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Hello, my name is John and I'm a husband and father of 5 daughters and a newborn son, born 10/1/10. Not only am I a husband and father, but I'm also an owner of a newly adopted German Shepherd mix. I realize that I'm at a GSD web forum and most every one of you own pure bred GSD's, but I plan to seek your help and advise regardless.
Our new/furry member of the family is, currently believed (by the vet) to be an 8 week old GSD mix with strong physical characteristics of a GSD. The rescuing officer noted that the adult dogs at the residence were GSD and Lab, so it's believed the puppy comes from those two breeds. As much as I'd love to own a pure bred GSD from a reliable and quality breeder, the price of such a pup is far out of our budget, especially with the new baby in the family. So, I opted to adopt this furry and cute little puppy after visiting him with the whole family. As I said, he has strong physical features of a GSD and it's hard to believe he's a mix breed.
Why a GSD? Well, I'm an ex-active duty member of our country's armed forces and my wife was very comfortable and felt secure living on-base. Now that I'm a current civilian and reservist, we live in a civilian neighborhood and my wife no longer feels that security and comfort when I'm away for training, duty or possible deployments. My wife never grew up with pets and never cared much for dogs in people's houses. I grew up with Boxers, but haven't lived with a dog in the house in 20 years. However, my wife's recent demand was for me to "..get a dog who's #1 mission is protection of the family and home and #2 to be a loving pet and friend for the family, especially the kids." My immediate thought for a pet fitting such a description was a German Shepherd. Shortly after her statement and while I was away on my annual tour, two of our screens were removed from downstairs windows from the outside, but thankfully all the windows were locked. No wind was noted and the kids hadn't been playing in the vicinity. This prompted me to get off my rear and follow through for my family's safety.
Even though I keep guns in the home and secured, I'd much rather not have to defend my home by such means. Although, if such extreme circumstances would arise, I wouldn't hesitate. Rather, I'd like for deterrence and the alertness of a dog to be the factor in home protection and what better, all-around dog then a GSD fits the bill? The natural instincts of this breed would be great for protection and I hope and pray that we raise this puppy to not just be loving with the kids, but extremely tolerant.
I hope that you guys wouldn't mind in helping our family with suggestions, advice and generous answers as we raise this little guy. Thanks for your time and thanks for this forum!
(BTW, who the HECK adopts a puppy within a couple days of having a newborn?!... lol. I figure if my wife is going to spend somewhat sleepless nights with the baby, that I can spend somewhat sleepless nights with the puppy... so far, both my wife and I are getting more sleep than we initially thought
)
Our new/furry member of the family is, currently believed (by the vet) to be an 8 week old GSD mix with strong physical characteristics of a GSD. The rescuing officer noted that the adult dogs at the residence were GSD and Lab, so it's believed the puppy comes from those two breeds. As much as I'd love to own a pure bred GSD from a reliable and quality breeder, the price of such a pup is far out of our budget, especially with the new baby in the family. So, I opted to adopt this furry and cute little puppy after visiting him with the whole family. As I said, he has strong physical features of a GSD and it's hard to believe he's a mix breed.
Why a GSD? Well, I'm an ex-active duty member of our country's armed forces and my wife was very comfortable and felt secure living on-base. Now that I'm a current civilian and reservist, we live in a civilian neighborhood and my wife no longer feels that security and comfort when I'm away for training, duty or possible deployments. My wife never grew up with pets and never cared much for dogs in people's houses. I grew up with Boxers, but haven't lived with a dog in the house in 20 years. However, my wife's recent demand was for me to "..get a dog who's #1 mission is protection of the family and home and #2 to be a loving pet and friend for the family, especially the kids." My immediate thought for a pet fitting such a description was a German Shepherd. Shortly after her statement and while I was away on my annual tour, two of our screens were removed from downstairs windows from the outside, but thankfully all the windows were locked. No wind was noted and the kids hadn't been playing in the vicinity. This prompted me to get off my rear and follow through for my family's safety.
Even though I keep guns in the home and secured, I'd much rather not have to defend my home by such means. Although, if such extreme circumstances would arise, I wouldn't hesitate. Rather, I'd like for deterrence and the alertness of a dog to be the factor in home protection and what better, all-around dog then a GSD fits the bill? The natural instincts of this breed would be great for protection and I hope and pray that we raise this puppy to not just be loving with the kids, but extremely tolerant.
I hope that you guys wouldn't mind in helping our family with suggestions, advice and generous answers as we raise this little guy. Thanks for your time and thanks for this forum!
(BTW, who the HECK adopts a puppy within a couple days of having a newborn?!... lol. I figure if my wife is going to spend somewhat sleepless nights with the baby, that I can spend somewhat sleepless nights with the puppy... so far, both my wife and I are getting more sleep than we initially thought
)
