frankie Posted January 20, 2015 Author Share Posted January 20, 2015 Aw, Moses is a cute name for a dog. Yes, we need a pic please! I'm so glad you had so much fun. Like I said earlier I don't own a smart phone and I'm not sure if I feel comfortable asking the owner if I could take a picture of him with my camera and post it online... Maybe later. Oh and I forgot: it's not only for this week, but I'm continuing next week and the week after that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbielleRose Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Oh my god I will be walking a puppy at 5 PM today!!! Yaaaay! That's such a great gig for you! Hope you have fun and make lots of furry new friends! Exactly - if I allowed foster cats into my home, I'd keep them all! I asked the bf if, someday after we're living together and stuff, he'd let me foster. His response? "We'd take in 6 husky puppies and keep them all and then you'd bring home 6 kittens and we'd keep them all." Yes. He knows me well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 His name is Moses It was a great outing, I haven't had this red cheeks in ages! Wow, sounds like a baptism of fire your first walk being with a 6 month old GSD! They are great though, so intelligent, so just be sure to praise all the good behaviour (will the owner let you take treats or a toy?) and try and ignore the less good behaviour. Are you able to let him off the lead for a bit of a play anyway or is it mainly street walking.. Just wondering as I bet he has a load of pent up energy (hence the jumping up and humping!) Shame you can't take a pic, is he short or long coated? Dark or light? A description will do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) Yep, I think him being such a rambunctious young doggy, and not having gone through any sort of obedience school (they will be doing that with him at some point), I really have been thrown in at the deep end of the pool, right from the start! But I'm enjoying it whole heartedly! He has a lot of pent up energy like you said, especially now that the owner's not able to take him out. I don't know if her husband takes him for walks later in the evening when he comes home. I'm pretty sure Moses would like to go for longer walks and more often! I'm wondering if I could sometimes ask the owner if I could take him for an hour long walk (I could use the exercise, too!) and only charge for the half an hour we've agreed on. Yeah the owner gives me treats and whenever he's been good and doing what I ask, I always tell him he's a good boy and sometimes pat him, too It's been mainly street walking so far, although I did take him through a park so he could roam a bit more freely, me being able to see for tens of meters that nobody was coming and I could give him loads of leash and let him do his thing. I have thought about taking him to a fenced park but the only one I know is not close enough... I should ask the owner. I could do a 30 minute walk + 30 minutes in a fenced area some time. He's a short coated German Shepherd (I didn't know there are long coated ones! I thought the ones I've seen were a different breed altogether So thanks for that!), and he's mostly dark but he has light bits, too A bit of a mix. I think those dark-light mixes are the most common over here... His ears droop a bit sometimes, and it's cute And he has a relatively thin tail, it's not as 'bushy' as one would maybe expect. I think he was a bit better with the 'wait' command today, meaning he responded to it quicker today, but he still kept pulling a lot But it takes time, and he's always so eager to go outside! Edited January 21, 2015 by frankie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I really want another cat but don't know if I'm ready for a permanent addition to my little family, so I'm considering becoming a foster carer for cats looking for their furrever homes. It will help save a few lives, and Jasper and I will have some extra company for short bursts of time. I'm going away for a few days soon, so I'll look into it when I get back. Yes please! Do you want to swap? I gave Jasper wet food for dinner last night (as I do every night) and he threw it all up within 5 minutes...in three separate spots on my lounge room floor (carpet, of course). My cat does this frequently. And she poos all over the lawn. You can have her if you want! I've seen enough English speaking dog shows on TV to know the commands. Are they the Ten Commandments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 Are they the Ten Commandments? Yes, the ones you've been taught. Sit! Down! Heel! etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Yes, the ones you've been taught. Sit! Down! Heel! etc... You know I never do as I'm told Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Yep, I think him being such a rambunctious young doggy, and not having gone through any sort of obedience school (they will be doing that with him at some point), I really have been thrown in at the deep end of the pool, right from the start! But I'm enjoying it whole heartedly! He has a lot of pent up energy like you said, especially now that the owner's not able to take him out. I don't know if her husband takes him for walks later in the evening when he comes home. I'm pretty sure Moses would like to go for longer walks and more often! I'm wondering if I could sometimes ask the owner if I could take him for an hour long walk (I could use the exercise, too!) and only charge for the half an hour we've agreed on. Yeah the owner gives me treats and whenever he's been good and doing what I ask, I always tell him he's a good boy and sometimes pat him, too It's been mainly street walking so far, although I did take him through a park so he could roam a bit more freely, me being able to see for tens of meters that nobody was coming and I could give him