Trying to understand a new commer in to the family

[amarchand303]

Dear All, Good day
My name is Amarchand and i live in Paris .
I deal mostly with horses and i am into show jumping
its been 2 days i have adopted a crossed Dutch shepherd from SPA .
i went there to meet a friend and i found this cute dog looking at me with a beautiful strange eyes .
I asked the story of Maya ( means magic in Indian), i gave this name to her .
Ok now coming to the point
I don’t know anything about dogs  , she is weighing 14 kgs and she is of 15 months old .
She is very afraid ( I don’t know how the people treated her before) , but today she seems to be more comfortable in her new house .
What should be approximate weight at this age ?
As I spend most of my time with horses and going into forests while training horses, for sure Maya will be very very active .
Do you think she will fallow me in the forest ? , today she didn't leave me a single minute 
I am feeding her 250 gms morning and 250 gms evening .
Mark –“Royal Canin” for medium 10-25 kgs .everyone said it’s a great food .
I really want to take care of her and give Maya a great life .
All your recommendations and information will be highly appreciated

[amarchand303]

here are some pics

[HeatherH]

Welcome
Weight she looks health from the pictures but I'm not an expert.
I take it the bandage? Around her is from surgery?
Get ready they have a ton of energy. You will need chew toys.
You should do a lot of training before you have her around the horses and out in the forest. Obedience training at least the basics like: recall and leave it. When you’re on and off the horse.

From my experience with horses and dogs, horses don't like them behind them or anywhere near their feet. So she will need to keep in the horse’s eyesight or at least far enough horse not to kick her or spook it and knock you off.

I live by a forest and trails all over the place. My ds are 2 and a bit and have very little trouble with training. Although now in the cooler weather he seems to have more energy.

Your ds will love the amount of exercise though being outdoors that much.

Good luck.

[Dutchringgirl]

Welcome!! I have also done show jumping and Grand Prix as well as eventing and have many years of experience with horses and dogs at my farms. They can be together but with much training of the dog. She will love being at the farm all day and as long as she has alot of good solid Obedience work, it will be fun for her. My dogs loved being on the farm all day.
Teach her to say with you and to go to a spot and stay until released so while you are riding in the ring, she can stay out of trouble, or if you are in the barn and alot of horses are on the aisle, she can have a spot to lay down and be safe.

Before you take her on a trail ride with the horses, take her for many hikes with just you on foot to teach her trail obedience. You dont want her close to the horse but you want her to stay with you.

I mountain bike with Thalie, and it is kind of the same idea. I hiked with Thalie for a long time and once she was solid with her recalls and to stay close, she went off leash, then when I knew she could be trusted, I took her biking, she would go into the woods but a recall and she comes right back, or if she gets ahead of me and I am not there soon, she will come back for me.

A solid recall is paramount, but they will learn quick if you are consistent. Watch the hoof trimmings though, dogs love them but then at 3 am they throw them up.

Main thing though, is keep her away from hoofs.

[amarchand303]

Hello Heather and Lisa ,
Thank you very much for your reply and advises .
Yes ,she had an operation 7 days back , so she can’t have clubs .
I think I will first teach her to maintain her distance with horses and obey my orders as recall and leave it . when I think she is ready then I will bring for walking.
I am going step by step 
Today for my surprise she barked on a small dog and attacked her , but not aggressively .Small Jack was afraid of Maya and went hiding behind her owner !!
How to control this behavior not to make other dogs get afraid of her ?
She is always listening what ever I say or at least trying .
I let her go on to canape and I am not putting any restrictions when she climbs on to canape when I watch tv . is that ok ?
I don’t care if she spoils sofa , but I want her to do it at my permission not on her own . how I can control this ?
Another surprise , she heard someone entering the building this morning and started barking, but just 2 or three times and when I said no she stopped .
Do I have to control this or do I let her bark ?
Cutest thing is she doesn't leave me for a second , Sometimes I go out of the house for few minutes and when I come back she makes a party 
I let her party  , do I have to do anything about this ?
I think she is very joyful , so I don’t want to control her joy , any advise on this ?
Thanks for your help .

[amarchand303]

By the way , i didn't buy her any toys or hoofs until now , I will buy some toys this weekend .
I m thinking not to give habit of hoofs .

[Dutchringgirl]

Keep her on a leash for now so she will be easier to control and if another dog comes around you can be in control. Is this your farm? If so, make some dog rules. My rules were, dogs were fine as long as they were in control at all times, the owners could leave them in their stall while they rode or they could be put in a down somewhere.

YOu cant control other dogs or make them not fear her, that is up to their owners. Keep her on a leash and work with her to listen to you and focus on you.

The best thing you can do right now, is to find a dog trainer to work with.

Its up to you where she can go or not go. Your house, your rules, if you dont want her somewhere, move her. or make a place that is hers, a dog bed or blanket that she can lay on.

DO you want her to bark when someone comes in? If so , how long? again , its up to you. YOu can teach her "quiet".

You are the boss, not her.

You really need a trainer and soon, as she gets older and you are not sure about what you want to allow or not allow, she will take advantage of you and it will be harder to train her out.

[HeatherH]

Bonjour

My posts generally are short.
Good OB will take care of something’s. If you have a SPCA they generally have beginner ob training. It might be a good idea if you’re this new to dogs.
Barking, you might want to get that under control, I'm not a fan of Dutch barking at all things that move. First you need to teach her to bark on command before you can teach her how to stop. Don’t nag thought. Say the command once then enforce it by distracting her. (No rolled up newspapers swats). Then when she does praise her or small treat use praise.

