Hello Saf, As far as the crate goes: 1. When pup cries but doesn’t have to go potty (like after you return them to the crate when they just went potty outside) be consistent about ignoring the crying until they go back to sleep. The more consistent you are the quicker the overall process tends to take even if it’s hard to do for the first month. 2. When pup does truly need to go potty (when it’s been at least 3-4 hours since pup last peed at night. Take pup out every 1-2 hours during the day though), take pup to go potty outside on a leash to keep pup focused and things calmer. Don’t give treats, food, play, or much attention during these trips – boring and sleepy is the goal, then right back to bed after. This helps pup learn to only wake when they truly need to go potty and be able to put themselves back to sleep – helping them start sleeping longer stretches sooner and not ask to go out unless they actually need to potty. Pup will generally need 1-2 potty trips at night even after trained for a couple months though due to a small bladder. 3. Wait until pup asks to go potty by crying in the crate at night before you take them – opposed to setting an alarm clock, unless pup is having accidents in the crate and not asking to go out. This gives pup the chance to learn to start falling back to sleep when they wake in light sleep if they don’t really need to go potty, instead of being woken up all the way when they could have held it a bit longer. 4. In your case I especially recommend, practicing the Surprise method from the article I have linked below to help pup get used to crate time during the day too – so that there is less crying at night due to pup adjusting to being alone overall. Don’t give treats at nighttime though. Surprise method – only give treats during daytime practice, not at night though: https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate As far as kids, really well socialized German Shepherds can be really great with the kids in their own family. Because they are a naturally protective breed, you do have to generally be extra careful around your kids’ friends, neighbors, and other kids outside those in your immediate family though. Things like your kids wrestling or running with other kids can sometimes be viewed as something your kids need protection from, leading to a bite to a visitor if you aren’t intentionally teaching pup how to handle those situations. The more you socialize pup so pup understands what’s normal versus not normal, and pup is desensitized and happy about the noises, movements, greetings, and activities with kids, the better the outcome is likely to be for pup and kids to get along well. It’s always a good idea to supervise any dog with kids though, especially kids they don’t know. Teaching the kids how to respect a dog’s space, like not approaching when eating, sleeping, or touching pup in places that are more vulnerable is a good idea with any dog too. I like to teach kids how to give my own dogs commands for treats, how to play fetch with pup (training pup fetch first), and how to pet pup places dogs are most comfortable personally, so that kids and dogs have calmer ways to interact for the sake of both, opposed to wrestling, tug of war, or hugging/tail tugging/laying on pup/ect… Each dog also has their own individual temperament, so some individuals will naturally be more tolerant and submissive than others will be. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Feb. 14, 2022