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by inc on 30 November 2011 - 02:11
Which part of the US are you located in ? There are some good breeders out there (that can be recomanded) based on where you live if you choose to buy a puppy.
by BroncoK on 30 November 2011 - 05:11
I thought that in reading this that I might share our experience. :)
We brought home our family pet pup when our newest baby was four months old. She is half show line/working line and has medium drive. I thought long and hard about the litter that we chose from and new that we would be bringing home a pup with a new baby and that it would be a lot of work (but I was determined to make it work). So I did a lot of reading on training before we brought her home so I knew what to expect and how to accomplish what we wanted in our pup for our family. She has been everything we had hoped for!
When we talked about bringing home pup this is what was running through my mind, my four month old will be waking up throughout the night already, so I can just bring pup out for a potty break after I tend to him (because they will need to do that ;)). A pup will need to sleep a lot, just like my four month old, and I NEVER allowed her to play chase, or play bite WHAT-SO-EVER with my kids, and my other child was a part of her upbringing from the moment we brought her home.
The reason I wanted to write is because, YES, it is TOUGH work having a pup in your home, but it can be done. You just need to know yourself well enough to know how much work you are willing to put into your pup because they can't be left alone to their own devices because they will get in trouble ;). Our girl is now 8 months and she and my now 10 month old babe are INSEPARABLE. She prefers his company over anyone else and he has even learned to walk ripping on her fur/back and face and she has done a FABULOUS job at it. She has NEVER bared her teeth to my children and know that they are the boss and what they say go. My three year old even had in her in a down stay!!
Anyway, it is a lot of work, but I wanted to put someone out there who could make it work. Best wishes to you and prayers for you and your family when your husband is deployed. We really appreciate his service.
We brought home our family pet pup when our newest baby was four months old. She is half show line/working line and has medium drive. I thought long and hard about the litter that we chose from and new that we would be bringing home a pup with a new baby and that it would be a lot of work (but I was determined to make it work). So I did a lot of reading on training before we brought her home so I knew what to expect and how to accomplish what we wanted in our pup for our family. She has been everything we had hoped for!
When we talked about bringing home pup this is what was running through my mind, my four month old will be waking up throughout the night already, so I can just bring pup out for a potty break after I tend to him (because they will need to do that ;)). A pup will need to sleep a lot, just like my four month old, and I NEVER allowed her to play chase, or play bite WHAT-SO-EVER with my kids, and my other child was a part of her upbringing from the moment we brought her home.
The reason I wanted to write is because, YES, it is TOUGH work having a pup in your home, but it can be done. You just need to know yourself well enough to know how much work you are willing to put into your pup because they can't be left alone to their own devices because they will get in trouble ;). Our girl is now 8 months and she and my now 10 month old babe are INSEPARABLE. She prefers his company over anyone else and he has even learned to walk ripping on her fur/back and face and she has done a FABULOUS job at it. She has NEVER bared her teeth to my children and know that they are the boss and what they say go. My three year old even had in her in a down stay!!
Anyway, it is a lot of work, but I wanted to put someone out there who could make it work. Best wishes to you and prayers for you and your family when your husband is deployed. We really appreciate his service.
by Red Sable on 30 November 2011 - 11:11
It is a lot of work, but it absolutely can be done.
I disagree with the older dog and a baby. If you do, be careful. I'd rather get a puppy, train it the way I want, and have them grow up together. You said, when you get settled, which isn't right away, ( and the baby will be at least a year old) so as long as you are going to be home with baby and puppy, you should be fine. If you are working out of the home, I would not do it.
Just be VERY careful who you get a puppy from. Not all breeders are totally honest and many charge more than the pup is worth. Be sure to see the parents looks and temperaments, and see if that is exactly what you want, before purchasing a pup from them.
All the best!
I disagree with the older dog and a baby. If you do, be careful. I'd rather get a puppy, train it the way I want, and have them grow up together. You said, when you get settled, which isn't right away, ( and the baby will be at least a year old) so as long as you are going to be home with baby and puppy, you should be fine. If you are working out of the home, I would not do it.
Just be VERY careful who you get a puppy from. Not all breeders are totally honest and many charge more than the pup is worth. Be sure to see the parents looks and temperaments, and see if that is exactly what you want, before purchasing a pup from them.
All the best!
by Gustav on 30 November 2011 - 13:11
The line of the dog has NOTHING to do with acclimation to family or new baby. The quality of the dog has everything to do regardless of the lines. You want a dog from breeders and dogs that have superior nervebase. If they do, the dog regardless of line will make the adjustment to the circumstances of your home. If the nervebase is weak you can get shy and sharp dogs that because of their nervebase will REACT indiscriminately to things that may make them problematic. But thousands of people have raised workinglines with babies and kids. A solid German Shepherd is not a threat to the baby if raised with the family and has good nerve. Caveat....there's always one person who knew a person that got a working line dog and didn't trust it with the baby, or somebody that projects the worse because they know nothing about working lines or are partial to other lines...but talk to people WHO have raised their babies with German Shepherds of any lines and get a first hand answer. BTW, I have raised my kids with German Shepherds that are police caliber, and every week my grandkids come over and play with my dogs that are in training for police work and never had a problem.
by Fenrir on 30 November 2011 - 15:11
"In fact I cannot remember a single Shepherd dog that was not in love with children."
