Reply #9: I felt the same when getting a dog for our kids, but we did not go

[woodsprite]

wrong by getting a 5yo gorgeous silver/black shepherd/husky mix. She was trained already and was leaving a home that had kids (the reason was the new baby had allergies and asthma). She was the best dog. I say was because we only had her 2 years before she developed lung cancer :(


After Silver died, we adopted a 5 month old untrained shepherd from the Humane Association. Crate training and obedience have gone very well. Noelle's been wonderful, but the 79lb 1.5 yo puppy can get a bit rough with our 8yr old son when she gets excited. OMG! Is she 'bouncy' and is even hard for us to handle. She's especially bad when she is going someplace with us, and yes, we take her alot and 'yes' we follow the "Nothing in Life is Free" training method. We thought taking her on car trips, outings, etc., would desentize her. Maybe it will, but I'm now thinking it's just puppy excitement and she'll have to outgrow it as she matures. She *LOVES* doggy daycare on Fridays. She just vibrates with excitement when she sees us driving down that road.

Anyway, for a first dog I think we made the right choice with a trained older dog.