 Barked: Sat Dec 15, '12 4:58pm PST |
 | |  | | Hi everyone!
A few weeks ago, I adopted a (almost) one year old purebred German Shepherd boy, who I've since named Zimmer. He's a great dog - very mellow, sweet, friendly... This is my first male dog. I've had females all my life, but he and I had an instant connection, which is why I made the decision to adopt him. It's been a learning experience, for both of us. He's got a quirk where, when he gets excited (either when I wake up, or my other dog comes in the room) he humps the air. This is common, I know, and I've even had a few female dogs who humped legs vigorously... But I've never seen a dog just hump the air like that. He's neutered, by the way, which doesn't necessarily mean anything as far as the humping quirk goes, but I've never seen a dog hump the air. Also, he's learned pretty quickly that when I push him away, he needs to stop. So it's definitely not something he does continuously (once, or twice a day at the most). And he's never humped my (spayed) female dog. He just gets excited to see her. I assume this is normal behavior?
Another thing, he's exceptionally lazy, which I've learned from family members (some who have owned Shepherds all their life) isn't particularly a bad thing, but I also feel like he's not being stimulated enough physically. I walk him every morning down (and back) a three mile walking trail, which is sufficient in tiring him out for the rest of the day. He'll play with his toys for, maybe, five to ten minutes before he gets that tired look in his eye and naps. And this is how it is all day; random burst of energy for five-ten minutes, followed by a nap, repeat a few times, and then he sleeps through the night. He's still a puppy, I know, so I'm guessing once he's older he'll probably require more stimulation, but I'm also worried he's sleeping so much out of boredom. I try to engage him with all kinds of toys, but he becomes disinterested pretty quickly and lays down. My vet has checked him out, as well, just as a precaution, but he's in great health. And as I live in San Francisco, where it's continuously cold and/or raining, I have to play with him inside. We're not yet at the point where I feel comfortable taking him to a dog park, either. He needs a bit more training before I feel completely okay with letting him off leash among so many dogs (and it's not because he isn't social - he has yet to meet a dog he doesn't like, I just don't want to rush him as he is still getting acclimated with his new life alongside me).
Maybe I'm just being an overly-worried dog mom...? I don't want him to be unhappy, but maybe I'm just reading too much into it. |  |  | |  |
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1
I found the comment amusing, since I do defend Cesar when I think he's getting a bum's rush. There are some things about him that I totally respect..like getting people to walk their dogs.
