Talk me out of (or into) this puppy.....

[TheReader]

We are pet-lovers. We have 2 dogs and 2 cats currently:
--8 yr old mutt, who's content to just be a dog that has a family
--6 yr old cat that we've had 4 yrs, who stops sitting in laps for a brief time period with each added animal
--4 yr old (3 yr old??) pitbull/something mix who is sweet, loving, kind, and busy, but does very well with other animals
--2 yr old Maine Coon mix cat who is pretty sure she's the alpha animal

So, we are pretty full. Except, we said "well, if we ever came across the exact perfect mix/breed, we'd consider that...." 

This puppy IS that. (we had "German Shepherd mix" and "Golden Retriever mix" on that list, but with caveats -- puppy is a German Shepherd/Husky mix). 

She is 6 months old, great with kids (her owners have a 6 yr old and 4 yr old), gentle with other animals (she's not specifically been around cats), playful, and beautiful. Her owners are living with family, though, and relocating, though the where/when is currently unknown. They are no longer in a position to keep her. 

We *are* "animals for life" people, so there's really no "get her, if it doesn't work out, give her to someone else..." 

So, help. I was going to just say no. Then DH said, "do they have a picture?" and those blue eyes.....:sigh:  

On the pro side -- 
-- we pretty much know what we're getting into, have the skill/dedication to properly train her, all of us are home so it's a good time, etc...
--we have the space, inside & outside
--the pit will love having a playmate and her/the puppy should get along and keep each other busy, which is good
--the mutt won't care at all
--the 2 yr old cat will likely try to play with the puppy too, assuming the puppy is young enough/doesn't immediately decide kitty = food (the kitty will absolutely put the puppy in her place)
 

On the con side -- 
--the 6 yr old cat will ignore us for a while
--it's a 5th animal, which is crazy
--we are in Texas, which is a HOT place for a husky in the summer (but, this is true no matter what human owns this dog, so....)
--she's a puppy, which means going through the puppy phase again
 

How nuts are we to even consider this??? DH keeps saying things like "what would we name her...?" and then "I keep thinking about your dog, but...." and then back to "what about the name Janela...?"

And because this is useless without a photo....here she is. Now, tell me why I should or should not adopt her.....

 

 

 

[TheReader]

2 minutes ago, kand said:

I can’t weigh in overall, because it definitely sounds at the limit for me, but we’ve never had more than one dog at a time. But, I did wonder how good your fencing is. Huskies have a tendency to be extremely talented  escape artists, so if she got that trait, you’d want a good way to keep her in the yard. 

We have a regular 6 ft wood fence, in very good repair (and I do know our neighbor has a german shepherd that jumps his....) BUT we do also have already installed electric underground fencing, for which we could/would easily buy a dog-sized collar if we ran into escape artist issues. Our 2 yr old cat already wears a collar on this system, to keep her from hunting mice in the field behind the house and bringing them into the house to play with (she then gets bored and lets them go, live, in the house). 

 

[Pawz4me]

The pit mix and the puppy are females?

That would give me pause regardless of breed/mix of the dogs involved, but maybe even more with those mixes.

What sex is your other dog?

If I took the pup I'd stay hyper alert for any issues developing between the two females, especially a few months/a year down the road when puppy grows up.

Just like with three kids, be prepared for times when two might gang up on one. 

[Selkie]

She's gorgeous! 

I agree with both @kandand @Pawz4me.

I would also be concerned about potential health issues since she is part German Shepherd. Dh grew up with German Shepherds and loves them, but we are leery of ever getting another. The last purebred we had (who we inherited from dh's mom when she died) had degenerative myelopathy and had to be put to sleep at a young age - totally devastating. And the shepherd mix we have now (a rescue) has pretty severe hip dysplasia.

One more thing is that huskies can be very vocal. We have a husky/German shorthair mix and he is the most talkative dog we've ever had. He chatters at us all day long (which is funny and very adorable), and loves to howl. It's not a problem for us since we live out in the middle of nowhere and have no neighbors, but his noise would be a problem for sure if we lived in a neighborhood.

[TheReader]

15 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

The pit mix and the puppy are females?

