Another Dog. Which Breed ?

[Zosh]

Hi everyone. First post here. Happy new year.

I have a 7 month old german shepherd at home at the moment. And my family and I would like to get another dog for the family and also a play mate for our German shepherd.

Our dog is currently crate trained and living indoors during the night and sometimes during the day

We also have two younger children under 5.

We don't have a "huge" block of land. But every other day walks are in place and frequent visits to family on 11 acres.

The main question is what breed does everyone suggest. A smaller breed like poodle or chiuhuahua or large like Doberman or German shepherd again? I love the German shepherds as a breed. But open to suggestions.

[luvsdogs]

Hello Zosh & welcome to dol forum.

If I were you I would wait at least another year or more, to give your pup time to mature & be well enough trained to not lead another pup astray. Especially with 2 young children. Big boistrous puppies can knock them over.

[3shepherds]

Ah - GSDs, you can't just stop at one

Seriously though, I would wait a little longer too. At 7 months your dog still has a lot of growing and learning to do. You would be amazed how much a well trained older dog (say around 2 or so) can teach a younger one.

Our older one always lets us know when the younger is up to no good

[GSD FAN]

I have a GSD that I love to death but having worked with greyhounds, I have totally fallen in love with the breed. They are docile, sweet dogs and don't need alot of exercise. I hope to adopt one, one day soon.

[flyingduster]

I agree, puppies do a 'teenager' stage at around 8-12 months of age, and can be little terrors; your current pup hasn't even gotten to that stage yet so I'd wait until it's beyond a year-18 months old before seeking another dog...

[Nekhbet]

yup 18 months old and above before getting another pup. They learn from your existing dog as well as having a big enough divide in age you wont be creating big prolems with having two dogs so close in age.

[Zosh]

Hi thanks everyone for your feedback. I must admit Iam not exactly limited to getting a pup. I was thinking of a mature 3-6yrs??? Or bad move ? Assuming coming from right home ??

[percyk]

definitely wait...gsds ,....theres a lot of dog there and youre going to be entering the teen period

this can be an interesting lol time when suddenly they dont wanna do a thing you tell em

not all dogs go through this

our little ones tended not to

but big dogs ive had can be quite wilful for a period

so its best if you hang in there for a few months to a year and then decide

see what your dog is truly like...and avoid any situation where he becomes fear aggressive with other dogs

[percyk]

definitely wait...gsds ,....theres a lot of dog there and youre going to be entering the teen period

this can be an interesting lol time when suddenly they dont wanna do a thing you tell em

not all dogs go through this

our little ones tended not to

but big dogs ive had can be quite wilful for a period

so its best if you hang in there for a few months to a year and then decide

see what your dog is truly like...and avoid any situation where he becomes fear aggressive with other dogs

[Dogsfevr]

I do agree i would wait & make sure you do plenty of quality socializing where you dog learns the on/off switch & manners around dogs of all sizes.(not free for all at the dog parks)

Once you have established his nature then you can find a suitable friend that will match his manners & also fit in with having young children also sharing the yard

Then you need to decide what the long term living arrangements are.

Do you want them to live inside or primarily outside.

My GSD was super around small dogs BUT he was taught how to act & was a gentle giant BUT he also had that very laid back nature that suited .I don't believe every GSD is this way inclined so finding the right mate to make it enjoyable is a slow process but well worth it.

Attached is a photo of my great man (RIP)

Should add he was from total german lines all schutzhand titled

[flyingduster]

even if getting a mature dog, I still suggest waiting until your current one is beyond that teenager stage (ie 12-18 months old at LEAST) cos they really CAN go totally weird for a while there. Some are fine, just like some teenagers remain respectful and nice. Others go totally awol and ignore you, cause havoc, are belligerent, etc etc. You don't want to be trying to settle a new dog in while also keeping on top of a teenage GSD, regardless of if the new one is already mature or not. If your GSD doesn't loose it's brain and is still fine at a year old, THEN I'd look at getting a new one. If it DOES loose his/her mind somewhat [which is ok and expected, don't fret!] then I'd wait until however long it takes for their brain to kick back in again, which could be any time after a year old.

[minxy]

I think it is probably better to hold off also. Not saying I could if it were me, but realistically it is probably the more practical option, as dogs do go through a second "challenging" stage as a teenager. When you do get another dog, I would probably get another large breed dog, rather than a small dog.

[jacqui835]

I had the perfect dog up until he was about 10 months old... I suppose that's not fair, he's always been the perfect dog, but he definitely went through a phase of really testing the boundaries. He's a doberman so I guess quite similar in personality, and for a couple of months, he went from always doing exactly as he was told, to sort of looking at us when we gave a command and deciding to disobey. We came down on him like a tonne of bricks, catching him every time he didn't come when he was called and putting him back on his lead for a while and reprimanding him but it was really tiring. He started pulling on the lead again, and when other dogs wanted to fight him, he wouldn't lunge back, but he would sort of act curious and try to approach them. He went through a stage of being possessive of items in the park and deliberately trying to use them to challenge other dogs. He had to be given every command a couple of times, shown that you really meant it, and still sometimes, if he felt he could get away with it, he'd disobey anyway. So he spent a lot more time on the lead, a lot more time at training and a lot more time in trouble - it was quite a trying time and I don't miss it. Probably lasted about 6 months, and honestly, prior to this, he was the most obedient and respectful dog you'd ever met, we never saw it coming. That said, he has a decent temperament, and although he was quite arrogant and sure of himself, he was never DA or really wanting to fight. A lot of the GSD's he used to play with when he was younger stopped coming to the park at that age and never came back, because either their owners were unable to reassert themselves or the dogs really wanted to fight (these sorts of breeds are not known for their friendliness and desire to be around other dogs). There a couple of older GSD's, but the majority are not seen again off-lead at the park after they become teenagers.

Now we have an understanding. For the most part, he does as his told when he's told, and if we need him to do something, he will do it. That said, if we allow it, he will protest or again even ignore us, but we know who he is now, and hence can predict how he's likely to respond/or what we need to do to get him to do something. So having been through all of that, I would definitely advise that you wait until you know exactly who your dog is going to be, and then you can choose a companion that will be better suited and compatible.

[OSoSwift]

I personally would wait also.

If you get an adult now say for example that dog seems to be top dog.

Quite likely in the teenage period there will be testing of boundries and dogs vying with each other. This could get potentially messy and the dogs MAY have some issues and MAY fight. If you wait until the dog is at least 18 months then you have a much better idea of the mature temperment you are going to have before you get another dog who's temperment compliments your GSD.

I would get a medium or large dog, not a small dog. One miss-placed GSD paw could be very damaging to a young small breed puppy or even adult.

[Nekhbet]

although it may be a little harder, if you have small children a puppy may be a better way of going. It grows up with the kids and the family plus you get the opportunity to teach it exactly what you want, not get a dog with set habits you have to try and change.