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The Pets Thread

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OldeDude said:
Well we finally brought a new dog home, picked up today from one of the Northern California German Shepherd Rescues. He is a 3 1/2 year old, 92 lb, previously pretty much ignored outside dog with very little training. What training he has was done by his Foster at the rescue, and they say he is pretty solid already on the house / potty training. It's pretty exiting here today, he is a bit of a nervous wreck moving into a strange place with two strangers, but hopefully he will settle down soon. Haven't been able to get very good pics yet, since he won't stay still, but here are a couple.

Meet Kona:

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He's a great looking dog.

FWIW we've adopted 3yo's twice. The most recent needed about 24-36 hours to calm down. The first one needed about a week or more, but he'd had a pretty tough life before that. If GS's are food motivated like labs...food is your friend during this time, for behavior and training.
 
tequila4kapp said:
Is this the same dog as the puppy? Holy crap he's grown fast
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He really has. He's 6 months old and probably up to 60ish lbs already and still has some loose skin to grow in to. He's going to be a beast!
 
Our lab has been exhibiting signs of protecting us. At first it was kind of cool, hearing her growl and bark if someone came to the door. But then it wasn't so much fun, like when the kids were taking her for a walk, etc. Anyways, I tried some new techniques with her on the walk yesterday and had really great success. We've never had a dog that needed training before, it is all new to us. It was exciting to see it work.
 
tequila4kapp said:
Our lab has been exhibiting signs of protecting us. At first it was kind of cool, hearing her growl and bark if someone came to the door. But then it wasn't so much fun, like when the kids were taking her for a walk, etc. Anyways, I tried some new techniques with her on the walk yesterday and had really great success. We've never had a dog that needed training before, it is all new to us. It was exciting to see it work.
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We watched a ton of training videos by Zac George on YouTube and it really helped us with training this one. We just started classes last week but I bet you can find some good videos on YouTube if you're looking for help.
 
KEV said:
We watched a ton of training videos by Zac George on YouTube and it really helped us with training this one. We just started classes last week but I bet you can find some good videos on YouTube if you're looking for help.
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Thanks! I've been watching a lot of Dog Whisperer / Cesar Milan stuff. I think I've got it on this one issue, now it is just a matter of getting the kids and wife to do the same thing.
 
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tequila4kapp said:
He's a great looking dog.

FWIW we've adopted 3yo's twice. The most recent needed about 24-36 hours to calm down. The first one needed about a week or more, but he'd had a pretty tough life before that. If GS's are food motivated like labs...food is your friend during this time, for behavior and training.
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German Shepherds aren't usually anywhere near as food motivated as Labs, but training with treats does work really well with them. Being that Kona was an owner surrender, we know a bit more about his history than we would with a lot of rescues (birthdate, vet records, etc.). He came from a small farming community down on the Central Coast, a pretty low income area, he was an outside dog, so knowing the area we are pretty sure he was put in the yard of the original owners as a guard dog (never neutered unti he was surrendered), and never given any obedience or leash training. His "Foster Dad" started working with him on leash manners and basic obedience, but he only had him for a couple of weeks.

He is doing better today, after a pretty restless night. I've got him playing fetch, which his Foster said he wouldn't do for him, so that will really help run some energy off, get additional exercise, and help with bonding. He's a bit mouthy, which again shows the lack of training, but we will work with him, and we have a really good professional trainer we can work with when necessary, so I am really optimistic that he will be a great dog, just going to need a lot of love, work, and attention.
 
With the wife out of town, Bogey is on my schedule. He was at the gate when we came by this morning so I let him to walk with the group. I kept trying to tell him it was a long walk today but he wanted to run.
I think he treed 7-8 squirrels and had 2 bottles of water.
Now, he’s a tired pup.
 

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So we woke up to a couple inches of snow this morning, I don't think Kona has ever been in the snow before, but he took right to it. We went out and played a couple of times, and I think I wore him out a bit. Its still snowing now, so we will be able to go out and play some more this afternoon.

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At least Koda is happy with all this snow.
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I'm just sore and tired.
 
A couple of good rounds of playing ball with Kona today. My property is two fenced acres, almost completely open, and on a pretty good hill, so it's a pretty good workout for him. Playing with two balls to teach him "drop", and he's starting to really get it. I kind of think I wore him out though.

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Nate said:
2 weeks in, almost 8 weeks now.

Hondo
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Riggins
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Great looking pup! (Edit: Pups! Didn't notice that was two!)

We have been living in a second floor apartment while we get some home Reno's done. Our dog has been pretty anxious whenever we leave. I went out to pick up our takeout from the restaurant a cross the road. My son said when I left without her, she ran back upstairs and climbed his chair to watch out the window.

Oh, and yes, our AirBnB is above a Tattoo shop. 🤪

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This dummy.

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OldeDude said:
A couple of good rounds of playing ball with Kona today. My property is two fenced acres, almost completely open, and on a pretty good hill, so it's a pretty good workout for him. Playing with two balls to teach him "drop", and he's starting to really get it. I kind of think I wore him out though.

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Weirdo.
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Welp one pup broke out of her crate today and ate a bunch of my hats. I’m a little mad and a lot impressed.
 
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