May 18, 2011
What are the concerns in adding a 3rd dog to a family?
Full Question:
I was just looking at your site and some of your beautiful pictures of german shepherds. I have a female German Shepherd who will be 2 years old in March of this year. I also have a Sheltland Sheepdog who is 2 and half years old. My husband and I are thinking about getting another Shepherd. But we are concerned about bringing in another dog with our dogs being so territorial. Both of my dogs that I have now are trained in obedience and my Shepherd (Alexis) will be starting personal protection in three weeks. Do you think we should or should not bring another dog into our family? I would love to get a male Shepherd, because they have more of a drive than the females. Also, I was wondering, my female Shepherd (Alexis) is fixed and has been for a while now, she still has drive but I really have noticed a decline in her drive. Do you think that is because of being fixed or with age? 
Ed's Answer:
I do not recommend adding a 3rd dog to a family unless the people fully understand the implications of pack behavior. In other words, if your plan is to add a male pup and not keep the dog separated from the other dogs when you are not with the dogs, then do not do it.
If a pup is allowed to have free run of the house and not be kenneled separately, then it will become too "doggy." In other words it will look to the other dogs for its recreation and fun and not humans. These dogs never bond as well and certainly are not as easy to train. In reality how could they - if they don't look to the human as their best buddy.
In addition, the pup is going to be low man in the pack order. Which means he is going to be dominated by the other 2 dogs. Right now, one of your dogs is dominant over the other. They may get along fine, but one is the alpha dog.
So, the key in adding another dog is to keep it separated from the existing dogs when you are not with all three to supervise the games. If you do not have a home with dog runs in the back yard, you can accomplish the same thing by using dog crates. Either keep the pup crated when you are gone, or when it is old enough keep the other crated and the pup loose.
This does not mean that these dogs can never be allowed to play and run together. They can do this, but it needs to be supervised. So if the other 2 dogs really get down on the pup, you are there to stop it. Just as importantly, if the pup gets down on one of the other dogs when it is 4 or 5 months old, you need to stop that also or the old dog will have a very difficult time for the rest of its life. The pup needs to learn manners too.
If a pup is allowed to have free run of the house and not be kenneled separately, then it will become too "doggy." In other words it will look to the other dogs for its recreation and fun and not humans. These dogs never bond as well and certainly are not as easy to train. In reality how could they - if they don't look to the human as their best buddy.
In addition, the pup is going to be low man in the pack order. Which means he is going to be dominated by the other 2 dogs. Right now, one of your dogs is dominant over the other. They may get along fine, but one is the alpha dog.
So, the key in adding another dog is to keep it separated from the existing dogs when you are not with all three to supervise the games. If you do not have a home with dog runs in the back yard, you can accomplish the same thing by using dog crates. Either keep the pup crated when you are gone, or when it is old enough keep the other crated and the pup loose.
This does not mean that these dogs can never be allowed to play and run together. They can do this, but it needs to be supervised. So if the other 2 dogs really get down on the pup, you are there to stop it. Just as importantly, if the pup gets down on one of the other dogs when it is 4 or 5 months old, you need to stop that also or the old dog will have a very difficult time for the rest of its life. The pup needs to learn manners too.
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