I need some advice on what to do. I am getting a GSD puppy and after I have been reading things on how to train my dog and I was reading that raising 2 puppies is a bad idea. I am 16 and my parents are divorced. I live during the weekdays at my dad’s and the weekends at my moms. My dad has one dog, 6 year old lab/ basset hound mix, I am not worried about them but it’s just at my moms I am worried about. She has 2 puppies, one my sister(22) thought it was a good idea to impulse buy a puppy and then couldn’t take care of her so gave it to my mom. Then my mom was missing my dad’s dog(recently divorced) and decided to to get a basset hound (she didn’t tell me before that she was getting it so I couldn’t talk her out of it). My sisters dog is a schnoodle is about 8 months old and then my mom’s dog is 3 months old. I don't know how to integrate them without my dog liking the other puppies more because they would play together all the time. We don’t crate dogs but they would be sleeping in different places. But my mom lets them run around during the day so I don’t know how this can work. I think I want to give schutzhund a try later on. We also live in the city so no kennels or anything. I will consider a crate but I don’t think it will be far crating my dog and not the other 2. Don’t even ask about crating the other 2 cause I know for a fact that my mom would never do that. Any idea's though, I am clueless on how to go about doing this. And people say don’t leave the dogs outside together but should I worry about my dad’s dog because he doesn’t like to play but for like 5min and that’s every couple of hours so I am not worried about the puppy liking him more than me, just the other puppies. Oh and thought of another thing, at both places the food is out all the time but at my dad’s I will be changing that to establish pack order and my dad is fine with that but at my mom’s I don’t think she would be up for it.

Kudo's to you for researching and asking questions before you get the dog!

Dogs do not think in lines of fairness, I think that is a hangup unique to humans. I often have one dog crated and others out and that is not a problem.

3 puppies on the weekends is going to be a problem especially since your mom does not sound flexible or open to new ideas. Have you tried printing out some of Ed's articles and sitting down and talking to her. No offense, but she might listen a little bit more if the ideas are coming from an expert and not from her daughter. Kind of a hangup us adults have....LOL

Im her son lol but she just has major feelings for dogs like she is the type of person you don't go to the pound with because she will come out with dogs. So when if I decide to crate my puppy where will I keep her when I am gone? like in a crate outside where all the dogs are playing or in my room? Its a GSD so I thought (not the expert and new to crate training) that they need room to run, normally i am not gone for that long over there because her house is so far away from where I grew up. But say that i leave for 3 or 4 hours, do i just leave it in its crate? And at my dads I will be gone at school for 8hr but come home at lunch but can I leave that it outside with my dads dog. I would really not like to have my dog caged up for that long when i could put her in the back yard and it could run.

Personally I never leave dogs together unsupervised. Really bad things can happen really fast.

For instance the other day at training I walked up to the fence with Bacall on leash to say hi to someone. She wanted to say hi also and put her head through a bit. Her prong got caught and it was a struggle getting her loose. Not to mention loose bored dogs are a disaster waiting to happen. Bored barking, digging, things like that. And dogs do get stolen out of fenced yards, we have had another rash of that locally and popular opinion is that they are being used as bait dogs.

I crate in a bedroom normally.

A good puppy is a tired puppy but they need to be getting that exercise with you and not another dog. Throwing ball, you walking where they can run circles around you..... Things like that. It helps them learn that all good things come from you.

And woops, sorry about the gender change there, I'm behind on my coffee today!

But really, have a heart to heart with your mom before you add another dog on weekends. The dynamics between two dogs and three are night and day in my book.

 Quote: Betty Waldron

Personally I never leave dogs together unsupervised. Really bad things can happen really fast.

For instance the other day at training I walked up to the fence with Bacall on leash to say hi to someone. She wanted to say hi also and put her head through a bit. Her prong got caught and it was a struggle getting her loose. Not to mention loose bored dogs are a disaster waiting to happen. Bored barking, digging, things like that. And dogs do get stolen out of fenced yards, we have had another rash of that locally and popular opinion is that they are being used as bait dogs. ...
But really, have a heart to heart with your mom before you add another dog on weekends. The dynamics between two dogs and three are night and day in my book.

That heart-to-heart might follow a thorough search here of threads about packs, with, as Betty says, some printing out.

Three is a pack; two dogs and three dogs are two entirely different things -- not in some vague theoretical way, but in a way that a human can see instantly when a third dog is introduced.

Have you considered working with your mom's dogs and training prior to getting the GSD pup?

