# What is your prefered age difference?



## mycobraracr (Dec 4, 2011)

I am just curious on how far apart you like your dogs.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

2 years


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## Laney (Feb 12, 2012)

I'd love to here people's answers for this! I'm looking to rescue another shepherd in about a year or so


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## mycobraracr (Dec 4, 2011)

Laney said:


> I'd love to here people's answers for this! I'm looking to rescue another shepherd in about a year or so


I am on a list for a puppy already. I didn't want to be thinking of a puppy this soon but it will be the only mating of these two dogs and I must have one  By the time the puppies get here and are ready to go home my current dog will be around two, give or take a couple months.


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

1 or 2 years apart, but it really depends on the situation...

By coincidence, I ended up with 3 that are each a month apart from each other. I've had some tough moments in the beginning, but for the most part, they get along and it works well. I don't recommend this to most people, but for some reason, it's worked out for us. The two GSDs will be ready for a BH in a couple of months and are working towards an IPO1. Hopefully, they will both get their SG ratings in a month or so as well. I think Wiva can get her V in 2013. My rescue has some temperament/nerve issues so I don't enter her in any competitive dog sports. She is happy being a house dog and playing ball  I will probably add another before the year is over so I'm looking forward to that!


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

I'd say 2 years.. give or take a couple months. As you know I did that with my 2 and it seems to be working great. Titan knows all his basics very well and it's so much easier being able to rely on him to not frustrate me while I'm training Athena. I grew up with 2 Labs of the same age and until they were adults it was an absolute PAIN. They fed off eachother's bad behaviors and didn't learn well.. a lot did have to do with the lack of training on my parent's part.. but I'll never have 2 pups at the same time unless it just so happened that way.


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## Pepper311 (Sep 11, 2011)

A pup and a 4 year old will still play and enjoy each other. Then when your dog is 14 your pup is 10 and that's a good differance in elderly dogs. You have a better chance on not losing them at the same time.

I think it more about dealing with old dogs that might need extra care / cost.


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

Pepper311 said:


> A pup and a 4 year old will still play and enjoy each other. Then when your dog is 14 your pup is 10 and that's a good differance in elderly dogs. You have a better chance on not losing them at the same time.
> 
> I think it more about dealing with old dogs that might need extra care / cost.


Never actually thought about it like that.. you make a good point.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

I like mine FAR apart. Over 4 years. Of course a lot depends on what kind of dog you're talking about, but I generally don't want to introduce a puppy until my older dog is a well-seasoned active senior. I think I've generally gone about 9-10 years in between, and it's always worked out well. The senior keeps a pup in line without feeling competitive, and the pup keeps the senior active and on their toes.


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## mycobraracr (Dec 4, 2011)

Pepper311 said:


> I think it more about dealing with old dogs that might need extra care / cost.


That is my main concern. My parents are running into that now. They have been losing a dog a year for the past three years. It sucks!


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## Caitydid255 (Aug 28, 2010)

Around 4 years for us. Gives the eldest time to mature and be trained, which helps when training a puppy. Additionally when they get older hopefully we don't lose both at once.


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## HarleyTheGSD (Feb 13, 2012)

If you have an older dog (8 years and up) or a dog with physical disabilities I don't think it's a good idea to get a puppy, because your puppy will want to play with your older/disabled dog and he/she might get very angry or stressed. Of course this isn't with all dogs, they may grow to have a great bond. I have an 8 year old lab/dalmation mix (Cookie) and when I first got Harely at 4 months (my GSD), he would play with her non-stop and she has grown to hate him. The same thing happened with Cookie as a puppy and my Grandma's old dog (Brady, she was 10), she would bug her until Brady snapped.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

I didn't vote.

I prefer *at least* 2 years, but more is better for me.

However, I will NOT have a senior and a puppy at the same time.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

mycobraracr said:


> That is my main concern. My parents are running into that now. They have been losing a dog a year for the past three years. It sucks!


