# Adding puppy to family - already have 4 Year Old Female



## smdaigle (Mar 14, 2008)

We are a 2 GSD family . . . in late October our 11 year old male died suddenly. We knew right away that we would want to get a new puppy and have been looking for a few weeks. I wanted to get a male puppy but so far haven't found one but I have found a few female puppies that have good bloodlines and come from the same breeder as our female.

Our female is not very dominant and not aggressive. She's been spayed. She is very bonded to my husband and ignores everyone else when he is around. She always ignores other dogs and only gives an occasional warning growl when another dog really gets on her nerves. We are her second family and we suspect that she may have been abused by the first family because she reacts very submissively to any form of correction (which is rarely needed because she's very well behaved). She cowers if my husband looks at her like he's mad - that's all it takes to correct her.

What are the common thoughts on having multiple dogs of the same sex? Can it work or is this going to become problematic? 

Thanks for your feedback!


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

It can work, or it can be a NIGHTMARE. Unfortunately if it is going to me a train wreck, you often don't know it until the youngest is 2ish years old.


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## GSDElsa (Jul 22, 2009)

1 sex can work. 1 sex cannot work. And be horrible to deal with. I think it just depends. The safest bet is to get 1 of each sex. Take your time and find the perfect boy!


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

BlackGSD said:


> It can work, or it can be a NIGHTMARE. Unfortunately if it is going to me a train wreck, you often don't know it until the youngest is 2ish years old.


This. Opposite sex is generally the safest. However if you do decide to go same sex then you need to be prepared that there may come a day when they don't get along and might need to be separated for the rest of their days. 

If that is absolutely something you can't live with, then take the time to find a male that you want.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

> We are her second family and we suspect that she may have been abused by the first family because she reacts very submissively to any form of correction (which is rarely needed because she's very well behaved). She cowers if my husband looks at her like he's mad - that's all it takes to correct her


I wonder if her genetics are the reason for her behavior...many dogs of sound temperament will recover from situations and not go on to be reactive or submissive. Are you sure you want to go with the same breeder just in case it could be the genes?
Agree with the above!!! 
I personally would wait and find a male from a good breeding.

I have two females and I am very diligent in keeping the peace between them. 
One is dominant, one submissive~but if the submissive one ever decides to challenge...I'll have a mess on my hands.
Puppies always seem to get a pass so your female may be fine with a pup til maturity hits.


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## elly1210 (Jan 4, 2009)

My first dog I had a 5 yr old neutered male Dal and intro a 4 month old GSD mix male and had no issues and we later neutered him and they were very bonded and layed together all the time. Then the dal passed away, my GSD mix was 5 y and we got a 9 wk old husky female and they did excellent but I didn't see the bond that the boys had, when both of them passed away we decided on 2 boys again a 5 yr rescued male neut Min Pin and then got our 9 month old rescued GSD who is now 2 1/2 and they get along fine. We recently fostered a 5 month lab and then when he went back to the service agency we got another one to foster a 7 month female GSD. Sonny and Cabela did fine with both of them. Cabela liked the lab better and that was because of the way he played was gentler and Sonny like them both too.

I don't think there are any guarantees. I have never had 2 females at the same time. I didn't have any issues with 1 sex or different ones. I think breeds make a difference too like Boxers it is better to mix them,


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

onyx'girl said:


> I wonder if her genetics are the reason for her behavior...many dogs of sound temperament will recover from situations and not go on to be reactive or submissive. Are you sure you want to go with the same breeder just in case it could be the genes?


That's exactly what I was thinking. 
More often than not, the way a dog acts isn't a matter of previous abuse, that is just the way they are. In other words, chances are that your current female would act the SAME way even if she had been raised in your household from the time she was a baby puppy.


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## smdaigle (Mar 14, 2008)

onyx'girl said:


> I wonder if her genetics are the reason for her behavior...many dogs of sound temperament will recover from situations and not go on to be reactive or submissive. Are you sure you want to go with the same breeder just in case it could be the genes?
> Agree with the above!!!
> I personally would wait and find a male from a good breeding.
> 
> ...


I'm not worried about the breeder . . . we got the female from the original breeder and were told the back story of the first family - this is why we suspect abuse. We've spent enough time with the breeder and her dogs to feel confident that this is not genetic. Our female is probably the healthiest and sweetest dog I've ever had but she's not dominant and she reacts strongly to correction.

I hadn't thought about the relationship between dogs changing as the puppy gets older. I would hate having to keep our dogs separated (and have known other families that had this problem). I'm going to give this some more serious thought. Thank you for your input!


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## smdaigle (Mar 14, 2008)

BlackGSD said:


> That's exactly what I was thinking.
> More often than not, the way a dog acts isn't a matter of previous abuse, that is just the way they are. In other words, chances are that your current female would act the SAME way even if she had been raised in your household from the time she was a baby puppy.


I'm not a dog expert and it could just be her character but the way she sometimes flinches even when there is no threat to her suggests to me that she was abused. Regardless, she's probably the sweetest dog I've ever known. When she puts her head in your lap all the stress, strain and worry of the day just fade away!


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## smdaigle (Mar 14, 2008)

BlackGSD said:


> It can work, or it can be a NIGHTMARE. Unfortunately if it is going to me a train wreck, you often don't know it until the youngest is 2ish years old.


Thanks for the input . . . that would be a disaster!


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