It will not only ensure that you have a well-behaved pack to integrate your dog into, but it will also show your mom that you know what you are talking about and perhaps she will be more perceptive to your ideas. You will also benefit greatly from the experience. Check out the training articles and videos on here for a start...it will help you tremendously to have more tools in your toolbox when you get your pup. I truly get better and better with each dog that I have

Regarding crate training - Personally, I have 4 dogs. They are all crate trained and have been since they were puppies. All of them love their crates and I work hard to be sure they are tired and calm when they have to be in there for any long period of time. An example I can give you is my 6 month old pup was super tired yesterday and my husband said he just went in his crate and slept for awhile with the door still open...and this is a pup that HATED his crate when he came home from the breeder.

Also, as I mentioned earlier, adding a dog to an unstable pack is a bad idea. Each time I added a dog, I waited until the others were trained and mature. No matter how hard I try to balance everyone, I do have to focus on the new pup for a long time when they come home. I need to be sure that my other dogs will not suffer from a decrease in training and become a training issue! I also know that my pup will spend time with the adult dogs (though I limit it) and they will pick up habits from them...I want them to be good habits, not bad!

Also, I like my adult dogs to know what I expect from them...everything needs to be clear on behavior. For example, things as simple as when I open the back door, they can't all run out like maniacs or when I open the crate in the car, they can't just hop out but must wait to be leashed or released. Having this in place makes it soooo much easier to raise a good pup the right way while still having other dogs.

Also, Connie and Betty are spot on about a pack of three vs. two dogs. I have seen this greatly with my new GSD pup and his introduction to my two adult GSDs!

Well I thought it wouldn't matter but i guess it does, my mom also has two other dogs, an old schnauzer that will probably die soon. Then a 5 or 6 year old dalmatian/lab/idk mix. The schnauzer just lies around in a couple spots a day so i dont think she will be a problem at all. But sense you were 2 dogs vs 3 i guess it matters. Would it be better to just leave it at my dads all the time? I would very much not like to do that, not at all but idk what to do at my moms. I get the puppy December 5, i already payed the deposit. You guys are saying talk to my mom, but about what? Crating or what, i mean i can almost guarantee it will not happen. No one in my family has crated a dog and if i mention it they will look at me like i am crazy, except my dad. So idk what to do still.

Why do you want another dog? It sounds to me like there are 5 other dogs in your life that could benefit from your attention. I don't think that a puppy being shuttled back and forth between two households, both with existing dogs, is a good idea. It's hard enough for you, I imagine. Puppies need more stability than that. IMO

"The schnauzer just lies around in a couple spots a day so i dont think she will be a problem at all."

And the problem TO her is irrelevant? I know you just aren't thinking of everything at once, but I'm here to tell you that you must. You are thinking about a 15-year commitment without nearly all the pieces in place.

Until you can make all the puppy decisions, I honestly, no confrontation or belittling intended, and nothing but dog welfare in my heart, do not think you can ethically make that commitment.

"Crating or what, i mean i can almost guarantee it will not happen" means that this is not your puppy; this is a puppy with many conflicting handlers.

And the shuttling isn't what a puppy needs. Not at all.

I don't think a legal contract exists, Dylan, because of your age. Cutting right to the chase, I'd probably get the deposit back and do what Melissa suggests. Look at the dog-training opportunities you have!

And you have found the board to help you, too!

 Quote: connie sutherland

"The schnauzer just lies around in a couple spots a day so i dont think she will be a problem at all."

And the problem TO her is irrelevant? I know you just aren't thinking of everything at once, but I'm here to tell you that you must. You are thinking about a 15-year commitment without nearly all the pieces in place.

Until you can make all the puppy decisions, I honestly, no confrontation or belittling intended, and nothing but dog welfare in my heart, do not think you can ethically make that commitment.

"Crating or what, i mean i can almost guarantee it will not happen" means that this is not your puppy; this is a puppy with many conflicting handlers.

And the shuttling isn't what a puppy needs. Not at all.

I don't think a legal contract exists, Dylan, because of your age. Cutting right to the chase, I'd probably get the deposit back and do what Melissa suggests. Look at the dog-training opportunities you have!

And you have found the board to help you, too!

Well said, Connie.

Dylan,

However hard you think it will be to raise this puppy, it will be harder. I have had dogs my whole life and now I am raising a pup all on my own, unless you count my husband's "help" like teaching the pup its okay to chew on his feet or to be scared of the lawn mower.

I also have experience with the whole multiple handler thing. When we got Kira, who is technically my sister's dog, I took the backseat to training her because I always caught slack from my family for "taking over" with Grace, our other dog. Well, I only taught Kira the very basics, until I could stand it no longer. Then, I guess I did take over when she was a year old and driving all of us crazy. It took me about 2 years to undo all of that nonsense and she still has some residual effects from it all.

In all honesty, you need to wait. Work with what you have, perfect your methods, and get a puppy when you can do it right.