German shepherd on it's way....

Hi everyone, hope you are all well

I finally gave in and told my other half he can fulfill his wish of owning a German Shepherd. I'm already losing sleep. I am so worried coco will be hurt by the GS which will undoubtedly grow a lot bigger than she is. we have decided to go for a boy, because we were concerned that two girls would be asking for trouble. the plan is for the GS to live outdoors during the day,but even that is a worry because i'm afraid it will be jealous of coco in the house and create animosity. I would much rather another small housedog for coco to have a friend, but my OH has wanted a GS since he was a child... any suggestions of how to introduce the two would be much appreciated as would advice on what sex would be best???
thanks in advance

I have a Newfoundland (126lbs) and Cavalier (25 lbs), they get along famously. They love each other and play very nicely together. I had the Newf first. The Newf was nine when Scout came to live with us. I'm sure it will be very hectic at your house for a while, but things will settle down, by the way they are both females.

we have 2 cavs and a black lab and they all get on great also like Sharon we had the lge dog first (our lab is male)

my aunt has a Boxer which she brings with her when she visits and he is also very gentle with the girls

lisa

Mia (15 lbs.) and Wrigley (GR - 78 lbs.) do great together. Wrigley rules the roost, but Mia gets away with what she can--and never stops trying to usurp Wrigley's authority. They get along wonderfully!

Is your GS going to be a puppy? If so, I'll bet they'll be just fine together.

Pamela, I really wouldn't worry. Whilst GSD's seem to have a bad reputation, they are actually extremely loyal and loving dogs. My friend's son has a gorgeous HUGE boy who is a retired Prison guard dog - he lets her Cavalier and my two romp all over him. He knows he's bigger and so seems to adapt to their size. I've never heard him growl or correct any of them.

I sadly lost my own darling GSD aged 5. She was a failed Police dog who was scared of dogs her own size but adored smaller ones. Her best friend was the elderly Cavalier who lived around the corner

Can I ask why the GSD would live outside? I agree that that could be asking for trouble. I really don't think that you should give one dog privileges that the other is denied. It's not their fault that they are big dogs! And, to be perfectly honest here, I don't know of any breeder who would let you have one of their precious bundles to live outside whilst another dog lived inside. I know quite a few GSD breeders btw

One thing I hope your hubby realises is that they need a tremendous amount of exercise! We could do a 10 mile hike with ours and she'd still expect to have an hours playtime with her frisbee or ball in the playing field as soon as we got back LOL. As soon as she saw us pick up our walking boots she'd be by the front door with her lead in her mouth, waiting patiently.

Any dog, as long as well trained is a joy to own - no matter what size So, good luck with the puppy hunting and enjoy

GSDs are great dogs! I wouldn't even consider making the GSD live outside by itself though. Leaving dogs outdoors just creates problems most of the time and if trouble were ever to arise, that's one way of helping to cause them -- via boredom, anxiety, frustration, daily separation from the GSD's best friend, which will be the cavalier. I would however probably keep them separate inside as the GSD gets larger, at least for the first year. Larger breed puppies can definitely harm a smaller dog in play and totally by accident. Some trainers feel it is always safer to keep large and small breeds separate when no one is there. I do know of more than one case where a large breed has accidentally killed a small breed companion when no one was around the home so that is something to consider, though this is rare. A lot of people own dogs of different sizes though.

With a GSD be sure to use a very reputable breeder just as with cavaliers.

Thank you all so much, I feel better already! The only reason we thought we would have to keep the GSD outdoors was so it had more room to roam and we have a large back garden. I am more than happy to keep it indoors with coco, and that would actually ease my mind too because I would really like coco to have a little buddy! (or rather LARGE buddy )
Karlin i take your point about keeping them seperate when unsupervised and will use a gate to keep them apart but maybe have their beds on either side so they can still be close. I would love them to get along! The GS was only born on Sunday so it will be a couple of weeks before we get to meet I went to a breeder recommended on irishdogs.ie and he certainly seems to know his stuff. The father was top dog last year and the mother is also a show dog. I'm not really concerned with all that but my OH seems to think this bloodline might be reflected in their temperament.
Thanks again for the advice - as always I dont know what I would do without cavaliertalk!

I lived with a german shepard for a few years and then my brother brought home a cavalier and they had so much fun playing together... I wouldnt worry at all

When you go to meet the puppies, could you take your cav with you? It might help you pick the puppy that would get along well. This is something you'd have to discuss with the GSD breeder.

Re keeping them close, overnight you can crate them and have them side by side? That'd probably help the GSD puppy in it's first nights with you, and allow Coco to get accustomed to the puppy in a non-threatening way?

Yeh that's a good idea, coco usually sleeps in our bedroom but with two dogs, one of whom will be BIG, we were kinda hoping to move her out onto the landing with the new dog. although i'm not sure how i'll cope with that - i'll miss her sneaking in beside me and snuggling behind my knees! :L