Best age to seperate - Page 7

Markobytes I don't think any of us is actually advocating "running

wild with the pack";  more like a good deal of (supervised and

thought-out) contact with the older dogs available !   I don't believe

I have ever had to 'beat into submission' a teenage pup with an

inflated idea of his or her own status lol.    I've found the very opposite

to be true - my own current male is the one dog I know who has

always thought too much of his own opinion, and he did NOT have

that sort of upbringing, quite different in fact.  In the main I'd say those

pups which had these opportunities were actually pretty well adjusted

and easy to train.  JMO FWIW

THE POWER OF THE DATABASE MINDS NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE ME....these are my crazy pack dogs..

And, I guess I must be dealing with a weird strain

of German Shepherds, my dogs love playing and having fun. Damn me huh...that they don t have to sit around in crates and kennels all day til I FIND SOME TIME FOR THEM.

Marko is correct. It is also a fact that a dog who is a year or over and has never had any corrections given by a human, will never be able to be trained as well as one that has been corrected. Its much easier for everyone involved to not have to undo behaviors the dog learned because it spent its formative time with a pack of dogs who have zero interest in what we as humans want from them which brings me to another point for Bubba. We humans created dogs to serve us in some capacity, not the other way around, so, you are correct that I will do what is best for the human while selecting and raising the proper dog for the job. While my dog gets the best care, trainining and expression of its drives, my life does not revolve around dogs as I am a multi-faceted person with other interests and responsibilities and I question those who cant see past dogs.

Kit Kat, I dont know about "damn you", but, I do have a question for you...if I have my freedom 24/7, if I have access to food 24/7, if I can play with my friends 24/7, what exactly do I need you for, what purpose do you serve in my life?

WHO in their right mind would even try to keep a dog until it is a year old with no training....and the bigger question, who would even want to buy a dog that has had no training at a year old...or even 8 weeks for that matter?

    The fact that my dogs are 'able to' live together, peacefully I myself believe demonstrates the fact that they are trained and in better control than the single dog that can not pass another dog without going  ape shit to fight.

    Or a puppy that sits until 8-12 weeks old, in a kennel, hopjng someone notices it.To me, dogs or not, thats a crying shame....

   No ones lives should be totLly engulfed in their dogs, but while mine are here, they are going to be be kept happy, and comfortable.

I have gotten a pup at 5 wks, totally housetrained by 8 wks, best dog I ever had, although I think a lot was genetics.  Got a pup at 12 weeks not as great on the housetraining, but was a very very very loyal dog, one man dog, I think that was genetics too.

Got a dog at 8 months, very doggy, shy, timid.  Will never do that again, although that may have been genetics too.  I'm a firm believer in genetcs being the biggest factor, however, I'd still want to get my pup young, between 6 and 7 wks because I'd rather them be with me learning then sitting in a kennel. I've said this in the past.

So Ibrahim, after reading everyones opinion, and from your experience with pups, I'm curious as to what you think now?

Kit Kat, there are dogs for sale every day in PDB who are older then a year and are sold as "green" dogs. The fact that yours are able to get along together does not mean they will be like that with a strange dog, they dont have to, its not part of their pack and that does not denote training nor control. You still did not answer my question I asked you. 

Can we agree that most breeders find the best way to raise their puppies based on the end results? There must be as many packs of GSD's that would rather kill one another as not so not all are able to live the way Kitkat's dogs live. Do whatever works for you. It's interesting to read about the different ways of doing it and the outcomes.

Hired Dog-its really not about what the need from me, it's more what they want FROM me, and that is my time.

I believe EVERY DOG deserves to eat, and they should not hVe to jump through hoops for me in order to get fed. I keep food available at all times due to the way my dogs live,  and that is WITH me. 

   I don 't need any food aggression issues. My puppies the same way. The last thing i want or need is to send a puppy out that has been brought up having to sit and wait for ENOUGH FOOD to satisfy him and his littermates and than bites a child.

   Most of my puppies go home at 8 weeks, on rare occassion, one or two make it to 12 weeks.

My dogs can't wzit to get going, some where, any where, with me. Food is not their motivation. These dogs have such a desire to please, a good boy and pat on the head is the reward.

   Of course they get treats  they think liva snaps are the greatest. Every desired behavior is rewarded.

I have had people bring pups back years later to visit. AS LONG AS ,I am there, my dogs are find. I'm not going to say that ,as a pack, my dogs wouldn't light into someones unattended dog, they most certainly would.

   Just as if one dog is going to bite someone, that person has a big problem.

My dogs are not left without rules, i mean i may do things differently, because i can....but I'm not a frigging idiot. I have kennels and crates, just prefer not to use them.

    When dogs are in heat, of course dogs get seperated and locked down. Just because they live together don't mean it's a free for all. The majority of the time, they do spend together.

Blitzen, if you are breeding and raising a working breed and selling puppies as such, those puppies must be imprinted to a way of life, behaviors, exposure, etc, in a way that will be conducive to their lives as working animals. I want my dog to be neutral to other animals and people, not think its party time everytime it sees one and forget what it was just doing. This, "do whatever works for you" does not cut it when you need and must have a certain type of working animal that lives depend on.