A Princess for Prince,,?? - Page 2

I understand the reservations that some of the posters have and the reasons.  I do not think it is a terribly bad idea.  In fact, I don't think it is a bad idea at all given what I know about Prince and Deanna.  First, Deanna is an excellent, caring dog owner.  Sure, she may have her hands full with Prince right now.  But, she does take the proper steps and works at it.  Every now and then she needs a reminder that cuddly wuddly Prince may not be such a teddy bear with strangers.  More like a bit of a grizzly bear.  Since, Prince is NOT dog aggressive I don't see an issue adding a female, especially a puppy.  If Prince was dog aggressive I would be very cautious and not be so supportive of the idea.  

My advice would be to really research a puppy and decide what you want to do with the dog.  A pet is fine, training or doing SchH is great, so is flyball, agility or AKC rally.  IF you are interested in SchH, I would recommend a WL dog from a good breeder.  Naturally, I would avoid any breeder that does not work, title and compete with their own dogs in what ever venue you choose.  Stay away from those breeders that talk about the accomplishments of the grandfather or great grandfather of the pup.  I would also avoid any breeder that does not health test their breeding stock.      

Next, I would keep the dogs separate until the female pup is around 8 - 9 months old.  I would only allow limited supervised contact until the pup is bigger.  My reason for this is that the pup will bond closer with you and your son than Prince.  If the pup spends a lot of time with Prince then they will bond very closely together and you will have additional "pack" problems.  Also, if you plan on doing SchH there is a way to raise a pup and a philosophy of raising puppies.  I never let anyone or any animal dominate my young pups, I never let older dogs dominate my pups.  

Something tells me that if you had a second dog and began working with that dog you might get a better handle on Prince as well.  Naturally, (NILF) nothing in life is free and you will have to work on being firm and fair, not the push over and easy.    

JMO FWIW

Slamdunc, my concerns are more basic: the simple factor of time.  One of the obstacles Deanna and her family have faced in working with Mr Bossy is time constraints when it comes to being able to set up scenarios where they will have the advantage, as well the limits time places on Deanna's ability to address a naturally-occurring problem when those pop up unexpectedly--and adding the demands of a new dog or pup can hardly help these issues.   Along with that, there's the quite human tendency to spend more time with the dog that is easiest to handle, precisely because that dog is easier to have around and doesn't have to be restricted around strangers--and that ends up leading to less time spent with the 'challenging' dog and can set up jealousy issues between the two dogs.  Given recent events surrounding the raw bone, it just seems like more time needs passing so more control of Prince's responses can be accomplished, before another dog enters the family, IMO. 

Deanna, if you haven't already had a recommendation for it, I'd strongly suggest you get yourself a copy of Brenda Aloff's "Aggression in Dogs: Practical Management, Prevention and Behavior Modification" text, if Kelly has no objections. While I certainly don't believe any book can serve in lieu of actually working with a trainer who has a track record of success with aggression in dogs in all its various manifestations, this book IS an excellent reference to have at hand in addition to the services of said trainer for anyone who has a dog whose aggressive or protective thresholds aren't in sync with what their owner is seeking.  When the time comes to bring that additional family member home, I think you'll find it a useful reference book to have then, too.

 

Since he's intact, I say, get six females. 2 litters/yr X 6 females = roughly 70 puppies/yr @ $1500/puppy =$105,000/yr . Tell your hubby to buy a Hawaiian shirt. Retirement is near.

LOL @ Chaz.......nice to see you you at your finest .

Deanna,
You and I both have dominant males and we have discussed the similarities between the two. I can tell you that adding a female (puppy) to my mix has added a new dimension to our pack....jeleuosy. Cisco is very stingy when it comes to affection/attention and does not like to share....we have frequent "discussions about who is boss"....something to think about. Otherwise, she and he get along wonderfully they play together, groom each other, and get into mischief together....LOL. I did not keep them separate as Slam suggests.....but I do have "special time" for each dog every day and Ava (now almost 9 mos. old) has bonded to my husband and I completely. Additionally, I've clamped down much harder on Cisco's bad habits since she's become part on our family and I'm determined not to make the same mistakes with her as I did with him....famous last words...LOL. Just curious..but have you asked Kelly what her opinion is about adding a female to your family?

Thanks so much for the input !..Some of my favorite people here posting!,,Waves @ clc and Chaz,,,
I have not talked to Kelly recently about getting another GSD, I did mention it in the past and if I recall correctly she wasn't opposed to the idea, but Prince has matured/ things have changed, and she might have a different opinion at this time,,I won't' make any definite decision without her input,,Just wanted to through it out there and get some feed back from you all too...

I would like to address why I have misgivings about it. I suppose it is due to guilt..There is so much I have not accomplished with Prince that I wanted to,,I suppose I feel that I have no right to invest time in another GSD when so much has been left undone with Prince,,I have not nearly addressed his aggression issues and there is so much I could be doing with his OB too..I am riddled with guilt!!//,,,,,,

On the other hand, I have a 10 year old son that has a natural desire to work with animals,,As some of you know I have two beautiful Quarter Horses that were purchased so my daughters could show them,,Now that the girls are older I have the two prettiest lawn ornaments on the block!..My son does not , to my disappointment want to ride and show the horses, but has always had a desire to interact with dogs,,, He actually does quite well with Prince and doesn't take any guff, but for obvious reasons my son is limited with Prince....

I would love to nurture my sons love for working with dogs while he is still young,,,He tells me all the time, " I wish we had a nice dog that I could do stuff with"....I truly believe that he has a honest interest in working and training and from what I have seen would be quite good at..Then again I am his mother,,lol,,,of course I do....

Also, we have serous club 20 minutes from our home that is very involved in the Youth ScH Club..So there is a potential for him to learn and grow in the sport with the right dog,,,~~a mothers dream!!,,,

Thanks for hearing me out,,Now feel free to burst my bubble!!...joking; kinda,,,

@Chaz,,I bet I could get more for puppies born with horns on their heads,,,,,,



 

"Also, we have serous club 20 minutes from our home that is very involved in the Youth ScH Club."

Which club?

 

Deanna, I would ask Kelly what she thinks and follow her advice.

I agree with Slamdunc. Obviously, check with Kelly first since I'm just an idiot behind a keyboard.

I think a second dog would work if you don't think of it as a chance to start over with a new "improved" dog but as an opportunity to start Prince over in his training from the very first step (ie. teach him a tuck sit, teach him to down from the front end, etc. right along with the little pup). This has worked really well for us- Senta doesn't have any aggression issues but she's iron willed and really would rather not follow any command (ie. zero biddability). We train both dogs during the same session- one is in the crate while the other is out working. The second Senta flips Martin off, she goes back in the crate and Bosco comes out to work again. She's very competitive with Bosco so her obedience has improved so much that Martin is thinking of taking her to a CKC obedience trial; this was completely unrealistic before Bosco because she would have refused to sit. However, you really can't underestimate the time commitment to training both dogs- you'll never have time so think specifically about what you are going to give up to create space in your life for training before you buy a second dog. We kept both dogs separate for about 7 months and it was a huge time sucker- we just kept telling ourselves that little pups grow up too fast and it wouldn't last forever.

"OG Buckeye Club in Seville the Scarberrys are involved there."

Of course they are; that's why I was asking which club.