loads of leash and let him do his thing. I have thought about taking him to a fenced park but the only one I know is not close enough... I should ask the owner. I could do a 30 minute walk + 30 minutes in a fenced area some time. He's a short coated German Shepherd (I didn't know there are long coated ones! I thought the ones I've seen were a different breed altogether So thanks for that!), and he's mostly dark but he has light bits, too A bit of a mix. I think those dark-light mixes are the most common over here... His ears droop a bit sometimes, and it's cute And he has a relatively thin tail, it's not as 'bushy' as one would maybe expect. I think he was a bit better with the 'wait' command today, meaning he responded to it quicker today, but he still kept pulling a lot But it takes time, and he's always so eager to go outside! It sounds like you're going to be fab dog walker, you're doing everything right with the praise etc! Is he friendly with other dogs? Hopefully he will get a chance to have a bit of a play at some point. I like the long coated GSD's but they tend to be heavier boned and more prone to injuries and arthritis, over here the short coated are more common but I know a few long coated and they seem to have soppier temperaments which belies their size! Maybe his tail will thicken up over time, he's still young and being a rescue his coat may have been a bit out of condition for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 It sounds like you're going to be fab dog walker, you're doing everything right with the praise etc! Is he friendly with other dogs? Hopefully he will get a chance to have a bit of a play at some point. I like the long coated GSD's but they tend to be heavier boned and more prone to injuries and arthritis, over here the short coated are more common but I know a few long coated and they seem to have soppier temperaments which belies their size! Maybe his tail will thicken up over time, he's still young and being a rescue his coat may have been a bit out of condition for a while. Yeah, I think the tail's still thin because he's a young lad, I'm sure it'll get thicker and more pronounced One thing I just realized, is that he doesn't bark when he's outside! He barked once yesterday when I came to collect him, and this morning he went on a barking rampage when I arrived But he doesn't bark when he's out! His owner said that he really likes other dogs and wants to play with them, but we haven't come across any other dogs yet, quite oddly. When I went to pick him up yesterday I saw so many dogs on my way, but we didn't see any of them when I was walking Moses. It'll be interesting to see how he behaves when we meet some in the future, it's bound to happen at some point. One thing I also find interesting and something to work on is the fact that when he pulls and I tell him to wait and he stops, I have to check myself, because I've noticed that sometimes I think he's still pulling (I'm not feeling the pull but the leash is tight-ish) when in fact it's me who's tense with the leash. When I realize that, I relax my arm and the leash is not tight and we're good to go. I'm still new at this so I guess it's somewhat normal that I would do that. I'm working on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I'm so glad you had fun dog walking ! Six-month-old puppies can indeed be huge. Boris was four months old when we got him, and he was pretty big back then already (he's massive nowadays.. like the biggest dog I've ever seen in person). I've always had a fondness for German Shephards because of this TV show I used to watch back in the early 1990s (which had one of them in it and I loved that dog). It sounds like you're doing all the right things . I like the name Moses, too. It's great you'll get to do it for a bit longer (though it's not nice that the owner broke his leg). One thing I also find interesting and something to work on is the fact that when he pulls and I tell him to wait and he stops, I have to check myself, because I've noticed that sometimes I think he's still pulling (I'm not feeling the pull but the leash is tight-ish) when in fact it's me who's tense with the leash. When I realize that, I relax my arm and the leash is not tight and we're good to go. I'm still new at this so I guess it's somewhat normal that I would do that. I'm working on it I think this is normal in the beginning and I'm sure you'll get better as you practise . I used to do have too on occasion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Yeah, I think the tail's still thin because he's a young lad, I'm sure it'll get thicker and more pronounced One thing I just realized, is that he doesn't bark when he's outside! He barked once yesterday when I came to collect him, and this morning he went on a barking rampage when I arrived But he doesn't bark when he's out! His owner said that he really likes other dogs and wants to play with them, but we haven't come across any other dogs yet, quite oddly. When I went to pick him up yesterday I saw so many dogs on my way, but we didn't see any of them when I was walking Moses. It'll be interesting to see how he behaves when we meet some in the future, it's bound to happen at some point. One thing I also find interesting and something to work on is the fact that when he pulls and I tell him to wait and he stops, I have to check myself, because I've noticed that sometimes I think he's still pulling (I'm not feeling the pull but the leash is tight-ish) when in fact it's me who's tense with the leash. When I realize that, I relax my arm and the leash is not tight and we're good to go. I'm still new at this so I guess it's somewhat normal that I would do that. I'm working on it Hopefully you'll meet some other dogs soon.. That will be an important time for you to try not to be tense on the lead, better to try and control