"They are always conscious of their power and of their duty to protect them (Children), and even in their squabbles with them will take care to never draw blood"
- Max Von Stephanitz
This is a dog that has children as one of its foundational parts, any good German Shepherd will exibit this temperament regardless of line. If your husband is not going to be leaving for awhile I say get it sooner than later so that you can get the pup trained and have a helping hand to deal with. Obviously they are a lot of work, seriously a lot of work. However the Shepherd is an amazing companion and defender of his family. Do your reasearch and be sure you are willing to make the commitment. As far as choosing a puppy everyone has their preferances I do prefer the working lines wether they are Czech,DDR or West German all are great for me. You do not need to get the pup with most drive and most litters should have at least a pup or two with solid medium drives that will be less of a handful.
P.S. I have 5 kids from 5-11 in age and one of the driviest little bitches I have seen, yes sometimes both kids and dog get out of hand but I have never had the least bit of a concern about anyones safety. I will stress this however you can never leave them unsupervised, and not because of the dog either kids are little jerks who like to pull tails and ears and mess with animals for the sake of it. Keep everyone safe and make sure all play is always supervised at all times. If you can't be there, then in the crate the dog goes :)
*Edit, forgot to add a couple of things
"They are always conscious of their power and of their duty to protect them (Children), and even in their squabbles with them will take care to never draw blood"
- Max Von Stephanitz
This is a dog that has children as one of its foundational parts, any good German Shepherd will exibit this temperament regardless of line. If your husband is not going to be leaving for awhile I say get it sooner than later so that you can get the pup trained and have a helping hand to deal with. Obviously they are a lot of work, seriously a lot of work. However the Shepherd is an amazing companion and defender of his family. Do your reasearch and be sure you are willing to make the commitment. As far as choosing a puppy everyone has their preferances I do prefer the working lines wether they are Czech,DDR or West German all are great for me. You do not need to get the pup with most drive and most litters should have at least a pup or two with solid medium drives that will be less of a handful.
P.S. I have 5 kids from 5-11 in age and one of the driviest little bitches I have seen, yes sometimes both kids and dog get out of hand but I have never had the least bit of a concern about anyones safety. I will stress this however you can never leave them unsupervised, and not because of the dog either kids are little jerks who like to pull tails and ears and mess with animals for the sake of it. Keep everyone safe and make sure all play is always supervised at all times. If you can't be there, then in the crate the dog goes :)
*Edit, forgot to add a couple of things
by beetree on 30 November 2011 - 15:11
I've had landsharks with kiddies, and if I were you, and if this is my first GSD, and first kid, at the same time.... find yourself a brainy and beautiful showline, and make it that much easier on yourself, and perhaps your skin. Just sayin'.
"We" know how much work you are in for, regardless of the line. I hope you do, too! Done correctly, it is a lovely thing to behold, as my showline GSD is happiest when he's right there playing along with the kids. And the kids wouldn't have it any other way. You'll feel confident too, when eventually, his mature bark makes the proper statement if you should hear a bump in the night.
"We" know how much work you are in for, regardless of the line. I hope you do, too! Done correctly, it is a lovely thing to behold, as my showline GSD is happiest when he's right there playing along with the kids. And the kids wouldn't have it any other way. You'll feel confident too, when eventually, his mature bark makes the proper statement if you should hear a bump in the night.
by Fenrir on 30 November 2011 - 16:11
LOVE the pictures, it really does capture what it is to have a shepherd with children, or to be a child with a shepherd. Thank you for sharing!
by Bhaugh on 30 November 2011 - 17:11
If you are planning to live on base, please be aware that many bases do NOT allow German Shepherds. I do rescue and the base here in Vegas was one of the last bases to hold out but I found out a couple of months ago after calling for a possible adoption, they are now on the base list as not allowed. Please check your base before getting a dog if you happen to live on base
by Fenrir on 30 November 2011 - 18:11
O.o?? Wha?? Is that not just ironic to the utter core? So our government has been serviced by this dog for longer than any other breed in war, these dogs have died for their country in the line of duty both in military and civil work and this honorable breed has been banned by our own militiary to own??? That sickens me a bit...seriously, wow.
by clee27 on 30 November 2011 - 19:11
I have lived on three Army bases with my GSDs, I have never heard of an Army base not allowing GSDs. It's always best to check. I've lived on post at Fort Bragg, Fort Hood, and Fort Rucker and I did housing maintenance on post, and volunteered at animal control on post where GSDs were adopted out. Good luck, Jennifer
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