I went to the show today at brentwood in essex, all about dogs, and it was very good, had a look round and then i did the exemption show that they had on, buffy was placed 3rd in sporting out of about 40 dogs i was very impressed with her, i am hopefully going back tomorrow to go and watch the police dog trials they have going on up there, it was a very good day out.

Congratulations Buffy did very well :D

I hope you enjoyed your day today.

Best wishes

Derryn & The Boys ..........

Congratulations Metpol Fan:D :D

I've actually been looking for you for advice re GSD's- I saw your profile thing under the 'topic for your breed' and realised you're the ideal person for me to pick your brains:D

Stacey x x x

pick away, just hope i can answer you questions:D, i did go back and watch the police dog trials, some dogs were very good and some needed some work, but overall very good, just a shame the met didnt take part again:(

Metpol Fan- if you look under the thread '8 days to go'- I've put up quite a few questions- if you wouldn't mind having a look for me;) PPLLEEAASSEE- I'll be your bestest friend;) :D :D

Stacey x x x

Right where do i start!! I have to say, you have done a lot of reading, with what you should and shouldnt do with your new puppy, following other peoples advice, which is not a bad thing, when you are new to dogs, but in time you will find your own way of doing things, and what suits you, the dog, and your family. As for grooming equipment, i use a comb, a slicker brush, and sometimes a rubber brush called a zoom groom, ideal for getting out hair when moulting, but my dogs very rarely get that hairy, as they are brushed every day even if its for 10 mins, just to keep the coat looking nice and shiny, as for shampoo, you cant beat one made by dezyna dog, there is one for dark coats, and you can usually get this at dog shows, although the bigger shows i think, as for bathing your dog, only do it if you think he needs it, the grooming should keep his coat in good order, and right from a young age, get him used to being handled, ie check his ears, teeth, look at his eyes, feet, claws, backend, go all over him, then when you need to take him to the vet, he should stand as good as gold. Feeding your dog, try to stick to the same food if the pup is fine on it, try not to add anything, because as soon as you do, that is when he will become fussy, he wont want his food anymore, he will want what you have got, also when he becomes older, get a stand to put the bowl in, have it at head level, this will reduce the possibilitys of getting any problems with the stomach, as some dogs can get stomach tortions, i have only known a few to get it though so dont worry, dont want to frighten you, also always make sure he has at least an hours rest after he has eaten. Exercise, you can take him out, just make sure he doesnt do to much running, or let larger dogs jump all over him, try not to let him do to much jumping as well, not for the first year anyway, i dont know if you are going to have him hip scored, but you have to look after those hips in the first year:D. Are you going to crate train your puppy, i would advise to do so, it really is handy to have and they do take to it very well, if you are considering it, i will let you know how i trained mine to use it. Well i hope i have covered most things, if you need anymore advise, get in touch, Diane

Diane has some really good "to-do"s..

Just wanted to add something about Stomach torsion (aka: Bloat). It usually applies only to the larger breeds. Some theorize it's from gulping air at the same time as gulping down a lot of food. So one of the suggestions is to feed smaller amounts 2x a day instead of just one. -- of course, this is when your puppy is an adult... you'll be feeding him more times while he's young. But you can figure out his eating style while he's young. Just make sure he's somewhere quiet & not in the line of traffic or where kids/ adults bother him. It will help out :)

I've actually taught my dogs to drink water slower by pulling them back after a couple of drinks [$ giving a command "Ease up"... You might be able to slow the quick eating down by doing the same as your pup becomes older (obviously too young now.) ]) It sounds cruel that I do this, but I had to after Samma would throw back up the water she had swallowed because she consumed it too fast.
Good luck, enjoy, & have fun with your new puppy :D
toodles

Thanks Diane- I have done a lot of reading- this has probably been my downfall as I now have so many conflicting suggestions that I've completely lost myself- I will be having her hip-scored not for breeding purposes- just for my piece of mind really. Regarding exercise- is that on hard or soft ground for the first 6 mth? Between 6mth and 1yr- how much exercise is needed then- in min or distance covered?- and again on hard or soft ground? What about being from age 1 to 2? I know this is quite a way off but I'd like to know as much as possible. How old are your dogs- how long or far do you walk them for in a single day and how many times? Are yours ex- police? Have you picked up any tips re training from the police? Do the handlers of police dogs take them home each day? I wasn't planning on using a crate as I have a utility room about 2m wide by 2m in length- I haven't had any units or anything put in there as I know some neighbours have so the room is completely bare- hence why I usually refer to it as a passage rather than utility room- the back door leads straight off it into the garden- I was thinking of putting a child's safety gate on the doorway to the kitchen and having this as the dog's bed/room- it has a little window for ventilation and a tiled floor?- What would you suggest- crate or utility room? Also can you recommend any books re training? Sorry to bother you like this- the qualities that made me go for this breed are also the same reason's why the police use them.

