This is a debate all of a sudden in my house now with Romeo, our now 6 month old GSD.

First debate is.... I've been on this forum since Romeo was a wee 9 weeks old ... I asked SO many questions and have receieved nothing but educational and wonderful replies which have been so helpful in making Romeo a good boy and me a better dog-mum. You helped me with crate training which we finally accomplished. Romeo responds to "Go Home" by going directly into his crate, laying down and not leaving until he's directed to come out. Romeo is in his crate at night and when we're all gone from the house. It's worked perfectly - for me at least. My husband wants to allow Romeo to have free run of the house now - including allowing him to sleep in our bed. I read an article here by Ed somewhere saying allowing the dog to sleep in the bed is a mistake. I agree 100%. Can someone please help me - explain to my husband in simple terms that this is just not a good idea. We have as of this moment a well behaved but hardheaded GSD pup. I don't want to disrupt everything I have worked SO hard on. =0(

Second question is ~ to have him fixed or not.... what are you thoughts on this? He is purebred, he is AKC registered... should I have him fixed? I'm not sure I plan on breeding him or offering him to others for breeding purposes. How will this affect his personailty? Some say it calms dogs down while others claim it can cause problems?

Thanks SOOOOO very much!

first the easy question, to fix or not? Just beacuse a dog has AKC papers doesn't mean you should breed it. if have to ask yourself, how will this dog IMPROVE the overall GSD. if you have to think about it, then you may not wanna breed it. i can't answer the the part about changing its temperment.

now to your husband. dogs are pack animals. even in the home they are still in their pack. as owners you are the pack leaders (the boss). as we say in the military RHIP (rank has its priviliges). if you let the dog SLEEP in the bed you are showing the dog that he is on the same rank level as you. next he will start climbing on the couch and so on. once start this, you now longer have the, "i am the boss so shut up and color" status. the dog has the same rights as you so why should he listen. its like this if you had a 16yr old and you let him stay out as long as he wanted, ate all your food, didn't contribute to the house hold, pretty much did as he pleased, would your kid listen to you? why should he?

Dogs need their boy-parts to mature properly, I wouldn't neuter till 3 years at least. It doesn't matter a great deal for pets I guess, but pet or working, I don't want an immature dog. I don't know what your plans are for the dog, but if you can be responsible enough to not let him get the chance to be a daddy then I'd wait. I wouldn't neuter any of my male dogs at all unless there is a medical need for it, that's just my personal preference, but most working dog folks I know agree.

Sleeping on the bed, I know many people are against it, but I say it's a case-by-case issue and requires you knowing your dog. My dutchie pup, nope she stays in the crate at night till she's a lil old lady <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Well, maybe 2 or 3 years old, we'll see, she's a tempremental dominant lil bitch. My GSD has been out of the crate at night since 6 months old. He chewed up the wood trim around the closet and tore up the carpet in the corner of the room, I woke up and caught him red handed on both offenses and corrected him for it, he's never done anything like that since. He is a mellow dog, hardheaded, stubborn, but we have no dominance issues, he's a big baby. I don't care where he sleeps at night, he'll sleep on the foot of my bed while I watch TV before falling asleep for about 20 minutes, then jump off n lay in his crate the rest of the night, then right around 7am he jumps on my bed n becomes a pillow till I finally get up and let him out. Most pups are not trustworthy at 6 months old out of the crate, they will get into stuff, and if there is nothing to get into they will destroy anything from baseboards to carpet.

