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To get another GSD or not?

2K views 25 replies 15 participants last post by  Sunflowers 
#1 ·
We have been blessed with two fantastic GSDs. The first we adopted as a rescue overseas and brought home with us. Dale (standard black/brown) lived to be 15 and her passing in 2010 was one of the hardest things we've ever been through. Around Easter 2012 we made the decision to adopt again and Abby - a white (eventually white and tan) GSD joined our family. Sadly, Abby passed from cancer around Thanksgiving 2019. Again, we are gutted. I still expect her to be waiting for me at the door when I get home from work or when we arrive home after being out. I could've sworn I heard her shake last night. ?

Lots of our friends are encouraging us to get another dog and as much as I would love to, we're not getting any younger and another GSD is like having a child all over again! ?

We're trying to balance avoiding the knee-jerk reaction of getting another just because we miss Abby so much against how nice it is to not have a dog and not have her be the first thing we think of when we want to go somewhere. As everyone likely knows, carting Abby along consumed half our available space between her in the back seat and her bed, food, etc. in the back.

This post really doesn't have a right or wrong answer, we're just curious as to what everyone else in the GSD community thinks about getting another after the loss of two cherished family members.

Thanks!

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#3 ·
I just lost a 10 yo GSD, and have a 3 year old GSD. The last time I only had one dog was about 25 years ago. I’m a little freaked out about losing my remaining dog. She’s healthy, but I still worry. I’ve already decided if I should unexpectedly come up dog-less, that I will get another GSD from the owner of Scarlet’s sire. She has some really lovely dogs. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a puppy.
 
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#4 ·
First I'm sorry to hear about your loss...she was a very pretty dog. (from the pictures.)

I personally think that if you love them, you should get another! It's nice to hold on to the memories of a dog you loved, but it's also nice to be able to move on and start new. I think a new dog to love and enjoy can help you.

That an opinion, and I totally understand if it's not the way you want to go. Just a suggestion.
It's really your choice.
 
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#7 ·
First I'm sorry to hear about your loss...she was a very pretty dog. (from the pictures.)

I personally think that if you love them, you should get another! It's nice to hold on to the memories of a dog you loved, but it's also nice to be able to move on and start new. I think a new dog to love and enjoy can help you.

That an opinion, and I totally understand if it's not the way you want to go. Just a suggestion.
It's really your choice.
Thank you very much for your kind wishes and sharing your thoughts!
 
#5 ·
Yes, I'm sorry you lost such a beautiful girl. We are also older and lost a good boy last September. Our's are watch dogs so we knew we needed another dog. Having one dog in our neighborhood people think there is something wrong with you. We took into account our age and discussed our choice with our grown children so we'd be sure someone would always be there for the dog and he wouldn't end up back at the shelter. we looked for an adult male and found Duke at the local shelter. He fooled everyone about his age - we have a 90 lb puppy. He's a handful but we're enjoying him a lot. He's almost housebroken and getting better about strewing the laundry all over the house and taking shoes but those are small silly things. Our Baby Huey is a sweetheart and fills that emptiness. And we're getting a lot of exercise, which is good. I'd recommend you visit the local shelters and look for an adult that needs a home and family when you are ready.
 
#9 ·
Thank you for your response. Don't read too much into us enjoying our season of selfish freedom; we've raised two boys (complete with club soccer, cross country and other sports), and have been devoted to two wonderful GSDs - how many would bring one all the way home to FL from the Middle East?

We are/were devoted to our GSDs. In fact, before Abby became ill, she demonstrated just how devoted she was to us when Mom was going on a road trip and Abby decided she wasn't ready to miss out...

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#11 ·
Owning a dog is a lifestyle choice. Owning a GSD becomes your lifestyle As MAWL said. Every decision I make takes my dogs into account. Can they come with me? Is it too long to stay home alone? My house and yard are set up with my dogs in mind. Every vacation, every day trip, everything revolves around the dogs. If you want a 100% go dog, consider a smaller breed that can be carried. It makes life much easier.
 
#12 ·
Thank you for your response. Your detail is exactly how it's been for us since the 90s with our two GSDs. That's really the question: do we want to have the GSD love while resetting after the loss of Abby and getting back into "everything revolves around her" mode? Not a fan of small dogs personally, so it's probably a GSD or nothing - we're sort of partial to the breed :)
 
#15 ·
I really think it depends on you. I currently have two GSD's and it definitely puts a lot of difficulty in terms of travelling / vacation / even going out for long periods of time. I'm constantly having to think of their needs, especially as my second dog is still only 5 months old. It's hard work for sure! Especially those frozen morning potty breaks! ?

I keep telling myself that this will be the last puppy for a long time (at least 10 years), maybe I'll have a long break in between dogs so I can catch up on vacations and travel that I have been putting off... but I think that's unlikely! Maybe you can get in touch with some rescues to start putting the thought out there, and see if the right dog finds you so to speak! :)
 
#16 ·
I'm 62, and my intellectual decision is, I suspect Nitro will be my last shepherd. (My emotional decision would be to replace him as I love owning a shepherd). He had his 6th birthday 2 weeks ago. Practically, the huge vet expenses I've had owning Nitro would be a hardship on a retirement income.