Stacey x x x

Hello stacey, right hear we go, answers to your questions, Exercise, you can run them on hard or soft areas both will do the pup good, so long as you dont over do it with the exercise, reasonable walks not long, going out for a hike walks, you will see when the pup is tired, my dogs are lady who is 12, so her walks have been cut back, because the old legs are starting to feel the aches and pains now, callum who is 4, an ex met dog, he was one of the litter that appeared on the met programme that was on the BBC, about 2 years ago, called police dog academy, if you saw it, he was the pup that sat there weeing himself when steve dean was testing him and said you dont want to be a police dog do you! big whimp, he now weighs 40kg, i dont think anyone would want to mess with him, and he is not overly keen on exercise, never has been, he just potters about having a good sniff, like most male dogs with bitches on there minds, and last but not least, buffy a cocker the odd one out, new to this breed, and have been doing like you have asking a lot of questions, to breeders and such like, about showing and training her, all is coming along nicely with her, i have picked up some training from the met handlers, but at the end of the day, you watch, you learn and then you start to find what works for you as you begin to build your knowledge and information about the breed, and training, so my advice would be to go along to obedience classes and just learn as much as you can, always be patient, never lose your temper with the pup, because training is built on its play drive, and you dont want to ruin that, always make it fun, take your time with the training and all should fall into place. police dogs do live with there handlers, some live in doors, and some live in compounds outside in the garden, it all depends what the handler does. Books i can recommend, sorry cant remember titles but you cant go wrong with the people they are by, all very well known in the gsd world, first is madaline pickup, ernest h hart, and john cree, well hope this has been of some help and i have answered all your questions, if not feel free to throw some more my way, Diane

Thank you very much for being patient enough as to reply;) Is Lady an ex-police dog and where did Buffy fit into it all? What made you change breed? What do you think re the utility room as apposed to a crate? I have been speaking to the breeder and she says they are all fed on 'Ukanuba Puppy/Junior, Large Breed' food with a half pilchard on top to taste or a bit of chicken. You mentioned about 'fussy eaters' should I not change the food regularly so as not to make the pup a fussy eater?

Thank you very much for your help- I can actually remember Callum from the show- obviously this is something that I've wanted for a long while so anything re GSD's was watched, the dog's in the police force have alway's interested me as they are just all so obedient and so clever. Out of interest roughly what percentage of dog's which apply for the police are used- is it down to the dog's or are the trainers just exceptionally good at converting them? Are yours all very clever and obedient?

Again thanks- Stacey x x x

Lady is a rescue from brent animal welfare, she came to me when she was 7 months old, with a lot of problems that needed sorted out, she was my 2nd dog, the first was a gsd/whippet cross, who had a lot of serious problems, she would attack people/dogs very very odd, her mother was a guard dog, gsd that lived on a scrap metal site, and i think the problems were bred in, plus the fact that i got her very young when i worked with the horses, it was a couple of builders that had her, and i just took to her, but she was very young, and not being very knowlegdable at that time, probably made mistakes, but you learn, sadly she ran off and was run over at the age of 13 months. Buffy went to the dog school to be a potential sniffer dog, but her play drive is not much, and would never have been trained succesfully for the job, so i got in touch with the owners who were looking to rehome her, and then she came to live with me, as a show dog, well thats the plan anyway. With the food, what i meant was if the pup eats what it is on ok, then dont change it, i know, i have two fussy mutts, and what a pain that is!!. I didnt realise you had a room set aside for the pup, this sounds ok, but is there any thing in there that may be harmfull to the pup, like wires or pipes that it may chew through, because they like to do that, that is why i use a crate, they are safe in there away from anything harmfull. well like i said before anymore questions, fire away Diane. ps forgot to say the percentage of police dogs that pass, pups are tested at 7 weeks of age, you would have seen that on the police programme, most pass the testing, maybe one or two may not, if it is a dog that has been donated by a member of the public, say you have 10 dogs come in you may get one dog that will pass, it isnt good really.

Forgot to ask where do you live and who are you getting your puppy from.

Hi ya again- I can't thank you enough for your help. Funnily enough I have third choice from a litter of 4 bitches and it's a policeman who's having the other one after me:) Do people actually donate them then?- I thought you bought them from kennels- daft eh considering the price but seriously I thought you bought them from regular kennels who seem to produce good working lines.

Stacey x x x

sometimes steve may buy a dog in for breeding purposes, but as for the working dogs they are generally donated in by people that cannot look after there dogs anymore for various reasons, and then the rest are bred by the shcool itself, sometimes 5 or 6 litters a year depending on what is needed.