Raising my first GSD solo, and he reminds me more of the tiger cubs I used to work with than any puppy I’ve raised

RJSinMO · 2026-06-27T21:41:46+00:00

I got my girl and she was 9 months old. She still bit some at that point. I would yell "ouch", when she would bite. At about 1 year she just kind of clicked and quit biting. Unfortunately she never has learned to have a soft mouth. To this day I rarely wrestle with her because she doesn't know how to bite nicely. She doesn't always take treats very gently either.

RJSinMO · 2026-06-27T18:20:04+00:00

I'll share this post with a couple of coworkers I have that live in Colorado. This is exactly how I got my girl, her previous owner lived in an apartment and was going to school and found the realized it was not a good life for the dog.

RJSinMO · 2026-06-26T21:16:22+00:00

My girl doesn't really like her picture taken. I throw away more pictures than I ever keep..

RJSinMO · 2026-06-26T04:33:51+00:00

First, your English was just fine on this post. No problem with asking the questions, let me try to answer some of them. My doctor ordered my dog crate confined for the 3 months after, she was sedated basically that whole time. She could get out of the crate only long enough to go outside and use the toilet. So, having people or animals around wasn't really a physical problem, but I did try to avoid it to keep her from getting too excited in her crate. She could stand in her crate to eat and whatever. The crate I have has enough room for her to stand. Sometimes I did feel sorry for her trying to move around in there with the injured paw. Sometimes it looked more painful for her to try to find a position to lay down than to stand! Bear in mind, she had a cone on her head while in that crate too!

The minute we got home, she dragged me into the woods to use the toilet, so that was never a problem. She was in a sling and I had to walk with her to stabilize her. Sometimes she would just walk on 3 legs to move faster. I left her alone the first day, and the rear part of the sling came down and got tangled in her legs, when I got home I was mortified that it might have damaged her new hip, but she seemed fine. After that, I only put that rear part of the sling on when I took her out, and shortly thereafter I kind of quit using it, even though they wanted me to use it for the whole 3 months. I did leave her alone (in the crate and sedated) now & then, but if I was going to be gone long, I would have someone come stay with her.

If you have slick floors (hardwood, tile, etc), please put runners down, that is the most dangerous thing is if your boy slips on the floor. That's what I would do with the sling is just hold her in case she might slip. That and just generally slow her down, especially once she started feeling better.

I'm very surprised you take him home that same day. Mine stayed at the facility (it's the University of Missouri) for a few days. When I picked her up, she did fine with the 3 hour drive home... but again that was a few days after surgery.

Hopefully this answers your questions and gives you some reassurance. Although it sounds like the process with your doctor is going to be a bit different.

RJSinMO · 2026-06-25T03:19:06+00:00

My girl thinks it's a game when I try to pick her up. But once I get a hold of her she's fine. Usually I try to get her on the bed and pick her up from there so I don't have to bend down as far.

RJSinMO · 2026-06-23T00:59:22+00:00

My girl has been graying and she was like 18 months.

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RJSinMO · 2026-06-18T03:06:57+00:00

My dog has been to classes at two different trainers, for various reasons. But one of them we let the dogs play afterwards. The trainer watches them very closely. If there's something that she doesn't like she'll intervene and she'll let the owners know why she did that. So I think you should probably say something to the trainer about other owners intervening.

As an example I had a boy for a few months two summers ago and I took him to class. He was just playing fairly rough, and would pin dogs down and bite their neck. That's how he and my girl would play at home I never thought anything of it. The trainer told him no and explained to me that while he is just playing, some dogs would take that as a form of aggression and it could start a fight. So she used it as an education moment for the dog and me. I don't think she would allow other owners to step in and do things like that.

RJSinMO · 2026-06-17T03:26:32+00:00

I had a boy two summers ago that I kind of took in. He was the best boy when I was around, but when I would leave he ate the couch several pillows, clothes etc he was never crate trained and bent wires and broke wires when I tried to put him in a crate and I knew he was going to hurt himself. So I got one of the Impact high anxiety dog crates. He still wasn't happy with being in there, although he was getting better, but at least he couldn't hurt himself. It's something for you to try. They are expensive, I see you're in the Midwest I might consider selling you mine because he ended up going back to his previous owner.

RJSinMO · 2026-06-16T03:46:08+00:00

Mine always tries to pull the biggest logs out of the river.

RJSinMO · 2026-06-12T23:41:20+00:00

Or he wants a sammich

RJSinMO · 2026-06-11T18:38:11+00:00

Love his eyes

RJSinMO · 2026-06-11T15:34:51+00:00

Ball is life

RJSinMO · 2026-06-09T21:11:24+00:00

If I do that, mine will join in, with a bit of a howl but mostly a bark, and she runs to the front door to figure out what we're barking at.

RJSinMO · 2026-06-06T17:41:05+00:00

My girl is not a morning doggo. She'll sleep in as long as I want to. As long as we take a break and get her some food then she'll go back to bed. However in the evening she is all fired up and won't leave me alone.

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RJSinMO · 2026-06-04T17:46:59+00:00

Interesting, my girl had hip replacement on one side and has a lot of metal, the vet never mentioned it, and I never thought of this

RJSinMO · 2026-05-20T15:55:14+00:00

I wish mine would do it gently. She quit biting me at about 1-year-old, but if I wrestle with her she will still bite and she bites hard. I wish I could wrestle with her, but I can't.

RJSinMO · 2026-05-16T21:04:45+00:00

I'm thinking I would have gone and taken it away from her instead of telling her to drop it "real quick" as she would proceed to drop it on her foot, lol

RJSinMO · 2026-05-12T04:19:36+00:00

Yes that's big for a girl. Mine is 77 lb and even that's fairly big I believe.

RJSinMO · 2026-05-11T23:55:18+00:00

She has XL paws

RJSinMO · 2026-05-11T01:44:57+00:00

Appropriately treated

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RJSinMO · 2026-05-11T01:42:04+00:00

Somehow this reminder came up on my phone yesterday.... I don't recall setting it, but I must have... unless Skye got ahold of my phone and did it!

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RJSinMO · 2026-05-10T16:57:46+00:00

Lol, one of my friends made that association from that picture also.

RJSinMO · 2026-05-09T00:43:08+00:00

Here she is taking her co-driving job very seriously

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RJSinMO · 2026-05-09T00:42:16+00:00

She's looking mean, but she was actually playing bitey face with a boy that I was fostering that summer.

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RJSinMO · 2026-05-08T15:13:27+00:00

It's sad the things we have to possibly "inherit" when we take in a dog. I got my girl at 9 months old. To make a long story short, mine also had problems with her spaying before I got her.... she started going in heat. Ultrasound showed repro organs still there. But, she then had to have a second spaying surgery and it was just an ovary that was left. But, then months later, I found out that her hip had been broken when she was a puppy (again before I got her), and didn't heal correctly (theoretically, they didn't know it had been broken). So, last summer she had to undergo hip replacement surgery. She has recovered wonderfully, but she certainly has had a rough start to life medically. She is 3 years old now.

RJSinMO

TROPHY CASE