New dog

[bmlbytes]

So on Tuesday or Wednesday, I'm going to go pick up this girl.
https://aawl.org/adopt/dogs/sabra42012-0

I hope she gets along with the fish

[Amelia26]

She's adorable!!!!!!

[Kimberly]

She is adorable!! And looks so sweet! I'm sure she will become best buds with the fish lol

PS: I give kudos to you!! I think adoption is the BEST way to go! There are so many animals that need homes out there.

[toddnbecka]

Shepherd and something, should be a good dog. We adopted a similar-size female over a year ago. She appears to be black lab and pit bull. Great disposition, and $50 for a dog just over 1 year old with current shots and spayed was a good deal all around. Our other dog is a shepherd/wolf mix (or so I was told,) a bit larger but very sweet too. She looks like a purebred, except her ears don't stay up on their own.

[bmlbytes]

Yeah, they said she is a German Shepherd and Shar Pei mix, but both breeds seem much taller than she is. She definitely has the German Shepherd colors and ears, but she has some wrinkles, especially around the face, and the Shar Pei legs. Her ears also do not stand up like a German Shepherd.

I am going to go pick her up tomorrow. I picked out a bowl and some toys last night, and I will get a bed and kennel for her today.

She is a total marshmallow. I sat down in the yard, and she came over to me and put her head in my lap. She is overweight, but a little diet and exercise will fix that (I should do the same for myself ).

I read that the water around here might not be the best for her. I guess some dogs have a little trouble processing the bad water. Since I have an RO filter for the fish, I might just make some bottles of water for her as well. Bottled water is often RO, so it shouldn't be harmful to drink. I know its different for fish, since they live in it, but I've done my research and it suggests that RO water is not harmful to drink since a little food would fix the problem of water leeching minerals from the body. Also, I could just add a little apple cider to the water, and it will make it safe, and better for the dog.

This is my first dog, so if anyone has some useful dog owner tips, I would be glad to hear them.

[iheartfish:)]

Congratulations on the new family member! Haha, you know you take good care of your when you start using fish techniques on dogs

[toddnbecka]

Patience is necessary, she's a young dog and shouldn't be too difficult to train. Reward whatever behavior you want to reinforce, and redirect her attention away from behavior you don't to something positive. Keep in mind she's only a little over a year old, so you can't expect too much from her yet, but she'll learn.

[funlad3]

If you don't want to search for dog crap, take her out to the same spot every time to go to the bathroom. I need only to pick up from behind our shed, and not even look anywhere else.

She is cute though, I love the colors on the German Shepard.

[bmlbytes]

Originally Posted by toddnbecka Patience is necessary, she's a young dog and shouldn't be too difficult to train. Reward whatever behavior you want to reinforce, and redirect her attention away from behavior you don't to something positive. Keep in mind she's only a little over a year old, so you can't expect too much from her yet, but she'll learn.

That's what I keep hearing. I should not punish the dog, just let them know what they did is not right. I read that in the beginning, keeping the dog on a leash, even indoors is good so that you can tug on the leash a little if the dog looks like it is about to do something wrong (like jump on the couch for example). She is actually 3 years old now.

Originally Posted by funlad3 If you don't want to search for dog crap, take her out to the same spot every time to go to the bathroom. I need only to pick up from behind our shed, and not even look anywhere else. She is cute though, I love the colors on the German Shepard.

I live in an apartment, so she will need to be on a leash when outside anyway. I can pick up the poop as soon as it happens (mmm warm and squishy).

I also like the German Shepherd colors. She is like a mini German Shepherd with a wrinkly face.

BTW she also does this snorting noise when she is happy. It's pretty funny. You will be petting her, and out of nowhere, snort.

[giggitygiggity]

Congrats on your adoption! As a fellow dog owner myself, I will pass down the easiest trick. It is the way I trained my puppy and I know it works.


To train your puppy to sit, hold a treat in your hand, hold it above her nose and keep going further back till her head tilts back far enough to the point where she sits down. As soon as she sits, say "sit" and immediately give her the treat and praise her, and do this for like a 2-3 minute session. Too long and the puppy will get bored.

After your session, stop and continue it in a few hours. Never help your puppy with your hands, i.e don't push her butt down and tell her sit. She isn't learning, because your doing it for her. Always praise when she does what you want. Its her way of learning that doing what you want, will get her what she wants, which is ultimately attention. Punishment is a form of attention. Always be patient with your puppy, never yell or get frustrated. She is a dog, and she will know. Once she knows, she will not want to learn with you.

Praise and patience are the 2 biggest factors in training your puppy.


It all really boils down to attention, and your puppy wants it! So never punish for bad, only praise for good, she will eventually learn that doing good is what will get her praise.


Like I said, I am a fellow dog owner so if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask! Me and my girlfriend have been to classes with our dog when she was a puppy and we learned quite a bit.

You should try one yourself. In reality, they train you, not your dog.

[bmlbytes]

She actually is pretty well trained. She knows "sit", "stay", "come", and "shake". She might know "lay down" but she also will just lay down anyway. She is a dog that loves petting, and she will come over to you and lay down.

She is taking medication right now for a symptom called "Valley Fever". It is something that people and dogs both get once in a while when they live in Phoenix. It is a fungus that infects your lungs when you breath dust. Since there is a lot of dust in the Phoenix area, it's not uncommon, and it is somewhat unique to this area of the US. The vet at the shelter gave me 2 weeks of medications, but I wasn't able to get her to take it, even when they were shoved into a meaty treat (she ate the treat, but spit out the pills). I covered the pills with peanut butter, and presto, she ate them as fast as she could. Would it be bad for her to eat a small amount of peanut butter twice a day?

Anyway, she is a really well behaved dog. I am happy I have her now!

[Kimberly]

Originally Posted by bmlbytes Would it be bad for her to eat a small amount of peanut butter twice a day?

Not at all. If thats what it takes to get her to take her pills, then great! If thats the worst thing that you are feeding her, she is going to be a very healthy pup! Just remember, there are A LOT of people who feed their dogs table scraps multiple times a day (not that there is anything wrong with that). So a little peanut butter for two weeks will be fine. The only bad thing to watch out for with feeding dogs people food is obesity.

[bmlbytes]

Well she is already a bit fat. That's why I ask. She is on a low calorie diet (Science Diet Light).

[Lori]

Congratulations! I adopted my dog over 14 years ago, a boxer/staff mix (the best dog ever!). The hardest thing I ever had to do was put her down last month. She was a month shy of 15 and had cancer (she was suffering in silence; but still had her wits about her).

My advise; be consistant. Don't let her sleep on your bed unless you want that bed partner for the next 14 years (mine slept under the covers between my husband and myself).
Love them, treat them well, exercise and socialization (do you have dog parks where you live?) No human junk food.
Enjoy.

[bmlbytes]

She was actually very good last night. I picked her up and put her on her bed, and she stayed there all night, even though my bed was right next to her.

There is a nearby dog park, but she is apparently not friendly with other dogs. She's not a puppy anymore, so dog-dog interaction is not as important as it is with puppies.