GSD puppy care

Question
Hiya,

Me and my partner have recently bought a gorgeous german shepherd puppy and were wondering if you could help with a small problem we're having.. We've been using a baby gate as she is limited to the kitchen untill she is toilet trained, however she has started jumping at the gate in the last few days and managed to make it over yesterday! The gate is over a meter high and I know it is bad for their hips to be jumping at this age, any suggestions please? Our other problem is that our living room is upstairs and its going to require stair climbing for her, is this going to be a problem for her long term health? She is 3 months old. Thank you, a reply would be great.

Answer
The health question is better posed to a veterinarian who really knows about canine growth factors and certain breed tendencies, but as far as the gate...well, can you get a taller gate? If not, you might consider leaving her on leash on a tie-out in the kitchen, so she has enough room to move around, but not reach the gate. I don't know what your setup is obviously. You also want to be careful of her getting tangled in the leash. It's not a perfect solution, I realize. You could also invest in a wire crate (expandable) and keep it in the kitchen during the housetraining period.

Good luck,
Josh Abrams
Founder, Dogasaur.com