Help with new German Shepherd - Page 3

my opinion;

once you get the 18 months old, have them in separate kennels until they get used to each other.  now, if you get a female dog it doesnt matter, you can have them together. please note am telling you this based on my experience with my Female GSD and my Male GSD.

good luck!

Alex.

I started out with one male and then decided to keep a pup out of one of his litter who was also a male.  All was well for quite some time and the father/son duo seemed to enjoy one another's company UNTIL the pup hit about 7 months old.  The pup then started to come into his own and as time went on even more and he was maturing and becoming involved in protection training I could see there was gonna be a potential problem; especially when I added a female to my family.

I put kennels outside with isolation panels.  As long as they are seperated you may be ok.  You'll likely have to decide which dog will be your "house dog" and probably have to accept the 2 dogs (males) will not be able to run together.  They both have fantastic temperment with the kids, family and even other dogs that they come in contact with in general weather it be on a walk, at a club or during training, but when it comes to them both here on their own turf with each other.... there's no way they can be loose together unsupervised by me.  If I want them both in the house I take turns.  One has to be either in the kennel or crate while the other is inside with me. 

It's challenging to have more than one male but it can be done.

A couple of things I would consider, like others mentioned too...   I'd really want to chat with the owner of this other dog about his past social skills.  Where does he fit in with other dogs?   How cocky is he?  Is he relaxed with other dogs or pushy?  His personality I think is more important than trying to make a generalization, and his current owner or breeder would know that best (unless they will say anything to sell the dog).

I think neutering the older dog is a good idea before bringing another male in.

I might be concerned about the closeness in age between the two, but then who knows.  Dogs all have different personalities and some bond together and some don't.   I've seen males that were best of best friends and never thought about fighting a day in thier life,  and I've seen males that can't stand the sight of a particular other male.   They are both really adolescents,  I don't know many 2 yr old males that are actually mature behaving! 

How is your home structured now,  are there rules and guidelines for you other dog or is he used to making decisions for himself about what/when/where to do things.  The more clear that is, and less competetive the dog in the home already is,  the easier it seems to bring in another dog.

I have had 3 males who lived together in our house in perfect harmony. We introduced  (Jay) our second male when (Max) our first male was nearly 12 months. The 3rd male (Beau)is a different breed a Spaniel cross breed (we rescued him with the intention of finding a forever home for him, but he stayed with us and is still here 10 yrs on) Sadly we lost Max last year, he was nearly 13 and Jay we lost to cancer when he was 7.

So now we have Beau who is 10 years old, Disa who is nearly 17 months and Kodi who is 5 months.( 2 males and a female) They all live quite happily in the house with us without any issues. I was never afraid to leave my 3 boys alone together and again there is no worries with leaving my 2 males and female alone together.

As other people have said, it depends on the temperament of the dogs, how they are introduced, making sure that none of the dogs feel loved over the other.

I hope it goes well for you whatever you decide.

Kindest regards