Puppy Requirements

It is critical to their development that puppies be part of a loving, involved, active family group.  This page was written for a female puppy we were fostering.  So some paragraphs refer to "she".  She is in that first picture below to the left.  The 2005 GSD mixes (they almost certainly have some malamute in them and may have heinz 57 there too) have the same requirements as the puppy this page was written for. 

Teddy-and-underfoot.jpg (33652 bytes) You must dote on the puppy. To properly dote on the puppy, you must be with the puppy.  Otherwise the puppy doesn't know it and it just doesn't count.  You may think you are doting on the puppy at the office  and while emailing your friends but the puppy doesn't know about that so it doesn't count.  To puppy.  The puppy needs a home where family - human adult, children, canine -  will take time to dote on the puppy, even if it affects other activities an will recognize that "puppyhood" is a rare and very brief time.
digger.jpg (37104 bytes) You must not love your yard too much.  The puppy will love your yard for you.  Of course, your idea of loving your yard and puppy's will be different.  The yard is a treasure trove filled with treasures too numerous to mention!   Treasures are buried.  Puppy knows this instinctively and will work hard to find them for you.  This is a difficult task and will take the next several years.  Some treasures will be outside your yard and puppy will dig under the fence to find them. 
puppystealsabone.jpg (17982 bytes) Oh yes, the fence! You must have a sturdy, climb-proof, dig-averse, wiggle-safe fence surrounding that nice yard you are giving up.  So that puppy can run through yard and generally behave like a crazy critter and still be safe.   Chain Link, solid wood, that sort of thing.  High.  Puppy is going to be a big dog.  Soon.  6' is best.  4' is highly questionable.  Anything in-between will probably require a hotwire.  And how is the bottom of that fence?  Can puppy dig out?  Does puppy think she can dig out?
cudda10-3.jpg (70339 bytes) Unless your children are male teenagers or older, puppy is going to be bigger than your children very very soon.  She's going to be big, she'll continue to be exuberant and boisterous and she does not know that her sledgehammer nail-tipped paw could bruise an elephant.  Your children must be ready for puppy when she's grown.  And YOU must be ready to handle interactions so that your children AND your puppy are safe and happy.
puppy play 002.jpg (841310 bytes) Puppy friends are a wonderful idea.  Opposite sex is best; when puppy is older she/he may want to be queen/king of the hill!  Puppy is used to playing with big dogs; puppy is pretty sure our dog-savvy cat can beat her up so she stays away.  She will likely bond tightly with animal friends she has been raised with; she can be taught right from wrong at this point.

Puppy must be part of the family.

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Obedience School.  Puppy needs to learn lots of things.  Positive training works.  Chances are you do not know how to teach her.  That is what obedience school is for - to teach you how to teach puppy and make it a happy experience for you both.  If you do not take puppy to obedience school puppy will A) run your life or B) make you think she is stupid - or you are or C) be a source of endless frustration instead of endless joy.
Spayed.  Puppy will be spayed.
If you meet all of these requirements and would like to meet puppy, contact her foster mom.  It is critical to her happiness and to her development that this puppy be part of a loving, involved, active family group.  If you cannot meet these requirements, this is not the dog for you.  Remember, these are minimums that puppy's foster mom can meet - we want her forever home to be even better.