Wife and I just had our first kid!

[draggar]

He has what looks like scars from a sharp implement around his ears. I'll have to see if I can photograph it, but he won't let you near his ears, so I probably couldn't hold him still long enough to get a photo.

I also grabbed him by the scruff of the neck to get him out from under my desk (I have 3 servers under there, and LOTS of wiring he could get caught in. Don't want him getting caught it cables and damaging one of my servers, or worse, hurting himself trying to free himself.), and he freaked, dropped to the ground and gave that "don't hurt me" look.

The ears - could be an accident but more likely not.

But - his reaction to being grabbed by the scruff is normal. In dog language, especially with puppies, it's a correction from "momma" (they're not like cats where they carry them that way). Luna still acts like that if she's really naughty and I scruff her.

I went based on what the shelter listed him as. Either way, I do know I can't tell what else he could be, if anything at all, so that sounds probable.

Shelters will do this to CYOA - I don't think they like labeling dogs as "purebred" since people may complain that their "purebred" dog from a shelter turns out to be mixed. Also, as I said, most shelters have little experience with European dogs, especially with Soviet-Bloc lined dogs so they'll think they're mixes when they're not. Even an AKC judge thought Kiri was a mix (well, this is the same judge who thought she was a boy).

I've trained 2 dogs since my parents bought a pure bred black lab when I was a kid. I've walked the wife through what we'll have to do for training, and we've picked out commands for him to learn as we do. Working on "give" at the moment, as he only drops the ball for you if you have something he wants, and forces you to fight him for the ball otherwise.

That's puppy play - why else should he give you the ball unless you have something to give him? It's a good idea to have at least 2 balls so when he brings you one, you can taunt him with the other, have him drop the first then throw the second. Don't forget - he's also working line so he'll want to taunt you with the ball (it's not fair that you get to tease him all the time) and he'll also want to play tug games etc.

If he starts to be too much you might want to think about serious training - obedience (sit, stay, here (the recall / here command should be your strongest!) and if he's full of energy or gets too guardy look into schutzhund training.

[jedimaster91]

Also what Dragger mentioned about feeding, don't over feed and check what the food is made out of. If the first ingredients are grains don't buy it. It's like feeding yourself, A lot of dogs I'm seeing are ending up with some sort of grain allergy.

I actually grew up with dogs, as did the wife, so we know how to feed a dog, and what the dog's weight should be. He's really active, so he'll need more food. We've bought a brand that I can't remember offhand, but it was a vet recommendation for him.

My Beagle book said to choose a food with meat as the first ingredient. Makes sense, seeing as how dogs are mainly carnivores. My husband thinks I'm nuts. Just to put in my $0.02, we've had really good results with Purina Pro Plan and Purina One. Our rescue, Tag, was skinnier than I liked when we got him from the humane society. They feed Science Diet. I've noticed a tremendous difference in his coat since we switched him to Purina. He's filled out and his coat is soft and shiny. He's a gorgeous boy. Personally, I don't think he was a big fan of the Science Diet, but he loves what he's eating now. Which is pretty much whatever he can weasel out of Mom and Dad.

That's how I train, and he's already really social, I just need to get him away from the bad habit of "OOO PEOPLE! *Mad dash*"

Depending on how old he is, he may grow out of that somewhat. My beagle still goes into super spazz mode when other people are around, but I think a combo of time and training helped her tone it down a bit. Now she sits and furiously wags her tail instead of jumping all over the place. At least initially. Part of it may also be she's usually wearing her Gentle Leader when she's out and about, and it calms her down considerably. If you don't have a Gentle Leader, look into getting one. It will make your life so much easier.

I also grabbed him by the scruff of the neck to get him out from under my desk <snip> and he freaked, dropped to the ground and gave that "don't hurt me" look.

I wish mine would at least acknowledge a correction from me. Occasionally I'll get the submissive gesture from Ziggy, but I've only gotten it from Tag once. Eventhough they're both naughty and get plenty of corrections. Hounds, right?

I've trained 2 dogs since my parents bought a pure bred black lab when I was a kid. I've walked the wife through what we'll have to do for training, and we've picked out commands for him to learn as we do.

We trained our dogs on carrots and dried apple pieces. Great healthy alternatives to commercial treats. We also make them work for their food. It's amazing how fast they learn to sit when they have to in order to get dinner.

Working on "give" at the moment, as he only drops the ball for you if you have something he wants, and forces you to fight him for the ball otherwise.

Mine will only chase the ball if they're in the mood. And even then, they rarely bring it back. And if they decide to actually go get the ball, they bicker over who gets to bring the ball back. Although if Ziggy is in a really playful mood, she wants you to chase her to get the ball back. She will also sit and stare at you expectantly if you have something she wants. Like a dish towel. "Ok, Mom. I'm sitting pretty. You gonna give me that now?" Snot.

[Midorikawa]

Don't forget - he's also working line so he'll want to taunt you with the ball (it's not fair that you get to tease him all the time) and he'll also want to play tug games etc.

If he starts to be too much you might want to think about serious training - obedience (sit, stay, here (the recall / here command should be your strongest!) and if he's full of energy or gets too guardy look into schutzhund training.

He already taunts us with stuff, and we also play tug games with him. I knew he would, so we got a tug of war rope so we have something more specific than the tennis ball I gave him (which he has only put down to eat or trade for a squeaky toy. :-D)

He's already got some training, as he knows sit, stay, and come. He doesn't like stay, but he will if you insist on it. It looks to me like the previous owner was training him when he was either abandoned or ran away.

[draggar]

You lucked out - rarely does a dog come into a shelter like this.