On the middle of next month, my female GSD should be here, The daughter of my first dog, Ssch11 and a down line from a notable big breeder, she was a pet, but as she had a chance to come out to the field, she exploded so I hear. So now mom is with new owner and on the right track, as far as training goes. This pregnancy was not plan. But my gain for sentimental reason, and my dream. Dan

Dan, Are you getting a new pup next month? Chico is about six months old, correct?

Yes, Barbara, Can I stretch that six months into six and a half? I am taking a deep breath as I think about it. I think I understand what hard work and care I have to do with each one individually. Plus my state does not make it easier. At the beginning of this process, I had bought two pups, one resulted in a false pregnancy. Thanks, "that was for the fool in me, that's taking care of". So six and a half months down the road here I am willing to put in the work, plus take care of my puppies. You can give me all the advice, cross your fingers, and all will be appreciated and taken to heart. And that goes for all like minded people, The pup's will be taken care of in every way, training, shelter, food, vets, just like I did take care of my soldiers for twenty two years in the military. I am committed. These dogs are a big part of my life, Oh she is an all black female, just like my Ace.
(My first working dog) love you all. Thanks Barbara for letting me open up some. Dan

Dan, I would think that your 'plate is full enough' with the one that you have, since you seem to already be having issues with his behaviors & training. I can't see it making any sense to get another dog at this time, let alone a puppy. I don't think that you will be doing justice to Chico in doing this. JMHO

I am not so sure that you know what the committment is like to have 2 pups at the same time. These pups need to be kept seperate, also, so as not to bond with each other, but with you. Rotating dogs & having to keep them apart can be very stressful & challenging in & of itself. Having more than one puppy is not usually recommended & most breeders will not sell a pup to someone that already has a puppy unless they know that you have a good amount of experience training & even then many will not.

I had a 9mo old, a 9week old & a 3yr old all at the same time. I can tell you it was quite the challenge to work & train all these high drvie dogs everyday. I don't think that I would want a 6 mo old & 9 wk old at the same time. At least at 9mo I had a fair amount of training on the older pup. I even took the youngest one to work with me every day for 6 months & spent several times during the work day with him. And I only worked 6+ hours a day. I basically spent just about all my time working & training dogs when I wasn't at my work desk. There are a few people here that have had a couple of pups at the same time & a few with older dogs at the same time too & can attest to the challenges that it presents.

Are you sure that you are up to taking this on? Are you sure that you can give both these dogs the time & training that they will require to grow up happy, healthy & well trained?

Just some food for thought. I hope that you make the right deceision for your dog.

I myself have never liked 2 pups. They always seem to fall together so tight that I end up feeling iced out, like going out for dinner with 2 people on a date.

 Quote: Betty Landercasp

I myself have never liked 2 pups. They always seem to fall together so tight that I end up feeling iced out, like going out for dinner with 2 people on a date.

I want my dogs bonded to me. That's why you keep them seperated until a year, year 1/2 or more old.(depending on the dog)..so they bond with you & not eachother. Even then their time together should be limited until 2 or so. I would guess that this would maybe be different with herding dogs that have to learn from their older companions.

My dogs go outside together & basically sit around waiting for me to come out to 'play'. That's when the real fun begins, as far as they are concerned. They will sit on the deck staring at the back door, waiting for me. They have limited interest in one another alone. Unless they are in a mood to get into a spat.

 Quote: Anne Jones

Dan, I would think that your 'plate is full enough' with the one that you have, since you seem to already be having issues with his behaviors & training. I can't see it making any sense to get another dog at this time, let alone a puppy. I don't think that you will be doing justice to Chico in doing this. JMHO ..... Just some food for thought. I hope that you make the right deceision for your dog.

I hope you do too, Dan.

So Dan, I re read your post...you are getting a female pup. Are you planning on keeping these pups intact? Do you know what a pain it is to have a female in heat & a male dog on the property or in the same house? How do you plan on managing this? The female can come into first heat anywhere from 6 months on. Can you physically handle a possible 80#+ dog going nuts trying to get to the female? Or her trying to get to him? Do you have secure enough crates to contain these dogs? How about the yard to keep interlopers out??? Do you go out with you dog EVERY time they have to go, rain or shine, storm etc? A female in heat need to be taken out on leash if you don't have a VERY, VERY secure area & even then not EVER take your eyes off of her. You also, can't go walk her down the street for exercise while in heat..what are your exercise plans?

Just some more food for thought.

Anne,
thanks so much for this information. I have a 1.5 year old and a 6 year old. They are a lot of work. I cannot imagine two puppies..... I was wondering when it would be OK to let them play together and did not feel they were ready for each other so I have been keeping them separate since I found Leerburg. This is probably a different thread but any ideas on how to "undo" the fact that I let them be together right from the start until the beginning of this summer? We were advised that by a "puppy specialist"...I am not even going to go there. When we got the little one she was 10 weeks old. I can tell you it was not good. She beat up on the older dog like no tomorrow and the "specialist" said we just needed to let them work it out. I did not like that idea but did not have anywhere to ask. I did read all Ed's articles about introducing dogs to household etc. If you think I should start a separate thread about this I will.

Dan, we have two dogs and it's over the top. My husband is partially in the wheelchair at home all day and he absolutely cannot manage two dogs by himself. If it was not for me he would have had to give the puppy up long time ago. Your circumstances may be different just letting you know how we are faring with two dogs in a household. We also did not have the right start because we did not know any better and both of our dogs have all bunch of issues health wise and behavior wise. I am basically spending all of my free time with the dogs. As all the other people said, make sure you can manage!

 Quote: Linda West

... I have been keeping them separate since I found Leerburg. This is probably a different thread ....

Lenka, yes, please start a new thread ... you're right that this is a different thread. We don't want to hijack this one about the extremely bad idea of taking on two puppies at once ... yours is more about what to do after letting a dog/dog bond happen.

Thank you.