Beginning the process...some questions

[dogsnkiddos]

With the end of Old Bitch's life quite near at hand (inoperable osteosarcoma) we are beginning to think about life without her. She has been with us for over 11 years- before our other dogs with whom time was too short, before our current dogs, kids, house, etc. She has been the PERFECT dog for us and will leave a gaping hole no other dog can possibly be expected to fill. We have never had a puppy other than Old Bitch. As an expression of our love for how awesome she is we decided we never would- that we would always adopt and always look for older shepherds. We even fostered for many years because of her.

We are however now considering a puppy somewhere down the road to help fill the void just a little. We are considering a puppy mostly because we will still have Beast and Crazy White once Old Bitch has passed. Beast is intense to say the least and we are not sure how well bringing another adult into the house would work. Our son would also like to get involved in Schutzhund and we feel a puppy might be the way to go when considering our son's age (he just turned 9).

We want to take our time and make a good choice. We hope to find a knowledgeable breeder who will match the right puppy to our family. Before we can get there though, I think we need to figure out what sort of puppy we are looking for (to help narrow ourselves down to those who breed that type).

What sort of questions should I be asking myself to help me figure this out? What sort of things might all you suggest I consider? What type of GSD should I be considering?
Thanks all for any thoughts or suggestions you may have....

[Freestep]

Originally Posted by dogsnkiddos

Our son would also like to get involved in Schutzhund and we feel a puppy might be the way to go when considering our son's age (he just turned 9)...

...What sort of questions should I be asking myself to help me figure this out? What sort of things might all you suggest I consider? What type of GSD should I be considering?

If you are interesting in pursuing Schutzhund, you'll want a pup that shows promise in this area. If you look at working lines, you'll need a dog with a solid, stable temperament, strong nerves, and a medium-high threshold, since you have a young son in the family. So hunt for breeders that breed for this type, rather than an intense, over-the-top-drive type.

A German show line pup could work for you as well--they tend to be less intense than working lines. Not all are suited for Schutzhund though, so again, you'd have to pick the right pup--one that has some drive, confidence, and solid nerves to go along with it.

Where are you located?

[dogsnkiddos]

I have to be cognizant most of Beast when deciding on a puppy...at least I think.... I wonder if I need one as beastie just to hold its own or one more docile...or.... ???

Beast is intense and over the top type....and had my son been old enough when Beast first arrived...had we known he would have interest in this field...well we would have worked Beast that way....

[bocron]

We have been involved in Schutzhund for many years. When our daughter expressed an interest we decided a German Showline dog was the way to go for her. While she has grown up with our working line dogs, we thought maybe it would be easier for her to start with a less intense dog. She was 12 when the pup was born and got him just after her 13th birthday. Her dog, Atticus, is now 20 months old and she is doing very well, she had done all of his obedience and tracking training herself and she comes to Schutzhund reliably and does bitework at the club. He is just drivey enough to make it fun for her. I know that later down the line she will most likely switch to WL dogs but for now he is just the right speed for her. She will be trying for his BH this fall.

Here's a link to our FB page showing her working her dog in obedience and getting to bite the bad guy for his reward.

https://www.facebook.com/video/video...0171753&type=1


Annette

[Stosh]

A puppy??!! Great news- I'm sure it will melt Beast's big heart

[trudy]

just my thoughts, find a breeder or shutzhund club near by and have Beastie evaluated as to which pup he might get along with best, some very knowledgeable people might be able to help match his temperment and make sure all will move along smoothly, and if training needs to be done you can do that before bringing home a new dog, who might get injured of do damage. Just a thought, also then your son can maybe volunteer/talk to some and see if this is only a passing fad or something he'd really like to put the effort into.

[dogsnkiddos]

It is not a passing fad for our son. It has been very hard to find anyone who is willing to take him on as a student (especially with Beast as a potential partner) due to his young age when he first became interested (when he was 7).

Beast is not a training problem...he is just very, very intense. We stopped fostering when he came to us because he needed every bit of time we had. As he has gotten older we have had a lot more practice at balancing that out thus making us think we might be able to add a puppy. My biggest concern with a pup is Beast teaching him the Beastie ways- I am not sure we could survive two of them. Beast is very smart on top of intense. We certainly don't need him teaching a pup all his tricks.

Crazy White is not really a factor- all that matters in her life is that I am around. She does not care about other animals much at all. She does enjoy playing every once in a while- and at the age of 10 she might enjoy the size of a puppy (since Beast can really give her a solid butt checking)

I have found it very difficult to get good contact with clubs in our area. I will have to redouble our effort. I think having someone meet Beast and evaluate what type of pup would match well to him is an AWESOME idea. The two trainers we work with are not shepherd/sch people so we will need to look beyond them.

Thanks