Nitro's not overweight, he weighs 95lbs, I can't carry him now, I suspect even a breed standard sized german shepherd would be a challenge to carry in an emergency, the older I get. I can keep on top of the dog fur and mud now without it being a burden, but I suspect in another decade or so, it could be a struggle to keep my house clean with a german shedder. Giving a german shepherd the exercise he needs to keep him mentally and physically healthy, the training and daily interaction, needs a fit and healthy person.

I'm off to the UK to visit some of my children later this year, it took over a year before they could talk me into it, because of me having a dog. (Shhh, please don't tell them). The 25 hour travel time from Australia was also a factor. Kind of sad really, that owning a dog influenced my decision to visit family.

For retirement when in my late 70's, I want a non shedding, small dog. A bichon frise will probably be the breed, without a 'poofy' hairstyle. I want a dog breed that's easy to live with, and to rehome, if I die before the dog does.
 
#21 ·
We've lost 3 GSD in the last 2 years, ages 11,12 & 15. It was rough, very rough. They were a fantastic pack of dogs that we adopted as adult rescues in the same year. We added new GSDs into the family starting 3 years ago so we still have 2 GSDs, ages 2&4. As they get older I imagine we'll get another GSD rescue. I can't imagine life without them.
 
#22 ·
I like the fostering (a GSD) idea. It's temporary and you can see if you're ready for the commitment of raising and taking care of one. And who knows, maybe you make a strong connection with one of these dogs that need a home.

Another option is to rescue/adopt an older GSD. There's a lot of them out there that need homes as I'm sure you're well aware of. I may in fact do this myself in the future when my current one passes on (hopefully in a decade). I just turned 50 a couple weeks ago and tbh I don't know if I can go through doing the puppy thing again. This one wore me out. Btw, when my first one died 2 years ago, I donated a lot of his things including vital medications to my local GSD rescue. They told me that if I wanted any of their dogs, I would be able to "jump the line" and get first choice over people who've never owned GSDs making it easier to adopt a dog from them. Maybe it's the same with your local rescue.
 
#23 ·
No right or wrong answer, just what is right or wrong for you. For me, at age 56 with a 6 month old puppy, I cannot imagine not having one. There are mornings when her demands for a rousing game of fetch, or rag chasing is less welcome, as this AM when it was 17 degrees here. But at 6 mos., she sleeps through the night, out of a crate, in our room, and goes on long (i.e. two day car trip) with us, and stays in hotels without getting us kicked out or put on a blacklist.

First, a GSD vs. no dog at all: I'd have to have a pretty considerable life change to have no dog. They've always been part of my life. If I really, really want to travel somewhere that I can't take the dog, then I call in favors with my children. But mostly, I travel with them. I think even as an older person, some of the benefits would outweigh the hassles. While I've mostly lived in "safe" neighborhoods, never even experiencing a burglary, or anything other than rifling a car whose door got left unlocked, I like having a dog that people take seriously as a watchdog. I do not need a trained attack dog, just an alert dog with some size and an authoritative bark. Even my 55# pup fills that bill.

Second, GSD vs. some other breed:
I think most would agree that GSDs can be demanding, especially as puppies. Here's a little of a counter-point on the smaller, easier to lift, perhaps less shedding breeds.
My Mom has a West Highland White terrier, acquired from my Mom's co-worker, who needed to re-home it. The terrier started off nicely enough. She is sweet-natured, doesn't shed a lot, and is content with laptime. She can be physically managed in a way that is a good bit more strenuous for a GSD older than say, 15 weeks.
BUT-- she is also not very biddable, even at 11 years old. On the occasions when she has escaped the yard, she simply will not come when called. She is not very social with other dogs. And she is a yapper. She yaps at dogs and other animals on TV. She yaps in the backyard, at the moon or the sun, as the case may be. As a younger dog she would chase squirrels and the occasional opossum. Now she mostly yaps. Between her and a GSD, I'd take the GSD that I have, even with puppy stage, land shark orneriness. This particular West Highland White might be an outlier.

On plus side for me, the demands a GSD makes for exercise and interaction divert me from being a couch potato, and that is not a bad thing for me. Let me get 10-15 more winters under my belt, and I might change my tune, but I would hope not.

Surely there are more chill small dogs, maybe even West Highland Whites that are less needy and yappy and more biddable. But I'd have to get a lot more infirm, a lot more frazzled by the puppy stage to swear off GSDs.
 
#25 ·
You should consider rescuing an older dog. Make the last several years of that dog his/her best.
I work at an animal shelter and older dogs are quite often overlooked because they’re not “cute”.
 
#26 ·
You could always offer to dog sit. I have a friend who likes to take dogs for a few days to a couple of weeks while the owners are on vacation.
There are companies who visit dogs during the day while the owners are at work, and who hire dog walkers.
I took a 10 year break from having a dog, and then the only reason I got one is because the family wanted one. Guess whose boy he ended up being? Guess who ended up doing all the work?
Now I have two! I got a pup because Hans is getting long in the tooth and because my sons are getting older and I needed something to baby. I am enjoying having two GSDs so much that I will probably have two as long as I am physically able to care for them. They give me so much joy that all the work that has to go into them is well worth it for me.
 
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