Yes it does!!!!!

I lost one in August 2010 and another in August 2011. They were a year and a half apart in age. And one want wasn't a GSD but a breed that is typically longer lived. (Didn't work out that way though. I lost Wrangler 30 days before his 12th birthday. My last cattle dog lived to be 17yo.)


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

My preference is 4-6 years apart. 

Cash was 4 years younger than Rocky and it was a perfect spread. Kopper is 8.5 years younger than Rocky and it's been a bit harder. He's not nearly as willing to play with the puppy now that he's older.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

I have dogs that are 2 years and 5 days apart. 

I actually like this gap, but wouldn't mind a larger one. Would never go less than that though. If Stark was high drive or had more energy I would of waited longer in between dogs, but he is my slow going, couch potato so it works.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

I always thought 3-5 years would be the best, but as long as it wasn't a puppy and a senior, as Tracy said, more distance would be fine. 

Dena & Keefer were only 11-1/2 months apart, which was not ideal, but I couldn't pass him up - he's her half sibling and I wanted our next dog to be a male since we already had a female, and I also wanted another longcoat. Having half the same genes was a huge bonus, and as the dam was getting older and would probably be retired from breeding soon, I grabbed him! Because Dena was so well behaved at a young age it wasn't a problem to take a break from her training to work with Keefer as a puppy. I was concerned about having two seniors at the same time, but as it turned out she died young at 4 years old, so that wasn't a factor.  

Halo is just over 3 years younger than Keefer, so that fits within my preferred time frame.


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

Oldest is almost 9, then 4 yo, then two brothers about 11 months old. I strongly prefer several years in between. I'm dogged out for a number of years. I wouldn't even consider another dog for a good decade.


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## PupperLove (Apr 10, 2010)

If I were to do it again, it would be 4 years or more. Having two so close in age can get annoying because they are so rowdy (1-2 years apart). 

It would be easier on my nerves to have one mature dog, both in mind and body, and THEN add an immature dog!


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

I currently have a puppy and a senior, I've had 3 dogs the same age, and I've had dogs that were 3 -5 years apart. I didn't vote because there are good things and bad things to each. Drawback to the same age or close age, you lose them close together. Drawback to senior and puppy one has more energy so you have to make sure older dog gets a break. I really think the key is the personality mix. Just like humans some dogs like or don't like each other. Some are loners and some like packs. Finding dogs that click with each other and with you is the key.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

As much as possible. 
My previous two dogs were 2 years apart, but neither one was planned as both were stray rescues. 
Since the older dog was a small breed and the younger dog was a larger breed, that meant they both started having age-related problems around the same time. I ended up losing them less than 3 months apart and it was really hard to go through to deal with emotionally as well as having to give them a lot of at-home care (both were sick for several months) was hard as well... After that I swore not to have two dogs that close in age again if I can help it. I want them as far apart in age as I can get and I'll also take breed/size into account. I am dreading when my younger cats are seniors since they're littermates. I currently have an elderly cat and she has kidney disease so she needs a lot of meds, fluids, etc and I am always worried about her, whether she is eating enough and so on.


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## matthewm11 (Oct 18, 2011)

Laney said:


> I'd love to here people's answers for this! I'm looking to rescue another shepherd in about a year or so


I was going to say the same thing. Im grateful there are so many knowledgable and experienced GSD owners who share their wisdom here. I really want to adopt another GSD but my girl only just turned 1 y/o old and figured Id wait until she was at least 2 and half or three. My goal in that time is to get a house with a bigger yard or on some property. Its a great motivator because Im a simple guy andpersonally dont mind the place Im living now and its easy to get stagnant when you feel content.


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## jetscarbie (Feb 29, 2008)

My favorite age is around 4-5

I like 2-3 years in between.


