Backstory;  I moved into a neighborhood last august and new that I would need a four legged alarm. My wife and had GSD's our whole life. Not the expensive kind, just good solid dogs. This is our second GSD as a married couple, and #4 between my wife and I. All of them have been great.

I take owning the dog very seriously and she spends at least 2 full week days in the country at my moms where she runs and plays for a solid 8 hours. Otherwise she is outside to do her business in the morning, she gets a marrow bone in the morning when I leave for work that she chews all day, and she is outside/playing inside for my whole lunch hour (usually longer than an hour). After work we either go to the park for an hour and she runs interval sprints with me, I throw her frisbee, or we do obedience stuff outside, or shes out back in the yard and we jog around the neighborhood. At least 1 full hour of hard exercise at night, usually longer.

She is with me all weekend; at the park, trail running, at the in laws (who live in the country) or just playing around in general in the backyard. Shes starts every week very well exercised.

With all that being said, my wife and I are about at the end of our rope. It seems like no matter how much she exercises she still sits by the door and whines to go outside. She is extremely insecure and always has been. Her nature is timid, and she loves people to a fault), but lately shes gotten more and more demanding. The other night when I walked in from work she barked/yipped at me and ran to the door whining, which isnt crazy by itself but she had been on my moms "farm" all day playing. She literally demands at all times to go outside, even when she has been outside all day or we have just gotten back from the park or in-laws. At all times that we are inside and home she is with us. Lately she just whines to go outside and takes no satisfaction in just being with us.

My wife and I tossed around the idea of buying a house with an even bigger back yard but I dont think it would matter. Am I doing something wrong? I am at the max allowable time for her being outside (average of 3 hours per day of good exercise with someone throwing her frisbee/running her). Its getting to the point of being unreasonable. I have never had a dog that is this ridiculous and wont spend 1 second just sitting at my feet or chilling out without begging to go outside, not matter how much exercise she has had.

Any solutions? Shes not a "high-drive" dog. She would never make a good working dog just because of how timid she can be. We love her, but at 1.5 years old I expected her to start to get more mature, not more and more idiotic.

Treadmill

A 1.5 year old dog is still a 'puppy', maturity starts around 4ish. As far as the demand to go outside, if you give in to that it will learn that it can go outside by whining/staring at the door.
My friend has a German Shepard that is also never just 'content' even with running it all day, I just assumed that was the nature of the breed. (That's why I have a lab)

No matter how I say this I will probably piss you off but I don't care. You say you love and care for this breed but you don't properly work the dog and it sounds like you don't stimulate them either. Exercise is fine but what do you do for the mind? Walking and playing frisbee only does so much. These dogs love to work, search, bite, solve problems and so on. Do you play tug with the dog? These dogs are capable of so much yet so many people never allow them to reach their potential. Then these people say I have a good looking dog and I want to breed them for my own vanity and then every generation the breed loses a little more of their edge. People with 9-5 jobs buy them and let them sit home every day and come home tired and might walk them but that is about it. Then they wonder why they have dogs that are timid, neurotic, aggressive and so on. It's because you bore them to fucking death. You have a dog that would love to herd animals for 10 hours a day or be a police dog and bite people 10 hours a day or search for suspects or dope. YOU are the dogs problem as YOU are not giving enough stimulation to the dog. You also need to learn to cap the drive but if they are not getting what they need this wont work. The issues are only going to get worse and eventually it will end with aggression and someone will get bit. You say your dog is not a high drive dog yet tell us all it wants to do is play so I would say you do have a high drive dog that is frustrated with a lack of stimulating activity.


I earned my first pair of dogs by working part time at the kennel, I picked up shit and was a decoy for the dogs to bite. I was given my first pair. Nowadays people whip out their cash or visa card because they deserve a good dog. I miss the old days where people earned the right to a good dog by proving themselves a worthy owner. My dogs are first in my life. They go to work with me every day when I can, when I can't take them with me I have a employee that his only job when I am gone is to work my dogs, it's rare that they don't go with me. I even have service dog vests for them and take them grocery shopping with me. I spend 4 hours a day working my dogs and my employee works them for another hour or two as well as walking them. One of my dogs is going to be put down next week and I have a need for two dogs right now and I have to contend with assholes for good working dogs that are going to owners that just want to cuddle a cute puppy and will probably never work them.

