Choosing a young pup vs. older pup

[UofIowaGSD]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post. I have a friend whose sister- in-law breeds working line GSD's. They have two older pups. One who was given back to the breeder from a young family and the other one has lived in their kennel with little to no socialization with children. They are both 11 months old and very beautiful. I am very leary because the one pup has lived primarily in this kennel and the other one was surrendered back. I have four children, ages 7(twins), 4, and almost 1. I was really planning on waiting till next spring when my youngest was a year and half before getting a puppy. I could devote more time with training and socializing the puppy next spring /early winter.

I have never owned a GSD before. I have owned only labs and I have a lot of experience in training with them. I had a very dominant female lab that just passed away 6 months ago from cancer. My male lab right now is not doing good with his arthritis and can barely walk. It breaks my heart but he probably won't make it another 6 months. I am leaning towards waiting till next year when the kids are older to get a puppy. That will also give me more time in my research. Plus my lab I have right now also might require some extra attention before he passes away which is another reason I think I should wait.

I have also looked into rescues. Most of the rescues I've noticed state not good with children at least in my area/state. I'm not against rescues since the lab I have now we rescued from an abusive home.

Anyway just looking for some advice on those two older pups. Do you think I should wait or think that those pups are young enough to be trained and socialized?

[Wolfiesmom]

I think the older pup is definitely still young enough to train. Also, the older pup won't be in that biting stage and jumping all over the kids. That's something to consider since your kids are young.

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

I would wait for sure.

You listed all the reasons you should. Stick around anyway!

[JKlatsky]

Depends on the dog. I would go take a look at the 2 of them. An older dog with proper temperament can be a joy with none of the annoying puppy mess. An older dog with problems can be difficult to handle because they already have much fo their adult size and people who are unconfident in their abilities to train can be intimidated.

[GSD MOM]

^ perfect!

Missing some of the puppy stuff can be fun. BUT breaking some of the bad habits an older pup could have..not fun. Just depends.

[GSDSunshine]

What state do you live in?

[ChristenHolden]

I say take the family and meet both dogs. My Bella was 5 months old. She had no socalazation and very shy. She's better now but only wants to be around me or my husband. My parents live next door. And Bella won't have a thing to do with them. Tho she is letting my mom get closer before she runs back up to our deck. She is very fearful sometimes. But it is taking time she is much less fearful than when I brought her home. She is OK with most of my other dogs. She picks on Gabe A lot. She is VERY scared of dogs not in her pack. I love my girl and do not regret bringing her home. I knew when I met her she would need work and time. Don't wright them off because they are older, the surender may not have had anything to do with the dog at all. And the other might be the kind that can adapt and adjust to anything and bouce right in to family life

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by Wolfiesmom

Also, the older pup won't be in that biting stage and jumping all over the kids. That's something to consider since your kids are young.

I would have to disagree with this. Many, if not most, 11 month old GSD's with little to no training are going to do everything that a puppy does, only worse because it's more ingrained and they are so much larger by then. When people talk about "skipping the puppy stage," that typically refers to someone else properly raising the pup and then having to rehome or adopt it out for XYZ reason.

Taking a puppy at 11 mo that has lived in a kennel environment or a puppy from a home environment that may not have had the training/experience necessary to guide a young pup towards good behavior means you may end up doing all of the same training you would do on a pup, except instead of a 20 lb pup you're dealing with a 70 or 80 lb pup.

Also, at 11 mo, some dogs are still very "puppy like" and some have already begun to display more adult behaviors in protectiveness, fear, etc. You can not compare a 5 month old to an 11 month old, they are completely different in behavior most of the time. The 5 month old will almost ALWAYS still act like a sweet cuddly friendly pup, while the 11 mo old may or may not act like a pup.

I think it's certainly worth meeting them if you are really interested, but IMHO you have listed several reasons (red flags) that would make my advice be to wait and follow your original plan.

[UofIowaGSD]

Originally Posted by GSDSunshine

What state do you live in?

I'm in Iowa. I assuming your asking me because of the rescues? The first five rescues within my zipcode from Petfinder I looked at stated no children. I will still continue to look at rescues and keep that option open.

The kennel is 5 hours away from me and with four young kiddos, one who is carsick, I'm not sure that is an option until I have really decided. I did, however, email the breeder and get more information about the two dogs. I told her what I was looking for and what our family was like and seeing if either of the dogs would be a good match for our family. Hubby really thinks I should wait and get a puppy when we orginally planned. I would love to take one of them home but I don't want to get in over my head either. We are going to have this dog for 10-14 years so it's a big decision.

Thank you for all of your replies. I appreciate it. Just from lurking on this site I have learned a lot about German Shepherds.

[GSDSunshine]

ok, so I like to "just look" and ran across her a few weeks ago. They say would like a home with no smaller children, but you may be able to convince them that you have puppy savvy children, know not to run from puppy. Things like that.

Adoptable German Shepherd Dog: Jaya - Des Moines: Petfinder