# Thinking about adding another puppy, need advice



## ScaryMissCarrie (Dec 15, 2014)

Hi all, 

Troopdog will be a year old in October, and his first year has flown by! The whole family loves him, and all are sold on how wonderful GSDs are. We love him so much in fact that there has been talk of adding another puppy to our family.

Here are the questions I've been pondering:

Male vs Female:
I initially wanted another boy, but I have read two males might be aggressive towards one another, and that it would be better to add a female instead. Can anyone weigh in here? Is a male/female mix truly better? 

Alteration:
If we go with a female, it also brings up another issue: I have zero interest in breeding, so least one of the two would need to be altered. I don't want to neuter Trooper until he's at least two years old, because I read it could harm his skeletal and muscular growth. Truthfully until I contemplated adding another dog I wasn't sure I'd ever neuter him. Is the same thing true with spaying females? 

Sibling: I wondered if waiting for a sibling of his would be a good way to go, or if that mattered at all. Is this something to consider, or ultimately not of importance when it comes to choosing another puppy. There's also a bit of bias here on my part: He's so awesome and I love him so much that it's tempting to try for another one just like him. 

Trooper's maturity and personality:
When would be the ideal time in Trooper's life to introduce a puppy? He'll be a year old in late October. I'd call his training pretty solid, honestly. He never has accidents in the house, he knows all the basics of obedience training as well as a few goofy tricks I taught him just for fun.

He doesn't have any behavioral issues, and the only time he is even somewhat aggressive is if strange people come inside the house without a proper meeting. 

He isn't dog aggressive. I trained him to ignore strange dogs while on leash. For socialization we have friends bring their pups over for playdates. He is careful around smaller dogs. My mother has older Yorkies and since they don't want to play he ignores them, and one of his playpals is a Shih Tzu mix. He's still young enough to want to play though, so I think he could respond well to a puppy. 

Timeline:
We'd talked about another puppy in December, when I have three weeks of vacation to help the puppy settle in and start housebreaking. Trooper came home my first day of Winter break, and it worked beautifully. He was crate trained and could sit on command by the time I had to go back to work. I still remember getting up every two hours to take him outside to potty... brutal, but I'd do it all over again!

Is December 2015 an unrealistic timeframe to contemplate adding the puppy? Trooper would be 14 months old by then. 

Well, that's our situation as best as I can describe it. I would love any advice on adding a puppy to our home.


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

It is tempting to get another pup right away, I have to agree with you there. Our trainer, who has many dogs on his property, suggested we wait until after two years old and perhaps as old as four. 

Trooper sounds like a great guy, but he'll still have some more changing to do as he grows through his 2nd year. 

I look forward to reading other's comments because now and then I get "puppy fever" too.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

some of that specialness of the relationship might disappear or get lost if another pup comes into the household.

why not get involved in some activity , such as nose works , tracking, agility , obedience which will introduce you to a group -- or activity such as bikejoring, skijoring, canicross .

this will develop the bond even deeper , make the dog and the relationship even more special.

then when the dog is 3 or 4 , then , you introduce another pup into the household


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## d4lilbitz (Dec 30, 2013)

I have two males (one intact and one neutered), along with a female. They all get along for the most part. My two males are best buds. I think it comes down to the temperament of each dog. If you have a very dominant male, then get either a female or a male who isn't dominant. My intact male is very dominant....I'll not get another working male with him. So my next dog will be a female. My female lab I currently have isn't dominant at all....typical happy go lucky lab. My youngest dog is currently almost 19 months and working towards IPO titles. I'm possibly considering adding a female for IPO sometime next year or the year after. I would make sure you have a good foundation on your dog now before adding another. Puppies learn from us, but also older dogs in the home...

Lots of puppy fever in the air...


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## WIBackpacker (Jan 9, 2014)

Regarding siblings, I think you should choose the type of dog that best suits your lifestyle. Maybe that's a sibling, maybe it's not. My two are as genetically different as night and day (one American Showline, one West German Working Line). I have good relationships with both breeders and wouldn't hesitate to contact either one, for any reason.

I agonized over "when" the right time would be to add our second GSD. After talking at length to both of the trainers I work with, and the breeder of my first dog, I decided that the ideal time for me would be between 5-7 years.

I'm so glad I listened.

Our new puppy is an active little tornado, but I couldn't be happier with how my 6 year old is handling things. She's energetic enough to play rough and wrestle, but old enough that her mannerisms are totally predictable and she's content to sit back while I spend time working with the puppy. 

Also, in my heart I know that I couldn't handle owning two senior dogs at the same time. This is something very important to consider, in my opinion - if they're 14 months apart, you will have two seniors at some point in time. A six year split, for me, is working well.


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## Nikitta (Nov 10, 2011)

I can't dispute what anyone has said here. It is solid advice I'm sure but if you are adamant about getting a puppy soon, I can only say what my experience was. When Jasira, was 1 year old, I got Xerxes, my male. I asked the same question here about what sex I should get and was told get a male if I already had a female. In my case it has worked out great. They are very bonded with each other and get along great. As to the time of year, I think you already hit the nail on the head. It is probably more important that you have extra time with the puppy rather then what time of year it is.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

If you are looking for a good breeder, nicely bred dog, then what I would do is start looking around now. It would probably be almost a year before finding a breeder and finding an appropriate litter, the puppies being born, etc. Plan it so that your current dog is about 2 years old, then he will be a good age to get neutered, and you can add a puppy. Male or female probably won't matter if you are planning to neuter your dog, but most would say get a female unless you have a strong preference for a male.


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## ScaryMissCarrie (Dec 15, 2014)

Thank you all so much for weighing in on this matter! You all make very good and valid points, and even brought up things I wouldn't have considered like having two senior dogs down the road. Thank you for pointing that out, WIBackpacker. I don't think I could emotionally handle that. The thought of Troopdog getting old and dying makes me terribly sad, and I don't think when that time came I would be able to handle losing him and also knowing the other dog wouldn't be too far behind him. Just writing it out makes me sad. :/

I am going to wait a few more years, until he is fully grown. I'm thinking at least 4, possibly 5. To be quite honest, while puppies are adorable and amazing, they are also tons of work. Trooper was like having a newborn baby for the first month of his life, and he is still as almost as much work as a young child is. He's housebroken, trained, and obedient but I still do not allow him totally unsupervised time alone in the house for fear of injury when I'm not home to help him. I could see being focused on helping the puppy start house training and not giving Troops my full attention, and that wouldn't be good. 

I also don't want to deprive Trooper of my attention when he is still quite a young pup himself. We do have an amazing bond, and I don't want anything to jeopardize that. If waiting a few years is better for him, then that's what I think would be best. I feel silly sometimes talking about how much he means to me, but I waited years for him and he has a big place in my heart. I'd never had a dog, and now I can't imagine not having him. He's so intelligent and so eager to learn new things even if it's just to please me, like his silly tricks. 

After thinking and writing this all out, I think my puppy fever stemmed more for love of Trooper, and dismay at the thought of ever being without him than actually wanting another dog right now. He grew up so fast that sometimes I forget he's still a puppy himself. I probably also should come to terms that even if I went with a full sibling, there will never be another dog exactly like him in every way, and it's really not fair to any puppy to secretly expect them to be Troopdog II. In that aspect I have more maturing to do myself.  

Thank you all again for helping me realize another puppy right now isn't an ideal situation. While I might not be a terribly active poster, I have learned a lot from this board and the wonderful, knowledgable people who frequent it!


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