We've just taken in a stray, young female shepherd. Never had a dog before; we have 2 adult female cats.
*What should I expect?
*What supplies do I need to buy for her?
Any advice??
Answers:
German Shepherds are very smart, loving dogs. That said, they need care while training, because they can be aggressive and are territorial.
One thing my grandma always told her adoptive families, keep a bag of treats near the door, when a visitor comes in, have them give the dog a treat. This will teach the dogs that visitors who are let in are a good thing.
Be diligent with training, nip any naughty behaviors in the bud. When in doubt, find a trainer with GSD experience, its well worth it.
Good for you for taking in a dog in need of a home!
Now the basics, a food and water dish, good leash and collar, I recommend kong toys as GSDs can be very hard on toys! GSDs also love tennis balls (well, what dog doesnt) and frisbees. Buy a good brush! GSDs are shedders! But a sackof training treats and a box of dry dog biscuits, you want the training treats to be different than the snack.
Make an appt for the vet if you havent already, if she is a stray she needs to be vaccinated and checked over.
Get her spayed! Take her to the vet, get her checked out thoroughly.
Water and food dishes
leash and collar
toys
crate
QUALITY dogfood
fruit and veggies
Don't housetrain her using those pee pads, those dogs are never thoroughly housetrained.. They tend to make alot of mistakes and it's twice the work trying to get them to go outside.
And with any dog, socialize with people, children, other dogs, and all sorts of situations and places.
Take some obedience classes with the dog. builds a good bond and helps you to have a form of communication..
Lots of walks and good exercise.
First, do you really want a dog? If not, then be honest and take her to a shelter (preferrably no-kill).
If you truly want a dog then you've got the potential for a really nice one here. Shepherds are smart, loyal and fun. They're great dogs.
She'll top out between 40 and 70 pounds but that depends a lot on her build now - your vet can help you guess.
Take her to the vet and ask all the questions you want.
Make sure she gets spayed.
She'll need a good sized food dish and a bucket for water.
She'll need a strong leash and a collar that fits her - check this as she grows so it doesn't choke her.
Brush/comb
Flea treatment
Cedar/chip bed
Heartworm preventative
regular vet checks, vaccinations and deworming
about an hour of vigorous exercise each day.
OBEDIENCE TRAINING - a well-trained dog is a joy to have around.
Bless you for taking in a stray. I would put a leash on her and walk her around the neighborhood, so she understands her surroundings... and that you are with her. Then introduce her to your home. AND the cats--slowly. She needs lots of reassurance from you that you will love her and not abandoned her. You can try getting a baby gate so you can gate off part of the house so you can keep an eye on her for a while.
Make sure you take her out a lot, even for short periods so she has the opportunity to do her business... and give her a treat right after she does, and praise her a lot.
You will of course need:
-a collar AND leash
-a baby gate
-a large crate for her to sleep in and to stay in when you are not home. (remember that dogs are cave dwellers and live in packs. and you are the head of the pack.)
-Choose a food you are going to feed her.
-Take her to your vet as soon as you can for a check up. (Take a stool sample so he can check for worms, etc.)
- Get a few chew toys - like rawhide, and treats as well.
squeaky toy, and a stuffed toy. Let her know she has plenty of things of her own, maybe she will leave your stuff alone.
I love German shepherds, and they make wonderful pets if they are treated with a lot tender loving care.
GOOD LUCK
here is a web site i use a lot because they are reasonable on crates, and most things.
The Canine %26 Feline Behaviour Centre
I have a 5 month old male German and he's great. But all puppies are a lot of work so be prepared to stay busy. They will chew just about anything so put your shoes, remote controls, etc. AWAY!! Enroll in a puppy training class if you can. This breed loves to be useful and they are really intelligent. One big tip I can give you is that dogs don't know the diffenence from good attention and bad attention. They think when you're chasing them around after that remote control that you are playing and they'll keep it up because they just want your attention and they don't realize that they are in trouble. But dogs are great, and are fantastic companions. But please be patient, give lots of good attention, and get in a puppy class as soon as you can.
My breeder reccommends Royal Canin as a food and that's all we feed our dog. He loves it! Also, stock up on tennis balls, rawhide bones, chew toys. Stuff that they can have as opposed to your things. Remember to start good habits now and nmost importantly be consistent so your new dog doesn't get confused.
Good luck!
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I have a male german shepherd & he's now 7mnths old. He was a little harder to train than my female german shepherd. My female took to our family cats very well,in fact she would baby them, at times the cats like being bathed by her then sometimes they don't,but the dog will figure this out so don't worry.The cats will start to come looking for the dog as well when they start to get commfy around each other.german shepherds love being around their family. If you put her outside and leave her their she'll start to fuss because as i said german shepherd LOVE being with their family.they do not like being alone for a very long time,so you should crate the dog when you go food shopping,picnics,partys,family reunions and such,by the way they grow really fast,so you mine as well start with the x-large crate so she'll have plenty of stretch room.i went through 2 dog crates for my new german shepherd,he was 10weeks when i got him and now he's 7mnths old & 80lbs,but still growing.Don't let people bully you into fixing you dog right away,do plenty of reading before you make this permanent decision.My vet is one of the few who says keep the dogs intact atleast untill he/she is 1 1/2 -2yrs old so the groth platellests are finished & close on their own. like we humans have an internal growth clock so do dogs and screwing with that clock can screw things up,just as in humans. Anyway have fun with your german shepherd & keep her safe & happy and she'll return it 1000% without you asking her to. They are very funny dogs and have funny facial expressions & noises they make when they want to communnicate with their human family.she will be very protective as they all are if she a full blodded german shepherd.easy to potty train as long as you let them back inside the house after they potty.that was my male G.S.key i had to figure out,he didnt like to be put outside and kept out even for 15 min,so 1day i let him back in the house right after he pottied and thats how he was house broken,which was my fault for not realising this up front,as my female was potty trained in 3 days,just by rushing her to the back door every time she had an accident,she got the hint in 3 days,she even had me trained to let her out by 7a.m.(that was not a fun suprise for me/mommy)lol but their ya go.Oh i forgot!they love to run so we walk our 2 large breed puppys for atleast an hour or more because of their ages,7 & 8 mnths,but whe the shepherd was younger his walks were short for i read about possibly over exserting his little puppy legs,so i took my Q-from my puppy,when he was tired and kept sitting down before we even got to the park (which is 1 block away from our home)so it would take us about 20 min to get him to walk to the park,untill finally he did it without sitting every 5 second & looking up at me,and finally straight to the park within 30 seconds as he was getting older(but it was sooo,funny then).Now hes 80lbs and still my big baby boy & very much funny.By the way my babys are fed a raw diet,no fruits & no veggies,just meats &kidneys,beef hearts,(rabbits& ducks on occassion). Good Luck
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