Would a white shepherd puppy be good for me - I have children

[TheVintageAngel]

Hi there,

I am thrilled that I have put a deposit on a white shepherd puppy, a female from a litter with 8 whites. We pick her up on October 17th. I have had a shepherd mix before, and just loved her, she was great with our children even when we brought them home from the hospital.

I enthusiastically announced my new puppy angel on Facebook, and while most people who have shepherds, even several with white shepherds specifically raved about them, a few people who have worked for vets or the humane society warned me that they can be a bad choice to have with young children in the home. The breeder has a 3 year old child on site so the puppies have thus far been around children, and both of the parent dogs are on site and the breeder has said they are also great with the child.

I have a daughter who is 8, a son who is 5, both I am confident in to be gentle with the dog. My husband and I both work from home, so the dog will not be left alone or crated more than a couple hours once or twice a week. We plan to train it well and make sure it stays stimulated, but now I'm worrying because these few people have acted like it was a bad idea. Please be honest, I know I'm in the right place to ask...

[GSDBESTK9]

GSDs (regardless of color) with the right temperament can be GREAT with kids.

[Jax08]

Shepherds notoriously do very poorly in shelters. They tend to mentally break down. Thus why people in HS's may say they aren't right for people with young kids. Read the puppy threads!!! There are many on the little land sharks and redirecting their puppy bitey face stage. You'll be fine.

[Germanshepherdlova]

I have 3 children, my youngest was 5 years old when we got our GSD Brutus.When he was a puppy, he would try to herd the children, and would nip at their ankles. At first my 2 younger children were afraid of him, but he learned not to do that, and now he loves the kids and is great to put in the backyard with them while they are out playing, he won't let any strangers get near them. He is also now gentle and patient with the kids. Brutus is 2 1/2 years old now, and I can't imagine life without him being part of our family. I think german shepherds, any color are wonderful to have when you have children.

[suzzyq01]

There are a lot of poorly bred shepherds out there with poor temperaments and nerves. This is part of the issue and people who work in the "field" see more bad ones that good ones. Personally speaking, my vet told me she has NEVER seen such a nice looking, well mannered GSD like Sonar. He's not perfect but she sees hundreds of dogs, and prob has seen hundreds of "purebred" shepherds, the breed is over bred and has a tendency to have bad traits bred into the lines. As long as your breeder is breeding for the right reasons you will end up with a well mannered, even tempered, healthy fantastic land shark puppy. Good luck.

[Scarlettsmom]

Scarlett is very gentle and has a great temperment. We were ONLY warned to not have small furry creatures in the house with her...as she has a VERY strong prey drive! Beside that, if you supervise your kids with the puppy and make sure their behaviour is appropriate, you should be fine. Scarlett was a rescue, and spent a year in foster homes before coming to live with us. I don't think being a WGSD makes her much different from any other color of GSD. Her temperment is like any other sweet, cuddly, funny, goofy GSD I have met.

(I can't wait to see pics of your puppy. I know if I ever held a WGSD...or any GSD puppy, I would suffer from puppy-lust. mustnotgetapuppynow....mustnotgetapuppynow...I have to repeat that mantra for a few more years.)

[BR870]

They are child eating monsters...


(My now passed male, Kai and my GodDaughter having a picnic)


(Abbie, Grace, and my son)

[KZoppa]

Originally Posted by GSDBESTK9

GSDs (regardless of color) with the right temperament can be GREAT with kids.

this is exactly true. There are TONS of people on this board who have proof of this as well. My dogs are great with my kids and other kids. We're still working with Shasta (patterned sable) on her nipping she does when she is excited but otherwise she's perfect with kids. We adopted a female GSD from the humane society back home and she's amazing with kids. GSDs dont do well in shelters. They're meant to work closely with their people and will shut down in a shelter if not able to be with their people. Raise the puppy right, train and socialize and you shouldnt have any problems. Also as long as your breeder is breeding knowledgably things should be fine.

[Whiteshepherds]

I think your kids are at a great age to bring in a puppy! Knowing that the pup is already being socialized with a 3 year old and having parents that like kids should help to calm your nerves. Good luck!

[Gretchen]

I think you'll really have to watch your kids and dog during the pup's teething stage. My daughter and I had a lot of bruising on our arms, I was so glad she was old enough to be out of school, otherwise questions might have been raised about abuse!

A good shepherd will be a loyal, loving family member. The difficult part I see is when your children have young friends over. I would be concerned about chasing, the prey drive, or maybe being overprotective. However since you both work from home, chances are with training and supervision, you'll have a great family pet.