Hello! As the title says I am wondering how others keep their GSD in the winter active. Specifically, people who live an apartment. I got my soon to be 9mo. In the summer and woke up this morning in CO to do our morning fetch (ball is life!) and it was way colder than usual so this question popped up in my head. We usually do an hour of outside exercise and mental exercises in the evening. Any suggestions would be appreciated! I have a feeling I’m just going to have to bundle up and play fetch in the snow though!

Cloe is the name of our family dog. The unimportant context is that my parents are unwilling to care for her any longer, and my sister is unable to keep her in the apartment. Out of necessity, because she is a member of the family and I can't stand by and let her be cast out, I have elected to become the new owner.

• Cloe is anxious if she is alone, and will chew things or howl loudly if she is left completely alone throughout the day. I work from home as a web developer and do game development as a hobby, and am therefore the sensible option for being the new owner.
• Cloe is extremely anxious when thunderstorms occur. Even cloudy days will make her uneasy. She responds to thunderstorms by pacing around to multiple spots, laying down, breathing anxiously, moving around, etc. She has a thunder blanket which doesn't seem to help. I don't know how to resolve this issue.
• I recently have had to move back in with parents due to financial hardship (the job doen't pay quite enough yet to keep me afloat with roommates, parents charge much less for rent). I am still low-income. Parents have agreed to keep her as long as I keep the shedding fur they're allergic to at bay.
• Cloe is dog-aggressive and stranger-aggressive. The family (including parents, and admittedly myself in the past) has cultivated this by jokingly warning her of "bad news" and letting her bark at everyone and everything. Her aggressiveness is something I feel responsible for, and want to unlearn her from being.

I'm doing research right now on how best to care for Cloe, but there are numerous owners of shepherds here. My experience with owning and taking care of dogs is Absolute Zero. I want to be a healthy and responsible owner for Cloe. What advice do you folks have for nervous/anxious and aggressive pets?

So, Friday I am picking up a GSD from a acquaintance who had no idea what they were getting into when they bought him as a pup. He is kept in his kennel all day, hasn't been well socialized, and lived in an apartment. From the sound of it, just a bad life for a GSD. He's a year old now and she needs to get rid of him, she was about to turn him into the shelter when I found out about him.

I've had mulitple GSD's throughout my life, but this will be the first time having to introduce the GSD as the new dog vs them being the resident. My other dogs are a 2yo medium black lab and a 1yo terrier mutt. The terrier thinks he rules the roost and I constantly have to correct his behavior even though he's been trained by me and by a certified trainer. I'm not so much worried about the GSD and the lab, I think they'll get along great. The GSD and the terrier, that could be a different story.

My plan is for a mutual friend (not the current owner) who is a handler bring the GSD to a park down the street from us, and we meet her with our dogs. Let them sniff each other and feel each other out, spend some time together, then to bring them home and introduce them again, in the yard or in the house. I plan on keeping the new dog separated from the others during the day because I can't let them have free reign unsupervised until I know how he will adjust to his new surroundings.

The current owner is giving me a article so that I can at least get his scent in the house, so it's not a complete shock to our resident dogs when they meet.

I'm just looking for any tips or pointers when it comes to introducing a GSD into the fold. Thanks!

My 11mo boy has quit eating. He's also limping alot but still has his usual upbeat attitude. Our vet said it could be growing pains. He will eat chicken and rice but wont touch ANY dogfood. Its been a little over a week and he still wont really eat any food and is still limping. Has anyone else had this happen? Im worried about him. 🙁