Splat
Illinois (Northern)
MH
Posts:3136
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| 08/28/2009 7:53 AM |
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She is so cute! More pictures! I can not wait to bring mine to the dog park too though my family has so many dogs our farm can be like a dog park at times! I know what you mean about your pup being afraid of the big dogs. My sister has a pit and boxer and my pup was a little nervous around them at first but he has over come it now. My parents healer is not scary but she is an old lady and she doesn't like the pup bothering her. After his last puppy shots I can bring him to the barn where I practice stunts and they have 3 german shepherds and 2 healer mixes, so that will be fun time too!
I too am a first time GSP owner, mine is 9 weeks today and we have had him only a week! All the advice on this post has helped me too! I have been trying to figure out the feeding thing...I am home all day so I don't have to get him fed and played with and potty time in before I leave in the morning...The first couple days I left the food bowl down all day and filled at all times. Now I am putting a portion of food in at morning time and then the rest of the portion at dinner time, but I am not picking the bowl up after 30 minutes so he is still eating through out the day...I think I will change this and pick the bowl up after the 30 minutes... |
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Klynn7
Blaine, MN
MH
Posts:84
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| 08/28/2009 8:43 AM |
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She is getting a lot better with the eating. The morning was the biggest challenge and I followed the advice to pick up all her toys so she doesn't have anything to distract her. Then I put the food down in the kitchen and stay in there with her (a good time to do a little cleaning) and she eats the whole bowl with no problems. For dinner, I found that if I wait to put the food down until after our long walk (or doggy park trip) she'll eat it all no problem. Before I was putting it down right when I got home from work but she was too excited to think about eating.
I’m planning on taking her back to the park today to see how she does. If I get there a little earlier she might get some more on the ground time. All the other parents love having her there though because when she gets scared she just goes to the 1st lap she can get to! She doesn’t care who it is as long as they can get her off the ground!
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-Korbey
Randi
Stella
"We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment." -George Eliot
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TessaGA
Georgia
MH
Posts:2387
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| 08/28/2009 9:01 AM |
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She is adorable!!! As challenging as they were, I miss the puppy days!
A few words of caution: first off, I am not a fan of dog parks but I don't want to lecture anyone...they just don't work for me. I am blessed though with a close-by dog park RENTAL, meaning you decide who gets to use the park with you for the hour you rented it. This works for us.
Dog parks can be very unstable and not all owners are on the same page in regards to keeping their dogs in check. Make sure she doesn't get traumatized by one of the dogs especially if she is going through a fear phase (and there are a few of those for every young dog).
If she acts scared, the worst thing to do is cuddle her. If she runs for the lap it's probably okay to let her do that however no talking-to, no soothing verbally or physically, (no touch no talk as Cesar would say) just stay completely neutral and let her ride out or think through her fears. She will pick up on your neutralness and calmness which over time will make her feel secure. Any soothing actions on your part only reinforce/reward the fear behavior.
Also, my vet does not recommend taking a puppy to areas where lots of unknown dogs come through (parks, dog parks, etc) until two weeks after the pup had its last set of shots, usually around 16-18 weeks old.
Good luck with her and keep us posted! |
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To live without dogs would mean accepting a form of blindness. [Thomas McGuane]
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Klynn7
Blaine, MN
MH
Posts:84
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| 08/28/2009 9:09 AM |
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The place we're looking at for training has an indoor/outdoor park that we can pay to go to and is a little more restricted. We can rent it out, but I don't know enough people with dogs right now for it to be worth the price.
You're probably right about not soothing her. Yesterday was the 1st day so I'm sure it will only get better. When she ran to me I would just pick her up, tell her it's okay and then just let her sit on my lap and watch the other dogs while I chatted away. A couple times she jumped down, but since she's the new dog in the park plus a puppy, she had 2 mastifs and a boxer run right at her! It was funny because they just wanted to check her out, so I got her on my lap so she was at eye level with them and let them sniff and smell. She seemed okay with that. Today the plan is to keep her on the ground more. I'm hoping to get there a little earler than yesterday so there aren't as many dogs when we get there.
The puppy days are the best! Trying at times.....YES, but so worth it! She's already getting so tall and it's only been 2 weeks! She's going to grow way too fast! |
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-Korbey
Randi
Stella
"We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment." -George Eliot
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pixie bee
MH
Posts:4452
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| 08/28/2009 9:13 AM |
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Rent-A-Park. That's a great idea. Wish they had one around here.
