Look it's Nebo's twin! LOL. I have a siberian husky puppy, and the behavior from your pup is exactly like mine (except he really wasn't too bad to crate train). I'm sure people will remember me posting how frustrated I was with him many, many times. He's still frustrating, but he's better now (so don't loose hope!). I got him when he was 8 weeks old, and he's now 4 months old. He was an extremely bad biter, growled at me when I'd grab his collar/pick him up, snapped at other dogs a few times, didn't pay any attention to me, etc. Now, he is still a biter, but not nearly as bad, he rarely growls at me, loves other dogs (although he likes to play a bit too rough), and is MUCH better at paying attention to me! Put your dog in PUPPY KINDERGARTEN! That's what they (pet talkers) convinced me to do, and I'm very glad I did it.
For crate training, my dog didn't like it at first either. Now he sleeps in it at night in my room, and he will sleep in until 9:00 lol. Try giving your dog some of the toys that contain treats (kongs, etc.) to keep them amused when in the crate. Make sure you never put the dog in the crate as a punishment.
For getting the dog to look at you, at puppy kindergarten they teach you the "name game" which helps incredibly with getting the dogs attention. Say your dogs name, then lure them to your eyes with a treat (put the treat by the dogs nose and then hold it up by your eyes) When the dog makes eye contact, praise them and give them a treat. Make training fun! At first when I'd call Nebo to come he'd completely ignore me. Now I've been offering him treats, acting really exciting, and giving him big doggy loves when he comes to me--and he comes almost every time! (of course this is in a fenced back yard lol, I'm not trying it anywhere else...he *is* a husky after all...)
Nebo still really enjoys chewing and eating everything in sight, and especially grass, dirt, etc. in the yard like your pup. It will take a while for them to grow out of that. Teaching the "leave it" command does help though (when they actually listen to it, lol). Puppies will be puppies, and puppies will eat anything they can get those little needle sharp teeth into.
I tried all of those different techniques of punishing the dog too (holding them on their back, etc.) and it just made Nebo freak out and get even more angry with me. I was saying "No!" too, and when you say it so often, the dog tends to ignore it. Save the word "No" for when they do something really bad. Start saying "uh-uh" or "eh-eh" instead. It really gets their attention a lot better!
As for the possessiveness with toys, etc. teach the "give" command. Let your dog play with the toy, and then grab the toy gently with one hand, and offer a very tempting treat in the other hand, and say give. The dog should give up the toy to get the treat. Give the toy back right away. I'm still working on this with Nebo, he still needs practice.
Oh, and remember to not just punish the bad, always let the dog know when it is doing good also! They told us to say "Yes!" really loud and happy as a signal when the dog does something right (like the second the dog sits). Later on, you can use a clicker for this. Make the dog work for everything to show her who is in control. I always make Nebo sit and "wait" before I let him go through any doors. Don't let the pup get on your level (on the bed, or you on the floor...I know this is hard, lol...I still sit on the floor with the dogs)
I know how you feel when you say you thought you were prepared for this. I've had dogs all of my life too, and I read tons of books, etc. It's a lot harder then I could have imagined! My dog is *very* strong willed also. I think it's a part of both breeds. Sorry for the long-winded post here, your puppy troubles just reminded me so much of mine!! Good luck with Jaetta, and I too would LOVE to see pics of her! German Shepards are my second favorite breed of dog (next to huskies of course!)And a very big WELCOME TO PET TALK! If you ever want to vent out some puppy frustrations to somebody, send me a PM. I have plenty of them myself, Nebo can be the biggest pain in the butt!
I'm sure Candy (Dixieland Dancer) will give you some great advice, she really helped me out with my brat.
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