For what its worth---As far as giving the dog free run of the house,I believe most will say it's a recipe for disaster,however my 4yr. old GSD has the house while we're away and I started little by little.An hour here an hour there to test him.After a few small incidents I can honestly say he's trustworthy in the house as long as there is plenty for him to do.I don't live in a bad neighborhood but I still want the dog to be able to deter any uninvited guests while we're gone.Giving him the house came after I had his OB down pat.He knew his position and SEEMED to understand what was expected of him(I know that sounds wierd)but now when leaving I tell him to "watch the house"and I think he knows it's his job.As far as letting him on the bed,I have to admit I'm guilty.However I'm usually the last one to go to bed so by the time I get upstairs when he sees me he does jump down and get in his own bed without me having to tell him.Good luck

as for sleeping in your bed in my humble opinion, NO NO NO! my house dogs, gsp's, arnt even allowed upstairs. they sleep in beds, crates when pups, by the back door. i have seen so many people with house pets who ask for help with behaviour, dominance problems, and a commojn factor here is that the dog sleeps with them and so screws up the pack order as jason said. not the dogs fault but a understandable misjudgement by the owners.
as for the snip then you can always hold off, but you cant move back the clock. have heard more good things about giving it than not if your not planning on breeding him. all myn have been done with no problems, touch wood.

my $.02
don't fix what ain't broke.
he kennels up when told to, likes to sleep there in his den.

now when he can be trusted to be in the house without messing with stuff, by all means leave it open. That might be a long while yet, depending upon many factors.

I have to agree that it really does depend on the personality of the dog as to wether or not you allow the dog on your bed. But I think you should wait a bit until your little guy is fully mature before you allow him that privelidge, if at all. My dog (mind you he's a pet not a working dog)is allowed on the couch with me when I am watching tv, but is never ever allowed on my bed. That is my area and he is not allowed near it (mostly because I don't want to deal with his hair on my duvet cover!)
He's only allowed on the couch when i invite him up, and I always make him sit or down before hand. If he lies down and rests his head on the couch willing me to invite him up, I tell him no and make him move. It's always my terms as to when he's allowed to join me (although I will say I enjoy having him up there with me).
Again, I have absolutely no dominance issues with him. He gets off when I say, with no grumbles or growls.
Tucker is 2 years old though, i am not sure it would be wise to bring your little guy up to your level just yet.
But if you do, and there is one instance of him growling or gurmbling when you or your husband get in the bed or out of it or try to move him off then thats your cue that he's starting to think he's level with you in rank.
But I am sure you know all of this and your just looking for confirmation on what you already know.

Amanada,
Well your first question is a pretty easy one to fix or not, well I say that once he is mature then you may want to consider getting him fixed. I personally would wait until he is fully grown so that his male parts can do thier good work within him. That just means that for two to three years you have to be on top of him and ensure that he does not become a daddy. I do not know your dog or the lines that he comes from so I can not tell you to fix him, I would say that if you want to breed him you will need to work with a responsible breeder. The reason to breed is to IMPROVE the breed, not just to have pups but you do not seem like the type to just want to have pups. So you would really need to work witha good and responsible breeder, hopefully one who is working on tittling thier bitch and can help you do the same. AKC dogs are not always well breed dogs, a pure breed dog can be a bad breed dog. Not that means that is the case with your dog, that is just for your informational sake. You might want to go and read the GSD breed standard and see if your dog fully falls into that standard. Then you have to be honest with yourself and look long and hard at your personal dog. Do you think your dog could pass some real working tittles? Does he have the type of temperment that would be good and sound to pass along? There are many questions but in all honesty most dogs are not breeding worthy. On this board that may be the exception to the rule, most folks here have working dogs that they are going to PROVE have sound tempurments and drives. This is more than likely one of the hardest questions we as owners must assess, is our dog truly worthy breeding? In most cases the answer is NO, sorry about that one.
Dog on the bed or not, that depends on the dog and you. I personally would not recommned allowing him on your bed. As another writter wrote, unless this is a very submissive dog ( would be a possible sign to not breed if you ask me) then you could possible allow him on your bed, I would WAIT until he was fully grown and you knew that you knew that he was a very submissive dog. Once you allow him to begin to climb the pack ie sleep in your bed, then you can bring about some very bad things and not even know it until it is to late.
My two cents :-)