Problems with a female 3-month-old german shepherd?

Question

My puppy german shepherd likes to bite and growl recently. Though it swings its tail (a sign of friendliness), I'm worried about its behaviours. It behaves ok generally, but sometimes it seems to get 'over-excited'. It also likes to chew shoes when people're not around and it seems to be very unfriendly to 4-month old female Corgi owned by my neighbour. Besides, it doesn't eat much now. We tried to soften its food by adding in water as said by a shopkeeper in a pet shop, but this doesn't work.

I need as much information as possible, especially from dog owners and professional trainers. Thank you!

Answer 1

It's normal behaviour for a three month old German Shep pup! It is playing with you and showing it's intention of being 'tough' but is wagging it's tail - so it knows the difference. With regard to your neighbours dog - it again is normal - it is defending it's perceived territory - chewing shoes again is normal - it's teeth are growing and it needs to chew - like a baby would have a teething ring to chomp on! You can buy Teething Toys for dogs to wean them off the shoes - Eating - it will eat when it is hungry although I did find that our German Shepherd didn't like certain brands of food at all - we had to trial and error and found Pedigree Puppy the only one it liked.

Your dog is dong nothing that most German Shepherd owners haven't seen before - just get into the habit of rewarding good behaviour and not tolerating bad behaviour - not yet though - it is still young and playful - give it a another few weeks before you start laying down the law! Don't break it's spirit what ever you do! German Shepherds are loyal and will defend you and your home to the max -

Answer 2

All 3 month old puppies are going to bite and nip, however, you also need to stop a problem before it develops. GSDs have a tendency to go through some dog aggression stages during the first year. (Mine went through 2 separate phases.) This aggression can continue to develop if not handled properly. I would immediately enroll the puppy in a puppy obedience class if possible. GSDs need A LOT of socialization to avoid aggression problems.

Tail wagging is not necessarily a sign of friendliness, it could also mean excitement (not necessary good) or anxiety. You need to take charge when the puppy starts getting "over-excited". Put her on a leash with a buckle collar on and stop her movement. She doesn't have to sit or down at this point, just hold onto her to settle her down. If she fights you, just hold steady until she stops fighting. Do not talk to her or pet her if she fights you, just hold still.

Chewing is common, but you need to put your shoes where she can't get to them. Give her something else to chew on. I prefer large knuckle bones or large raw bones from the butcher. GSDs need to chew in order to help their ears stand up straighter and faster. (Chewing strengthens their jaw muscles which are attached to their ears.)

As for the Corgi -- I would put the puppy on a leash and make her be submissive to the Corgi. Make her hold still while the Corgi smells her rear end. Hang onto her collar because she will probably try to whirl around. If she growls or tries to bite, take your hand (which is holding onto her collar) and pull her down onto the ground and say no firmly. Make her lay there until she settles down, all the while letting the Corgi smell her.

Female on female aggression is usually worse than 2 males, especially if both females are intact. Some females are always a little aggressive, so you may always need to keep an eye on her.

Don't worry if she isn't eating much (assuming there are not medical reasons). As long as you are feeding her a high quality food (I feed mine Canidae) and are feeding her what the bag recommends, don't worry about her. I would not soften her food or add anything to it to make it more appealing. You should be feeding her 3 times a day at this age. Put her food down for 10-15 minutes and if she hasn't eaten it, pour it back into the container. Try again at the next meal. You can tell more by her general appearance than her eating habits. I believe that you should keep GSDs lean, especially while they are growing. They are prone to hip problems, as well as osteoarthritis issues. This can be minimized by not letting them grow too fast.

I would strongly recommend training classes, especially as she gets older. GSDs can develop issues if not challenged mentally.
Good luck!

Answer 3

German shepherds need a firm hand & i'm sure she'll grow out of the chewing, if she's given plenty of sturdy toys 2 take her biting out on.
female dogs 4 some reason can take a dislike 2 other female dogs, but will b fine with a dog.

keep a close eye on them at all times & c if over time they learn 2 get on? but should it descend in2 a fight u may have no choice but keep them apart.
it mayb a good idea 2 find a different food.
try a tin of chappie?
i've never met a GS that couldn't stomach it.
it's not 2 rich that it upsets their stomach or u mix the dry food in with some chappie?
link below is 4 a fact sheet 4 the German Shepherd, hope it may help 2.
:)

Answer 4

Start ignoring her when she gets over-zealous (meaning, when it's crossed the line of play biting) with biting and growling. Walk away, go do something else until she's stopped. Give some love when she has. Tell everyone else to do the same when they come into contact with her. And an easy way to keep shoes intact: don't leave them where she can get them.

Is this the only dog she's had problems with? If so, in my opinion, don't worrry about it. If she has this problem with all dogs, seek some advice from a trainer.

In answer to her eating problem: change her dog food. Keep changing until you find something she loves to eat, but meets her requirements and maintains her health. Prehaps get her a wellness check up at the vet, see if it could be related to anything medical.

