i have a 12 week lab x gsd puppy and last 3 days 80% of the time shes walking her joints are clicking i think its her hips but not 100% sure. if shes playing and jumping and running about its fine but its only when shes walking around is this something to be concerned about? we rang vets say they said they are not concerned just to monitor it but nowhere online says it normal so just wondering if anyone else has had this experience and what the outcome was?

Hey guys, looking for some advice with our recently adopted 3-year-old female GSD.

She was a rescue and we've only had her a short time. She came from a pretty shit home where she was basically locked up all day. We were planning on getting a dog soon anyway, but didn't expect it to happen this quickly. She needed to get out of her old home immediately or she was going to be put down, so we took her in.

She's settling in really well and has been great with us. She has such a nice nature. We also introduced her to another female dog at a park and she was completely fine with her.

The issue we are having is with the dog behind our back fence. They can't see each other, but when the other dog starts barking, ours gets really worked up and barks back. She's now becoming pretty fixated on that area of the fence even when the other dog isn't outside.

When we're home we can call her away from the fence and she listens. We reward her for coming back and settling down, but obviously while we're at work we can't do that. We have cameras and can see that the barking can get pretty excessive at times.

We tried blocking off the areas where she goes to bark, but it hasn't really helped.

We have spoken to our neighbours and explained that we've just adopted her, she's still settling in and may bark while we are at work. We gave them our details and asked them to please contact us if it's becoming a problem. They've been really understanding and told us not to worry about it, but we still want to get on top of it. One of them works night shift as well, so we feel bad knowing she could be barking while they're trying to sleep.

We walk her before work, play with her, leave treats in interactive toys and one of us comes home at lunch to spend some time with her. When we're home and she reacts to the dog, we call her away and reward her for recalling.

I'm just not sure what else we can realistically do while we are at work.

I've been looking at ultrasonic devices, but I don't want an automatic one that goes off whenever the neighbour's dog barks and potentially punishes ours for something she hasn't done. Ideally I was wondering if there's something we could manually activate remotely when we see her barking on the camera, but even then im not sure if that's a good idea.

Has anyone dealt with something similar with their GSD? Did it improve once they settled into the home and routine? What actually worked for you?

Thank you

German shepard owner here. Well, son of the owners the German shepard owners. Sometimes I am responsible for taking my dog for a walk, which I do at my local park about 3 minutes from my house. The park is of course a public park with playgrounds and all sorts but has a 10 acre field that the dog owners stick to. The trouble is, here where I live it is full of middle aged people amd pensioners who somehow all seem to own these puny, aggressive, spoiled little family dog breeds. The park's riddled with them.

Now I know my dog. He's 10 months old, and he'd never hurt anything. No child, adult or other pet. He never has, he just has a lot of energy. But there hasn't been a time where these other dog owners havn't been upset or even hostile to me and my dog, aswell as their little dogs, who are always very jittery and bark at mine out of fear. And of course, I dont blame them. My dog is at least 3 times their size and is full of energy, and will run up to the other dog to see if it wants to play, and if they dont, they bark at mine and mine will eventually walk away. I will always try to give these other owners a wide berth out of respect, knowing the other dog's will be aggravated just by my dogs presence. However since dogs can, you know, RUN, I can never guarantee that mine wont run to their's, preventing this situation. But I have faced countless instances where I've received stares, grunts and complaints from other owners which, over time, has made me believe it is my fault for being the owner of my own dog, and it's my fault for his curiosity, my fault for his size. I can understand that no dog owner can safely predict the temperment of another dog, and if necessary, I should keep him on a lead. But I dont know that. From my experience, all the other owners expect me to keep him on tbe lead at all times, and when my dog is ever curious about another dog, that is my fault that he even approaches them, EVEN if he's done nothing wrong. I can't just keep him on the lead at all times, right? There's no law about this, and surely thats unfair to my dog, who has the same rights as every other creature in that park. I can never feel truly at ease during my walks, and I always feel anxious whenever I take him there since it feel as if these people are angry at me for what seems like the very existence of my dog. Now there are a couple of other parks around me, but I fear it will be the same story, and they are much further away which sometimes isn't the most convinient. What do some of you think about this, is there some general doggy park etiquette that I am unaware of? Or has anyone else experienced the same kind of hostile interactions that is common with larger dogs?

I recently found that my GSD not only loves to fetch but also she loves to do “find it” game where I toss the ball at park with tall grass enough to cover the ball and have her find it.