That would give me pause regardless of breed/mix of the dogs involved, but maybe even more with those mixes.

What sex is your other dog?

If I took the pup I'd stay hyper alert for any issues developing between the two females, especially a few months/a year down the road when puppy grows up.

Just like with three kids, be prepared for times when two might gang up on one. 

yes; the other dog is a male and super submissive. 

The pit mix has done well with other female dogs before -- we dog sat a female chihuahua mix for about 2 or 3 months, who had serious "small dog syndrome" and those two did well together. (Rosie started off in a home with 3 other all female dachsund mixes, older than her, for a few months before she became just way too much for my MIL to handle, so that may be part of why she does okay...?)

 We've also had other female dogs staying with us briefly (during Harvey, so only a week, but then that same dog again another week/10 days), older, and Rosie (our pit) didn't even challenge her at all. Daisy came in, looked at her, and everyone just knew who was in what place, LOL. 

Rosie (the pit mix) has been pretty fantastic around other dogs (we've also dog-sat our  neighbor's female giant lab mixes, multiple times, and bring them over for playdates, etc. -- again, no issues).

I'm NOT just trying to rebuff you, just sharing that what we've seen so far, Rosie should be okay. 

The owner of the puppy has offered a playdate/overnight so we can do a test run......

[Terabith]

That is a really, really, REALLY cute puppy.  I would have a hard time saying no to that puppy.  

On the other hand, half German Shepherd/ half Huskie makes me ask:  are any of you long distance runners?  Maybe all of you, in shifts?  That's a dog that's going to need a LOT of exercise.  

[TheReader]

8 minutes ago, Selkie said:

She's gorgeous! 

I agree with both @kandand @Pawz4me.

I would also be concerned about potential health issues since she is part German Shepherd. Dh grew up with German Shepherds and loves them, but we are leery of ever getting another. The last purebred we had (who we inherited from dh's mom when she died) had degenerative myelopathy and had to be put to sleep at a young age - totally devastating. And the shepherd mix we have now (a rescue) has pretty severe hip dysplasia.

One more thing is that huskies can be very vocal. We have a husky/German shorthair mix and he is the most talkative dog we've ever had. He chatters at us all day long (which is funny and very adorable), and loves to howl. It's not a problem for us since we live out in the middle of nowhere and have no neighbors, but his noise would be a problem for sure if we lived in a neighborhood.

hmm, that's good to know about the howling. Our neighbors are pretty dog friendly (hilariously so, honestly; the neighborhood as a whole is very pro-dog), and we could likely pass it off as the coyotes 😉 but that is definitely a consideration. She's young enough yet, that's not something she's likely to have started doing yet......

I'll put that in the con pile.....

[TheReader]

Just now, Terabith said:

That is a really, really, REALLY cute puppy.  I would have a hard time saying no to that puppy.  

On the other hand, half German Shepherd/ half Huskie makes me ask:  are any of you long distance runners?  Maybe all of you, in shifts?  That's a dog that's going to need a LOT of exercise.  

LOL! No, but our pit mix also requires a lot of exercise, and DH & oldest DS take her on bike "rides" (she pulls them, for miles, all through the neighborhood). The puppy would get her turn with that as well. 

 

[MercyA]

There are too few homes in the world for animals who need them. I think you'd be doing a Good Thing by adding her to your family. My two cents.

Also, five is not too many. 🙂

[ktgrok]

3 minutes ago, MercyA said:

There are too few homes in the world for animals who need them. I think you'd be doing a Good Thing by adding her to your family. My two cents.

Also, five is not too many. 🙂

Agree. 

That puppy needs the right home - and as you know, not all homes are going to be able to handle those breeds. Sounds like you can. (and I have 3 dogs and 2 cats myself, lol)

[TheReader]

2 minutes ago, MercyA said:

There are too few homes in the world for animals who need them. I think you'd be doing a Good Thing by adding her to your family. My two cents.

Also, five is not too many. 🙂

LOL!! 

I *really* want her. I've told the owner we're thinking about it, she's offered a playdate/sleepover to test it out, which I told her I'd think about until tomorrow.....we shall see. 

