Advice on getting a rescue

1817 Views 13 Replies 11 Participants Last post by Timber1, Jun 27, 2008

beauswatch

Discussion Starter · Jun 8, 2008

We have a 8 month old female GS. We also have 2 small toy dogs (papillons) 1 male and 1 female.

We love our German Shepherd so much that we want another one.
I don't know whether we should get a male or female and what age? We keep our dogs in the house so we need everyone to get along.
I have been looking at the dogs in the urgent rescue forum. I fell in love with Sally but it looks like quite a few others have as well.

Any advice would be appreciated.

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BlackGSD

· #2 · Jun 8, 2008

Personally, I would wait until your current GSD is a bit older before bringing in a rescue. A rescue might be a lot of work itself, just like an 8 month old puppy is.

That said, whenever you do get a rescue, I would think about getting a male. But all in all, it really depends on the personalities of ALL of your current dogs. (You might also want to wait until your 8 month old is an adult to see if she still gets along with your female Pap.) Female on female aggression is about the worst kind there is!

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ldpeterson

· #3 · Jun 8, 2008

Originally Posted By: BlackGSDPersonally, I would wait until your current GSD is a bit older before bringing in a rescue. A rescue might be a lot of work itself, just like an 8 month old puppy is.

That said, whenever you do get a rescue, I would think about getting a male. But all in all, it really depends on the personalities of ALL of your current dogs. (You might also want to wait until your 8 month old is an adult to see if she still gets along with your female Pap.) Female on female aggression is about the worst kind there is!

Couldn't agree more!

I have three rescued dogs and by the time I brought the third one in the home it hit me that I will never ever bring another dog into the house before the resident dogs are fully trained! If I could just save one person with this advice it will be worth it. LOL!

With that said, if your dogs are already fully trained I definately agree on leaning towards a male.

Thanks for considering rescue!!!

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beauswatch

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jun 9, 2008

My German Shepherd gets along well with my female pap. She is a such a sweet girl. They are all well behaved except my male pap is a yapper.

What if I got a male rescue the same age or younger as my GS?

We live in the country and I am home all of the time. We had rescued a husky last year off the highway and brought it home. It was an old female and my paps didn't mind at all. I was able to find a home for her.

If it were up to me, I would have a yard full of dogs. My husband and would like to build some kennels eventually. It just breaks my heart to see so many homeless.

I called a German Shepherd Rescue over the weekend and asked about their dogs. They have over 200 dogs and she said she didn't have any that would get along with our 2 small dogs. I was discouraged. She said it was rare for German Shepherds to get along with small dogs and children. Has this been your experience? She said if they do, they go quick.

Thanks for your feedback.

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pupresq

· #5 · Jun 9, 2008

Not around here. We get lots of GSDs who are fine with little dogs and certainly with kids - now, you still always want to supervise and want to be very careful, but I think you should be able to find what you're looking for.

I would not recommend getting another puppy right now though, even the same age as your female. There is just too much risk of them enjoying each other's company so much that it's difficult to get them to refocus on you for training.

I'd work with your puppy for now and wait until she's 18 months to a year old before adding GSD #2. She'll still be young and playful and will thrilled to have a big friend to romp with but it won't be like having crazy furry teenage twins and she'll help the new dog learn the ropes.

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SunCzarina

· #6 · Jun 9, 2008

Originally Posted By: beauswatchWhat if I got a male rescue the same age or younger as my GS?

I think a male is good idea just maybe an older - say 2 or 3 y/o dog. At your females age, teenager hood is not in full step. I would not want 2 teenage GSDs in MY house. Pandemonium, pure pandemonium - and that's coming from a woman with 3 y/o skintwins!

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BlackGSD

· #7 · Jun 9, 2008

Originally Posted By: beauswatchMy German Shepherd gets along well with my female pap. She is a such a sweet girl.

That is why I said you might want to wait until the GSD is older. Most puppies get aong fine with older females, it is when they become adults that the problems start. (If there are going to be problems.)

Several years ago we had young 2 females,(they were 2 months apart in age.) a GSD and a German Shorthaired Pointer. They got along great for almost 2 YEARS, then one day the GSD decided that the pointer neded to be eliminated! From that day on, they could NOT be together, the GSD wanted to KILL the other female.

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shepherdbydesign

· #8 · Jun 11, 2008

Tracy you took the words right out my mouth

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WiscTiger

· #9 · Jun 15, 2008

I would wait. I currently have 4 GSD's and they are a lot of work. You have the yearly Vet visits, the spending time playing and working with each dog. Are you prepared to get another dog, fall in love with it and then have a problem in the dog pack that forces you for the safety of the dogs to separate and rotate dogs in and out and around the house.

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MaggieRoseLee

· #10 · Jun 15, 2008

I also agree to wait. Your 8 month old is still a baby and deserves all the one on one you can give her now. The loving and the training and the TIME. It's just not the same when you add another dog.

To the extent, responsible breeders know this and won't even sell 2 pup to the same person cause they know it's just making things so much harder.

http://www.leerburg.com/2dogs.htm

http://www.gsdhelpline.com/2pups.htm

Instead of adding another dog and possibly making things a bit of a mess. Instead I'd really enjoy the dogs I have. REALLY enjoy them. Plan trips with them. Find classes to attend with them. You ever think of having them become Therapy dogs you can bring to hospitals/schools/senior centers to help change people's lives?

And in a few years from now? When your 8 month old puppy is then as perfect as you could have made her? Then adding another dog (specially a rescue) would be fantastic!

Sadly, there will always be dogs out there needing homes. So if you don't add a rescue now, there will be wonderful dogs in the future...

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Timber1

· #11 · Jun 23, 2008

I think time is the issue. I have a male GSD, a bit protective, but the dog has always been good with my rescue dogs, ranging from 9 months of age to almost six years old. I adopted the six year old because she, despite being labeled aggressive by the shelter, turned out to be mellow and a perfect companion for my Male GSD.

Four dogs would be a bit much for me, but if you are home all day I suppose it can work.

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SuzyE

· #12 · Jun 24, 2008

I have three dogs and sometimes I think three is a lot,two was easy to take places.howver if I lived in the country and was home all day I would definetly have more dogs-all rescues.If you have the space, time. money and skills by all means find yourself a rescue that fits your family.One less dog looking for a home.you may want to consider a GSD mix.

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Foo Lyn Roo

· #13 · Jun 25, 2008

Wow, you're ambitious , we just got our first rescue a little over a month ago I think it is. She's around 10 months and a HANDFUL.
Echo our GSD we got from a breeder is 14-15 months old now.

Whatever you decide, good luck and god bless for rescuing!

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Timber1

· #14 · Jun 27, 2008

I agree with your response. The enviroment is oten the key when dealing with multiple dogs. On my end, four dogs is tops, for someone in an apartment,perhap only two.

Space, time and money, plus more the a few acres, wonderful.

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