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Free Feeding: Bad Idea for Your German Shepherd Puppy

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When and how to feed their German Shepherd puppy is a question that many new owners have. Answering every element of that question takes time and the answer may vary from dog to dog, but the one thing that applies to any dog, but especially to a large – or soon to be large – dog like a black and red German Shepherd is that ‘free feeding’ should never be an option.

‘Free feeding’ is a term that refers to the practice of leaving food out for an animal at all times, even if it is ‘just’ a harmless bowl of kibble to ensure, in the owner’s mind, that their canine companion never goes hungry especially if no one is home. It is an easy way of doing things for the owner, just top off the bowl before they head to work and Puppy should be fine all day. It is less of a good thing for the German Shepherd puppy though, and in fact it can be a very bad thing.

Try thinking of it in terms of your children. Would you leave them all day with open access to all the food they want? No, of course you would not. Meal times are set and only the occasional snack is allowed. It’s all a part of good discipline and teaching healthy eating practices.

So why should it be any different for a ‘fur kid’? As they are highly intelligent, German Shepherds can get bored rather easily and like humans if the food is there they will eat it, not necessarily because they are hungry, but because they have nothing else to do. And just like a human, if the practice continues the dog will become overweight and sluggish.

Even if your pup does not gain excess weight there are other reasons why free feeding should be ‘taken off the menu’. For example, one of the earliest signs of a number of serious ailments in dogs in general is a sudden loss of appetite. How are you ever going to notice such a thing though if several members of the household are in the habit of filling up the food bowl when it starts to look empty? Chances are that everyone will simply assume that someone else filled up the food when it is has actually gone untouched for some time and by the time everyone figures out that is not the case it may be too late.

Then there is the sanitary aspect of things. Would you leave your own food out all day, where it can easily also become a meal for flies and other flying critters who carry all kinds of bacteria with them? There are even tales of animals like raccoons learning to crawl their way through pet doors because they have discovered that there is a constant source of food waiting for them just behind it.

Finally there is the matter of discipline. If you want to integrate your German Shepherd into the family, the way that most owners do, then they need rules as much as all of the human members of the household do. Mealtimes should, as far as possible, be a set time affair for everyone, including the dog.

Read Amazing Story – A Life Saving Friend for Life

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Gideon with footballDr. Peter Banfe

I wanted to send you a quick e-mail to thank-you and update you on a puppy that you helped me purchase from Germany about 4 years ago. He is a big beautiful super intelligent boy named Gideon. You helped me pick out a pup in hopes that he would alert to seizures before they happen. He does his job quite well! He alerted for the first time at nine months.

He’s now four years old and gives me about thirty minutes. My seizures are well controlled about 85% of the time. I can go for several months and do great but hit a cluster of several weeks where I struggle.

Thanks to Gideon, I can keep my license and independence. I also taught Gideon to search for my cell phone, alert for help, and help with balance if needed. He’s a wonderful wonderful dog.

In addition to being a practical asset, we are very heavily involved in our local therapy dog program. He tolerates the nursing homes while chomping on a favorite toy but absolutely thrives on the many programs that we have in our local elementary programs throughout the year! His favorite thing in the world is to play with children. : )

Gideon swimming

 

Removing a Tick from a German Shepherd the Right Way

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Removing a Tick from Your German Shepherd’s Skin the Right Way

Dogs, especially larger, active dogs like German Shepherd puppies, love to get out and exercise and in reality doing so is essential for their overall health and wellbeing. The summer is an exceptionally good time for dogs and their owners as the walks that can be such a chore in the colder months become far more pleasant when the sun is shining and in many areas there is plenty of lush green summer foliage to explore and enjoy.

Something else that enjoys all of this warm weather though is the tick. And as many treatments, powders and flea collars you might have taken the precaution of providing your GSD with the odd tick may very well still latch on to your pet in an attempt to score itself a nice nourishing meal. Once there they are notoriously hard to remove, but doing so as quickly as possible is a must. There is a right and wrong way to go about removing a tick though, both for your dog’s safety and your own. Here are a few tips:

Glove Up

Before you attempt to remove the tick you need to think of your own safety as well. Don a pair of rubber gloves before you begin the ‘operation’, as the infective agents ticks carry can easily enter your own bloodstream through small nicks, cuts or grazes or through the mucous membranes (eyes, nose or mouth if you happen to inadvertently touch them.)

Enlist a Helping Hand

As previously mentioned, removing a tick is not easy and it is very likely that your pup will object to all of the poking and prodding and try to squirm away. If at all possible enlist a second pair of hands to calm and distract them while you work so that the ordeal can be over as quickly as possible.

