Hello,

This is by far the best site I have come across for training dogs. I have read all the articles pertaining to the GSD.

I have an 18-20 month old Male Rot-black lab mix that we adopted from an animal refugee who has been in our home for about 2.5 months. He is a dominant dog and has become very protective in the short amount of time. He also has a very high prey drive as he has gone after birds, rabbits, and squirrels. He also hates cats which we have and can’t enter a room with them in there. He has the body and personality of a rot but a head of a lab with the tan markings. He watches the property like a hawk and no one can step on to the property. He has all signs of an aggressive/dominant dog, which I hope to be able to train as soon as my Leeberg Dog obedience video arrives.

Here is what we are worried about:
Theses dogs are pets and not work dogs for my wife and me.

This past weekend we purchased a Male 4 week old GSD from a friend of a friend with papers for a great deal since they are not breeders that we couldn't pass up. He will be coming home in 4 weeks. The father is a GSD with American bloodline and the mom is a GSD with German bloodline.

We are very concerned with how our present dog will act with the new puppy. We have never had dogs before or a puppy. I have also ordered the Puppy video. Since both these dogs are males we worry that they will fight and I don't want the pup getting hurt or the older dog attacking it. We plan on supervising them constantly but the little guy would not have a chance if anything were to happen.

I would appreciate any help anyone has to offer as far as what I can do and if they will get along?

Hate to sound so negative, but if you can, get your money back on the GSD and FIRST figure out how to train and manage living with the dog you've got, which sounds like it's going to be a feat in itself. You're absolutely correct that two males ARE extremely likely to eventually fight. You probably don't realize what a situation you are about to put yourself in. As your pets, you're probably wanting them both to live in harmony in your house; that's not terribly likely. While the pup will naturally submit to the adult for a while, unless he is naturally a subordinate, submissive male, there's eventually going to be tension between them and you're likely to regret having two adult males. Are you prepared for the jealousy issues, keeping them separated all the time, the inevitable slip-up that results in a fight? If this rott/lab is your first dog and he is already showing some interesting and challenging issues to deal with, do yourself a favor and don't compound your problems by adding another dog yet.

Lees advice is best if you can get your money back. If you decided to keep him, my concern is that the Lab/Rot may harm or kill the puppy, he seems pretty aggressiive toward small animals.

If you can't get your money back you need to keep one in the house the puppy and the Rottie/lab outside. You need to get a crate to put the puppy in, so that you can bring the Rottie in sometimes.

First you got to let both of them settle down into their new home. Then try to introduce them slowly. (See why she said take the puppy back). You are working two different training programs.

(IMO I'm not a Pro, Lee is) I would start by introducing them with the puppy inside the crate and the Rottie on leash/choke chain or prong.

You just walk the Rottie through don't take him over to the crate. If that is done Ok then go to the next step. Prolong distracted sit/down he can smell the puppy scent in the air, but he can't really see him. (See why she said take the puppy back).

This is just to get him use to smelling the puppy inside the house. Now try to watch a little TV with the Rottie in a sit/down.

If he barks just calm him down with your voice or sit him and say "quite" or "no". If he still shows signs of aggression like it sounds like he might. (See why she said take the puppy back).

Stop the introduction and take him back outside to play fetch or do OB work with him. Teach him the "Quite" or "No". As he gets better and the puppy gets older try it again. Through this you can almost tell if they would ever get used to each other.

If the Rottie can eventually walks up to the cage and smells the puppy and start wagging his tell. This is a semi good sign, it could mean that he likes or can tolarate the puppies but he has to watched because it could mean that he wants to play rough with the puppy. Build on this to the point where they can be both be on leash and there is no aggression.

If the aggression can't be stopped, build a kennel and always keep them separated. Because they will eventually fight. So this is the way of male dogs, you probably should have gotten a female pup, still theres no garantee that they won't fight but the odds are more in your favor.
(See why she said take the puppy back).

Good luck, watch those tapes. And run another scenrio past Lee, if you plan on keeping the pup.
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PS.
They are not keen on American breed Shepeherds here. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

hey mike , judging by the behaviour of the ROT X already , why not send him back to the refuge and focus on the " clean slate ". in four weeks the ROT X is going to have his turf so locked down , that new little guy won't have a chance .
if you can't re-locate the ROT X , i'd strongly reconsider bringing the puppy home . it is going to be hard to enjoy both of them while fearing for puppys' life . i'm sure if you explain the situation to the breeder , he'll agree , and happily send his puppy to a more suitable home .

