Please help me. I have a four month old gsd bitch who already means the world to me. How ever all the advice I am recieving seems to contradict each other and I am starting to wonder if I have picked a breed that is too much too handle!!!
Where do I start, I am taking her to puppy classes every week and even though we are trying, we don't seem to be making any head way, unfortunately (or not) my partners father has always trained working dogs, and he helped him when he lived at home. I trust his dad, his dogs are fantastic and think the world of him!
Unfortunately my other half keeps contradicting everything that I'm taught at classes.
Kass (the pup) is classed as my dog (he is now saying he didn't want a gsd) so everything is up to me, but he gets so irate with her and storms out the house (quite funny but not in a good way!!)
So has anyone got any ideas about what I can do, What is the best way to train her - to stop her barking and biting etc,?
I have been ignoring her barking and growling at me, she gets bored and then moves on to him, I'm sure it's because she knows she'll get a reaction! If she gets too much for me, I've been shaking a plastic container with beans in it- she hates it and stops! I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! I love them both, but unfortunately we picked the dog, she did't pick us so if anyone is going to lose it will be him!!! PLEASE HELP ME BEFORE IT GETS ANY WORSE!!!!

Very simply, there is more than one way to train a dog. The problem starts when two people are using totally different methods to train the same dog. The poor dog gets confused by the different reactions to the same thing. Pick a method which suits both you and your partner and both stick to it.

Remember also that your puppy is only around 16 weeks old so the retentive power of it's brain is not great yet. Things will soon come together.

Regards, John

We had the same problem with our dog. A friend of mine who breeds dogs told me a secret, I thought he was crazy, but it really worked!!!!! Get yourself a clean spray bottle and fill it with water. Anytime you see your dog getting ready to do something you don't want her to do or right when she does it, give her a couple of mists of water. While training our dog we kept a bottle in every room. It worked on everything from chewing furniture to housebreaking. Now we have no trouble at all with her. Hope this helps, it may sound crazy, but I know from experience that it works. Ladonna

Woah! Don't use the spray bottle with a GSD - the chances of them either a) turning it into a great game (remember the GSD's behind the bar with the soda syphon in That's Life?) or b) being terrified that such a little thing could produce such a horrible effect (which will limit their ability to learn as they become frightened to experiment), are high :(

John is right, consistency is the key - choose your method and both of you should stick with it. Unfortunatly the 'I've been around dogs all my life' types are often closed to the positive effects of modern techniques, and blind to the megative effects of their own :(

My husband and I have been through this recently, so my heart goes out to you. From the sounds of it your partner is worried about coping with the pup as well and he may wonder if he can produce a dog as good as his dads - its a subconscious old bull young bull thing. If he feels his ego bashed by pup/partner the man thing seems to be flounce off in a huff.

Right so the two of you are worried yuove bitten off more than you can chew. Dont panic, you can do it and keep telling yourself you can do it - you can learn to communicate with your dog so she knows what you want. When you are both calm may be make a list of all the things you like about his Dads training methods and what you dont and do the same for classes. Then you can both decide which way to go and stick to it.

Being cheeky Id also suggest you do whatever it takes to reassure your partner hes still first with you and be delighted with his success with pup. Chill, itll all come together and I suspect his dad could tell you tales about his mistakes with his dogs too - nobody starts out capable and experienced with dogs but they getthere.:)

Believe me, no one trains ANY puppy, even after years of experience, without making a mistake! I know I can't! Our only advantage is that we might spot the mistake earlier.

Regards, John

Thanks John, you are such a kind and sensible person its a pleasure reading your posts and Ive learned a lot.:)

Flattery will get you everywhere!

Just like people all dogs are different and what works for one may not necessarily work for another, thats what makes it so interesting :D

Regards
Dill