I don't want to take her and it not work. I *will* help find her a home, though, if we pass. 

[MooCow]

We had huskies and German shepherds when I was growing up. Not at the same though. our husky died because he wouldn’t stop. Jumping 😞

[ktgrok]

1 minute ago, TheReader said:

LOL!! 

I *really* want her. I've told the owner we're thinking about it, she's offered a playdate/sleepover to test it out, which I told her I'd think about until tomorrow.....we shall see. 

I don't want to take her and it not work. I *will* help find her a home, though, if we pass. 

I think a sleepover is a great idea - just to make sure she doesn't think cats = food and to make sure she meshes. I mean, one night is too early to really know, but it would give a clue. 

[TheReader]

Just now, ktgrok said:

Agree. 

That puppy needs the right home - and as you know, not all homes are going to be able to handle those breeds. Sounds like you can. (and I have 3 dogs and 2 cats myself, lol)

Oh, I was hoping you'd chime in! 

Do you have thoughts on the female-female issue that was raised? I've honestly not heard of that before, and Rosie (our pit mix; she's pit-some kind of water dog that you mentioned once, that I don't remember now, we think) has always done fine with the assortment of other female dogs we've had visit, stay with us, etc. but the longest duration was about 2 or 3 months..... so I'm thinking temperament/personality, she'd be fine, but....??? (I mean, she plays with the kitten, who has set herself as the alpha animal....rosie lets the kitty chew her tail, chew her ears, etc......)

[TheReader]

1 minute ago, ktgrok said:

I think a sleepover is a great idea - just to make sure she doesn't think cats = food and to make sure she meshes. I mean, one night is too early to really know, but it would give a clue. 

yes, we'll probably try the overnight; I told her I'd let her know tomorrow about that. We do need to make sure the puppy doesn't try to eat the kitties. We can gate off the upstairs while they adjust, but the ideal would be to remove the gate after an adjustment period. 

Our male mutt will just submit, he's pretty much a "bottom of the pack" dog and as long as we still love him, he'll be happy. 

 

[gardenmom5]

Husky - wants to run, did I say they like to run?  wants to run, I'd really examine your lifestyle.  Are you outdoors a lot - somewhere you can let a dog roam?

I may be biased, as a niece just returned a husky puppy because her dh is allergic, and their house isn't big enough for him to have a refuge from allergens.

[Selkie]

47 minutes ago, TheReader said:

Oh, I was hoping you'd chime in! 

Do you have thoughts on the female-female issue that was raised? I've honestly not heard of that before, and Rosie (our pit mix; she's pit-some kind of water dog that you mentioned once, that I don't remember now, we think) has always done fine with the assortment of other female dogs we've had visit, stay with us, etc. but the longest duration was about 2 or 3 months..... so I'm thinking temperament/personality, she'd be fine, but....??? (I mean, she plays with the kitten, who has set herself as the alpha animal....rosie lets the kitty chew her tail, chew her ears, etc......)

It might not be your Rosie who causes a problem, though - it might be the younger female trying to establish dominance over the older one. I've seen that happen countless times. I've been involved in rescue for decades and the worst fights I've ever seen/heard of have been the result of female-female aggression. It's not a given that it will happen, but it's common and something to be aware of. We've always had many dogs at once and for the sake of harmony, we stick with mostly males. We do have three females (in addition to our males) at the moment and they get along well, but all three of them are exceptionally easygoing and sweet tempered towards other dogs.

Edited January 6, 2021 by Selkie

[Pawz4me]

9 minutes ago, Selkie said:

It might not be your Rosie who causes a problem, though - it might be the younger female trying to establish dominance over the older one. I've seen that happen countless times. I've been involved in rescue for decades and the worst fights I've ever seen/heard of have been the result of female-female aggression. It's not a given that it will happen, but it's common and something to be aware of. 

Exactly. I've also worked in rescue for many years, and the only time I've been bitten badly enough to require stitches was when I (stupidly) tried to break up a spat between two females.

[Laurie]

46 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

I think a sleepover is a great idea - just to make sure she doesn't think cats = food and to make sure she meshes. I mean, one night is too early to really know, but it would give a clue. 