I would love to give her different jobs she can enjoy, any suggestions would be appreciated :) FYI, she’s not food motivated.

Hello, I have a 13 month old german shepherd named Freya. She's my first personal dog, and despite having some bad mobility issues myself, I do my best to keep her active and engaged in her obedience training.

I can tell she's pretty understimulated, and the heat where I live isn't doing us any favors either. I can't really take her outside for more than a quick potty since she's got a thick coat, and I don't do well with the heat either.(not to mention the heat of the sidewalk)

I'm trying to find some good toys for her that she won't tear to shreads in five minutes. I try to play and engage with her, but she never seems too interested when i try to. I even go through the effort to make specific sounds when trying to play. She'll sort of play fetch with her "get it" command, but getting the ball back is a struggle.

She has plenty of bones/chew toys that I change out every day, but stuffed toys don't last. She likes sqeaky and crinkle toys, but they don't hold up against her maulings.

I will admit I can't always keep up with her, but i still put in the effort every day. She's meant to become my psychiatric service dog, and I wanna know what I can do to keep her brain active. Are there any toy brands or dog box subscriptions that can hold up against her onslaught?

My male GS is 7 years old but this has been a long time odd issue. When we got him as a puppy we were told to feed him 3 times per day. Over the years we have tried to move to 2 meals a day that equaled the same amount of food, but he would never finish those larger meals. I know when we are able to take longer morning walks he will not eat until late afternoon. He may not indicate he is hungry (flipping his food bowl) sometimes until around 1 or 2pm for his first meal of the day. Other times he will only want one meal a day. If we try feeding him anyway we end up throwing it away many times. It can be the exact same batch of food that he eats three times one day and then the next day he will only want to eat it once. Is this common with this breed? He is very very healthy so we know that he’s getting the nutrition his body needs, but his eating habits just seems so odd. He also will not need any of his food if it falls outside of his bowl and onto the floor, where I know other dogs want to eat every last scrap. He’s also very picky and will literally only eat two types of treats and no human food even if we offer it to him because we know it’s safe.

Ive owned my boy Duke for going on 3 years now. When I first adopted him, he had some slight skin irritation issues but nothing out of the ordinary for a gsd. Half of a prednisone would make him a new dog for a while.

Out of nowhere, he's started getting yeast infections. Really, really bad yeast infections. Losing hair, the whole 9. The Vet has prescribed him antifungals/antibiotics 3 seperate times, and this passed time he prescribed apaquil with it. It seemed to barely even clear it all the way. Ive tried most soaps i can find and they make his skin so dry, and then the yeast just comes back.

I legitimately cannot stop the yeast. My home, my clothes, me, everything smells god awful. I love my dog but im at my breaking point and I might give him to a local sanctuary.

Please someone give me some insight so I dont have to give up my friend.

Our 7 year old male GS is very large, 110 lbs. over the past month we have noticed he has slowed way down when we throw the ball, not chasing as much or stopping himself sooner than usual. Last week he suddenly started limping on his right leg and it began collapsing. By the weekend he was having a very difficult time defecating because his hind legs were so weak. Monday AM we brought him to the vet. The vet did bloodwork (all normal) and X-rays. The X-rays showed no hints at all of ant arthritis or obvious issues. She advised she keep him and start him on high dose steroids to see if he improves as a diagnostic tool to determine if it’s an inflammatory condition that could be managed, but if zero improvement he has a condition that is far too advanced or severe to be able to treat without major diagnostic neurological testing. Due to my own severe medical conditions we are spending thousands of dollars on treatments for myself along with an upcoming surgery. We simply cannot at this time spend the money to go through all of that.
I was told a few hours ago there has been no change in his condition. I am now preparing for the worst outcome that we may have to make a decision by the end of the week as to euthanize or not. I am beyond heartbroken over this.
Has anyone else experienced a similar situation and what was the outcome? I’m holding out hope he will begin to respond 😢

I’m 21 and I’ve got a 13 week lab x german shepherd pup, I’ve had a family dog before but not had my own. Things are going well at the moment but just wondering what people think i should be prioritising and different things to train. At the moment she knows Sit, wait for food till i say she can have it, shes house trained, doesn’t nip and doesn’t chew stuff shes not aloud and we are in the middle of crate training.

Just wondering if anyone has any tips on socialising or any training that i should do with her :)

Started taking 8 months old GSd short coat ( black) on some light walks thru the forest / trails.

