Hi
I am new to this forum, and have spent a week just reading and taking in what people have said.

I have just bought a 7 week old beautiful German Shepherd Dog puppy from a lovely breeder in Leicester.

I just have a couple of questions...
He is at the....... "I love to lick and bite your fingers, hair, nose, neck" stage.. how long will that last?

I am having the next week off work to spend time with him, should i start leaving him in his room (by back door with stair gate to stop him getting out into the kitchen) for an hour of a morning and afternoon, to get him used to me not being "available" to him, ready for when i go back to work in 10 days time, or spend as much time with him as possible?.
We have really bonded and he follows me everywhere at the minute. It is like having a new baby ! :-)
I just dont want to make it harder for him when i go back to work, I leave for work at around 8.45am and get back for lunch from 12-2 for anything up to two hours, then go back until 4-5pm (my youngest son, 15 is home from school at 3.30) so he will not be alone for too long.

Congratulations on your new puppy! As you are going back to work, I would definitely give him time on his own a couple of times a day - obviously he will sleep a lot at this young age anyway, but he could be upset if he's with you all week, then suddenly left alone. Leave him with things to do - chew toys - nothing he can choke on though. And if he starts crying whilst you're out of sight, make sure you don't go into him until he is quiet. Otherwise he is learning that by crying someone will come to him.
You might find his licking and biting will carry on for a bit - playbiting might seem cute at first, but little teeth soon get sharper! Your puppy needs to learn that humans are not for practising their playbiting on - if you look at two puppies together, one will give a good yelp if this goes on, so that the one doing it knows it's time to stop. That's what you'll need to do - just a sharp 'ouch', then ignore him for a couple of minutes. He'll soon get the message! Enjoy your puppy!!
Hilda

Hilda

Thank you loads for the advice.
It is so tempting to spend every minute of the day with him.
And his teeth are sharp already! gave me a really good bite on the back of the neck last night.
It is so hard not to go to him when he is whining his head off in "his room".
I am just going to have to remember what I did with my two teenage boys when they were little and had to go to bed.

Thank you again.

Hi and a big congratulations on getting your pup(adorable arnt they),we got a new 10 week old gsd pup 6 weeks ago and can honestly say he's a model dog,he has settled in brilliantly.Like sunbeams says you really should break him in gently regarding leaving him as all pups, but especially gsd's tend to bond very quickly,mine doesnt leave my side and neither does my older one.Its very hard but you must ignore him when he cries for you (as long as you know he's not in trouble)this will do him no harm,and beleive me he will soon become accustom to being left,although mine arnt left for that long,but as you return midday this shouldnt be too bad for him.Again like sunbeams said mouthing is something all pups do and the best way to deal with it quickly is to yelp (ouch)as a pup would whilst play biting each other and pull your hand away and ignore for a while,mine doesnt do this nearly as much anymore and he's still only a baby and only just teething.What colour/coat type is yours?good luck and let us now how you get on with him.

Thanks Jestony

He is black and gold, and a real sweetheart.
We are trying to get him to stay in his "room" overnight.
He did fine on the first two nights, then, last night, as I had read that you shouldnt leave them alone for the first few nights - I felt guilty and took him to bed with me and hubby. - Didn't Work !!
I ended up back downstairs until 1.30am when I decided he would have to stay in his room, I was so tired, but he was fine, cried a bit at first, but then didnt start crying again until 6.30am.
He has discovered my two pet rabbits in the garden, and loves to stand and bark at them, he is obsessed!
He has just spent 10 minutes barking like mad at my cat (13 years old, not sure about the pup yet) - the cat took himself off upstairs eventually.
All I could do was laugh, trying to do it quietly.

Glad he is starting to settle in,you did the right thing by leaving him in the end,and it should just get better from now on.Mine does exactly the same as yours only we have two guinea pigs and he stands there staring at them totaly fasinated by them then gets a bit adventurous and stands up against the front until one dares to scarper off and he runs for his life,lol.We also have a parrot who is a funny old thing and when he sits in front of his cage the parrot squawks and growls at him which also frightens him,he's just a big wouss.Mind you joking aside,he is a white longcoat and i've heard (although dont know if its true)that they can be quite nervous,he's ok with new people so far but i will keep socialising him with various different things.

Hiya,
I was interested to read your post. We're bringing home our Dane puppy on Friday, and I was wondering about the sleeping arrangements.
Baillie, my golden retriever pleases himself where he sleeps, he's never been any bother, so it's never been as issue. He starts off downstairs, sometimes he's in our room, sometimes not :) With Diesel, we've bought a crate and it's downstairs off the kitchen. I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll have to ignore him if he cries, but what should I do about Baillie? Baillie is 6.5 years old now.
Do you think this will create problems, asking one to sleep in a crate and yet the other basically pleasing himself Does anyone have any ideas on how to handle this?
Sharon

jack and toby sleep in a crate, jack because he would wake everyone up and when he isnt in a crate at night decides that he MUST go out at 2/3 in the morning but sleeps the night through if in a crate, toby sleeps in the crate out of choice and tess sleeps on my bed, no problems with ours at all with these sleeping arrangements, they are all used to it, in fact the get confused when my brother comes down from manchester for the weekend i sleep downstairs and the dogs stay with me i normally end up opening the back door and leaving it open in the early hours of the morning all so i can sleep in that bit longer before having my head sat on for the millionth time :D
if you are happy with diesel sleeping in the crate and baillie out of it do that if you do it from day one they wont be none the wiser, that is until diesel outgrows his crate and decides that perhaps you should sleep on the floor and he on your bed :D :D
tanya

:D Thanks Tanya :)
I don't know how much hubby would appreciate being sat on by a Great Dane - it adds to the saying - where does a Great Dane sleep? Anywhere it bloody likes ;) I think I'll stick with the crate from day 1 - as you say they won't be any the wiser......
Sharon