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## FG167 (Sep 22, 2010)

I prefer 2 years. I have always done similar things with my dogs (agility, flyball etc). Now that my dogs are more segregated in terms of what I am training them for, I am more comfortable with a closer gap. Eden will be 2 in April, Kastle 1 in May and Simmer is not yet born. So now I am down to 1 year apart...But, these are the only dogs I will have for quite a long time now.


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## OriginalWacky (Dec 21, 2011)

I chose 1-2 years apart, because 2 is about what I like, although a little closer is okay. If it were up to me, I'd have 4-5 dogs spread a couple years apart so that the oldeset was say maybe 10 and the youngest was 2.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

GREAT question!

I always want to have each pup 'practically perfect' before adding another cause a new pup (or new dog) tends to be such a time sucker and it's easier for me to focus on ONE set of issues (dog) at a time  .

PLUS I can't ever handle more than 3 dogs total in my house. So a split of 4 to 5 years should mean I only have one 'senior' dog (with those issues/costs), 1 puppy (with those issues/costs) and then one perfect dog in the happily in the middle!!!


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## Chowgal (Dec 21, 2009)

I prefer 1-2 years apart. Jasper and Dixie are about 2 years apart and Dixie and Todd are about a year apart.


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom (Apr 24, 2011)

Daisy is about 2,5 years older than Lucky. It has not been a problem however I worry Ill lose them both in a short amount of time.


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## Barb E (Jun 6, 2004)

Dante just turned 8 and Kaos will be 22 weeks tomorrow

I would have liked Dante to be a bit younger, but it just didn't work out for a number of reasons.

That said, Kaos and Dante are doing great together


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## SiegersMom (Apr 19, 2011)

Mine will be 2 at the end of the month and I would like to get another GSD pup next summer. I have a bit of puppy fever now but when I think about how rowdy they would be together I cringe. By next year that should be better...I can reevaluate if need be I would also like to have our house out on the farm by then. While we have a huge yard now the house is crowded with one big dog. Once we get out to the farm full time it will be easier...so it may be 2 years for the next pup so a 3-4 year difference is what I am looking for.


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## Tiffseagles (May 12, 2010)

For pets, I like the original dog to be well trained and have good house manners before introducing a pup. I don't like stressing senior dogs with puppies that need to learn, so I'd go with something around 3 years apart.

Now if there's more than two or three dogs in the house or if I was expecting to need to crate-and-rotate the dogs, all bets are off


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## gmcwife1 (Apr 5, 2012)

We got our second Samoyed just before our first was 2. Now they are almost 8 and 6 and we just got our 10 week old GSD puppy last week. 

Our boys have always gotten along great and they are curious about the puppy. The 6 yr old Sam is very active and does not act his age. So he is starting to play with the puppy. The older Sam has always been an old soul so he just watches her and lets her play with him.


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## Diamond.S.Ranch (Jun 21, 2011)

mycobraracr said:


> I am just curious on how far apart you like your dogs.


Well mine is 3 1/2 now and I am getting a new puppy. My problem is I thought I originally wanted another male, but reading on this forum most were saying I should only get a girl. So I was getting a girl but only boys were born in the litter. Sooo now I would love to have one of those boys but so worried i'll regret it when he is older and don't want him to fight with my guy.


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## Anja1Blue (Feb 27, 2008)

I like at least 3 years difference (there is a 5 year diff. between my current dogs.) I don't want 2 old dogs at the same time, and a younger individual can be very beneficial for a senior, helping to keep them active (but without being annoying, the way a puppy might.) I also like one that is very well trained/socialized before introducing a newcomer.
_________________________________________________
Susan

Anja SchH3 GSD
Conor GSD
Blue BH WH T1 GSD - waiting at the Bridge :angel:


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

PupperLove said:


> If I were to do it again, it would be 4 years or more. Having two so close in age can get annoying because they are so rowdy (1-2 years apart).
> 
> It would be easier on my nerves to have one mature dog, both in mind and body, and THEN add an immature dog!


Well put! :thumbup:


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