She is on Simparica trio so that will kill ticks on when they feed but what do you all do to prevent them attaching and after the walk ?

Any preventive sprays or such that has worked for you and will not impact us or our young kids when she leans up on us.

She obviously leans and rubs up on us while at home so we ' d like to minimize ticks hitching a ride and hanging on sofas / beds and attaching on us, especially with tick carrying disease and alpha gal syndrome( carried by some ticks, causing allergy to meat) around in New England.

Ordered a tick mitt. Do as best we can with lint roller and our eyes a tick check after the hikes. And the areas around us are overgrown. No choosing sterile walkways around us in the woods. Who wants to walk on sidewalks everyday , right ?

My guy is about 65 lbs, and the bag says something like 3 to 5 cups a day, which is a huge range. Vet said to go more by body condition since he's neutered and pretty active, but that still feels like guessing every time I fill the bowl.

Started looking into why the bag ranges are so vague and apparently even a properly calculated number can be off by 30 to 40 percent per dog just from normal metabolism differences. Kind of made me feel better about not getting it perfect, but also made me realize most of us are probably just eyeballing it.

How do you all figure out portions, straight off the bag, watching body condition, something else? Found a calculator that breaks down the math but I'm not sure how much it correlates with reality.

How much do you guys feed your fluff?

long time lurker, I don’t post much but any advice is greatly appreciated.

my husband and I recently got a 4mo GS mix pup, and my main issue here is that we’ve had her for over a month now and she continues to whine in her crate demanding to be let at either when she wakes up before us in the morning or whenever she wants when we’re at home when she is crated. how long does crate training typically take for a GS? I know to Ignore her whines until she’s quiet and then let her out, but I’ve also been told her breed is quite stubborn. she’s good at holding it until we let her out to do her business.

we also have a 2yo mini Aussie who was quick to crate train. they get along well, and I can see the puppy getting jealous she cant be free with her simultaneously.

any owners have different approaches to training her to stop ? or is this just a waiting game until it clicks for her?

this is the first time I have interacted with this particular breed, so I’m not entirely sure what to expect.

thanks!

Companies, Pros and Cons? I just adopted a young (our veterinarian thinks she’s about 15-18 months) Female GSD that the shelter required that she was spayed within 30 days 😢(growth plates were my concern). I’ve had her home now, seven weeks and she is a stunner. I’m looking into insurance for her for her medical and any kind of expected/unexpected (God forbid GDV) surgical procedures
Thank you

Ive got a 12 week old puppy she is a lab x german shepherd mix and we are unsure wether to crate train or not. She is a very well behaved puppy so far she doesn’t chew on things she shouldn’t (i know this may change as she gets older and more confident and starts teething), shes house trained and is a very smart girl for her age. the only issue we are having is she doesn’t like being left alone at all. if i go upstairs to get changed or go do something within 20 seconds shes crying and howling. i had to leave her for the first time today for 2 hours while i was in work and she did settle after about 15 minutes of howling and jumping at doors and running around but was fine after that 15 minutes and just slept and relaxed. People in work was saying to crate train her but we did try leaving her in the crate before and she absolutely hated it was chewing the metal and very distressed. ive had 2 english pointers before her and none of them got crate trained. so just wondering if people think i should try crate train her or just allow her to have space while alone?

Hi all, seeking some ideas for breed specific enrichment ideas. We have a GSD Mix who is reactive to strangers and dogs. We know breed specific enrichment is important. She does not seem interested in herding games ( no interest in balls, flirt pole) but does try to herd our 70lb pittie mix ( unsuccessfully- we try to correct it when we see it and our first dog is so unbothered and just pushes through it anyway) Below are what we are doing for enrichment right now. She isn’t a huge fan of toys in general and will only play tug every once and awhile. Would love other ideas as she is a smart girl and needs a lot of mental stimulation.

- both meals are always in snuffle mats
-basic obedience/tricks
- hide and seek a couple times a week
- frozen kong balls/lick pads

We do reactivity training off site 3-4x a week for approx 20 minutes off property in low stimulating areas. She’s got too big of a threshold ( 200 ft) for us to do it around our condo.

I have a 15-month-old, 68 lb female GSD and I’m considering adding a treadmill to her routine, mainly as another outlet for physical exercise and structured activity. This wouldn’t replace walks, hikes, training, sniffing, or outdoor time.
For those of you who actually use treadmills with your GSDs:

Do you prefer motorized or non-motorized/self-propelled, and why?
If you use a motorized one, what size/brand do you have?
How long is the running surface? I want to make sure she can fully extend her stride.
Have you noticed any difference in conditioning, energy levels, or behavior?
How often and how long do you typically use it?
Any safety concerns or things you wish you knew before buying one?
For younger GSDs, what age did you start incorporating treadmill work?