I always remember the conversation I had with a husky owner in our neighborhood...he said they eat cats.   (This wasn't said in a threatening way like, "Keep your cats out of my yard,  lady" either,  just as a matter of fact.)

[Terabith]

5 minutes ago, Laurie said:

I always remember the conversation I had with a husky owner in our neighborhood...he said they eat cats.   (This wasn't said in a threatening way like, "Keep your cats out of my yard,  lady" either,  just as a matter of fact.)

Yeah, but a Maine Coon is a BIG cat, and if the cat has enough personality to dominate a puppy, I think even a breed that is likely to eat cats in general might not eat cats in specific.  

[TheReader]

40 minutes ago, Selkie said:

It might not be your Rosie who causes a problem, though - it might be the younger female trying to establish dominance over the older one. I've seen that happen countless times. I've been involved in rescue for decades and the worst fights I've ever seen/heard of have been the result of female-female aggression. It's not a given that it will happen, but it's common and something to be aware of. We've always had many dogs at once and for the sake of harmony, we stick with mostly males. We do have three females (in addition to our males) at the moment and they get along well, but all three of them are exceptionally easygoing and sweet tempered towards other dogs.

oh, that's a good point; for sure we won't take her w/o doing a meet & greet, and for sure if we do take her, we'll be on alert. 

I hadn't thought of the younger dog trying to usurp later on....

[TheReader]

22 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Yeah, but a Maine Coon is a BIG cat, and if the cat has enough personality to dominate a puppy, I think even a breed that is likely to eat cats in general might not eat cats in specific.  

yea, our oldest cat is a big, fat cat and will either hide/avoid or shut the dog down. 

our youngest, the maine coon mix, is not as large as she should be, but personality....she's got all 3 other animals convinced she's the alpha, and has from about day one. That goes for every dog we've ever dog-sat, too; her I'm not worried about. 

But for sure it's one of the main things we'd watch during any trial run. 

[TheReader]

49 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

Husky - wants to run, did I say they like to run?  wants to run, I'd really examine your lifestyle.  Are you outdoors a lot - somewhere you can let a dog roam?

I may be biased, as a niece just returned a husky puppy because her dh is allergic, and their house isn't big enough for him to have a refuge from allergens.

see above; we mostly meet this need with bike rides, where the on-leash dog gets to pull the bike. We do also have a larger yard than most, open areas where (once trained to recall) we can let a dog off leash to run, places to go hiking (and we do that, semi-regularly), etc. 

So, not runners, but with a good few years of dog-ownership to a "needs lots of exercise/likes to run" dog.  That aspect we know what we're getting into. 

[elegantlion]

My husky was old when we got a kitten. This husky was used to be the submissive dog as one of our other huskies had passed away a few months earlier.  This 70lb husky got off her large feather bed and watched as a 5 lb kitten took over. 

But yes, huskies and shepards can be snippy towards cats, but huskies are also very pack oriented and would let a cat be alpha if the cat asserted itself. 

Huskies will run - generally away if given the chance, so they need lots of exercise. 

We had 3 huskies at one time - they are beautiful loyal creatures. 

 

I would do the overnight and see how the interaction with the cats happens, but if you are prepared for 5 pets, then why not. Life is short - dogs can be awesome. 

 

[Guest]

51 minutes ago, Laurie said:

I always remember the conversation I had with a husky owner in our neighborhood...he said they eat cats.   (This wasn't said in a threatening way like, "Keep your cats out of my yard,  lady" either,  just as a matter of fact.)

I was going to say my German Shepherd had a very strong prey drive and was never great with my cats. And also ate my chicken.

[gardenmom5]

16 minutes ago, Quill said:

I was going to say my German Shepherd had a very strong prey drive and was never great with my cats. And also ate my chicken.

My GSD brought home a tiny kitten.  She really wanted to mother it - the mama cat was not a good mama.

[mommyoffive]

3 hours ago, Selkie said:

She's gorgeous! 

I agree with both @kandand @Pawz4me.

