entirely exposed?  When I tell my friends about the destructive capacities of the GSP, I often reference the picture I saw here of a couch stripped bare--and perched on top, a rather apologetic dog.  If that was your dog, would you please post that picture here on the new forum?  It's really something you have to see to believe.

Hey, would you mind if I posted that picture of Daniel's couch on my blog & website? It's amusing, but more importantly it's a potent 'visual warning' about working dogs in general and GSPs in particular. I would be more than happy to give you (and Daniel of course ) full credit... just let me know what to link to if you'd like.

Thanks for posting the shot of Daniel's handiwork!

LMAO I forgot about that picture LOL Daniel sure did mangle that couch.  It's a great picture though. Then to look at him and how can you get made LOL.