Good luck to ya'.

Answer 5

You must remember that at only 12 weeks old, your German Shepherd is still very much a baby - and over-excitement in a puppy is certainly not abnormal. However I do think that you need to get help here, just so that you can understand your puppy's 'language' and make sure you get and keep her on the right path, as she is going to grow into a large and powerful adult dog.

Your first port of call should be your vet, as it is worrying that she isn't eating, and so you need to make sure she is healthy and that her diet is appropriate. Once you have a clean bill of health, you can also ask your vet about good local puppy socialisation classes. These will give your dog the chance to meet and learn how to behave with other puppies, dogs and people, and should be run by an expert who will be able to advise you further about her behaviour and training to make sure you are starting off right. Make sure any class you attend is run by people who practise reward-based training, and who can help you train your dog all the way from puppy to adult. All dogs need training and socialisation to make sure they grow into safe, sensible members of canine society, but with dogs such as German Shepherds, who will become large, powerful adults, it is vital. A good class will also give you help and support as your dog grows up and be there to answer any questions you might have about her behaviour.

As for chewing shoes, all puppies chew, they have to, it is exactly the same as babies teething. You need to make sure you are providing suitable things for her to chew on (take a look at Kong toys as you can stuff them with food to make them far more interesting to chew than anything else that is around, and so focus her need to chew onto something appropriate instead of your shoes!).

Answer 6

I am an animal behaviourist and I highly recommend to thing, and the quicker you do them the more likely you are to succeed.

1. Take her to the vets just to check that there are no health problems, there might be some pain that makes her aggressive.
2. I would ask your vet to recommend a VERY good behaviourist or trainer and take her to have some one on one consultations.

I would be very cautious about advise from this site, some people really do know what they are talking about, but others may not. Bad advise at this stage could make this worse. And its very hard to give advise without meeting the dog in person.

There is defiantly ways to improve your dogs behaviour, so don't be disheartened by what I have said. Its just important to get professional advise to make sure things are done properly.

Hope all goes well, :)

Answer 7

We have had this breed for the past 28yrs and can tell you that at 12 weeks all you should have is a playfull ,play biteing babe who may growl and snarl when playing.If he/she is doing this when you feed,then you need to teach the word no when it does growl.Dont work it up and only play on your terms.The feeding is very simple.....at least 4-5 small meals a day with plent of fresh water.If you are feeding a complete food,ie.....ped chum/bakers/james wellbeloved which is a hypoallergenic food for dogs with wheat/gluten etc allergies then these foods should NEVER be fed straight out the bag.Always soak with boiled water straight from the kettle and cover for about 5-6 mins untill it doubles in size.If you need to encourage it to eat ,try adding some small amounts of grated carrot/brocoli/boiled egg(only small amount) and spread these out through the day.Hope this helps.Also have you had the puppy wormed,it needs to be done,i would assume you have a vet,and dont take it out for a walk unless it has had all its jabs.Regards.

Answer 8

Its perfectly normal puppy behaviour.This is how they play at that age.When she does nip you,simply tell her no loudly and ignore her for 5-10mins,even let out a little yelp,this would of been the way her littermates would react and play stops.If your pup has enough sufficient chew toys and you make sure you tell her no,then the nipping stage is quite easy to stop.I doubt very much that she is unfriendly towards your neighboors corgi,some pups can show slight nervousness around new pups and dogs but its very rare that pups become aggresive or problematic towards other pups,keep socilising her to build her confidence up,not just with your neighboors pup but with all dogs,of different shapes and sizes.Chewing can be solved with good hard chew toys and make sure there left out for her at all times.Your pups tail wagging is friendlyness,but just to let you know not all tail wagging is friendly,theres a certain way the tail is carried that determines the mood of the dog.Good luck with your pup.

Answer 9

Hi, That's a normal problem that almost everyone faces with a pup. That's a kind of game or a behaviour of excitement. She will never hurt u. I am sure that these bites will not hurt until u don't pull ur hand in a harsh manner when ur hand is in her mouth.

Biting shoes - Don't worry. Leave a shoe beside him. Wait till he starts chewing it. Then when he starts, give a nice strike with ur forefinger to the right or left side of her mouth. Repeat this whenever she does that.

It's the common behaviour of dogs - fighting. That will not go for long . OK!

Answer 10

This pup is 16 weeks old! All pups chew and nip at this age. Try to get some bitter apple spray and spray the items you don't want it to chew.
Also a pup at this age should be eating like crazy. I suggest a trip to the vets to make sure nothing is going on with your pup. It may be that she just doesn't like the food your giving her.
Growling at play is normal, you just have to make sure it doen't get to the point that the pup is so excited that it forgets when to back off. That's part of training your dog.
She is probably growling at the neighbors dog because she wants to play with it and cant get over to do that, again it's getting too excited.