with your voice and treats if you can, as he may sense you being tense and be either over exhuberant or nervous himself. All dogs are different in how they walk on the lead, my boys have been very chilled but the girls have always preferred to be slightly ahead with no real slackness in the lead, but not pulling either if that makes sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 I'm so glad you had fun dog walking ! Six-month-old puppies can indeed be huge. Boris was four months old when we got him, and he was pretty big back then already (he's massive nowadays.. like the biggest dog I've ever seen in person). I've always had a fondness for German Shephards because of this TV show I used to watch back in the early 1990s (which had one of them in it and I loved that dog). It sounds like you're doing all the right things . I like the name Moses, too. It's great you'll get to do it for a bit longer (though it's not nice that the owner broke his leg). I've never had the opportunity to observe a puppy grow into a full sized dog and so I wasn't aware of how quickly they grow. They grow really, really fast We also had a TV show with a German Shepherd when I was a kid, and I love it, but then I had a few incidents with a few dogs of that breed and became afraid of them. Hopefully you'll meet some other dogs soon.. That will be an important time for you to try not to be tense on the lead, better to try and control with your voice and treats if you can, as he may sense you being tense and be either over exhuberant or nervous himself. All dogs are different in how they walk on the lead, my boys have been very chilled but the girls have always preferred to be slightly ahead with no real slackness in the lead, but not pulling either if that makes sense? Yep, I know that I need to keep myself in check when we meet other dogs, because he'll feel my energy. (I'm already hearing Cesar Millan's voice in my head... I'd rather it was Victoria Stilwell!) I'm grateful for the tips! Yesterday the second walk, or the start of it didn't go as well... As the owner was all ready and Moses didn't have time to greet me inside, he was all over me when we left. He kept jumping at me in the elevator and continued when we got outside. I was basically like a big chew toy! And telling him 'no!' or 'down!' was completely useless. At some point I realized we would get nowhere with that and thought I just need to get him walking and get him in that mindset. When we took off, he stopped jumping at me. I'll have to remember to ask if we could take one of his toys with him this time, and play a little tug-of-war at first. I have little bruises on my arms where he nibbled me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 Went for another walk with Moses this morning and he nipped me harder than usual on my arm. The thing is I have varicose veins in that arm and I'm starting to worry he'll bite one of them at some point and I have no idea what might then happen. He got really close to one this morning. Today he was better in the beginning, meaning he didn't spend 5 minutes jumping on me, but we got to walking pretty much as soon as we'd come out the door. And he's reduced his pulling so much, it's amazing! I was quite proud of him. But by the end of the 30 minutes, he got really restless all of a sudden and started jumping at me again and nipping me and as the leash got tangled around his feet, I couldn't get him untangled and move on with the walk. Then he got my reflector and thought it was a toy. This is hard for me to say but I'm really frustrated. I feel like I've failed him, and myself. I keep trying to tell myself I have no experience so I shouldn't expect any better. But it won't really help with Moses. He's a good dog who just has lots of energy and who needs training, but in the short periods of time I can't help any of those things so effectively that the problems would go away and I would feel good about walking him. This morning when I left him at the owners I walked home holding back tears because I felt so crappy and frustrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Ok, try not to feel defeated, I think a dog like Moses would be a challenge to anyone, clearly he is in need of lots of training and stimulating exercise. 6 months pups are hard at the best of time.. but when they are large....!!! Did something spook him perhaps? Is there a command that he is very good with, like a Sit maybe, that is usually a dogs default command when they want something! Instead of telling him no, which surprisingly few dogs actually understand, perhaps tell him 'Sit' in a firm but not scary voice, then have a treat ready for him so he is instantly rewarded. I am presuming he is quite tall, I'm not sure how tall you are, but maybe you would be better in a situation where he is jumping, to actually hold him by the collar (you'll need to be strong) and physically restrict him from bouncing on you.. hold tight and be patient, there will come a break in the madness and then you say the command that he is familar with, again firmly and loud enough so you know he has heard but not shouting, don't repeat yourself, just be patient, as soon as he does as you ask, tell him "Good' or 'Yes' and treat. He will begin (it could take a while but hopefully not too long for a clever boy) to make the connection between listening and getting a reward. I would also ask the owner if there are any particular commands that Moses is familiar with and pays attentions to. A good leave wouldn't go amiss, nor would an attention command, I use 'Watch', I praise my dogs for looking at me, that way I know I can (nearly) always get their attention, and they know there are always opportunities for extra food! You're doing a great job frankie, I'm sure if he could get some off lead play time he would be easier to handle, the behaviour you are describing is all frustration based, so the more little bits of training you do on the walk to mentally stimulate him, the better he should be.. You could teach him to sit before crossing a road, to do little about turns as you walk along, use a treat to lure him at first, then add a command.. teach a Watch. Pop onto YouTube, avoid Cesar Milan like the plague and look up some good dog trainers like Dr Sophia Yin (RIP) and Chirag Patel and see their reward based training methods to give you inspiration. Good luck and keep up the good work! (Oh, and maybe you can put something on your arm to protect it in the time being?