Sadly I have stopped looking for GSD's and am now looking at t the Malinios as the GSD's are becoming timid pussy dogs due to shitty breeders and owners. Mals will be the next working breed destroyed by idiot owners and breeders. I backed down a kennels best dog today, put on a bite sleeve and the dog would not bite me, timid dogs being bred is becoming the norm.

If you truly love this breed you will not buy another one until you get your shit together. Get in a club and learn how little you really know about the breed and fix it or stop buying them.

http://www.cbk9.com/ourdogs/sw-oh-schutzhund-club.php


Good resource for dog training for working breeds. Believe me it is not the dog it is the owners.

http://leerburg.com/

At 1.5, she's still got a bit of "puppy" in her.  They don't start really maturing for a little while longer.   In human terms, they're still like a teenager at best, maybe even pre-teen.   At that age, my GSD mixes still had to go walk/run for 2-3 hours, then come home and wrestle each other for another hour or two every day just to work out their energy.  And while they were quite obedient thanks to training and NILIF, still going back and doing the obedience work with them every day was important to THEM.

GSDs are intelligent dogs, and they really want to be DOING something, preferably WITH PEOPLE, and if you aren't giving them something to do, they will either FIND something to do (which you probably won't like), or can get anxious and bored.  And while yeah, running is good for them, they're much happier doing a JOB WITH YOU.  In obedience training, my girl did not want treats, she wouldn't even take them.  All she wanted was to hear "Yes, Mishka."  They are made to WORK along side people.

Work on basic obedience, find a sport, find something that lights up that "Yeah, I'm a WORKING DOG!" center of the brain that GSDs definitely have.  Even if she's timid, she still has it in her genes to be doing something, and to be working along side people.

Right along my thoughts whenever I hear someone say "I'm going to buy a border collie!"    Or when they buy a Weimeraner to keep in the back yard.

There is a guy in my area who walks two obese Weimaraner's. I feel sorry for the dogs. I asked him one day many years ago if he hunted with them and he said I don't believe in hunting or guns, I just love the way these dogs look. I called him a piece of shit, he avoids my street.

Boy you couldnt just offer the guy some help without busting his balls and acting like an arrogant know it all ?

Not everyone can take their dog to work and from the sound of you your certainly not a K9 or know much about it. People would probably be surprised at now much time they spend just sitting in the car or stretched out at home. Even K9 cops have lives and there is only so much work out there even in huge cities.

To the Op I'd say your dog is a typical GSD who has figured out how to get her way by yipping at the door. My 19 mos male was just doing the same thing and I yelled up there for him to STFU. He knows I run the show so he did. Your doing all you can with your dog exercise-wise, she just has to grow up and this guy does make one good point. You do have to find new ways to stimulate and challenge her. Whenever I teach my dogs something I teach them first the voice command, then the whistle, then the hand. Also find a fun way for the dog to use his scenting instincts, Even if its just dropping something smelly in the woods and letting her turn back and find it to heaps of praises. Make that training time part of the day the best part for both of you. LMAO, you think your the only one with a dog who has learned to whine to get something they want?

Be patient and positive and assertive with your female. She will work out just fine. If you think she needs it find a good trainer who isnt pissed at the world and insults you like this guy below. This is really why I go it alone instead of joining training groups. I know what I want, know how to get there, know how to get information, and can do it without the know it alls.

maybe there is something wrong inside the house

So you figured I am pissed off at the world? Wow. Just tired of people who buy working dogs because they look cool, don't have the time to train them and the guys that defend their moronic decisions. Can't tell you how many good working dogs I have seen in the last 30 years ruined or setback because of lousy owners. Training them starts the day they come home or you end up with neurotic dogs with no confidence that have issues and are given away or worse get put to sleep because they start biting. I do the majority of my training on my own but socialize my dogs during group training and competitions.

Im sure the OP appreciates your valuable input. And would say so tho it seems someone chased him off the thread.

But do keep the good advice coming.

Basically, you have taken your frustration with other lazy owners out on this guy- who is here asking for help on what to do right. He is not lazy.  He is doing the right thing.  When you begin a post with 'No matter how I say this you're going to get pissed off' attitude, it really emphasizes that chip on your shoulder.  Sorry you had to pick up dog shit to earn your dogs, bud.  While that may not have been pleasant, it was an honorable way to earn them.  Just because the rest of us other 'lazy owners' earned our money to purchase our dogs in other ways does not mean that we love them less, or respect the breed less than you do.  If I had sucked dicks to earn things, you're right I would be a little more appreciate of what I have.  But that would be my problem, not something to project onto other people.      

Why don't you breed GSDs, savage338?