I agree with the dog park suggestions above. We haven't been to one in over 2 years. The idea of it is better then the actual doing. Sometimes I think the owners are more unbalanced then the dogs. |
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"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle
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TessaGA
Georgia
MH
Posts:2387
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| 08/28/2009 9:17 AM |
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I need to add, not taking the pup to where there are other dogs vs. socializing the pup with other dogs is a balancing act. I probably took Tessa to more places than my vet would have approved, but I always made sure I knew the dogs and their owners and knew that the dogs were fine with a puppy.
Our rental dog parks are so cool, 2-4 acres each, at only $ 1 per hour per dog. I posted these before but here we go:
Dog Park No. 1, the smallest:
Dog Park No. 2, ca. 3 acres:
Dog Park No. 3, our favorite, 3-4 acres (this is only the left half of it):
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To live without dogs would mean accepting a form of blindness. [Thomas McGuane]
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TMerkler
Murfreesboro, TN
MH
Posts:217
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| 08/28/2009 11:14 AM |
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All I can say is.....
I WANT TO LIVE BY TESSA! I WANT TO HAVE A DOG PARK LIKE THAT.
You are so lucky.... |
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Terri (Dude's Mom 4ever)
Dude - GSP (RIP 2005)
Tyler - GSP
Charlie - GSP
Zeus - Pit-ador |
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jedidiah
Northern WI
MH
Posts:96
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| 08/28/2009 1:51 PM |
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| Definately a cutie! |
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Klynn7
Blaine, MN
MH
Posts:84
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| 08/29/2009 8:30 AM |
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So I was wondering if anyone has a good recommendation for food. The breeder had Randi on Iams Puppy chow but I'm wondering if there some something better out there. I want to keep her on dry food. Suggestions? |
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-Korbey
Randi
Stella
"We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment." -George Eliot
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Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:7856
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| 08/29/2009 11:00 AM |
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Innova, California Natural, Wellness are all brands that I have used and love. Right now I am feeding Wellnes (canned) and a new kible for high performance dogs that isn't on the market yet. I feed kibble only in the morning and a mix of canned and kibble in the evenings. I was using Innova Large Breed kibble and had no problems with it at all, but switched as a friend is working on a new kibble for performance dogs and asked me to test it for him. It is wonderful and less expensive than many other brands. The ingredients are similar to the Innova Large Breed kibble, only it has a slighting higher amount of protein. I just don't know when he will have it in distribution or what the name is going to be.
There are others on the forum that use Taste of the Wild and Purine Pro Plan and are very happy. Both of those are also very good dog foods.
Do a search of the forum as I think there is a thread that was started by TessaGA that is a great discussion of dogs foods with some good links. |
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Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
   
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
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been far east
MH
Posts:293
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WiscoCooper
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
MH
Posts:112
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| 08/31/2009 8:52 AM |
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Kylnn-
We started Cooper at the dog park pretty early, too. (10 weeks, I think.) I was hesitant to do so until he received all of his vaccinations, but our vet said that since he had his mother's immunizations in his system and two vaccinations he would do just fine at the dog park. Our first trips were much like yours, he was hesitant but playful. I never sat down, though. When he felt overwhelmed he would stand at or between our feet to regroup. Like your pup, he would stand between whoevers feet were closest to his, and the other "parents" loved it!! Some of the dogs played a little too rough with him initially, but after a few trips and some growing he is fully confident at the dog park now. When we pull into the parking lot he his itching to go play and his tail is wagging a mile a minute!!
The dog park works great for us. Sometimes I think I love it more than he does!! ;-) I've learned that some dogs like to play by wrestling; whereas Cooper prefers a fast game of chase. If I don't like how the other dogs are behaving around him I simply leash him up and we head to the trails for a nice walk. Also, from my experience, "parents" will let me know if their dogs are not good with puppies so I can keep him away from those doggies.
