Newbie - Page 1

Hi,

I'm new here, so please be kind! Stupid questions coming up! This is my first post and I need some advice. 

I've been around working dogs all my life but only got a GSD (off working lines) about five years ago. What prompted me to this decision was a visit from some unsavoury characters. I'm a pension, a farmer, and I live alone. I've had a similar visit since but when they saw the dog, I've never seen anyone move so fast! It was really funny as the dog just wanted to make friends! Anyway, no visits since so I think the word is out there.

I am really impressed with the intelligence of these dogs. Mine is with me nearly all the time and although she is a very good guard, she is 100% safe with everyone she knows. It is another matter towards anyone who shouldn't be around!

I'd like a second GSD. I've seldom had a problem keeping gundogs together in the same kennel (terriers are a different matter!) but I understand two working dogs of the same sex in the same kennel is looking for trouble. I put my back out separating fighting dogs about forty years ago so know all about that. Do working GSDs of opposite sexes generally get along together? I could of course breed from my bitch and that is a second option, but I'm not sure I want the hassle of disposing of pups as the enquiries I'd get from around here would all be from pet homes.

Thanks in advance. There seem to be some very knowledgeable people on here.

Dry Rot

It's all a matter of opinion. Either way you're going to have one dominant over the other. Doesn't matter the breed, or the sexes, or the ages. You're going to have one who is going to be above the other on the totum pole. It may not be an aggressive matter, but it'll be there.

I highly suggest not breeding unless you've titled, hip, elbow, and health surveyed your dog. There are so many that are in shelters, so unless you've lined up a home for every possible pup, please don't breed.

I'm partial to female dogs. I'm getting my second female GSD in a month. The breeder I'm getting her from has numerous females, all living together in the house no problems. It's all a matter of how you raise them, IMO. It's true that opposite sexes tend to get along better, but you should think of neuter/spay or when your bitch goes into heat, you'll have one howling male haha.

While some people have multiple GSDs of the same sex in their house (I keep females and they all live in the house with my family) you are MORE likely to have peace with two dogs of the opposite sex.  And yes some of it is in how you raise the dogs and handle them, but some of it also just comes down to genetics and the individual dogs.  

IMO you should never get a 2nd dog of the same sex unless you are aware of the possibility and willing to separate the dogs for life in the future if it should come to that.  Hopefully it will not come to that, but it is a very real possibility.  

And as macrowe said - with opposite sex dogs then you have other issues to deal with.  I also agree you shouldnt think about breeding unless you are going to "do it right".  

Good luck!  

Dry Rot,

Why that name? 

Thanks,
beetree

I have a house full of intact dogs of both genders and no problems, in fact when I take my dogs out in small groups I usually keep them in same genders.  But I'm just fortunate that that works in my home.   (I also take the entire pack of dogs out together when there is no one in season)
The ONLY times that my dogs get grouchy and testy with each other is when there is a female in season.  So if you get another female then the best way to reduce chances of fighting is to have both of them spayed. 

You have a much better chance of avoiding a dog fight if you get a male dog to go with your female.   You'll also further reduce chances of fighting if one or both are fixed (don't fix them until they are mature though)

Your female is 5 years (or over 5 yrs?) old.  The older a female is when she has her first litter of puppies the more likely she is to have complications.  I personally wouldn't risk breeding a dog for the first time if she is 5 yrs old or older. 

I have two dogs from working lines.  

I will only ever have two dogs at a time.  I try to space them out age wise so that I will not end up with two old dogs.  I also keep it 1 male and 1 female for easy harmony.  The females are spayed and the males are not.  The one advantage of spaying a female just before her first heat is the lessened risk of breast cancer.  A previous female spayed at 2 1/2 got bone cancer at 12.

My two dogs are crazy about each other.   They are so close and they curl up together all the time.  They groom each other and patrol the property together.  They are a great team.

They hang out with me about 50% and are off on their own adventures the other 50%.

Good luck with your choices.

Michele, Pharaoh and Mariah

Beetree, Why the name Dry Rot? Well, my sense of humour can be a bit dry for some and most of the time I talk rot! Dry rot is a fungal disease of damp houses that is very difficult to cure, so that applies too! Does that cover it?

Thanks for the words of advice, guys, a lot of sense there.

I'm still thinking about this one and will be very cautious. The bitch is imported Czech/Polish working lines with all the letters. Not sure what they all mean, but as I've said I've been around working dogs a long time though I have no interest in competing. By "working dogs" I mean sheepdogs, hounds, lurchers, terriers, and gundogs. I was hunting a pack of hounds at 18 and, apart from college, have seldom had less than a dozen of my own working gundogs in my kennel since, usually a lot more. When considering a GSD, I was determined to get the best working bred pup I could and did a round trip of over 1,000 miles to achieve that, so in a way it would be a pity not to breed from my bitch BUT (and it is a big "but") I would be really fussy where pups go. That is what makes me hesitate. No logic to it, but I don't like the thought of spaying a good bitch. When she comes into season, she just goes out into the kennel. Same thing if she has been rabbitting and comes back covered in mud! She's not keen on the idea, but doesn't object.

Dry Rot

LOL, you are my kind of guy, I think! Welcome aboard, Dry Rot!

First love the handle. Dry rot. I got a good laugh. Second. I have two females and a male. All intact. My girls got in to it once, one was just going out of season and the other was just under a year old and set on asserting her spot as the alpha and that was exactly what happened. They put on a show and were easy to break up and there has never been another issue. My youngest had set herself as the alpha dog and the others don't argue with that.

 Only buy a male to put with your female and it is mostly genetic...I have all high prey working lines and none of my females get along and none of my males get along...

I did not learn in this game years ago how to be like Steve Leigh or gene england and run a pack together from birth..

so mine are very well trained for male /female pairs.

only
mine run in pairs at all times  /pairs at a time/alternating every 4 hours in and out..

but I had up to 16 dogs on property , kenneled and in air conditioned nurseries for pups..

small but very much alpha...so working lines is all I like and I like the tougher dog and the more heavy bone lines...

At MY  age now, I am careful as I want no more fights on premises...

Keep the peace is my motto..so I run male/female only

YR