Young GSD or puppy for first family pet. - Page 2

Ive done it both ways. I got syd when she was 16 months old, and brought my 2 kids(ages 4 and 6 at the time) with me when we went to look at dogs. i chose a dog that naturally got along with them. thats just the beginning. supervision supervision supervision.

the second i got from puppy. BUT i would not let my children do much with him until about now. hes now 5 mos. old. had to get a little ob. training into him. now they walk him, supervised, of course, and play with him to an extent.

it all depends on the dog and how your children are. i am very strict with my kids, and they do as they are told.

as the dog gets older they will be allowed more and more time with him until he is a part of the family.

Just my opinion. but it works for us

Yes, the secret to it all working is obedience on the pup  from the beginning,,,,crate training,,,time out for pup in the kennel at all times not attended to,,,and strict obedience on the children.......and make it fun while you are doing it....read lots of article on temperament and how to crate train and start a puppy in the right manner.....

Puppies of gsd are actually easier to train ,,as it it repitition ...than human children,.....and they dont talk back   lol    but they bite and chew and bark....

Both ages require a lot of attention and everyday training and playing.....kids learn to say    sit     and they learn to feed the pup.....even a little child can help.....

A larger pup , is in need of constant watch , as they can jump and knock a child down,,,,as well as the child can   hurt both ages of pups....so it does require very strict regiment....which is how you get good training and a gsd loves to do and please you......most lines do.......

It takes a long study to find the right pup , also....GOOD LUCK.....A LOT OF BREEDERS RAISE THEIR PUPS WITH CHILDREN AND IN THE HOME  ...AND THEY STATE THAT  IN THEIR CONVERSATION  WITH YOU.....VERY IMPORTANT...

I purchased my first GSD about a year and 1/2 ago from Eurosport.  He was 3 almost 4 at the time, SVVI; I stressed the importance of needing a dog that was absolutely trustworthy around my young children.  Oldest is almost 13, youngest is almost 2.  I now have 3 GSD's...(it's an addiction) lol  but I personally would hands down go with another older already trained dog from someone like Eurosport.  My Agar is just a great pleasure to share my home with.  He's been wonderful with the kids since the day he got here and they enjoy him more because he is already trained and not a pest like a pup can be for the first year or so.

It was so nice having a dog come to me that was already housebroken, had great manners, and his obedience was exceptional.  Puppies are a lot of fun but they can also become stressful if you do not have a great deal of time to train them to obide the "house rules", not to mention keeping after them so they don't get into trouble and start destroying things around the house.  It takes them a good while to mature and get all that obnoxious behavior out of their system and if you have a busy life it can take away the joy of having a pet because it has now become more of a chore to put up with.

IMO and it's just my 2 cents; you mentioned the Rottie or the GSD.  I like Rotties, even had a couple in my life but I can tell you that they are harder to train, stubborn hard headed and dominant.  Not for an inexperienced owner.  They can be very destructful and if not trained a real pain in the ass.  I personally now prefer the GSD simply because they are IMO easier to train and better for a family situation.  But as with any breed it's imperative you research your breeder and bloodlines in ensure you are getting a pup (should you go that route) that will have a nice temperment.  Pups also have those little razor teeth and can be tough for little kids.  An older dog isn't gonna jump all over them, knock them down, nip at them but yet will still be more than happy to play.  You'll just have to determine if you not only have the time to work through the puppy times but the patience and dedication....  Good luck!

Puppies raised with kids are the safest for sure. That's a must no matter which way you go younger or older pup/dog.

dragongsd.com

ok, here are my experiences. when my daughter emma was born my lab/gsd/husky bandit was already 5 years old and well socialized with kids. she was very calm, sweet, and patient. when my daughter got to be too much for her she would simply get up and walk away. she died when emma was 3. shortly thereafter i looked at 2  4-month old puppies and when they ran jumping into the room, emma got scared and climbed onto my lap, crying. i took a calm 8 month old from that place but she was very skittish and i gave her up since her temperament was not suitable for what i wanted. my next gsd was an 8 week pup who died suddenly and unexpectedly at 4 months. i had problems with him knocking emma down and chewing on her, causing her to cry. my next dog, i currently have, nenz (nenz vom klebinger schlo), was already 4 when i got him and i was cautioned when we picked him up that he had never been around small children, so watch him. only problem was at a playground his prey drive kicked in and he jumped up going after emma when she was swinging. i scolded him severely and he doesn't so much as look at kids in swings anymore. no other problems, she can put her hands in his food bowl and take his chews right out of his mouth, hug him and kiss him, etc. he is great with her. he came already housebroke, and since he used to show in germany, already knew sitz and platz. well, apparently something must have happened to his hips, an injury or something, and he could never be the pulling, running, backpacking dog i really would love to have. we moved somewhere that would allow 2 dogs and i purchased spunky aka zippy vom haus miller, at age 10 weeks.  she will be a year old soon and is so hyper (that's good, looking forward to running her with the bike soon) that i call her my crazy dog. i do not allow her run of the house as she would give our cats conniptions. she is very mouthy with everybody except me. she is 99% housebroke now but occasionally forgets. i really freak out when there are animal accidents and though i had the advantage of helping to mold her personality, i think next time i will go with another adult. their personalities are so different. spunky is so wild and nenz is so calm. alot of people like him better as his manners are so good. he walks much better on leash and with him i felt safe immediately while spunky had to go thru the annoying cute puppy stage. i want dogs that look mean enough to keep people away, not attract them with cuteness. i was so glad when she got bigger. just my two cents. good luck.

If you decide to go with either a puppy or the older dog you need to know up front that there will be accidental scratches, nips and knock downs if there is any interaction at all between pup and kids. Make sure that your family can handle that without freaking out. They don't call them carpet sharks for nothing.

Melli is giving god advice.

Out of all the wonderful photos she has taken, and there are 1,000's, That is my all-time FAVORITE!

SS

Agar, Perhaps by pointing out the dog in the other thread was a rottie mucked up the waters.  My point was to bring up the touchy subject of dogs & kids.  I feel some owners except too much from their dogs if they allow small childeren unlimited access to the dog.   The dog I was talking about was in a new home and was expected to allow this toddler to do anything to him all the time -  and the owner wondered why the dog always seemed tense and stressed out!

Sue I agree a family with small children and dogs weather puppies or adults need to set the rules when it comes to the kids interacting with the dogs.  I don't allow my kids full access to my dogs because they must learn to respect the dogs as the dogs will in turn be more respectful towards them.  I even teach my kids to learn how to read our dogs so they know when the dog has had enough and wants to be left alone.  My 11 month old pup is actually pretty calm with my 19 month old baby but the bigger older dogs have knocked her down on her little kiester while making a bee line for the back door.  I just think a high drive pup in the house with little ones is a recipe for disaster unless you're willing to really monitor the situations closely so little ones don't get hurt or become afraid of the dog.