-
Sounds great! My staffies have always really got on well with Malinois / German Shepherds for some strange reason. Think because had similar physical strength despite the size difference.
I went with harness as they are very strong and enthusiastic and I found easier to control and grab if needed when they were doing crime.
Your kids are wise. Those puppy teeth are lethal and she will be trying them on everything. Having a toy in hand to quickly shove in her mouth will save a few nips. She will also be chewing / swallowing everything so best avoid leaving things around and on low tables to avoid an expensive vets trip. Good crate training (see Steve Mann) is also a godsend to give everyone downtime.
Younger daughter had a massive tantrum last week and she put her head on her lap and she'd calmed down within five minutes.
Yes that empathy is one of the breed characteristics.
velosaurus-
Your kids are wise.
Up to a point. Obviously running around shouting with an excitable puppy tends not to reduce chance of getting jumped on.She's already chewing everything and aware it'll get worse. Need to order a load more chew toys as she's going to destroy them. Plus none of them seem to really satisfy her for long - I got a bunch of cheap edible chews from pets at home and those keep her occupied for longer but don't last.
Already getting good at not leaving shoes anywhere within reach. She's already managed to get a few back to her crate before rescuing them.
Have been focusing on making her crate a fun/nice place to be for the moment and then going to start establishing it as somewhere she gets shut into once children are back at school and I can concentrate.
Will get browsing for harnesses.
ad441
Finally got 2 minutes on computer to reply. Puppies + children at same time are hard work. Will be a lot easier when they're back at schol tomorrow and I can maybe do some trainign without being constantly interrupted.
That's good to know - had been intending doing that this week if possible. Have a friend with a very well trained malinois who she's met already and I'll probably take her over to their dog park as they know all the local dogs already + imagine observing well behaved dogs is good for her.
Got any thoughts on collar vs harness once we get to stage where I can walk her? Have seen both recommended. Collar seems like it would be a lot easier but she's going to be strong. Just weighed her and she put on over a kilo since Friday. She's noticeably bigger than a week ago.
Can already see little bits of stuborness - she is definitely not keen on going outside when cold or wet. But also can see her confidence growing - have put her in multiple different situations in the last week (children's playgrounds where she got mobbed, trip down to my parents for weekend, etc) and she's taken it all in her stride.
Have ordered that book as had been meaning to get another one - one I've been using is a bit oddly structured. Defintiely want to get on top of training early. She's doing pretty well with 'sit' and I've made a start on 'drop' which sounds useful.
The kids definitely need some training. They're still getting stressed when she's exciteable because they're worried she'll nip them. Which is entirely possible when she's over excited. So trying to get them to practise being calm plus also that they're in charge, not her.
On the other hand she's already done a huge amount of good in comforting them when they're upset. Younger daughter had a massive tantrum last week and she put her head on her lap and she'd calmed down within five minutes.
Better get back to kids/dogs. Got more people coming to visit her this morning. We're suddenly very popular... plus she's got a kid's halloween party to go to this evening.