Shadow

Well..........that's our first week over, and what a week it's been! Gorgeous though he looks he can be a real monster, nothing is safe from his inquisitiveness or teeth. Coats, shoes, rugs, cupboards, chairs, you name it he's tried to chew it! One minute he looks adorably cuddly the next minute he's dashing in to chew at your trouser leg, before disappearing at high speed so that you can't reprimanded him.
My partner starts work at an unearthly hour, so i'm getting up at 5.30am to walk the pup, very quiet at that time! and i do get more done in a day, but a lie in would be nice..
Not all negative comments though, Shadow will sit and go down on command (so long as there aren't too many distractions!) walks nicely on the lead most of the time and gives the warmest of greetings when he's been on his own for a while. He's also very good if he has to be shut away, but there is no chance of using a duster/broom or anything else that moves while he's around!!
Might be a bit of a shock for him, but he starts puppy classes next week.
Went for a walk last night and someone was shooting nearbye, Shadow never flinched, my last dog a Bullmastiff was petrified of bangs and he once ran away when he heard someone shooting, so really hoping Shadow will tolerate loud noises, bonfire night here is a real nightmare.
Only lost my Bullmastiff Max at the beginning of June, very suddenly from liver failure, really didn't think we would have another dog, but a house just isn't a home without one...

Well this is my third day of owning Shadow, a jet black long haired German Shepherd dog. He's absolutely gorgeous, 14 weeks old and a real handful. Fate really that i acquired him as i only had a short time in which to find a pup and i had some very specific requirements, i.e jet black, German Shepherd, male and at least 3 months old. We travelled 80 miles to look at some pups even though they only had bitches left, really liked them and spent an hour agonising over whether i should keep looking for a male or buy a bitch, in the end i decided it would have to be exactly what i wanted or not at all. Explained to the breeder and she said well actually....... i have a male pup being returned, the owner is having problems with him, i need to have him back and check there are no real problems but if you would like to ring me in a few days..
Went home that night and dreamt of nothing but black GSD's!! The few days turned into 1 day and i rang the breeder at 10am. She had got the pup back late the night before, allegedly he had shown some aggression to the owners 2 year old son, but on trying various tests such as holding him against his will and removing toys and bones while playing etc there seemed no sign of temperament problems. Still felt this was going to be 'the one' so asked to go and look at him the same day.
As soon as i set eyes on him i knew he was the dog i had been looking for, he looked like a huge teddy bear, very calm for a young pup, but still eager to meet strangers with a wag and a lick, knew instantly i had to have him!!
We were soon heading home with a bundle of fluff on my lap....he was quite insecure when we first got home, followed me everywhere and got really upset if a door was shut and he couldn't follow me, he had been called Odin, but decided i wanted a completely new start for him so began the task of introducing a new name... Shadow.

Early Problems

Shadow had missed a couple of meals because of all the travelling he had done...........and he was absolutely ravenous, whining and jumping up while i was preparing the food. I Realised when i put the food down that his collar which is slightly large was still on and hanging in the food, I bent down to remove it which meant pulling his head away from the food, instantly he growled and snapped at my hand...really startled and heart dropped when i started thinking maybe he really did have temperament problems... but you can't give up at the first mistake, so started to run through what had actually happened from a dog perspective. He was with strangers, this was his 3rd home in 3 days, i hadn't spoken to him, he had previously been fed with his siblings so maybe they had pinched his food, he was starving, and my biggest mistake, i hadn't spoken to him to let him know what i was doing!
I let him finish his meal in peace but resolved to handle things very differently at the next meal time. I made sure he wasn't absolutely ravenous, attached his lead so that i had full control and made sure i was talking to him the whole time, also to establish who is actually the pack leader here i had my meal in front of him first. When i put the food down i made him sit and wait before going to it. Over the next few mealtimes I started various strategies talking to him while he ate, stroking his body, when i had no reaction i moved to stroking his head and finally i had my hand in his bowl, removed some food, hand fed him, removed his food altogether and then gave it back. all without the slightest sign of aggression from him.........
It seems the first hurdle has been successfully negotiated.....