The Actual Removal

Before beginning you should gather a few supplies; rubbing alcohol, tweezers and some kind of lidded receptacle, preferably a jar, to put the tick into once it is removed. Once you have located the tick using your tweezers grab the pesky tick as close to your dog’s skin as possible and pull upwards in one swift, decisive movement, immediately placing the critter in the jar.

Never twist or jerk the tick as, besides causing extra discomfort for your pet you run the risk of leaving behind the tick’s ‘mouth parts’ in the skin or of having it regurgitate those infectious fluids.

Once the tick is removed cleanse the bitten area with rubbing alcohol. Keep an eye on the bite for the next several days and if it becomes red and inflamed or you notice any change in your black and red German Shepherd’s health or behavior the best course of action is to take them to the vet for a check up. It may also be a good idea to hang on to that jarred tick as should your dog become ill having the creature available for testing will help in your pet’s treatment a great deal.

The Automatic Dog Training

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Hello German Shepherd puppies lovers:

But now…on the automatic dog training technique.  This is a follow-up to the last article I wrote entitled “You are always training with your German shepherd”.  I know we would all like to know a way to ensure your puppy becomes all that it can be and become another legend in the family, your own Rin Tin Tin.

Well, here is the secret:  The environment.  Environment is one of the most important variables determining the success of a human child.  A nurturing, loving environment, one with encouragement and many avenues for learning and creativity improve the chances of a child’s success later in life.  While a broken and angry household, in which parents abandon children to their own devices, and let them learn and fend for themselves, normally contributes to a greater probability of truancy and delinquency.

Dogs are very routine animals.   I remember how at first when my parents drove me to military academy I resented it.  But the structure and routine was excellent for me and I flourished. There were loving, yet demanding, men and women who corrected me for mistakes but encouraged my successes.  Dogs, even more than humans, yearn for and thrive on order, routine and a firm social order.  They are just more confident and peaceful in such a structure.

So, of course you would want your dog to have every chance for success and to be a valued member of your pack.  But how do you do this.  I recommend you make an “K-9 Home Environmental plan” for Fritz.  Type it out.  Read it to the family and stick by it.  Don’t flinch and don’t move an inch.

It should include, for example, which rooms Fritz is allowed to come in, things he can and can’t play with, or lay on.  Be specific.  Do not ever let him have the same rights as the humans.  Yes, that means not on the couch.  That is reserved for you, with him loyally at your feet.  No, not in the kitchen during dinner.  That is your time.  Also, never let your huge, powerful, brilliant shepherd sleep in bed with you.  If you decide he is not to go upstairs, enforce it.  Choose potty areas and egress and ingress for your dog.  Give him his spot where he is to lay, rather than him choosing it.  Choose his eating place, which is best in a garage and not within the walls of the house.  Be specific and detailted.   Map this out, make a diagram, learn it, teach it to the family and, most of all, enforce it.

I will finish the discussion of the “K-9 Home Environmental plan” for your German shepherd puppy or dog in the next article.  I hope it has piqued your curiosity.

I hope these are helpful hints for understanding the behavior of your Banffy Haus German Shepherd puppies.  If you want to visit and K9 university.

You Are Always in Training with your German Shepherd

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Hello German Shepherd puppies lovers:

My father used to tell me that military academy was good for me because the structure would keep me out of trouble.  Indeed it did and it was good for me.  I developed patterns of behavior, respect and cleanliness, integrity and discipline, which have helped me during all of my life.

This is the same for your German shepherd.  You need to create a consistent and well thought out ordered living structure for your shepherd.  And you need to stick with it without relenting and breaking the structure. You may think that your dog has been so good, or is so darling that just this once you will feed him/her at the table while you are eating.  But this relenting just makes you happy and is not in the best interests of the dog.

We all marvel at superbly trained German shepherds, police or military trained.  Most of us would like a dog like that.  In fact I will tell you that those noble beasts are at peace, knowing exactly what to do and when to do it.  They are creatures of structure, and very comfortable within it.

So, it is kind for us to create structure.  Dogs are creatures of habit and order.  And we love it when they are obedient and loyal.  We need to create environments of structure for them so that they can become the dogs they could be and that we would prefer.

So, when you get the urge to break ranks and to encourage your dog to do so, don’t be surprised or angry at them when they continue the behavior you began.  Don’t blame them if they jump up on your mother and ruin her new dress when yesterday you decided to pat your chest and encourage them to jump up.  Don’t get angry at them if you have friends over and they salivate and beg for food when just last week you rewarded Otto with a big piece of meat at dinner.

In the next article I will carefully detail how to create a surefire structure to get the most out of your amazing German shepherd and raise your German shepherd puppies in an environment that helps them to be all they can be.

I hope these are helpful hints for understanding the behavior of your Banffy Haus German Shepherd puppies.  If you want to visit and K9 university .

A Tribute to My Family and Clients of Banffy Haus German Shepherds

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