We just bought a GSD today, and will be picking him up in two days. This will be our first dog, so we wanted to know:
How can we train him to guard our house? (This is our most important question)
What (brand) food should we give him?
How much food should we give him?
How often should we take him on walks?
If we come up with more questions, I will post them here.
Thank you!
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When it comes to how much food to feed, it all depends on what brand of food you end up giving him. DONT feed things like science diet, purina, iams – basically don’t feed anything you can find in a grocery store. They have lots of fillers, and the less nutritious a food is, the more you have to feed your dog.
I suggest Canidae, Natural Balance, Innova, or similar brands. How much you should feed your dog will be listed on the bag of food you get, and this will also change with how old your pup is. However, its always good to ask your vet just in case.
These two websites are great for comparing dog foods:http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_…http://www.petfoodratings.net/dogs.html
Remember, the better brand you get will be more expensive; however, you will not have to feed as much of it, and eventually it just about evens out with the crappy food brands AND your dog is getting better nutrition. (Think of purina and similar foods as being equivalent to you eating McDonalds every day..gross, right?)
Also make sure that you have a bit of the food he is already eating, and gradually ease him into eating the new food. For example, the first few days feed 25% the new food and the rest the one he’s use to…then move it up to 50% and so on.
Walks should be every day. It will all depend on how active your dog is, but he needs both the exercise and the stimulation that a walk provides. Even if he gets lots of exercise at your house, he still needs at least ~45 minute walk every day, which will keep him happy and tired!
Also, start obedience training right away. If you can’t do it on your own, go to a class. You need to establish your place as the dominant one before you can start training him to protect your house. Once your dog is settled in his new home and has basic obedience down (if he doesnt already), then you need to make sure to train him to cease an attack if something is to happen. For example, simply teaching the “leave it” or “drop it” command would be sufficient in the case of an attack. As for teaching him to guard your family and home, he should pick that up on his own – your responsibility is to teach him to CEASE to attack if something were to happen. Remember that there is a fine line between a guard dog and a dog who is aggressive to anyone/anything that comes near his home.
You don’t need to train the dog to guard your house. As he settles in with his new family, he’ll instinctively bark to warn you of strangers. Just be sure to have the dog inside, as he can’t guard the house while he’s in the backyard.
If he’s healthy on the food that he is eating already, then continue to feed him it. If you wish to change it, anything that doesn’t contain preservatives, byproducts, or fillers.
It depends on the weight of the dog; follow the guidelines on the package.
You should take him for three thirty minute walks a day.
Also, you should neuter him as soon as possible if he isn’t already. Try to get a book about the breed, as they are high-maintence dogs. Good luck!
A dog will automatically be protective of it’s territory but you should not encourage it to be aggressive about it at all. Although having a dog means they will protect their house and alert you when something is the matter, a dog should not be trained to be a protector or guard dog unless you are a professional.
Find a healthy brand of dog food for your pup. I use Kumpi for my adult dogs but there are puppy brands out there that are good too.
Ask your vet when you take him in how much he should be fed. That or your breeder can help you with that. He should be fed three times a day until he’s about 1 year old then you can change to two times a day.
As a puppy he should not be going on walks until he has had all his shots. Shots need to be a week old before you can walk them. Also, walking a puppy can be hard on their bones and joints as they are growing so don’t walk him for more than 15-20 minutes at a time. Maybe twice a day.
Good luck with the pup. Get on that training right away and spay and neuter as soon as you can.
If you try and train him to guard your house then you will end up with a biter and possibly a big problem.
You teach your dog to be everyone’s friend and if the day ever came that it needed to protect your property then it would.
But you don’t want it protecting you from your visitors, which it will if you try the old DIY job with it.
How can we train him to guard our house?
*Most GSDs are naturally protective you do not need to teach him to guard your house. The dog should live inside and not outside – for the most part a large dog bark will deter people from breaking into your house
What (brand) food should we give him?
*There are a lot of really nice foods out there – You should not feed a grain free food until he’s more than a year old. I feed mine Nature’s Logic but have fed in the past: Canidae, California Natural, Wellness, Nature’s Variety. Here’s a great website to help you research a food: http://www.dogaware.com/
How much food should we give him?
*Start with the guidelines on the bag of food you decide on and then go up or down from there depending on his weight. All dogs and foods are different so no one here can tell you how much to feed your dog.
How often should we take him on walks?
*For most GSDs walks are not really enough exercise – they need time to actually run. Walks are great for training time and socialization but be sure to spend a lot of time just playing outside with the dog.
your GSD will start to protect your home about 1-2 years. walks should be regular, exciting and make him tired or he will become destructive. and if i was you i would take him obedience training.