I hope your pup continues to enjoy playing at the dog park. I'm sure with each trip she'll become more and more confident. Believe me, you'll feel a tinge of sadness the first time you bring her there and she's off playing without looking back at you for reassurance!! |
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Robyn, David & Cooper |
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Klynn7
Blaine, MN
MH
Posts:84
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| 08/31/2009 8:58 AM |
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| I'm glad Cooper had a similar experience. I was thinking about not taking her back for a few weeks until she gets some more height on her because the other dogs really are just that much bigger than she is. The other parents are really good about letting me know about their dog as well as if they think another dog is a little too aggressive so I usually have a good idea. when we do go back, I think I'll try your approach and not let her sit on my lap but she can stand between my legs if she wants. She's a big baby right now and I'd like her to toughen up more. Everyone I've talked to has been very firm on if they like the dag park idea or not. I feel comfortable with this one, and since we don't have a fenced in yard yet it's goign to be a big deal for her to go as often as possible. |
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-Korbey
Randi
Stella
"We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment." -George Eliot
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WiscoCooper
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
MH
Posts:112
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| 08/31/2009 12:23 PM |
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Klynn (sorry for the dyslexic typo before!)-
I'm sure that with each trip you take you guys will encounter different dogs- including puppies and small dogs. Coop loves playing with the smaller dogs and puppies because they seem to be more interested in running around with him; whereas some of the big dogs are more interested in wrestling. I also very quickly noticed how cliquey the dog park can be on the human's side. It's a very bizarre dynamic, in my opinion! But keep us posted on how she does. |
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Robyn, David & Cooper |
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Klynn7
Blaine, MN
MH
Posts:84
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| 08/31/2009 12:33 PM |
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Oh I know!! Our 1st trip there we hadn't even gotten into the park yet and this guy comes up to me and tells me that his dog is the alpha dog in the park and started telling me about all the owners that did this or that. I guess there is one guy that carries a spray bottle and will squirt your dog if it's doing something you don't like! Crazy! I haven't seen him yet. Anyway, I think this guy was really trying to say he thinks he's the alpha parent! LoL I did get some good info on him on a couple of the more aggresive dogs, so I'm playing the park like I play work....a lot of listening and not a lot of talking!
There is a full grown male GSP that we've seen a couple times. It has absolutly no interest in any of the other dogs, he's simply there to play fetch with his owner. Man can that dog run! It was amazing! Everyone was laughing at me the 1st time I saw him and told me that's what I have to look forward to! |
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-Korbey
Randi
Stella
"We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment." -George Eliot
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Klynn7
Blaine, MN
MH
Posts:84
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| 08/31/2009 7:28 PM |
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Okay, so I need more help.
So we finnaly have Randi whinning at the door when she wants to go out, now the only problem is she does it every 5 minutes. When we go out, she hardly pees! So she's not even making an attempt to hold it. We have tried really hard to separate potty time from play time. We take her out, let her do her business and take her right back in unless we're going for a walk.
So today I had just taken her out to pee and she was at the door. I didn't take her out because I thought she just wanted to play outside....so she peed on the floor.
Any ideas on how to teach her to at least TRY to hold it? |
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-Korbey
Randi
Stella
"We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment." -George Eliot
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Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:7856
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snips
n.ga.
MH
Posts:413
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| 08/31/2009 8:10 PM |
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They really need to be 3-4 months old to start holding it very long...Be patient and make lots of trips out. |
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brenda |
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Klynn7
Blaine, MN
MH
Posts:84
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| 09/01/2009 5:04 AM |
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Okay good! I was so proud of her to start letting us know but I wanted to make sure that her behavior wasn't leaning to just wanting to go out to play and acting like she needed to handle her business was just a ploy!! She's smart, but I guess she's probably not that smart.....YET! LoL
So she's about 11 or 12 weeks now. We got her from the breeder about 2 weeks ago and he told us her papers weren't back from the AKC yet and he would mail them to us. We still haven't received them. Does anyone know about how long that takes? There is no doubt in our mind that she peer bread because we have the family tree paperwork from both sides but we just want her papers....partially so we know the exact date that she was born. |
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-Korbey
Randi
Stella
"We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment." -George Eliot
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everbell
Kanata, ON
MH
Posts:3166
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| 09/01/2009 6:21 AM |
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I don't know about AKC, but if I recall correctly we didn't get Bo's CKC papers until he as about 6 months.
As everyone else said, if she is asking to go out to pee, let her out. At 12 weeks she probably doesn't know how to completely empty her bladder yet. However, if this doesn't stop in a couple weeks you may want to have her checked for a UTI. Not sure if pups this young can get them, but that could be another reason for frequent urination. |
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Joce and Rich
Bogart and Shiraz (GSPs)
Roxane (RIP: 1995-2009) and Tiger Lily (Cats)
The Everbell Adventures |
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