Adaptability is very important in retirement for longevity

Traveling is one way to keep yourself adaptable so you don't get into too much of a rut in your retirement. Another way would be to get a puppy. But, getting a puppy also might keep you closer to home unless you have someone to baby sit the puppy when you have to be somewhere else. So, think very carefully about how much energy this puppy is going to take. in some ways they can take  even more energy than a new born baby human (at first). And training is important to bond properly with the dog especially if it is going to be a big dog like the one we are raising. This one is supposed to be 85 to 95 pounds. So, with a bigger dog you need to have a really good bond so you are like family to each other. Also, it can be helpful to have more than one human being in the family raising a puppy sort of like the tag team effect of raising a child from infancy is better with two or more people who can help each other raise the child.


So, I have noticed with a new German Shepard puppy how much it has changed our lives over the last week or so. A German Shepard tends to be a very intelligent dog but they are very wanting to be close to their owner(s) all the time. This is just the nature of the dog where they want to be close to their pack. So, when you adopt a dog you and your family become their pack and you need to be the alpha or likely you will have to give away a bigger dog. But, if a puppy is treated right you can be a kind Alpha male or female in this dogs life. The trainer and breeder we got this puppy from says that by 10 weeks with a German Shepard it is almost too late to bond properly with your dog. He says you need to bond ideally between 8 weeks is best and for some 6 weeks but generally he says he has found that 8 weeks is the perfect time for bonding because they are weaned and not nursing anymore. So, this bonding is best done between 8 and 10 weeks time.

HOWEVER, since we got this puppy and are training him to be an Indoor-outdoor dog, we have had to temporarily move all carpeting out of the living room and move the stuffed desk chair and bring up and old one from the garage. Also, if I don't wear crocs or something like this in the house he will try to eat my toes. (this comes from how puppies play in a litter. In his litter there were 12 so I guess they were always chewing on each other so his idea of bonding is chewing on my toes or scratching my leg or my wife's leg. Another problem is we are still housebreaking him to always go outside. However, he feels safer in the house because of hawks and raccoons and crows outside usually. although I think he has doubled his size in about a week so nothing seems interested in him anymore because he will now (bite back) at anything that would attack him because he is now 9 1/2 weeks old and getting bigger every day.