Ok let me introduce you to the pack we have at the moment, I will start with the oldest: Dusty aged 14 almost 15 - We can see it now when she plays - running less to fetch the ball. But once she has the ball its a 2 min struggle for her to release it. We have had her since she was born - we where breeding with them at that point. Kegan our slightly broken boy - My parents got him whilst I lived in the uk so he was 3 when I met him, he didnt know how to play (and he is still learning to play tug of war) and he is a chronic tail chaser. We had to amputate about 5cm off his tail where he had chewed it to the bone. He stresses easily and hates loud noises. But despite all of that if your in need of a cuddle he's the first one to get on your lap. Oh and he hates to stand still for the camera. Kegan is 7 now and my parents got him when he was 8months old from people who abused him - we suspect that is where all his issues comes from. Then there is Vikki, a more accident prone dog you have never met. She has a "hap oor" where a dog bit her during puppy training, she at the age of 1 managed to run into a small tree branch that gave her a chest wound that got infected, she was hospitalised for a week and she has a fear of people's feet because she manages to be underfoot and someone will step on her toes at least once a week. Despite all her injuries she has bounced back into the vibrant, active, playful, inquisitive dog she is now. Not scared of anything except people stepping on her toes, she is obviously my baby girl at 4 years old and I have to admit I can't live without her. And this is the sight that greets me every morning (my room is next to that lounge where they sit and wait for me to get up.
hehe thanks guys @Zoom in the last 10 years they have managed to breed the hip displysia out. You still get it in them, but with proper care and training we have learnt to limit the damage. Dusty has hip displysia but because we didnt let her take long walks (please remember guys puppies can walk half a block and that will feel like 3 - 5km for them at that age) when she was young and limited the jumping - up to the age of 6months to a year you slowly train them and teach them basics. It takes the GSD's a year to grow into the joints. Hip displysia is 60% training and 40% genetics. So with the GSD federation they have been following the breeding lines and reworked the puppy training classes and the hip problems has lessened. Dusty is the only one of our dogs that has it and its because she got it from her mum. (We bred with her mum - 4 litters of which we kept 2 pups of which Dusty is one) Dusty's hips are only now showing problems - she has good and bad days - thank fully we dont have many stairs so she is ok for the most part as well as when its play time she becomes even more hyper active than the baba.
@Sean J - If you want one let me know and I can put you in touch with one of the Federation owners. They can help you find one of the breeders in your area who has a good record with their breeds and their hips. The only thing is make sure your willing to pay. The males go for about R3 000 in Cape Town and the females is R3 500. But they are all pure bred.
I have 2 Pure Bred Staffies which each cost R4000... So I think I might pass on another, bigger dog! But thanks, I appreciate it!
Hehe any time Sean I wont change to another breed of dog either. I grew up with GSD's and if it was viable I would be on a small holding right now, breeding them.
Would like to get a GSD next year sometime, wife to be loves them, was heart sore last night looking at these pics. She had to put her one down this year.
@Donny as i told you before just let me know and i will give you the relevant contact details. You can't go wrong with the pure breeds!
@Wyvren Do these dog's need a lot of space? I have a garden of approx 25m x 15m in a complex. (This is LAWNED AREA alone, excluding paving and garden beds). And the second thing, are they OK on their own? My wife is desperate to get a dog, and LOVES GSD... BUT my complex will only allow 2 small dogs or 1 medium dog per unit. Obviously bearing in mind that the house is empty between 7 and 4. My wife is adiment that a GSD will be fine during the day on it's own, i just feel it's kinda cruel. I always picture GSD's as social animals and need company of other dogs.
Hey yes they are very social animals but if you are prepared to go the extra mile it can be done. We have a few families that just keeps one GSD. That garden will also be big enough as long as you also promise to take the woof for a daily walk. They need to burn off the energy otherwise they might act out and be naughty. What a lot of people do is they join a decent puppy school for socialization once a week at least. And then if you have a nice park near by take the woof there for walks and to see other dogs. They rely a lot on us as they owners to give them the care they need. Good tips is don't go over board with toys, use cheapies such as an empty coke bottle with a hand full of mielie pitte in it. Now keep this toy outside only or else you will want to strangle the pup. Other toys can be a stuffed animal to sleep with at night - this actually helped Vikki settle into the new home faster than our other pups did. The best toys are things like an old pair of jeans cut up and tied in knots for tug of war - you will have to take the pup and when the woof is older for daily walks as well as a 15min minimum playtime of tug of war and fetch. This way they know they are part of the family and they burn of the energy of sitting in the yard during the day. What we do is our dogs stay inside if we go out for a few hours 4 to 6 max or else you will have smelly messes. Otherwise we leave them in the garden with a couple of hooves and plenty of water. And i hope your planning on letting the woof be an inside woof and not just sit outside, its been found the ones who are not allowed inside are the ones with some behaviour issues. These dogs need to be around the family because they identify with you as their pack. They are loyal dogs who will protect the family first and then defend his yard. The main thing with these dogs are you need to spend some time with them each day just rehashing the training and enticing their play drives. They are excelent work dogs for this reason, they are also unreasonably smart. If you do decide to get one let me know and i can give you tonnes of tips and tricks. Most of what I have learnt is from years of having them as pets and the years of training I go thru with each pup. I taught a fair few puppy classes of pups aged 10 weeks up to 6 months. These dogs are my first love in life and the fishies are now a close second ;p. And i Know most of you have watched a couple of the dog whisperers show - a lot of what he does is what we have been taught to do since I was old enough to help with the dogs. Also if you have kids, they are truly amazing with kids. Especially since they stay so young at heart even at age 14 our old lady ahas the heart of a puppy.
@Zoom. Maybe wait a while for the Zoomling to be born, because my cousin got a puppy about 6 months after giving birth and it caused havoc. The dog didn't receive enough attention (I think) and seems upset for long periods.
I didnt realise you dont have a minime as of yet. As @Firefly said, wait for the kid to be at least a year old. A puppy and a baby in the same house is not a great idea unless you plan on never sleeping again
beautiful dogs, its great seeing people who treat their dogs like their children like i do. its amazing the mental effects abuse has on dogs, how do you manage Kegans noise fear? My Avril gets beside herself during storms and i dont know how to manage it, if tranquilising her would help. i'm terrafied she might hurt herself seeing as she jumped through a plate glass window in her last home. she is an inside dog, and sleeps in my room with me, sometimes on the bed. ( i know not suppose to allow it)
@windfire your gonna laugh at this but something that works like a charm is rescue remedy. We hold his mouth open and give him 5 drops. Ot helps a lot. The problem for us is anything can trigger kegan. From a noise on the tv to the microwave. So we tend to just call him over, make him lay down and then i slowly pet him, if you stroke a dog slowly over the face and ears it calms them. The main thing is to talk to them in a calm quiet voice and just reassure them. Kegan hated us watching F1 the noise was to much for him, now he sits quietly next to me thru most sport and tv shows that he hated before.
@Wyvren, i have the same problem with Avril, she can be fine one minute and then a dump turck will tip its load or a motor bkie will come past and thats her. and storms are traumatic for both of us trying to find her a place that shes comfortable hiding in. thanks so much i usually have a bottle around since i used to use it when i was competeing to help with nerves before going into the ring i just hope she'll figure out one day that its not that scary, i could literally do some serious physical damage to the bastard who beat her and believe it or not took her to metal clubs as a small pup. its nice to know that she'll get better and that petting worked for you, alot of people have told me not to make a fuss of her as it encourages the behaviour but its hard not to want to cuddle her and tell it'll be ok, shes my baby
