New German Shepherd Puppy

Question
My husband and I are purchasing a female 10 week old German Shepherd puppy this Friday.  She is AKC registered and OFC certified (whatever that means).  We are getting her as a family pet only.  We will not be breeding her.  She will be an inside dog.  Also, I have a 16 month old son and a 6 year old daughter at home.  I was wondering if you could offer me any pointers on house training her.  Also, can you give me kind of a rough estimate about how long it takes to house train a German Shepherd.  I know all dogs are different so you can't be exact, but I am just curious about the time frame I may be looking at.  We are so excited to be getting her.  We have waited a long time to find the right dog and I think we finally have.  So any pointers you can give me on how to keep her happy would be great too.  Thank you in advance.

Answer
Hi Misty,  First off it is impossible for a 10 week old puppy to be OFA certified.  They don't even do that until they are two years old.  That is when they certify the hips as being clear for hip dysplasia, a common hereditary defect in German Shepherds.  
As far as house breaking, you will want to start by getting her a crate, and crate training her.  Get her on a regular schedule of going outside.  When you are not home or at night, keep her in the crate, that way she can learn to control herself.  When you take her out of the crate, carry her outside, don't let her run outside because she may have an accident before she makes it out the door.  Time wise, it takes at least 4-8 weeks for them to imprint on the housebreaking.  You should get her out every 4 hours at first, and slowly work it up.  Except at night, when she can go longer because she is staying quiet.  If for some reason she does not go to the bathroom when you put her outside, try and throw a ball to get her running and get nature to take it's course.  If she still doesn't go, then put her back in the crate, come back in a half hour and try again.  Don't let her loose in the house until she has gone outside.  Hoep this helps and if you need more help just let me know.

Dawn