I would also be concerned about potential health issues since she is part German Shepherd. Dh grew up with German Shepherds and loves them, but we are leery of ever getting another. The last purebred we had (who we inherited from dh's mom when she died) had degenerative myelopathy and had to be put to sleep at a young age - totally devastating. And the shepherd mix we have now (a rescue) has pretty severe hip dysplasia.

One more thing is that huskies can be very vocal. We have a husky/German shorthair mix and he is the most talkative dog we've ever had. He chatters at us all day long (which is funny and very adorable), and loves to howl. It's not a problem for us since we live out in the middle of nowhere and have no neighbors, but his noise would be a problem for sure if we lived in a neighborhood.

Yes, yes they are says the woman who lives behind a house with 2 huskies that the family let out at 3:30 am.  They never walk these dogs so they are just sitting in their small backyard all day long. 

[MercyA]

15 hours ago, Quill said:

I was going to say my German Shepherd had a very strong prey drive and was never great with my cats. And also ate my chicken.

Yes. My friend's German Shepherd puppy fatally injured their pet rabbit. 😞 Thankfully the cat in residence isn't putting up with any nonsense. 

Also, my DH had a German Shepherd / lab mix growing up. The dog was good with the cats in general and even let momma and baby kittens share his sleeping den, BUT if he saw them run his instincts kicked in and he gave chase.

Edited January 6, 2021 by MercyA

[BlsdMama]

You should not. 
 

Iowa is more suitable... 😉

That picture, those eyes!!

ETA: As an aside, the husky would make me hesitate before the GS. If she had an insane prey drive, you’d have heard about it from friend by now.  We got a Czech female with such a high prey and dominance drive that we were a poor match despite being experienced GS owners. She is a professional Schutzhund dog now and well suited, lol. 

Edited January 6, 2021 by BlsdMama

[BlsdMama]

3 hours ago, Selkie said:

It might not be your Rosie who causes a problem, though - it might be the younger female trying to establish dominance over the older one. I've seen that happen countless times. I've been involved in rescue for decades and the worst fights I've ever seen/heard of have been the result of female-female aggression. It's not a given that it will happen, but it's common and something to be aware of. We've always had many dogs at once and for the sake of harmony, we stick with mostly males. We do have three females (in addition to our males) at the moment and they get along well, but all three of them are exceptionally easygoing and sweet tempered towards other dogs.

Female female aggression - I will add that once the GS hit adulthood, she despised our old (spayed) terrier. So much so, that we have pictures of Lacey the terrier who looked like Frankendog, after having stitches placed around about 70% of her neck. This was when the GS had to be rehomed. 
*But* I will say, when I called the breeder, she wasn’t surprised that it happened. She was surprised I allowed two adult females together unsupervised. It had never crossed my mind! We’d had Lacey for years and had had the pup for almost a full year at that point. Do the current owners know anything about the parents? When we had Briseus, this breeder was upfront in that she bred intense dogs for work and protection. We were out of our league. Our longest lived GS had been bred for companion/family dog. While not mellow, he was practically a different breed from the Czech GS.  Often if you know the parent, it will clue you in on the pup. 

Edited January 6, 2021 by BlsdMama

[Jean in Newcastle]

3 hours ago, MercyA said:

Yes. My friend's German Shepherd puppy fatally injured their pet rabbit. 😞 Thankfully the cat in residence isn't putting up with any nonsense. 

Also, my DH has a German Shepherd / lab mix growing up. The dog was good with the cats in general and even let momma and baby kittens share his sleeping den, BUT if he saw them run his instincts kicked in and he gave chase.

Our German Shepherd/Rottweiler mix herds our bunnies.  The bunnies made very sure from the start that they are the top of the pecking order in this house - over the dog and the cat.  But we purposefully got a puppy so that we could train, train, train because we knew that the mix of breeds could be an issue. 

Reader - if you can truly meet the puppy's needs for exercise, socialization and training (not just individually but as part of a family with five animals) then I would say go for it. 

[TheReader]

8 hours ago, BlsdMama said:

You should not. 
 

Iowa is more suitable... 😉

That picture, those eyes!!