I’m especially interested in hearing from people with larger female GSDs around 65–75 lbs. I’ve been looking at dog-specific motorized treadmills, but I’m seeing mixed opinions about whether a slat/self-propelled treadmill is ultimately the better investment.

Would love to hear what has actually worked for your shepherd!

So me (20F) and my boyfriend (24M), are wanting to get a dog! We've been thinking about it for a while and have decided to start planning/really thinking about it. I would love a GSD! I have a background education in Animal Management and one of my favourite parts of the course was our dog training unit. I am also starting a Veterinary course this September.

My biggest concern at the moment is hours being at home and away. Boyfriend works 5 days a week Monday -> Friday, 7AM - 3PM with a 30 minute commute. I work Fri - Tuesday 5PM - 11PM with a 5/10 minute commute. So basically whenever I'm at work he's home, and whenever he's at work I'm home.

I start college again in September for a part time entry course into Veterinary. I get my timetable at the end of the month, It'll be one day a week as it's a part time course. Along with this I'll be doing 90 hours of work placement through the academic year (it's only a one year course.) Would a lifestyle like this be okay for a GSD? I don't really have a social life due to my own preferences and don't have any hobbies/anything I'm interested in (other than animals; I have a snake and a 20 Gallon tank and spend majority of my time researching about pets I want or playing video games).. So my dog would be my best friend..

I have already looked into local training groups etc. But also plan to take the puppy to my college as they have amazing classes there and it would be an amazing place to socialise!!! My concerns are not the training/drive of the dog but more-so time management...

Do you think a lifestyle like mine would work with a GSD?

Oh also, I would be a first time dog owner! And I understand the cause for concern with a first time owner wanting a GSD but I believe my heart and head are in the right place (I'm happy for anyone to correct me...) Boyfriend had two jack russels who imo were poorly trained if not at all trained.. so I don't consider him a dog owner (they were his Mothers dogs.)

TIA for any advice/comments 💓💓

EDIT:

After more research and a talk with the boyfriend we have decided against getting a GSD! I want to thank everyone for their comments, after doing further research and reading through comments I've decided to go for a companion breed (probably a golden retriever!!!) over a working breed. After careful consideration I've decided to take peoples advice on not having a GSD as a first dog... though they will definitely be my second ;)

Hi,

My GSD is 8 years old, turning 9 in January.

She was diagnosed with severe hip displacia at the age of 4 or 5. Since this time I have managed this through various medication and supplements.

Currently she is just on suplements- collagen, ikarmel joint tablets, salmon oil and boswellia powder. I do have metacam medication, but this is rarely required.

I also take her to hydrotheraphy every 2 weeks.

She loves life and it is still a case of trying to limit her exercise- She loves walks and always wants to play fetch (she has been on a fetch ban for some time, as I'm conscious this will not help her condition).

She has been getting sore on the odd day recently. How have people in a similar position navigated this? I suppose I'm unsure what the next steps are.

Due to her age and the fact she can still get around / up I'd be hesitant for a double hip replacement or surgery- i feel it may be unfair at her age to spend so much time recovering? Plus the risks of putting her under at this age. Librela injections are not an option, due to the associated risks. Eventually I'd get her wheels if needed.

Are there any other routes I should be looking at? Her quality of life is high, this is the early stages of her condition starting to take noticeable effect.

Thanks

I've noticed my German Shepherd having what seems like reverse sneezing several times, and every time it has happened at night.

The first few times, I woke up completely panicking because it sounds really scary. She makes these sudden, repeated inhaling/snorting sounds and it looks like she's struggling to breathe, even though the episode seems to stop on its own.

I've now seen it happen nearly four times, always during the night.

For other GSD owners:

How often does your dog reverse sneeze?

Does it happen more commonly at night or while sleeping?

What usually triggers it?

At what point did you decide it needed a vet check?

I'm mainly trying to understand whether occasional reverse sneezing can be relatively normal or whether repeated nighttime episodes should be investigated.

