How much time should be spent with you german shepherd pup a week?

i plan on getting a german shepherd pup this coming summer but im afraid i wont have enough time to train him due to me working from 8am to 4pm, 5 days a week..so basically i want to know how much time should i put into my GSD a week?

puppies require a lot of hard work... and need a lot of time....you can try to see if there is a place locally that does training for you... does it have to be a puppy.. why not rescue one... there are alot out there that are pretty trained already...

Is there any chance that you can take a whole bunch of time off initally when you get the pup to get it settled in and start the basic training. My friend has a GSD and she works shifts, so was able to spend a lot of the time with him to train him, he does get bored and often myself or another friend will go and see the dog and give him a walk or play time..Would you be able to have someone do this?? They are intelligant dogs that need a lot of time decicated to them while they are young and to also socialise them(they needs heaps od this around people and other dogs) to prevent the dog becoming antisocial in your neighbourhood??

Doesn't sound like you will have enough time to train a puppy. Why not adopt a young adult dog that NEEDS a home!

Just spend as much time as you possibly can with the pup on training. But keep in mind, it will be a pup, don't spend all your spare time training the pup, spend time playing, and even just time belly rubbing. Good Luck and have fun.

Puppies need time, and training should be daily til the dog life has ended. However being a puppy you cant train it for hours on end and expect to get anywhere. Best bet is 3-4 mins sessions. I would work with mine during commerical breaks.

well, i have had a pup before and in past experience you have to be with the pup for the first 6weeks or so, well untill its toilet trained.then you could get a dog sitter but you should spend as much time as possible with it.good luck

Don't get a dog that you don't have time for. Especially a PUPPY that needs A LOT of training and attention.If you must have a dog adopt an older one that is already trained.

If you're working 8am to 4pm five days week, not a good idea, puppies require alot of time, not only for training but also for socilizing, entertainment etc. You do not have the time with that schedule to devote to a dog at this time, especially not a puppy. If you must have a dog, consider adopting an older dog who is used to being on it's own most of the day. Otherwise, if you insist on a puppy, look into doggy daycare, can be expensive but you would leave a newborn child home alone all day and you certainly can't expect a young puppy to behave or be safe at home all day either. Putting a puppy in kennel for the length of time is a horrible idea and borders on abuse.Please, evaluate your situation and really think about the puppy your going to get and whether or not you can offer it what it truly needs. Consider an older adoption, consider a cat.

At the puppy stage he will need ALL of your attention. If theres no one there to play with him, teach him things, then he will grow up to be unresponsive to your commands and possibly become destructive due to boredom. If you have to work, this is understandable. But you can't leave a young pup home alone all day then be mad when you come home to find your living room like a warzone and lots of puddly type accidents everywhere. I've always had the same outlook on this topic... if you can't spend the time with a puppy, you really shouldn't be considering getting one. The point of getting one is to spend time with it. The woman who lives next door to me is out ALL day and her dog is left home alone and he just howls constantly, and he doesn't do a thing she tells him because she wasnt there when he was growing up, and she doesn't spend nearly enough time with him during the day. OK everyone has to work, but she could at least check on him at lunchtime, let him out for half an hour for a bit of a play, or get someone to take him for a walk.Please think this over very carefully, because in the end, it's a dog, a living, breathing dog, not an accessory.

Although it's not ideal, lots of people who work all week own dogs! The first, and biggest, problem you'll encounter is potty training. To housetrain a puppy needs consistent input from you, and if you're gone 8 hours a day you're going to have problems.If possible I'd suggest taking at least a week, even better two weeks, off work when you get your pup. That will give you a chance to get him or her settled into a routine and bond together for a while. I'd recommend a slightly older pup, maybe around 3 months or so, rather than a really young one. That way your puppy will have better bladder/bowel control which will make the potty training go more smoothly (and faster). If you look carefully and choose a puppy from a good, reputable breeder, you should be able to find one who's 3 or 4 months old and been started on basic obedience and housebreaking.If you can find a friend, relative or neighbor who can stop in at lunchtime or similar to take your pup out for a walk/play/potty break that would help a lot too.As for general training, being at work all day isn't a huge issue there for as long as you set aside time every day to work on basic manners and obedience. Also join a Puppy Class or basic obedience class just as soon as your pup is old enough and had his vaccinations. It's not the length of time that you train for that counts as much as the consistency and quality of those sessions.I would maybe suggest that you consider a different breed though if you're going to be away so much. German Shepherds are very intelligent dogs, and bond closely with their owners and don't do well on their own for long periods. They can easily become destructive if bored, under-exercised or lonely. Do your research before you commit to a breed, and try to find one that will fit well with your lifestyle and personality.You can find tons of free information, tips and advice on all aspects of choosing, training and caring for a puppy at the url below. Best of luck with whatever pup you choose when the time comes.

training 10-15 minutes a day they are very smart whenever you can take your puppy everywhere with you!German shepherds love the company of their people and like to feel like they are part of the family.they learn really fast!Good Luck!

