Teen as Dog Owner - Page 2

I titled my daughters horse in her name when she was 15.  Bought the horse for her... she loved it, rode it, trained it, showed it.  We went to many horse shows and won many ribbons.  Then when she was 16 she got her first car.  She still cared for her horse, loved it, rode it, showed it... then later that year, she started chasing boys... going to parties, hanging out with her friends... rode him occasionally, decided she didnt want to show any more.  She is about to turn 20 and work and school take precidence ... She spent about 12 hours all year messing with her horse (he is unofficially mine now - though hers on paper). 

So yes.. .things happen, college happens (p.s... no dogs in the dorms).  I think with a teen (even a responsible teen), you need to realize that they are not an adult until they are 18... and even then, can they manage a life/death situation with the dog.  Can they support the dogs feeding & medical needs. 

They DO have a spot for co-ownership on your registration if it is AKC and you can always transfer ownership... if all she wants is her name on the paper.  Is your child involved enough to know how to check pedigrees, health issues on the dogs potential breeding, etc.  There are alot of "what if's" to consider. 

Dogs are a 15 year commitment. Lots happens between ages 17 and 32.

I have friends who managed to go though university and keep horses (and horse people know how expensive tehy are) and hold down jobs. It's not for the faint of heart, but it can be done.
The teen and parents have to be REALLY realistic about how much this teen wants to do this. It usually helps if they had a dog of their own before, so they have a realistic idea of how much work it is.

Having said all that, my advice (and I say the same for kids wanting a horse) is to wait. There's so much change in these years in their life. I've been riding horses since I was 10 years old, but waited until I was 28 before ever buying one of my own.

I've kept horses and dogs from the time I was 10 years old and all through college. I'm now married and still have horses and dogs. It definitely depends on the kid. There are a lot of kids that have been raised poorly and I would say absolutely NO. On the flip side, there are still some well raised, responsible kids out there and I would say yes. From those kids, I'd still require the backup of their parents. I need to know the mom or dad will be there to help if money gets tight. JMHO

I doubt anyone is going to allow a teen to have a puppy unless they first pay him/her a home visit and meet the parents.

I also think it depends on the kid... and their parents/support system.  I got my first GSD myself at 18, just out of High School.  However, my mom helped a lot with training, etc... I bought my "foundation female" at 19.  I did my homework, did a ton of research, joined a SchH club, got involved in training, etc... Bred my first litter when she was 3, so I was 22.  However, I think even at 22, I was a rare exception lol  Even then, looking back now, I was still "young" at that time.  

At 17, I would want to see a parent or someone else helping to guide the kid.  As someone else said, if the dog lives 12 years - that is a big portion of their life and a crazy portion of life.  My Libby (that I got at 19) seen me through college, a lot of wildness, meeting my husband, getting married, moving around, being pregnant, having a baby, etc... 

A friend of mine started training in SchH at like 14 years old, she raised/trained her first puppy to SchH3.  

I sold a puppy to a "young couple" once... they were college age.  They seemed really devoted and mature, I thought it would be a very suitable home.  The dog was back to me by the time he was a year old and the couple "split up", it was a mess.  So it really just depends on the situation, the people involved and what life throws at them.  

But with that being said, I am sure glad that Libby's breeder took a chance on me - just being a 19 year old kid buying her first SchH puppy prospect.  There is probably a very small percentage of people (of any age!) who follow through on that one, let alone a "teen" LOL

I have a confession. I am the teen I was talking about in the original post.

When I was 12, I got my first dog, a poodle-mix. He is now 5 and a fantastic dog. My dad says that he is the best dog that he has ever owned. I personally trained him just for the heck of it to see how good I could actually do it, and because of that he knows sit, down, stay, roll over, paw(left), paw(right), high-five, spin in a circle, speak, dig on command(don't remember how I got him to do that lol), and to get his ball on command. Since having him, I have been the one responsible for his well being, but with the help of my parents taking care of all financial needs.

I also own a Conure who I am the sole care taker of(but thats not really the point)

In June, we recently brought home a GSD puppy who, again, I only care for. She is currently 5 1/2 months and a wonderful dog. I have already taught her how to sit, lie down, and walk correctly on a leash.

So going back to my original post, I had just wanted feedback on whether or not I should follow through with wanting to breed, train, etc. and if it would be wise to do so.
 
Even though she is still young, I have already discussed breeding her with my parents. I explained that having a litter of puppies would be costly. I told that them that when she comes of age, she might not even be bred depending on OFA results and degenerative myelopathy results. If those don't come out well, I would spay her. But remember, this would all happen in about 2 1/2-3yrs from now, if at all.

Before my dog even reaches breeding age, I would like to be present when pups are whelped, seeing that I wish to become a veterinarian, and currently volunteer at my local animal shelter (helping out in both kennels and in the clininc)

To those who have replied to this post and to those viewing this, I'd like you to take not that I most deffinately will NOT jump into any of this without more research and proper mentoring.

Thanks for all of your commentary! It is greatly appreciated!
-Jasmin

Jasmin, you sound very mature for your age.  If you hadn't told us I would have never guessed.  Normally it's easy to spot a young or immature person by the way they spell and their sentence structure. 
Are you a member of a local canine related club?  If not then I highly suggest you join one or two.  There are AKC all-breed clubs, breed-specific clubs, schutzhund clubs, or generic training clubs...there is probably something near you. 
You can also join the GSDCA, the WDA and UScA,  these are the 3 big national German Shepherd Dog clubs in America, all 3 of them have great magazines which are included in your memberships. 
Because you are young, you should try a variety of things...variety will give you a much better, well rounded education about the GSD and about yourself and what you really like to do in the breed.  Participate in conformation shows (AKC all-breed, specialty and WDA/UScA German style conformation, also UKC if you can.)  Do obedience training, perhaps agility and herding too if you have the opportunity.  If you can join a local, reputable schutzhund club then that would be good too...learn about scent training and protection. 
If you can find one experienced mentor who will take you under their wing, then that is great, but most people are not able to spend an extensive amount of time with new people, so having multiple mentors may be best for you.  If you can get a job at a breeding/training/competition/show kennel near you then that would be wonderful. 

You will learn that the experts all have different opinions.  You will learn things-and then unlearn them-and then relearn things in a different way.  Your own opinions will change and evolve as you gain more experience. 
In my experience there are 3 things which can cause a good breeder to go bad:
1.) Ego or Narcissism
2.) Kennel blindness
3.) Money (this is the worst of all)
avoid these 3 pitfalls at all costs, every year for the rest of your life you should re-evaluate yourself and your breeding program (assuming you'll have one) to make sure you aren't slipping into one of these cesspools. 

Good luck and happy learning!