Black GSD

Hi, We have a 4yo black female German Shepherd, 2 males (3yo) that are ACD/Aussie mix (they are brothers), and a 14yo female ACD. And I will be getting a male GSD puppy in April.

The reason it happened is that the dog feels that she is dominant over your wife. Your wife does NOT need to take time to be playfull with the dog. She needs to do some obedience training with the dog so the the dog knows that your wife is the BOSS. Your dog should NEVER be allowed to growl at you (or your wife). You (and your wife) are supposed to be Alpha over the dog. You are the toy and treat gods. You give them out and HAVE to be allowed to take them away when YOU decide. NOT when or if the dog decides.

Prairie Gurl, Generally, when getting a pup from a reputable breeder, you won't have to worry about getting a "greyhound" looking dog. We all know genetics is a "cr@p shoot" at best. But generally, the pup will resemble the other dogs in the bloodline. The color can change VERY drastically from the puppy color to the adult color. Again, look at the parents, if they are VERY tan with just a small black saddle, chances are that the pup could end up like that too. If you were hoping for a pup that stays darker, go with parents that are darker (more black than tan.) The only way to know for SURE what color the pup will be as an adult, is to go with solid black (or white). And even with a black, it could still end up with some tan on the legs. With the black and tans, a puppy will ALWAYS be darker than it will as an adult. They gradually get more tan and less black with age. (Not their whole life but up to approx 2 years old).

NO, that is NOT enough water. I would let him have access to water at all times during the day. Only removing it an hour or 2 before bedtime. By the way, glad that he is doing better about not going in the crate. Keep up the good work. :D

Do you feed him in the crate? If not then I would try that. He may be more opposed to going where he eats, since he obviously doesn't care if he goes where he sleeps. Another thought is to get up in the middle of the night to let him out (for a while). Maybe you can get him out before he goes in the crate. If this works, them you can gradually increase the time he is in there. This way maybe he will learn that he does not HAVE to go in the crate. Good luck.

It's not the pup that can't be neutered until he is 5, it is the sire. IMO they would be fine. Beagles aren't exactly known for dog agression. Like the others have said, they are pack dogs.

[quote name='Poofy'] As a groomer, I shave down as many labs as I do goldens, to stop the shedding.[/quote] This is my MAJOR pet peeve! Shaving a dog does NOT keep them from shedding! It just makes the dog shed shorter hairs! And there is NOTHING worse than very short pokey dog hairs in the chest. (I used to be a groomer myself). Same with the moroms that want to shave a coated breed so it will be cooler in the summer :x The coat HELPS keep the dog cool. (I am talking about your basic GSD, Golden, Rough Collie ect...) :evil: Poofy, this rant is NOT directed at you. I know that as a groomer you have to do that the customer wants, afterall, they are the ones that pay! :D

Also wanted to add that my dogs only like BLACK cats! All others are to be run off. (Obviously my old cat is black [with long hair]). We live "in the middle of nowhere" and there have been stray cats show up. The dogs go after them, which IS encouraged since I really hate it when a stray cat comes on MY property and beats up MY cat. BUT, a stray showed up that looks EXACTLY like my cat. This was 2 years ago and he is still here. The dogs love him too. (It also helps that he isn't afraid of dogs AT ALL.)

I had a 33lb, 11 week old pup. I wanted to get a little kitten but thought it may not be the best with the pup never being around cats before. I got a 9 to 12 month old (this was a guess, I got her from the pound), cat. I figured that a cat that was a little older would put the pup in his place. SILLY ME! I brought the cat home and let the pup out of his crate. He immediatly walked over and put his mough on the cats neck and pushed her down. STUPID cat didn't even care! I still have this cat (she is approx 9 now.) And to this day, she LOVES the dogs to do this to her. (Though it is NOT encouraged). She has NEVER said a word about it. BUT, she will only let a GSD do it! It is almost as if the cat thinks she IS a dog. She plays and sleeps with the dogs. Any new dog or pup that is allowed in the house is treated the same even if she has never seen them before. :stupid:

Yes, having eyes that are 2 colors (2 colors in the SAME eye) is normal. I had a Blue Leopard (Merle) Catahoula with one brown eye and one eye that was brown AND blue. :D

Have you tried kneeing her in the chest when she jumps on you? This is something your fiance can do even if you are not there to correct the dog. I am NOT saying kick the dog folks (I feel flames coming). Just raise your knee when she starts to jump and don't say anything. That way SHE is doing it to herself. Be warned though that if you try this she is liable to try to jump on your back. BUT, little do they realive that feet go backwards too. :D This doesn't work on little dogs or small puppies, but is great for teenagers of the larger breeds.