A good rule of thumb is an hour walk before work and at least 1/2hr walk after work. Then after he has had a walk work on training for 1/2-1hr per day. Shepherds have to have training otherwise youll be dealing with aggressive&/or seperation anxiety issues. The hour walk should be enough to make him tired while you work. But now you have to consider potty trraining which takes more time. you can crate train but a pup needs to be let out every 2-4 hours (they have very small bladders and havent learned to fully control them) I would suggest that you consider adopting an adult or younger GSD, as they usually have been housebroken and require less training in that area. You can log on to petfinders.com and look up a breed rescue. But remember that all dogs do require the 1hr before and 1/2hr after work and daily training esp GSD to be happy and balanced. Hope this has helped and Good Luck.

Unless you can take at least a week off work starting the day you get your dog (a fortnight is better), DON'T DO IT!Adults and puppies each have their particular joys (being greedy, I want both, so breed my own replacements and raise them "my way"....)You should prepare by ensuring that your pooch will be unable to get under gates or through gaps in your fencing, nor will it be able to climb over anywhere. Continue by inside that area erecting an escape-proof security run in which the pooch will have room to jump & bound and piddle/poo well away from where it sleeps.Plenty of people will tell you to crate train. If you are considering taking their advice, first go a week where YOU do not use the toilet during the period from setting out for work and arriving home. (Wanna go without liquids during that period, as well?) To me, a crate is only a temporary thing for such as when a b.itch has to fly to & from a stud. I wouldn't be the least surprised if "crate-trained" pooches have a higher incidence of kidney diseases than do "outside" dogs. In addition, a dog outside experiences the interesting noises & aromas & movements of the environment, and has the opportunity to develop its muscles while you are not home.Another advantage for me is that if I know I have to be away overnight I can double-feed my adults and have a neighbour use the hose to refill the water dishes in the outside runs. I doubt any neighbour would attempt to refill a water dish inside my house!Training is ESSENTIAL.And as a newbie you MUST attend classes where an experienced instructor observes your probably-pathetic efforts then sets about improving your use of "the voices", body language, timing, rewards & reprimands. In my country, clubs hold their main training classes at the weekend, usually on Sunday mornings, although many of them have a midweek early-evening class for the advanced dogs. You will need to talk to people such as your Animal Control Officer to find out how to contact whatever clubs are in your area, and find out where & when they do their training, so you will know whether that fits your schedule - if it doesn't, there are professionals who will come to YOU provided you pay then enough.If you can't manage either way, DON'T GET A DOG!But training is not done in classes - it is done ALL THE TIME you are with your dog. Not being needlessly bossy, just rewarding/reprimanding for everything the dog does.Toilet training is easy, provided you start with a well-reared pooch that has been allowed to be clean - all you have to do is observe its signals (starting to see why you MUST be home at first?) and immediately take it to the right spot and wait, and wait, then praise-&-reward. With a puppy, carrying it to the spot is quickest & therefore safest.You also need to be home so that it learns from the outset that various things (eg, wooden chair legs) are NOT for chewing). UNtraining something a pooch has taught itself is FAR harder than training the pooch to do the right things. I expect toilet training completed in 24 hours, so sneer at people who report taking 8 months to succeed. A reminder that although I have 3 crates, not one of my 4 pooches (the oldest being 13 years) has ever been inside a crate, unless you count the tiny pens available at the vets when they need an operation.With a pup, another reason for you being home in the early stages is that it needs 3 feeds a day. If your away-from-home time is 8am to 4pm, that is manageable. But if you commute 1½ hours each way before & after that 8-to-4 slot you would be absent for 11 hours, and that is simply NOT fair on a pup, and I doubt you'd have the energy to satisfy an adult dog's needs for affection & exercise during the remaining 5 hours that you are out of bed, what with cooking & eating & housework...... You might even "waste" some of those 5 hours on a "social life" that doesn't include your pooch!Dogs are great, and if treated well they commit themselves totally to their owner (many are so forgiving that they commit to even undeserving outright bastards!) - but the owner ought to commit equally totally to the dog(s).Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_Friendly"In GSDs" as of 1967