She’s a 10 week old, white German Shepherd. She’s damn adorable.
Could all please share with me your best methods for housetraining? And any other info that may be helpful?
Thanks…!
Where are the pictuuuuuures?
I’ll definitely post some later – digital camera’s at home with lots in it.
I can’t recommend crate training enough- if you are not able to directly supervise the little tyke- into the crate. You can make it a nice place, with treats/safe toys and a blanket- most of my dogs will go voluntarily into their crates to “chill” and see that as their bed/private place. Be prepared for some puppy temper tantrums, but once they settle into it, they will be easier to travel with and be more at ease when at the vet’s because they have learned that being confined isn’t the end of the world. If you are watching carefully and make a big “NO” that startles the tyke when they make a mistake- a big impression then will go a long, long way. Take the pup directly outside and when they finish, give them a treat. German Shepherds (and big dogs in general) are usually pretty good about being housebroken, just be vigilant and go for a 30 day goal of no accidents and you will have a housebroken dog.
smokinjbc nailed it. My dogs absolutely love their crates, and the big dog didn’t even GET a crate until she was 7. We got one for her at the same time we got one for the then puppy Bulldog.
Another thing: Chew toys. Buy them in bulk. Encourage their use. Immediately take away anything that is not an approved chew toy. We weren’t vigilant enough with this when the bulldog was a pup and lost two baseboards, two sets of door moulding, a leather jacket, a couch, a dining room table, two TV cables, a remote controller and two pairs of shoes.
Her nickname for a while was Osama bin Puppy.
Kongs, rawhides, pig’s feet. Whatever it takes.
In our case we had another dog already, and I think that helped a lot. So did giving her a “cookie” (Milk Bone) every time she peed/pooped outside. At first I was carrying the cookies outside with us and giving them to her as soon as she finished her business, but after a couple of weeks – when she had the idea – I switched to giving her one as soon as we got back inside. Which is what we’d been doing with the other dog, anyway.
I agree that crate training is a very good thing, but despite various efforts to help our puppy love her crate she has never been happy in it and she often pees in it. I’ve read that some dogs will just never take to the crate, and I guess she’s one of them. For the past week or so she’s been happily sleeping on the bed with us at night, and now we only put her in the crate when we’re both out of the house (my SO works from home). She goes into it willingly and will even often lie down in it right away, and she doesn’t bark in it anymore, but as I said it’s common for me to let her out and discover that she’s peed in it. Both my SO and I can’t wait until we’re able to leave her alone in the house, but she’s only 5 months old – we still have a while to go. 
Not only LOL, but I may just have to steal that for use on my own puppy when she’s misbehaving! 