# Adopted male GSD



## tjh07e (Jul 8, 2012)

Good morning! This might be a long post. Thank you to those who read it and offer opinions/advice.

I adopted a fixed male GSD (Kaeto) yesterday from an animal control shelter (kill shelter) and wanted to get others opinions on some things. He seems to be between 1.5 and 3yrs old. Clean ears, teeth, etc. Looks to be in good health other than being 15/20lbs underweight. He was brought in as a stray. Knows basic commands and seems to be potty trained. He was not reactive to the other dogs/cats at the shelter at all. He's an extremely mellow fella. Going to make a vet appt later today. 

Here is a quick background on my spayed female, Shiva, and observations with her interactions with Kaeto thus far.

Shiva will be 3 at the end of the month. From 2 months to 5 months she grew up with me at my parent's with there three small dogs. One of the small dogs and Shiva are very close and love each other. The other two never cared much for her and just stayed out of her way. Raw diet since 1 year old. She is great with all people (kids/toddlers too) although aloof with strangers. Knows all basic commands but I really need to work on her recall. She is very high energy and was taken to a dogpark daily, due to no backyard, up until she was almost two. She gets daily exercise in the form of jogging alongside me or frisbee action daily. Frisbee is her life lol. She does enjoy playing with random dogs but only if it's one at a time. Definitely not a social butterfly and doesn't like playing in large groups of dogs or being the center of attention of multiple dogs. When walking on leash she is very watchful and suspicious of other dogs. Sometimes even mouthy if they get too close. I've always assumed she feels like she's in protection mode as her attitude flips if off leash at a dogpark. With people she sees regularly she is as loving and sweet as can be. 

When at the shelter, Shiva was a little snappy at Kaeto and pawed at him a few times. It was not aggressive reactions but that high-pitch, "I'm the boss" kind of bark. This was while they are both on leash right next to each other. My girlfriend and I each holding one leash. He does not react at all and seems to be content with her being the boss. Before getting in the car to drive home we walked them together outside at the shelter. Shiva seemed to not mind and they did great walking right next to each other. 

The ride home was fine with no interactions. Kaeto napped. Shiva just looking out the windows like normal. Kaeto in the front seat and myself and Shiva in the back. When we got home we let Kaeto inside to get his scent every, brought him out, then Shiva inside, then her out...and proceeded to walk them together. Shiva would occasionally do that high-pitched bark at him and then continue on like normal. Soooo we brought them inside together, off leash. All toys put up. Shiva pestered him multiple times if he would lay in her bed or get too close to us. Again, that high-pitch bark, not aggressive. Tails wagging. She even started doing the play bow and got him to chase her. They started to play fight but since we were inside and neither of us have seen the 'normal' rough play of GSD's before we stopped in immediately. Since then we got a kennel and have been keeping him in the kennel other than being let out to walk. They walked together great this morning. One quick yip again from Shiva when we got back inside. Shiva occasionally goes up to his kennel for a quick sniff. Right now Shiva is napping on the floor 10ft away while he is laying down in his kennel. 

Kaeto did AWESOME getting brushed and a bath. Just stood there and let us go to work. Very sweet dog. He saw strangers outside while on a walk and didn't pay much attention to them. Feeding him separate in his kennel.

Questions:

1) With him being so mellow and seeming accepting her as boss, how long should I do the 'shutdown' phase? I am keeping his kennel in the living room so he is around everything. Not completely ignoring him but not smothering him. Every so often he will whine to get out but for the most part will lay down.

2) Should I exercise them together? My girlfriend and I could jog them together. Would it be beneficial to leash him so he can watch Shiva play frisbee or would that bring out jealousy? Shiva is very possessive over her frisbee with other dogs so I would not allow them both off leash to play frisbee together for a long time if ever. I have no idea what kind of drive Kaeto has at this point.

3) How long do people wait until they trust them alone together? 1/3/6/9/12 months of no issues while supervised? My opinion is that once Shiva accepts that he is part of the pack and does not have to 'protect' us from him, they will get along very well.

