Should we adopt a dog or not?

If you are thinking abot another GSD or GSDX, don’t worry. They will consider all of you their responsibility, and herd you equally well. Although you may be primus inter pares

Well I think you should adopt!,it’s even better that you can spend much of your time for your dog(they need it) rather than leave him/her alone at home which in some cases will lead to destructive behavior,I think there’s no problem whether or not your family will bond with your dog,dog is a creature that will naturally recognize and bond with other people/creature who live around them(provided that he/she has been exposed to social life/taught how to interact with other people,which is why sometime a puppy is more acceptable than a dog),and of course your family will bond with your dog(it’s been a long time they lived without a dog in this household and this additional member in family would be hardly missed,and of course if they’re dog lovers).
Actually there’s a lot more vital thing to consider before adopting a dog
(your experience,strength,preference,amount of spare time,size of house,and many more) rather than bonding thing(you can tell me the detail later).

Have you tried renting?

then he has to come up with first, last and security

Dogs have infinite capacity for love. your dog will love the kids and your wife even if it develops a close relationship with you.

Yes adopt a dog. Our beagle loves everyone. It is better that the dog won’t be left alone all day anyway, and it will still love the kids and your wife as well.

Sound like you have a great situation for a dog. A dog with all the benefits of an active family plus not being left alone all day? Awesome.

As usual, @marina is right on.

I’m out of the house about 10 hours a day, and my boyfriend works from home. Our dog loves him, and loves me and is excited to see me when I come home.
I love that she’s not sitting around having to pee and being bored, he loves the companionship and the excuse to get out a bit every day, and dogster just loves everything. Get a dog. :)

edit: The fact that you’re thinking about a dog as a member of the family and how it will emotionally respond to your whole family is a pretty good sign that you’ll probably be a good dog owner.

Dogs love all their family. I don’t think you have to worry. At dinner time they hang out with the one that feeds them, other than that they multi task in the love department.

I advise that you do your homework as to the breed you are interested-in, if possible. Since you will be spending more time with the dog- you can train it and it will most likely listen to your commands. Depending on the personality of the dog- you may have a dominant canine or a submissive canine. I advise that you look into that, as well. Every family is different in dynamic and so- look for a breed that would be good for the home & children, obedient, and non-dominant. I’m sure you’ll find the right dog. It is good to purchase a dog that needs adoption and remember that “the animal picks you”- you’ll know while you are looking. Just figure-out what you are looking for in a dog first.

A home without a dog is called a house.
A dog without a home is a tragedy.

By all means adopt a dog from a no kill shelter or the humane society. Take the time to get a feel for the dog you select. Take it to a room where you can interact with the dog. It won’t take long for you to know if the dog has picked you as a member of its pack and will bond with you.

Yes, this happened to me. I fell in love with a dog. I brought it home, I fed it, I trained it, I stayed home with it every day, but that dog thought she belonged to my husband. We have a dog now, and he thinks he belongs to everybody. Don’t worry, the right dog will love the whole family.

Thanks to everyone for their responses, though I’m still scratching my head about the “have you tried renting” response. I feel much better about the possibility now. Thanks all!

You’ll love it!

We had a rescued dog for many years. I was at home and my partner at work, and my daughter at school.
She would follow me everywhere most of the day, but when it got to about 3.00pm she would sit by the door waiting for my daughter to arrive home.
Dogs have an infinite capacity for love, they share themselves out pretty evenly.
Go for it, you sound like an ideal family. Good luck of you do decide to adopt – oh and I think you will find that the dog will choose you rather than the other way round.

Sure, go ahead. Knock yourself out.