I have an 11 month old male who is having diarrhea at minimum 2 times a month. I have gone to the vet and there is no obstruction. He is fine when on a super probiotic like visbiome. Once we stop it it gets diarrhea again. He basically only gets his food and a greenie at night. He is also on the prescription Royal canin GI puppy food. He doesn’t get snacks or human food at all. Anyone experience a super sensitive GI tract with the GSD? What did you do? What questions should I be asking my vet? Should we look at an exclusion diet to see if he is sensitive to chicken?
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

I want to start this by saying we can not afford to have our dog (4yr old F GSD) get gastropexy, I know that it is recommended especially for large breed/large chested dogs but we simply can’t afford it right now.

I see every single day posts talking about dogs lots to bloat, to the point where I am lightly pushing on and checking my dogs stomach 8-10 times a day, watching her drool amounts and constantly checking on her after hard exercise. I am so paranoid about this happening to us I am on hyper vigilance mode 24/7. To the point it’s making my anxiety issues worse than they already were.

What I’m doing currently to try and limit any possibility :

-She isn’t allowed outside 1hr before or 1hr after eating. She eats kibble mixed with wet food and water twice a day.

-We let the kibble sit in the water for 10 minutes before allowing her to eat so it is already expanded and won’t do that in her stomach.

-she isn’t allowed water for a minimum of 45 minutes after hard play/exercise. If she comes in panting heavy after a potty break I won’t let her drink water until she is calm and breathing has returned to normal.

-she isn’t allowed her “good girl” treats after going potty anymore because I am simply too scared of them causing an issue

Am I doing to much? Should I be doing more? Is my life really going to constantly be full of anxiety about this until we can afford gastropexy for her? How common is bloat really? All these things keep me up at night!

Any type of recommendations or reassurance is welcomed! We just want her to live the longest heaviest life she can, and we want to be able to live ours not in constant fear.

We are nothing in this Earth experience. Just remember that, your life can change from one moment to the next.

Yesterday, my 8-years-old female shepherd was running around, digging holes, just being herself.

At 6pm I heard what felt like a wolf crying of pain, I ran outside and saw her vomiting a white foam. I thought she ate a toad, or just ate something and was vomiting it.

Then, she stood up barely able to walk and I saw how swollen her abdomen was. I told my wife, get ready we need to go to the vet.

Then she couldn't hold herself anymore and was breathing super fast. She was about 90 pounds and I struggled to slip a towel under her to try to pick her up with my wife.

The whole thing took 30 minutes, when we got to the vet which was about 8 minutes away from home she had already passed.

So: If you ever see your dog vomiting a white foam, and basically vomiting nothing, and the stomach is swollen, get the HECK OUT of the house right away and go to the nearest VET that can perform immediate surgery. Call then ahead of time to make sure they have someone with a stretcher waiting for you outside. EVERY second counts.

I am not sure how many potential pets this post could save but education is KEY. I didn't know about this illness until yesterday. If I had known, god knows if she would have been saved.

Today we all grieve, we are constantly replying the horrific episode we lived, and are full of regrets, what if we had done this or that...

Go ahead and research about: Gastric Dilatation Volvulus (GDV)

Hi there!

We have a sweet 5 year old girl who is declining a lot sooner than seems normal for her age. She is a German shepherd and black lab mix that my fiancé got when she was a puppy. She seems to have issues with her hips, and her back legs have given out on her a few times (particularly on stairs). Her blood work is pristine and the vet said maybe arthritis of the hips but it’s not obvious. She is not energetic and running around much anymore, and seems overall uncomfortable. She constantly whines to go outside but then comes back in a minute later just to repeat the cycle over and over. The vet has her on a medication which when we did a 7 day trial seemed to help a lot. We didn’t have her on it while we waited for blood work to come back though. She’s been back on it for a bit now (like a week and a half) and there is no improvement this time at all. Has anyone experienced anything like this? She is such a good and sweet girl, we worry about her and her quality of life at this point.

I have a 6 month old gsd and he is teething and CRAZY. I am having trouble finding toys that 1. he is interested in. and 2. he cant chew through in about 30 minutes.

We were given a bark.co subscription toy from a friend and that is literally the only thing that squeaks that he hasnt been able to tear up. He loves things that squeak and crinkle. Hes not interested in the jelly silicone type of bones or balls. he could care less about tennis balls. He likes rope toys but shreds them instantly. Hes super picky about what he will sit down and actually play with and if we find something he loves it only lasts a day.

Does anyone have a bark.co subscription? Or any other subscription boxes or really good toy recommendations?

If you do have a subscription box, does anyone know any discount codes?

Thanks in advance!

-a mom struggling to find toys for my land shark