ETA: As an aside, the husky would make me hesitate before the GS. If she had an insane prey drive, you’d have heard about it from friend by now.  We got a Czech female with such a high prey and dominance drive that we were a poor match despite being experienced GS owners. She is a professional Schutzhund dog now and well suited, lol. 

Good point; she hasn't seen her around cats, but she'd have noticed something on walks/runs by now, if puppy was prone to chasing smaller animals. 

8 hours ago, BlsdMama said:

Female female aggression - I will add that once the GS hit adulthood, she despised our old (spayed) terrier. So much so, that we have pictures of Lacey the terrier who looked like Frankendog, after having stitches placed around about 70% of her neck. This was when the GS had to be rehomed. 
*But* I will say, when I called the breeder, she wasn’t surprised that it happened. She was surprised I allowed two adult females together unsupervised. It had never crossed my mind! We’d had Lacey for years and had had the pup for almost a full year at that point. Do the current owners know anything about the parents? When we had Briseus, this breeder was upfront in that she bred intense dogs for work and protection. We were out of our league. Our longest lived GS had been bred for companion/family dog. While not mellow, he was practically a different breed from the Czech GS.  Often if you know the parent, it will clue you in on the pup. 

This is very helpful, thank you. I will ask about the parent(s).  So far, from what my friend has said, she keeps using words like meek, gentle, "we've never seen her show aggression" etc.  Timid around strangers, which means we'll need to do careful socialization to help her through that/keep an eye on that (our mutt accidentally ended up that way as well; we've worked him through it more or less).  Playful.  All of which doesn't really tell how she'll be as an adult, but at least gives a good starting point.  I'll ask what she knows about the parents, though. 

And we'll definitely watch out for leaving them alone together; puppy is crate trained, so it may be that she continues using the crate when we're out of the house, to be safe. 

I feel like we must have gotten crazy lucky with this so far -- I had no idea this was a thing, at all. And every dog we've ever pet-sit has been a female, of all different ages, and for various lengths of time (including one for 2-3 months), and we've just never had an issue, whether Rosie submits to the visiting dog, or convinces the visiting dog to submit to her, whichever. 

BUT it is absolutely something we will be aware of, if we go forward with this. 

[TheReader]

9 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Yes, yes they are says the woman who lives behind a house with 2 huskies that the family let out at 3:30 am.  They never walk these dogs so they are just sitting in their small backyard all day long. 

oh, that's awful! 

Our dogs are walked, bike-rided, trained in the back yard (we have a dog balance beam and work with the pit on jumping through a hula hoop, but I think we would NOT do that with the GSD b/c I know my neighbor's already jumps his fence), played with in the house, etc. We've got dog doors so they can come in/out at will during the day, but if anyone gets to barking in the backyard, we go out and bring them in.  And someone is always home, especially right now. Even once DH goes back to in-person work, at least 2 of the 3 boys will still be home during the day (and I am home except 2 days/week). No unsupervised "barking all day" dogs here, I promise.  I'm sorry you have to put up with that. 😞

[ktgrok]

Exercise wise, the two younger dogs will probably wrestle and play which is a fantastic workout - you may need to do less doggy exercise with a second young dog. That's a big reason we got our 3rd dog. The old border collie wasn't interested in playing,so we basically got the wolfadoodle as a friend for the hound. I accidentally phrased it that way in front of DH as he was about to pay the rescue fee and he stared at me and said, "I'm going to pay how much so that our dog can have a dog?" Heehee....

But seriously, it worked. Hound dog now wrestles and runs with the doodle several times a day and they come back inside panting like they've run a marathon. 

[ktgrok]

3 minutes ago, TheReader said:

oh, that's awful! 

Our dogs are walked, bike-rided, trained in the back yard (we have a dog balance beam and work with the pit on jumping through a hula hoop, but I think we would NOT do that with the GSD b/c I know my neighbor's already jumps his fence), played with in the house, etc. We've got dog doors so they can come in/out at will during the day, but if anyone gets to barking in the backyard, we go out and bring them in.  And someone is always home, especially right now. Even once DH goes back to in-person work, at least 2 of the 3 boys will still be home during the day (and I am home except 2 days/week). No unsupervised "barking all day" dogs here, I promise.  I'm sorry you have to put up with that. 😞

Ok, given that set up, go get that dog! She isn't going to get a better home than that. 

