german shepard rescue

Question
I am considering adopting a 2 year old male 90-95 pure bred german shepard.  i received the connection at work and went on sunday to see the dog.  he is absolutely beautiful and very friendly.  he came right to me and is indeed in need of attention.  for the past 8 months, he has been living in a kennel size pen with a female and her 5 mo. old pup.  he is fed, the kennel is kept relatively clean, and he has water.  he was mated with the female twice and yielded 21 puppies in two litters which were all sold but the one.  anyway, here are the issues - ia ma a woman in my 50's.  the dog is not house broken, nor has he ever had a collar on him.  is is also not neutered.  i could take a week from work off but after that, i would be gone all day for work.  i am home in the evenings and weekends.  i also have 2 cats.  the dog has never seen a cat.
so, is this a workable situation? or, am i getting in way over my head? since the dog was a pup though he didn't get alot of attention and absolutely no training, he has always had the companionship of another dog. i would need to leave him in my house during the daytime (with the cats).  this dog loved to be pet, when i was alone with him for a short time without the other dogs, he just lay down to have his belly rubbed.  the owner has to get rid of him by the 15th as the neighbors have reported the owner to the spca.  a story that doesn't really make total sense for some reason other than the fact that they may feel the dogs are being neglected (but he's keeping the female and pup) or that he's using a residential area with a nice chunk of land but residential none the left to breed gs's.  i have ordered a harness to keep the dog from pulling me too much and will probably have to invest in an extra large cage but my not being there may be too hard on the dog, myself, and the cats.  oh, and no doubt, i will need to have him neutered. anyway do this dog and i stand a chance.
can you give me some sound advise or know who might be able to help me.  if i had money, i would hire a trainer but that is not an option.
bernadette

Answer
I would like to see the dog in a good home.  There are so many variables, it is hard to say if yours is the right one.  The crate will be a big help in housebreaking.  Did you notice if the most of the dogs' stools seemed to be in one corner of the kennel?  If their living space is large enough, dogs usually tend to use one area and keep the rest clean.  If so, then housebreaking becomes mainly a matter of communication.  He needs to learn you will take him out if he goes to the door.  

I have no experience with harnesses, although I have seen successful reports.  I like the slip collars.  Start with a good 6' leather  leash and a sturdy slip collar, the metal chain ones with the rings on each  end. You want the shortest one that will go on and off easily. If you walk with the dog on the left, pull the chain through one loop forming a "P".  Facing it, slip it over its head. The free end should come over the neck to the leash, and the other end should drop slack when there is no pull on the leash.

Easier dogs will give up their pulling with a few good snaps of the leash
combined with a stern "Bad dog!".  You can work up to forceful corrections
with the leash doubled up in both hands and your whole body behind it.  But
you don't want to use any more force than you need.  One gentle technique I
like is to just stop when he pulls.  He wants to go.  If you move forward when
the leash is slack, and stop when he pulls, he should quickly figure out the
only way to get to go, is not to pull.  This is about teaching him not to
pull, not getting somewhere.  The man that taught it to me said "If in a half
hour you haven't made it out to the front walk, fine, you have taught him a
lesson.

Still, you may want to switch to a head collar.  The leading brands are Promise,  Haltie, and Gentle Leader.  They have a strap going around the dogs nose looking something like a muzzle.  They work by pulling the dogs head around.  No other way gives you such great control with so little force.  The prong collar is now a  dangerous relic of value only for its macho looks.  Do not consider using one  without hands on instruction from somebody with plenty of experience with them.

If you do decide to take him, come back for more details.  The situation you outlined doesn't sound quite right.  I really question a 2 year old already having sired 2 litters with the same female.  That is puppy mill like.  

A local GSD rescue might be happy to work with you too.  Rescues are dogs that lost their home, but were taken into a foster home
to be retrained as necessary and placed in the right home for them.   You may find a rescue near you starting at
http://www.akc.org/breeds/rescue.cfm
They may be happy to help you keep him out of shelter.  A good rescue has experience solving the problems you forsee.