We just bought a GSD today, and will be picking him up in two days. This will be our first dog, so we wanted to know:
How can we train him to guard our house? (This is our most important question)
What (brand) food should we give him?
How much food should we give him?
How often should we take him on walks?
If we come up with more questions, I will post them here.
Thank you!
Asked by:superultramegaforce
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your GSD will start to protect your home about 1-2 years. walks should be regular, exciting and make him tired or he will become destructive. and if i was you i would take him obedience training.
A dog will automatically be protective of it’s territory but you should not encourage it to be aggressive about it at all. Although having a dog means they will protect their house and alert you when something is the matter, a dog should not be trained to be a protector or guard dog unless you are a professional.
Find a healthy brand of dog food for your pup. I use Kumpi for my adult dogs but there are puppy brands out there that are good too.
Ask your vet when you take him in how much he should be fed. That or your breeder can help you with that. He should be fed three times a day until he’s about 1 year old then you can change to two times a day.
As a puppy he should not be going on walks until he has had all his shots. Shots need to be a week old before you can walk them. Also, walking a puppy can be hard on their bones and joints as they are growing so don’t walk him for more than 15-20 minutes at a time. Maybe twice a day.
Good luck with the pup. Get on that training right away and spay and neuter as soon as you can.
You don’t need to train the dog to guard your house. As he settles in with his new family, he’ll instinctively bark to warn you of strangers. Just be sure to have the dog inside, as he can’t guard the house while he’s in the backyard.
If he’s healthy on the food that he is eating already, then continue to feed him it. If you wish to change it, anything that doesn’t contain preservatives, byproducts, or fillers.
It depends on the weight of the dog; follow the guidelines on the package.
You should take him for three thirty minute walks a day.
Also, you should neuter him as soon as possible if he isn’t already. Try to get a book about the breed, as they are high-maintence dogs. Good luck!
How can we train him to guard our house?
*Most GSDs are naturally protective you do not need to teach him to guard your house. The dog should live inside and not outside – for the most part a large dog bark will deter people from breaking into your house
What (brand) food should we give him?
*There are a lot of really nice foods out there – You should not feed a grain free food until he’s more than a year old. I feed mine Nature’s Logic but have fed in the past: Canidae, California Natural, Wellness, Nature’s Variety. Here’s a great website to help you research a food:
How much food should we give him?
*Start with the guidelines on the bag of food you decide on and then go up or down from there depending on his weight. All dogs and foods are different so no one here can tell you how much to feed your dog.
How often should we take him on walks?
*For most GSDs walks are not really enough exercise – they need time to actually run. Walks are great for training time and socialization but be sure to spend a lot of time just playing outside with the dog.