(plus, it's fate. When you see the photo and fixate like that....that's how I got Sandy our 3rd dog. Saw her photo and kept looking, refreshing, etc and just knew it was right. Heck, that's how I got my husband too, lol. Saw his photo on an online dating website and just knew)

[TheReader]

6 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Our German Shepherd/Rottweiler mix herds our bunnies.  The bunnies made very sure from the start that they are the top of the pecking order in this house - over the dog and the cat.  But we purposefully got a puppy so that we could train, train, train because we knew that the mix of breeds could be an issue. 

Reader - if you can truly meet the puppy's needs for exercise, socialization and training (not just individually but as part of a family with five animals) then I would say go for it. 

This is the question......we managed it fine when we had the extra dog for a few months, but that was a little lap dog who tired out on even the short walks for the 8 yr old mutt. I'm pretty sure we can manage the exercise; two will need to go on bike rides instead of one (one for each dog), or one will need to go twice/someone else go with the other dog. Training we can manage; everyone in the family is pretty good with training the dogs/how to do so, and everyone interacts/spends time with/plays with the dogs already, so I imagine that would continue. 

Socialization in times of Covid.....we do have a small trusted group of friends who comes over 2-3 times a month, so we would be able to do that, and we'd walk her, etc., but I would need to look up more ways to work on that for sure. Our mutt we thought we'd done a great job with, only b/c we were in Brazil, he only really got socialized to specific families (2 friends) and it didn't translate to others. So, we'd need to be aware of/work on that specifically. 

We are weighing all of this, though, before we decide. I *think* we can.....but do we want to. Realistically. 

[TheReader]

2 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

Exercise wise, the two younger dogs will probably wrestle and play which is a fantastic workout - you may need to do less doggy exercise with a second young dog. That's a big reason we got our 3rd dog. The old border collie wasn't interested in playing,so we basically got the wolfadoodle as a friend for the hound. I accidentally phrased it that way in front of DH as he was about to pay the rescue fee and he stared at me and said, "I'm going to pay how much so that our dog can have a dog?" Heehee....

But seriously, it worked. Hound dog now wrestles and runs with the doodle several times a day and they come back inside panting like they've run a marathon. 

This is what we think will happen, and what we hope. Rosie still loves loves loves to play/wrestle. Setimo, our 8 yr old mutt, does not (but will when she pesters him enough). I'm imagining that the 2 young dogs will become great playmates and be totally fine. (we will still bike ride them, etc., as needed of course). 

[TheReader]

4 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

Ok, given that set up, go get that dog! She isn't going to get a better home than that. 

(plus, it's fate. When you see the photo and fixate like that....that's how I got Sandy our 3rd dog. Saw her photo and kept looking, refreshing, etc and just knew it was right. Heck, that's how I got my husband too, lol. Saw his photo on an online dating website and just knew)

I'm convinced; still working on DH. 

The family did sit around discussing names last night (I have not asked what her current name is, but we're operating under the impression that at 6 months, we can still convince her to accept a name change.....). 

 

[Navymom]

In the German Shepherd world there is a common saying-

Dogs fight for breeding rights,

Bitches fight for breathing rights.

The female/female aggression is a real thing for German Shepherd Dogs. There are rare exceptions, but I wouldn't take on another female unless I was prepared to crate and rotate at some point in their future. Once it happens, it can be difficult to impossible to fix.

They can be fine, until they aren't. 

I have two GSDs right now, male and female.

I had the female first and and was looking for another GSD for my SAR dog. I found, what I thought would be the perfect pup for me, BUT it was a female. I had many discussions with my trainer at the time. In the end, it was not a risk I was willing to take.

  

 

 

 

Edited January 6, 2021 by Navymon

[Pawz4me]

2 hours ago, TheReader said:

 

I feel like we must have gotten crazy lucky with this so far -- I had no idea this was a thing, at all. And every dog we've ever pet-sit has been a female, of all different ages, and for various lengths of time (including one for 2-3 months), and we've just never had an issue, whether Rosie submits to the visiting dog, or convinces the visiting dog to submit to her, whichever.