Mike, considering you've never had a dog before, that RotX sounds like you have you plate full already. I would suggest you find it a new home (shelter) and start fresh with the pup. What your headed for is something expierienced trainers would avoid without a really good reason.

Thank you all for your advise! I really appreciate your comments and suggestions. I spoke with the owner of the pups and he will not cancel the transaction, however he did mention that if he were to find another person interested in him he would advise us.

My wife and I really love animals. The Rot mix has gotten 100 times better since we have brought him home and worked with him. I also am home a lot and work out of home so I'm able to spend a lot of time with the dogs.

In reading the replies to the post and speaking with her about it she has set her mind that she wants the pup and do what ever we can to make it work. She is in love with our rot mix since he's a good dog in the house and will not ever take him back. He came to the shelter when he was a baby as a stray. He was adopted to a family and they said he would push the kids over so they gave him back to the shelter as he was there at the age of 15 months.

He protects us greatly and is a nice calm dog in the house. When visitors come by he barks and wants to get to the door just like any other dog! When I let them in he is very jumpy however his tail is wagging. After a few minutes he is their friend. He is very nippy which I’m assuming is still the pup in him. When he goes outside that's when he gets aggressive. He wants to be the first one out the door. He walks ahead of us and will not follow us. He has never attacked us or anyone else. I do believe that a good trainer can break him and he has the potential. He does understand sit, paw, lay-down and we are working on stay. We are also trying to train him on the leash to walk next to us instead of pulling us and walking ahead.

Lee can you see this working if we put our effort into it. The pup will be raised as a pet and not as a work dog. We will not teach him any aggression. I also hope that the videos will help????? I don't have a an ounce of knowledge that you have so I've been reading a lot about trainnin and hope I can make this work!

Thank you again everyone!

You sound committed to your Rot X and it sound like you are on the right track in looking for solutions and info etc. BUT what is worrying me is the reaction of the breeder of the other puppy not being willing to "cancel the transaction" - do you mean that you will lose your deposit?
I think you might have to bite the bullet and lose your deposit as adding a new dog to the mix isn't a good idea. But if the breeder of the puppy made you pay the full purchase price up front and will not pay you a partial refund even after you have explained the situation it makes me wonder if they are all that concerned about where the puppy is going. Reputable breeders usually screeen prospective buyers to ensure the pup is going into a suitable situation and make clear the implications of any contracts, deposits etc. I am not meaning to imply that you have done anything wrong at your end but the "breeder" sounds a little more interested in the money than the outcome for the puppy.

Lynn,

Yes I do agree with you on the person that is selling the dog. They are not breeders as in the sense of breeding to sell. Their dogs had a litter and the mom which is a young GSD will be fixed ASAP as soon as the pups are gone. I’m concerned about the $ but as I mentioned I need to make this work as my wife does not want to give up the pup nor our current dog. We are ready to do what we have to at this stage to make it work. I will sign up our current dog for obedience classes right away. Can you suggest anything that I can do?

Thanks!

Since you have read all the articles... then you know you are in for a ride.
Public OB classes... urm... how do I put this? well sometimes they cause more grief then help.
Trust me when I say... if a self-proclaimed trainer guides you in the wrong direction, the consequences can be frustrating, a waste of money, and devistating to you and your dog(s)
Ask for references.. ask to see dogs trained by that person, specificlly ones he helped owners train, and ask what he/she thinks and what they would do. Take time to think if it makes sense compared to what you have learned here. And the first inkling that this person is worth while, would be that they suggest you get one on one... not a group session. Good Luck!

Having a dog that was almost attacked as an adult, my advice would be to build a kennel in your yard so that you can keep the dogs seperated 24/7. It's not the way that your dogs will like to live, but if the puppy is attacked even once it will scar him for life, if not physically then definitely tempermentally. I'm more concerned about the other dog teaching the pup agression than what you might do.

Having a GSD that is a mix of those lines and an oops litter too is starting off with a disadvantage too. Unless the sire especially is 100% with excellent nerves then you run an even greater chance of a bad experience ruining the puppy forever. Did you get to meet the pup's parents? A pup isn't a good deal if you have to have him euthanized because he was ruined by a bad situation (I worked for a vet and saw it happen, not pretty).

Not to rain on your parade, but there are some risks to your situation. If you want to play with those risks is your decision. If you do get the puppy, structure will be VERY important. Set up a schedule now that will allow time with the puppy, so that it won't be as big of a change when he comes home.