That vet sounds like a MORON. ( No offense) But, I had a dog that everyone called "untrainable". Funny thing is that she did end up getting 3 perfect scores (200 points) in obedience in fun matches. And when she was shown in AKC, she won her class all 3 times and was high in trial once with a 198.5. And this was with a 13yo showing her! (ME) It just takes patience and a LOT of work. But it is VERY worth it. Also, like Carol said, Keep her away from thing she can chew. I have had dogs (of my own) since 1979 and have NEVER had anything destroyed by them. Because they are watched like hawks and are NEVER allowed to run amok(ap) in the house unsupervised when they are puppies. Just keep at it, she will grow up soon enough. :D

Actually black IS an acceptable color, though I have never seen one either. (The only was I know this is that I just looked on the AKC site. :D ) And it DOES say black, with or without white and/or tan markings. IMO, though, the dog on the site you listed looks like a mix. The only colors Ihave seen myself are, Blue Merle, Red Merle, Red Tri, Black TRI, Black Bi (Black with tan trim but NO white trim) and Red Bi ( Red with Tan but not white trim) :D

I forgot about the time last spring when I wasn't home. My BF had turned my bulls out in the pasture and sent Diva (My GSD) after them to get them to go out in the pasture instead of hanging around up by the house. The last time he saw her she was clear out in the pasture still moving the bulls. He called her but got no response. So he jumped in the truck (the whole time thinking "OH CRAP I lost her dog". {I have had the dog for 6 months longer than I have had my BF.}) Anyway he went to look for her and couldn't find her. So he comes back home and she is laying on the porch like "What is your problem". If he hadn't told me I never would have known. :lol:

I have 2 stories. I left my female Catahoula in the car with a box of Raspberry filled Powdered donuts. Mind you I was just outside the car talking to someone. When I got back in the car, I saw "red' on the seat. I thought, "Oh GREAT, she is in heat". That was when I noticed that the donut box was EMPTY. Upon closer inspection, there was red (raspberry) and powder ALL OVER, though mostly on the dog. BOY was she proud of herself. :D I left my 11 yo female GSD in the van with a Lemon fruit pie and a whole unopened package of Nutter Butter cookies. When I went out to get them, ALL of it was gone. I HAD to laugh though since this WAS an 11yo dog that had NEVER done anything like this before. This was (honestly) a dog that you could leave in the car with a bucket of chicken and she wouldn't eat it. I guess she figured after 11 years, she deserved one "screw up". She never did it again either.

How big of a Tootsie Roll? Was it one of the very small ones or the HUGE one?

[quote name='K']Kitty and Hilko did say that if Elric had been born even 8-10 years ago he would of been in a bucket of cold water as soon as becuse of the stigma to the breeders reputation :cry:[/quote] That is something that just burns my butt! I have no problem with having them PTS if there is a problem with the pup. Whether color related or not. BUT if it is just because they are the wrong color (or mismarked), that IMO is WRONG. NO one is perfect. Dogs and people included. Maybe the breeder needs to rethink their breeding the next time. The only reason folks do this is to make themselves or their dogs "look" better. Horse breeders do this all the time. Though usually the foal is just sold without papers if it is the "wrong" color. Mainly I see this with Paints and Appalosas. If the foal is born solid instead of having markings, they sell it without papers. That way they can lie and say that their stud is a higher percentage color producer than he really is. And if folks look it up with the breed Assoc. it looks like it is the truth.

YEP, you are exactly right. Some have black spots and some have liver spots. :D

That would be my guess. When I was grooming dogs there was a Newf that came to get bathed. This was generally an AWESOME. beautiful well trained dog. (He was a show dog and had points i the conformation ring.) Anyway, one day he decided to "breed" one of the other groomers. :D Problem is that he started acting aggressive (I guess you could say possessive) and no one could get him off of her! Needless to say, he was asked not to come back. (He had been coming there for a couple of years.)

I really like the Cow tags around their necks. If they are too cheap to get a dog tag, they could at least use SMALLER cow tags rather than using the biggest ones made! :evil: .

Another thing that works rather than the floor is a Cookie Sheet. Can't grab up a mouthful when it is scattered all over. A cookie sheet keeps the floor cleaner. Dog slobber on the floor attracts dirt like CRAZY. Dog knows us dog people have enought trouble keeping the floor clean as it is. :D

Well then, I guess there weren't just a few young females. :D Here is a thought. Are you used to seeing Dals that are "show dogs" or have you seen more in the past that are pets? Seems that in most breeds, the show dogs are smaller (meaning closer to the standard) than ones that are bred by folks that are just breeding for pets.

Also, I seems to me (this is TOTALLY a guess, I could be totally wrong.)). that it may be easier to find a decent Border Collie In rescue than a decent Dal. By decent, I mean me that doesn't have some "issues". Seems like most Border Collies that are in rescue are there because they are smarter and have more energy than their owners. While a Dal may have vision, hearing or temperment issues.

Did you see any Border Collies at the show you went too? (I mean in the conformation ring.)

How old were they? Were the females? How many were there?