But this is the thing with female/female aggression --

 

41 minutes ago, Navymon said:

 

They can be fine, until they aren't. 

 

Exactly.

Two females can and do get along fine. Even the ones who fight can be fine for weeks or months at a time. It's not surprising that none of the dogs you've pet sat ever showed any signs of issues. Pet sitting a dog, even for two or three months, is a whole different thing than bringing a permanent dog in. Two or three months isn't enough time for most dogs to feel at home and start asserting themselves. They still feel like the newcomer. But bring a new female in for six months or a year--that's a different thing.

They could get along fine for ever and ever.

Or they could get along fine for months at a time and then have a blood soaked fight that requires both of them to be stitched up or worse.

Or they could have little tiffs every single day or week. Nothing too serious, just the kind of stuff you need to referee.

You just never know.

But most experienced dog people will tell you that having two females is significantly riskier than having multiple males or a mixed pair.

Many years ago I had three females (strays who I let stay--I wouldn't have voluntarily gotten myself into that situation). They were about 60, 75 and 90 pounds. The smallest and largest got along fine for months at a time and then they'd go at each other. There was often blood involved, but the type of thing I could patch up at home. It wasn't horrible, but I seriously doubt I'll ever have multiple females again.

Edited January 6, 2021 by Pawz4me

[TheReader]

50 minutes ago, Navymon said:

In the German Shepherd world there is a common saying-

Dogs fight for breeding rights,

Bitches fight for breathing rights.

The female/female aggression is a real thing for German Shepherd Dogs. There are rare exceptions, but I wouldn't take on another female unless I was prepared to crate and rotate at some point in their future. Once it happens, it can be difficult to impossible to fix.

They can be fine, until they aren't. 

I have two GSDs right now, male and female.

I had the female first and and was looking for another GSD for my SAR dog. I found, what I thought would be the perfect pup for me, BUT it was a female. I had many discussions with my trainer at the time. In the end, it was not a risk I was willing to take.

  

 

 

 

 

can you explain the bolded, "crate & rotate"?  I'm thinking it must mean to basically only have one dog out/free-roaming at a time....? Even home with supervision, you would have one of them crated while the other is not, and then swap off? 

Or only when unsupervised?

 

[TheReader]

18 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

But this is the thing with female/female aggression --

 

Exactly.

Two females can and do get along fine. Even the ones who fight can be fine for weeks or months at a time. It's not surprising that none of the dogs you've pet sat ever showed any signs of issues. Pet sitting a dog, even for two or three months, is a whole different thing than bringing a permanent dog in. Two or three months isn't enough time for most dogs to feel at home and start asserting themselves. They still feel like the newcomer. But bring a new female in for six months or a year--that's a different thing.

They could get along fine for ever and ever.

Or they could get along fine for months at a time and then have a blood soaked fight that requires both of them to be stitched up or worse.

Or they could have little tiffs every single day or week. Nothing too serious, just the kind of stuff you need to referee.

You just never know.

But most experienced dog people will tell you that having two females is significantly riskier than having multiple males or a mixed pair.

Many years ago I had three females (strays who I let stay--I wouldn't have voluntarily gotten myself into that situation). They were about 60, 75 and 90 pounds. The smallest and largest got along fine for months at a time and then they'd go at each other. There was often blood involved, but the type of thing I could patch up at home. It wasn't horrible, but I seriously doubt I'll ever have multiple females again.

I promise I am weighing this into the factors. 

[Selkie]

38 minutes ago, TheReader said:

can you explain the bolded, "crate & rotate"?  I'm thinking it must mean to basically only have one dog out/free-roaming at a time....? Even home with supervision, you would have one of them crated while the other is not, and then swap off? 

Or only when unsupervised?

 

It means keeping the dogs totally separate at all times.

[Navymom]

Yes, as Selkie stated. It means totally separate at all times. You take one dog out to train or potty, the other dog stays crated.

No access to each other.

I know people that make it work, but it takes extra room and time, not to mention dedication.