She's new to you and her surroundings and you’re the only thing she knows she may unattached a little although mine is generally a shadow and I need to remind myself that right behind me is Dutch and my cat. Worry if you don't see her (she's probably chewing on something of your like your riding boots, the $600.00 pair.). I've on my 3rd pair of $80.00 Sketchers. Anything over $60.00 is now on the top shelf. He's since lost interest in my shoes. Only the Payless are on the bottom 2. I put his toys in my laundry basket then give them to chew. This way he doesn't chew on my stuff.

Other dogs. Watch her ears, stance and fur on the back neck. Generally that tells me he's not playing and there's going to be a problem. Socialization is a good thing in my opinion. If they know that the other dog is not a threat they just want to play. For some strange reason for dogs there's always a problem with how the owner behaves, fences and leashes. Let other people worry about their dog just be mindful of how your dog reacts and people who don't know how to control theirs. Usually the term “hmm fluffy’s never done that before it must be your dog". Teach her "leave it, and be nice” I use "leave it" when it comes to him bugging the cat or, there’re a dog fight and I don't want him flying in to the Frey and if we're walking and I want him to ignore the other dog. I use be nice when we're approaching other dogs and I know its ok with playing with it.

Good luck.

Heather

[amarchand303]

Thank you very much for your advises ,they are very useful .
Maya is totally under control .
She respects barriers in the house where she can go and where she can’t  !! that is amazing
I am training her contact , so she responses to different sounds and concentrate on me other than looking at other dogs ..etc.
Yesterday we played a lot together , she loves playing  !!
She loves her food 
Saturday I took appointment with a dog trainer to know better !!
For now the only problem is that while playing she bites bit harder , so i don’t know how to control this .
Any advise?
Things are going great .

[Dutchringgirl]

sounds great so far. Remember, you are the boss. If you dont want her to do something, then she dosnt have to.

For the play biting, you can put your hand over her snout and say no, this is how mom dogs discipline their pups, they hold their snout in their mouth. You can also watch her during play and if you see her open her mouth and look to grab your arm, pull your arm away and say "no" or "no bite" then when she closes her mouth, praise her.

so glad things are going well!!

[amarchand303]

Thank you , i will try that tonight .

today she went close to some horses and she is getting less afraid .

My horse Roxys and Maya got introducion. it seems like my horse is jealous

But i am ery careful when Maya get too close to horses, so she will not get kick from a horse .i am repeatedly telling her no.

i tried to brush Maya and she didn't like it especially when i reach her bandage , do you think this is linked to her surgery ?

thanks
Amar

[amarchand303]

I have bought her some toys to play . as she likes playing may be i can educate her by playing

[HeatherH]

Hi I brush Dutch regularly and trim his dew claws the rest get ground down while running and playing. his hind quarter has the most hair. From my experience dogs don't like anything back there and you when you wash them you do their head last as it directly will shake it off. I taught him hold shake as I am not a fan of being in the process.

Heather

[amarchand303]

great , thank you

[Dutchringgirl]

Thalie loves being brushed but Sadie hates it so I just give a good scratching. It could be because of her surgury, id leave her alone back there and brush where she dosnt mind for now.

She will find her way around the horses, I have had one of my dogs get kicked and she was okay, that was a good lesson for her. It will happen.

The horses will get used to her as well. As she runs around and the horses learn to trust her, it will all fall into place.

[Raven]

You have gotten some really good advice on your immediate issues, and perhaps you don't need to go further...but I always suggest marker training starting with basic OB, proofing what was learned, then advancing, and then proofing again.

You can never go wrong by marker training since it makes expectations clear as well provide a guideline for you both...so ultimately, you'll both remain on the same page. Marker training, once a dog is conditioned to it, will come to aid in more than reliable OB; the dog also learns trust to the level where grooming, nail filing, bathing, etc., is just part of life...nothing of concern.

[amarchand303]

Thank you Lisa and Raven,

Yes for the moment i am leaving her tranquilly , and cleaning where it doesn't disturb her .

Yes i am doing marker training .

Yesterday we trained her with maker training .

i was standing in the apartment and my girl friend in the garden . we made recall training by encouraging her with treat by saying yes and good every time .

after 1 min she understood and she started running to us alternatively without calling , i was confused weather to treat her or not ..

what should i do when she take initiative to do what we are expecting without call ?

thank you very much guys , your advises are so helpful !!

She is getting beautiful and healthy everyday

[amarchand303]

her bed is just 2m from my table , she prefer sleeping under table to be close to me than sleeping on her bed .
she is becoming my shadow !!

[HeatherH]

She's soo cute.

When I'm training we are in training mode until I tell Dutch ok enough lets play. She's probably just excited and thinks it's a game. You should correct her and no treats until you say so.

[Raven]

after 1 min she understood and she started running to us alternatively without calling

She's anticipating.

As long as she has the concept, I wouldn't treat that situation now--but you don't want to discourage it by making her feel she's done something wrong by coming to you, either. I'd ignore, no treat, begin again. My opinion. (With other commands or when learning tasks, you can treat if she's not getting the hang of it so you encourage her attempt, but you don't continually treat the attempt, otherwise, she'll think she has it right. Hope that makes sense.)

Especially if she's going to be around horses, don't forget to proof her under distractions once she's got something down. Commands like "leave it" and "come" being so important, she needs to go beyond learning what they mean...she needs for her OB to be second-nature, conditioned 210% to it...so it becomes an automatic response for her without thinking--regardless of what is happening around her.

Sounds like you found a gem! Everybody got lucky!!!