Adding a 2nd dog to the family

Any advice (suggested readings?) on the addition of a puppy to our house? We currently have a 10 year old wonderful dog.

 

You say your 10 year old dog is wonderful... wonderful in every way hey!? Is he or she wonderful with other dogs/ puppy's?
I recently added a dog to our family, with a two year old male. We got a female puppy. The sex is something to be taken into consideration. I have heard that two females can clash, and the same for two males. But I am not an expert on this subject, I can only tell you what happened to me.
My older dog Bender got REALLY jealous and moped about for ages (about two weeks) and disliked the pup and growled and left if she went near him. He still growls at her(because she annoys him SO much), but I know now that he likes her, they play together and sometimes I catch them sleeping together. He still acts grumpy towards her but they are getting better all the time. She is still in an annoying puppy stage and she adores him (more than me) and sometimes just does not get when to leave him alone.
If you do get another pup, make sure you introduce them on neutral ground, and still give your other dog heaps of attention!! Feed your other dog first, greet it first when coming home etc etc, make her or him know that s/he is still your baby. It can get tricky, especially because you have to feed the puppy more, and I hate doing this infront of my other dog, so they need to be seperated. If your dog is friendly towards other dogs, hopefully it should all be ok. Sometimes though, dogs just don't get along, who knows why, they are just like people sometimes!
I don't know of any suggested reading, but I hope I have helped you a little.

 

I often dram of getting a 2nd dog and I wonder what it would be like. My dog is so needy and very submissive, he is adorable. I wonder if you would go to #2 dog. That would be sad to me, i think. Do dogs naturally figure out the pack or can people help it along?

 

In getting aanother at this stage ,there will always be a 'clash ' of some sort .Supervision is the only way .The older more dominet dog will want all his stuff to stay his .The puppy will want to challenge that ,so 2 are great !!!! But supervise very closely .

 

Jules has a very good point. No matter how cute the puppy is I think it is very important to do the following.

 

Here are a couple books about multiple dog households:

http://www.dogwise.com/Browse/SubCatList.cfm?SubCat=Multiple Pets


Where were you thinking about getting a pup from? Our shelter here has very well-trained people who will help you choose the right dog. They have you bring your dog up and they introduce the new dog in a neutral place and evaluate how they do together.

Read as much as you can before you do it, and then take your time to choose the right puppy. Expect problems and have people you can call (or come here) to ask questions. Sometimes it goes totally smoothly and sometimes it does not! Don't panic if it doesn't, but get help right away.

Ask youself WHY you want a second dog and what charactertistics you want it to have. Ask what your older dog needs.

And like everyone else said, make sure you treat your old dog well when the new one arrives - feed him first, pet him first, give him lots of attention. If you have a routine, like a daily walk, stick to the routine without the pup! Also make sure you play with them BOTH together.

You can also do a search on the web about adding a second dog, and I'm sure you will come up with a lot of info.


Jamiya

 

I would think more you would need to be in familiar surroundings to see how a dog does with another .Not trying to knock anyone here but ...
.in a neutral place the older dog is more ill at ease ,not anything there that is his /hers to want to protect ,keep or be jealous over ,most dogs do well at a dog park around other dogs ,it is when they actually have to 'share 'what is theirs that tends them to be agressive .Sheba is a chow/bull mix ...she does not care if I bring another dog here ,I rescue alot of them and bring them ,but anyone else can bring one and she gets all out of sorts ,to her ,it does not belong unless I bring it here .She does not care what another dog plays with ,but they cannot play with her 'cats' ,she thinks the cats are hers .
lots of techniques work to a degree and there is always someone that can write a whole book on what my particular dog did during this technique and try to apply that to dogs in general ,just as there are thousands of child rearing technique books available as as every author does ,they 'apply 'it to children as a whole ,but always remember that when you get home ,the ball just changed courts .

 

You just wrote what I was going to write in defence of what I said! Wouldn't it be better to "introduce" them in a neutral place first, then at home? We didn't do this with our dogs- and I think it may have gone more smoothly if I had've. Exactly the point of another dog coming into Bender's territory was quite disturbing to him... it took him a long time to learn that he wasn't the only dog in the house anymore, and that he had to share his toys, bones and even his bed!
So what I meant was introduce them on neutral grounds and if all goes well, then introduce the dogs at home.
Probably depends on how your dog gets along with others too- can friends bring their dogs over to your house with no problems? My dog is very picky and choosy about which dogs he's going to be pals with.

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I just also wanted to say that I used to dream about getting another dog every day. When Bendy and I were on walks I'd think how fun it would be to have two dogs running around me. I'd see other people with two dogs and smile. I was hesitant to go the next step, but once I did I never looked back! I don't feel that there is something missing anymore- it's a bit corny- but our little household feels complete now!
I didn't write that to talk you into it, I just wanted to share my experience.

 

I honestly do not think it would have made a difference .I have had people pick up a dog here ,take it home ,introduce it to their other and did fine ,then I have had the opposite happen .I ,also have had one to pick up one here ,bring their dog with them and the dog enjoyed itself here ,but when they got home it was ...like I said ..a whole new ballgame .
I think it depends on the dog itself ,how much it is willing to share and how soon,how dominant the new puppy /adult and how it sees the 'master ' dog .So ,I still think if there is going to be trouble ,there will be .Supervision at all times for a long time ,unless they take to each other at once .That happens too .But I would still supervise .

 

Everything I have ever read says to introduce the dogs in a neutral place first. Then you bring them home and see how they react there. I was told to walk them both around the front yard on a leash when we first got home. When everything was fine, then I brought them to the backyard and turned them loose. When everything remained fine, I brought them in the house and watched them like a hawk. Nothing of "value" was left out. Just boring old chews and a bowl of water. I always feed separately.

It all went very smoothly with Bonnie. I think if things has looked like they might go bad, I would have tried putting them in separate rooms with a gate in between for a few days, so they could get used to each other that way.

Dogs getting along in a neutral place definitely is no guarantee that they will get along together at home, but it's a good place to start. You can also get an idea of their relative pack positions and how they react to each other and possible problem areas to watch for at home. With Nala, we could tell right away which dogs would not tolerate her pushiness and which dogs were too intimidated by her, and which dogs would stand up for themselves in an appropriate way. Bonnie could stand to be a little more assertive, but she gets her point across if Nala really crosses the line. Nala is pushy but ALWAYS backs down if another dog acts dominant towards her.


Jamiya

 

IWinnie was 1 1/2 years old when i got Sydney at 12 weeks....they met at the dog park were they dropped syd off and they were fine in the car on the way home...i think it was love at first site...They are great together...they tire eachother out, it is great!I think two are definitly better then one, but you should as others have said, introduce them on nuetral territory.....goodluck!