# Adopting a senior and integrating him into new home. Help?



## Fox944 (Aug 1, 2010)

Not sure where to post this topic. I am interested in adopting a retired Work line GSD. Former Police dog. He is an 8 year old male who has lost most of his hearing. 

I currently own a 4 year old alpha male GSD (father is American show line, Mother is East German/DDR work line). He isn't friendly with most dogs he meets with the exception of dogs he has known since he was a pup. (3 other shepherds, a JRT & a Mut....all owned by family and friends). However, even with these dogs, he will assert his dominance. 

My biggest fear bringing the senior home is that I won't be able to keep them together as Cyprus will want to assert his dominance and attack the dog. 

Am I crazy for wanting to adopt the retired dog and give him a good home? Anyone have advice on how to handle both of them? How to introduce them? Etc. any opinions or advice would be appreciated. And by all means, ask as many questions as you'd like.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Thank you for wanting to take in a senior. That being said, I think it would be a mistake. You know your resident dog isn't friendly to other dogs. You will be bringing another "possibly dominant" male dog into his home. It could be a recipe for disaster. At the least, I think the senior dog deserves to enjoy his retirement.

You could always try, and I'm sure there are those who will be able to offer advice on introducing them. Just try to make the decision that is in the best interest of both dogs.

Good Luck!


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

I would suggest a neutral meeting. I adopted two girls w/ a male who is not dog friendly except with dogs he knows and female dogs. Its been a long battle. The girls we adopted are litter mates and both are dog reactive . You can read our journey on two of my threads,Two sisters from Baltimore under Rescues where are they now and Going from one dog to three . The one thing a trainer in our area did in helping us have them meetafter almost a month and the lady from our county pound suggested is meeting by walking them in the same direction and alternating who was in th lead . The other thing is the two week shutdown.I think with seniors the shutdown is especially important. Ill be real interested to see what's suggested based on your boys hearing loss. Good luck. seniors are a unique gift and senior GSD are fantastic family memebers. I have to agree w/ Stevenand Zacks Mom a dog who is the resident who doesnt really like other strange dogs could be a real problem. I lived that for three years w/ our pit/lab the rotating and keeping it seperate always left me feeling I had cheated everyone. Good Luck. Im sure gonna check back in on this thread as there are alot of really knowledgeable folks here and Im sure Ill learn more.
Maggi


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## Fox944 (Aug 1, 2010)

This is exactly why I am not 100% on board. As much as I'd like to rescue him, he needs to enjoy his retirement. 

If I can get the two to co exist, would be perfect. I'm just not sure how to go about introducing the two. 

Btw, thank you for the response.


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

Do you have help from someone to do the meet? We had three meeting and we pared it down to the two bigger dogs ,Thunder and Lucky . Chevy was having pain issues and so she went to the warm barn and sat w/ my son getting treats and belly rubs. We waited till we had her pain better managed to meetLucky. I think with seniors there are so many things to consider.We did the meet and greet on a country road ,later at our park and then we just walked aroundthe yard with the three.It was a long drawn out process but we made it through. Lucky still gets snappy sometimes If you can do a meet then you can get some idea of what your facing . If possible I would do a couple visits befor making the decision.


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## Fox944 (Aug 1, 2010)

Yes most' def do. my fiancé lives with me.


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## Fox944 (Aug 1, 2010)

I'm faxing over the application this evening for Dino. Any more advice would be greatly appreciated. 

Her are a couple photos.

This is Dino









And here is one of Cypurs with his gf Athena in the backround


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

All beautiful dogs. I hope everything works out. Please keep us posted.


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## Bridget (Apr 5, 2004)

Wow, gorgeous dogs and I can certainly see why you want him. Thank you for wanting to adopt him and give him a great home. That being said, personally I don't know...I think you are in for a lot of trouble. As Maggi said, it can be pretty miserable having to keep dogs separated for their own safety. I posted under Stories about my experience with it. However, sometimes you need to let your heart lead and if you are committed to your life revolving around the situation at least for a while and have a lot of help, professional as well as open minded folks to help with the work, it might just succeed! Good luck.


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