Good Day Everyone,
New to the forum so I’ll take a second to introduce myself. My name is Will and I am a soldier in the California Army National Guard. I have wanted to get a German Shepherd for a long time but I knew I didn’t have the time to dedicate to him or her. I had a deployment coming up, wasn’t sure where I would end up after, and didn’t want to risk having to give up the puppy.
With that said I am currently in Afghanistan and returning soon. I have full time employment in Northern California and will remain there for quite a while. So, I figured once I secure housing, I can look to getting my new German Shepherd puppy! Then came my next dilemma.
I am a young adult, single, work full time, and live alone. I realized, “Who is going to watch the puppy for those 8+ hours while I am at work.” Sure I could have my brother come over, his wife, my mom, or my dad, or even a friend. But it’s my dog, and my reasonability. In addition, I feel like I should be the one building the memories with my puppy, teaching him or her to potty outside, and to play with him or her. I feel like the pup will become more attached to my family members than myself. I will be some stranger that simply appears at nights and leaves in the morning.
So, I considered rescuing a Shepherd. One that is older and already potty trained, house trained, and able to be alone for a longer period of time. I figured I could take a couple weeks off from work to get to know my new dog, get him or her used to the house, training them to use the doggy door or where to go when they have to go potty, and them work them into getting used to me going to work after we have established a relationship. That way the older dog can handle being alone for more hours at a time. I would like to try and get a pup that’s potentially 4 – 12 months is possible, but am not shutting out the idea of rescuing a older GS.
My concerns are as follows:
- Will an older dog be fine in the house for longer periods of time?
- Biggest, will I be able to properly train my GS after so many months, or even years, of potentially bad training?
- What about medical issues since I don’t know the pups history?
- Any other comments or suggestions?
- Do you think i could get a puppy still?
Thanks everyone!
Will
New to the forum so I’ll take a second to introduce myself. My name is Will and I am a soldier in the California Army National Guard. I have wanted to get a German Shepherd for a long time but I knew I didn’t have the time to dedicate to him or her. I had a deployment coming up, wasn’t sure where I would end up after, and didn’t want to risk having to give up the puppy.
With that said I am currently in Afghanistan and returning soon. I have full time employment in Northern California and will remain there for quite a while. So, I figured once I secure housing, I can look to getting my new German Shepherd puppy! Then came my next dilemma.
I am a young adult, single, work full time, and live alone. I realized, “Who is going to watch the puppy for those 8+ hours while I am at work.” Sure I could have my brother come over, his wife, my mom, or my dad, or even a friend. But it’s my dog, and my reasonability. In addition, I feel like I should be the one building the memories with my puppy, teaching him or her to potty outside, and to play with him or her. I feel like the pup will become more attached to my family members than myself. I will be some stranger that simply appears at nights and leaves in the morning.
So, I considered rescuing a Shepherd. One that is older and already potty trained, house trained, and able to be alone for a longer period of time. I figured I could take a couple weeks off from work to get to know my new dog, get him or her used to the house, training them to use the doggy door or where to go when they have to go potty, and them work them into getting used to me going to work after we have established a relationship. That way the older dog can handle being alone for more hours at a time. I would like to try and get a pup that’s potentially 4 – 12 months is possible, but am not shutting out the idea of rescuing a older GS.
My concerns are as follows:
- Will an older dog be fine in the house for longer periods of time?
- Biggest, will I be able to properly train my GS after so many months, or even years, of potentially bad training?
- What about medical issues since I don’t know the pups history?
- Any other comments or suggestions?
- Do you think i could get a puppy still?
Thanks everyone!
Will