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 Thanks for posting chalie! I saw you were viewing this thread and I stood by hoping you would have some pointers! Nothing spooked him, no. But there was a bird and he got excited about it and tried to chase it, and after that he got restless. He's good with Sit if there are treats. The thing is, if he's anxious/excited and starts jumping on me, he won't notice the treat even if I show it in front of his face. Also I'm starting to get a bit scared of extending my hand to him when he's in his nipping mode. I've also tried getting him by his collar but he can somehow bend his neck so that he can still get at my hand. Would you suggest I try with both hands at his collar and keep him still even if he tries to nip me in that position? I try not to shout and I also try not to keep repeating because if one needs to repeat something, it's not effective and the dog's not registered it. But you made a good point about 'no' being ineffective. That's great advice about trying to stimulate him mentally, I'll have to remember that. Good advice about putting something on my arm, too! It occurred to me a while ago but I forgot about it. I should go and see what I can come up with... Thanks so much for the advice! It's been a rather big blow and I've felt like crap all day long, and I can't really say I'm looking forward to the next walk, but I also know that I need to get out of that mindset and treat this walk like the very first one, with an open mind. Dogs are so perceptive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Sorry I haven't replies before, I have my parents and brother here for my Mums birthday and have been otherwise engaged.. How very dare they! I would stick to one hand in the collar, but as you grab it pull down and towards you so he is right against your side, hopefully that will give him less room to manoeuvre! It sounds like distraction will be your best technique too, changing direction suddenly to keep him on his toes and changing pace too, not too fast or you may get caught out when he accelerates! There will be loads of info on YouTube, just make sure any advice you take note of is given by someone who advocates positive training methods. How did it go today? Wish I was a tiny bit closer to give you a hand! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 Well, it was worse. This time he didn't obey me at all and didn't want to walk. The chew toy was good at first, him biting on to that and not me, but as he has that pent up energy, he got really excited about tug-of-war and soon thought I was a better toy than his chew toy. I got nipped bad. I have bruises on my arms, back, thighs... It was all I could do to get him home. He even destroyed my glove, a thick one which I thought would protect me from his teeth. I took him back to his owners and told her that I can't do it anymore and that was that. Felt like absolute crap after that I've gone over it my head, though, and I don't think I'm too traumatized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) Oh what a shame.. I'm sure it's the right decision though, for both of you. GSD's can be very high drive and if he wasn't responding to your methods then you are best removing yourself from the situation and letting someone with experience of these types of dogs step in, hopefully the owners will take on board what has occurred before choosing another walker. I'm glad you don't feel too bad about it, there will be many other pups out there that will be more suitable, in fact probably most other dogs would be more suitable! Edited January 24, 2015 by chaliepud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 Thanks chalie for you kind words and all the advice you've given It was a difficult choice, but I do think it was the right one. I was feeling that if I were to continue with it, I would start to resent the dog even though he's justing behaving like a pretty average GSD pup. I didn't want to go back to being scared of that particular breed. I was worried that I would start reacting badly when I meet with those dogs again, but then on Friday I watched an episode of Doc Martin and coincidentally there was a long coated GSD in the ep, and he was barking at Doc to keep out of his territory, and when he stopped barking but kept giving Doc the evil eye, I giggled and thought 'good boy, standing in duty!' I think I shall be just fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 That's good to hear, hopefully you will find another dog that needs walking soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 Yep, let's keep our fingers crossed! In the meantime... Some pictures of dogs would probably cheer me up.... :giggle2: *hint hint!* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Ha ha! Will see what I can do later when I'm on my computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 Wohoo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Here you go frankie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 And a couple more.. not all the best photos, but it's hard to see the best ones as I can only upload from thumbnail pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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