Please ask about anything I may have missed to point out. Anyone with prior experiences please let me know anything you may have learned along the way that makes the integration easier.

BTW, I'm a long time lurker of this forum. A ton of great information here!

Thank you,
Tyler


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Your introduction sounds a lot like how ours went. Robyn was a little less thrilled with Midnite and growled at him as he jumped on her. She stated out the window on the way home and gave him sideways almost dirty looks every so often. We did the same thing when we got home. I let him explore. I did have him in a crate and he escaped a couple times. He was only on the crate for a short time. He did not show any signs of shyness, lack of confidence and fit right in. So I didn't really do a shut down with him other then the crate when I wasn't home. I don't think all dogs require it. That doesn't mean you run out and bring him everywhere yet. You need to learn who he is and let him get comfortable with you, bond with you. He sounds like a wonderful dog


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Beautiful dogs!Really no hard and fast rules while integrating a new dog into your pack,just take it slow and go with your gut feelings.Every situation is unique.It generally takes a month or two for a new dog to settle in and figure out his place in your family.
I think walking and jogging together is a great idea.The frisbee games,waaay down the road they can be trained to take turns.
Leaving them alone together,again,go with your gut.When you feel they are comfortable together,leave them for 15 min,next time 30 min,etc.
Congratulations on your new family member


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## tjh07e (Jul 8, 2012)

So do jealousy issues go away with time as my resident female warms up to the new guy? If Kaeto comes up to me Shiva will rush and bark/nip at him. Kaeto has no reaction and just lets her boss him around. Seeing as it is day 2 I'm not expecting them to be buddy buddy already, but I would hope over time this will subside.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

tjh07e said:


> So do jealousy issues go away with time as my resident female warms up to the new guy? If Kaeto comes up to me Shiva will rush and bark/nip at him. Kaeto has no reaction and just lets her boss him around. Seeing as it is day 2 I'm not expecting them to be buddy buddy already, but I would hope over time this will subside.


I wouldn't allow her to bully him. She has to understand that he now shares that space and with your guidance she should get it. Take them for walks together, train seperately and then together.


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## Findlay (Jan 8, 2015)

Our lab, Sadie was 6 when we rescued our GSD, Jake. The vet guest him to be about 2 yrs old. He was in very bad shape due to neglect and mistreatment.
Sadie hated Jake right off. She was an alpha female and she went out of her way to let him know that he was not welcome.
I did a little research and found that Sadie had every right to feel high and mighty. We were her family first and the house belonged to her. It was important that she maintain her status as #1 dog.
Long story short...this is how we kept Sadie happy and peace in our home:
Sadie was fed 1st. She ate in the kitchen which was her usual spot. Jake ate in his crate and rested there for one hour after he was fed.
When family and friends entered the house, Sadie was greeted 1st (enthusiastically) and jake got a pat on the head : )
Sadie entered the car 1st and sat in the back passenger seat. Jake sat in the 
way-back...behind the dog barrier.
Each day I'd sit them side by side and wash their faces. They enjoyed that.
Then I'd give them a treat...Sadie 1st
I think that approach worked for our situation. She grew to tolerate Jake. Even in her old age, He never tried to replace her as the alpha.
he grieved for days after she past away.
Jake past in May 2014. He and Sadie were great family dogs. 
Now we have Finn. He's 6 months.
I read your post and it seems like you have two nice shepherds. They are both beautiful. 
Good luck and take care.


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## tjh07e (Jul 8, 2012)

llombardo said:


> I wouldn't allow her to bully him. She has to understand that he now shares that space and with your guidance she should get it. Take them for walks together, train seperately and then together.


Yeah, I have been correcting her when she does that. For the most part I have been keeping him in the kennel while inside with short 30min times out. They both just nap with a rare jealousy bark from Shiva. I'm going to scale that back though and let the bonding happen during walks and training as you said. 

They do great on walks!  Side by side, tails wagging. Shiva occasionally does a play bow but I have been stopping them from playing while on leash.


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