My new puppy

Question
Ok, so Max is coming home on the 16th.  Now I am wondering what fun activities I can do with him.  I am taking him to puppy obedience at Petsmart to begin with.  Then I would like to do something else like maybe herding or more serious obedience so he can eventually participate in the AKC obedience events.  How do I find out what my puppy would be suitable for?  

Also, I would like to spay my puppy.  When is the best time to do that?  I don't want to impact his growth.  

Answer
With respect to spaying, you should check with your vet.  Your pup should be dewormed, and have his first shots by the time you get him, and should be either tattooed or micro chipped.  Most pups go to their new homes around 8 weeks. So Your pup might already have his second shots.

After their first shots they need them once each month for 2 more months.  Check with your vet at the time you take your pup in.  You may need to schedule an appointment at least 2 weeks in advance.

Your breeder will be able to tell you if your dog is a show quality dog or a working dog/Companion Dog.   If a working or companion dog he is suitable for all kinds of training.  Most competition dogs require confidence and fearlessness and a good temperament which comes from their upbringing, socialization, and getting through the fear imprint age 10-16 weeks

Some dogs are less outgoing than others.  But I find it also depends on how informed the owner is.  Having a Dog that wants to please you is important.  At the same time, an educated owner knows how to help a dog want to please him.

Another example.  A Schutzund dog needs to have a good bite and should be practiced with tug of war on a regular basis to develop a strong bite.  

Agility needs a dog that is not afraid to try new things, but training and socialization can help them overcome that.  Check out an agility club in your area.    

You can start training your pup at home.  I recommend obedience and manners classes.  Continue with obedience until you have mastered everything which does take time.  Those stays, heels, turns, leave its, recalls, retrieves etc. do take practice.

If your dog is show quality, you might want to start conformation classes right away.  Dogs can be shown at around 5 - 6 months.

NO JUMPING OR LONG DISTANCE RUNNING other than what the pup does on its own to allow the front legs to get strong, so Agility is out for now unless you want to learn foundation agility (familiarizing your dog with obedience concepts of agility and with the equipment (you'll need an obedience foundation first.

If considering both obedience and agility, you might want to look into schutzund (protection) which is a combination of agility, obedience, tracking, protection, and distance running.

You can work towards your K9 Good Citizen (obedience Temperament test) which can be obtained before the 1st year.

Be sure your pup has had his second shot before being around other dogs.

Petsmart classes are ok for a start but you might want to check out more experienced trainers for Obedience Trials.

There is something relatively new to AKC and CKC which is Pre-Obedience called Rally O, which is something you could get into after your initial obedience class.  There is also Obedience Novice which is also beginner obedience trial.

If you have a Schutzund Club or German Shepherd Club in your area contact them, they will be a valuable resource for you.  Your breeder should have knowledge of them.

John Cree has written a book called training the German Shepherd which is very helpful for foundation obedience, obedience trials, tracking trials, protection.  It answers a lot of questions and provides detailed information for training for Obedience Trials. If I recall, it might have been written for UK standards (much stricter than Canadian or American Standards) and is extremely useful in training.  It can be found on my homepage.

Wishing You and your Pup all the Best

Gallant German Shepherds
http://www.gallantshepherds.com