Second Dog Advice Please

Sammy_Girl

Hello all,

I have a two and a half year old GSP cross, who I have had since he was 8 weeks old. I would desperately love to have another dog, but do have some concerns.

My dog is obviously used to being the only dog in our household (me and OH, no kids). How likely is he to adapt to having to share his house and owners? He is very ameniable and friendly with other dogs outside of the home, but then they are not in his territory. He is very food orientated, and definitely gets possesive over his food, but he does share his toys with other dogs.

I ideally would like a rescue dog. I'm not particularly bothered about breed, age or sex, just a dog who needs a loving home and who would fit in well with my current dog, as the last thing he/she would need is rehoming if there were any issues.

So I guess my questions are:

1) Is my dog too old/young to be introduced to a new dog within his territory
2) Do rescue dogs generally get placed where dogs are already in the household
3) What age/breed/sex would be most suitable

Please excuse my naivety in my questions. My current dog is the first dog that I have ever owned and I do love him dearly so I need to protect his interests as well as the new pooch's

Many thanks

di0rlove123

I've got no advice sorry.

But what i can say from expeirence, a couple of months ago. I have 3 dogs now, but i had 2 at the time. One was 6 in may, other is 6 in october. And we had one of there grand children. At first they would not even walk past the pup but we had no problems after a week. They sometimes get a bit snappy, but my 2 older dogs put pup in his place cause he likes to bite them ! Alls i can say is, could you ask a friend or family member bring one of there dogs in your house, see how your dog is?

Good luck xx

user55

Hi, I have very little knowledge of GSDs but I do have 2 rescued greyhounds, and the rescue they came from is very careful to match dog with family, so wil take temprament of both existing pet, and potential new one into acccount.

I would highly, highly recommend greyhounds as pets, they are just heavenly! But the best thing to do would be to call the rescue and have a chat about whether they would be a suitable pet to live with a GSD. They won't !!!!!!!! you because they don't want the homing to fail.

Mine came from https://www.greyhoundgap.org.uk

There is a busy forum there where there are loads of multiple dog families happy to give advice.

Good luck!

*Katie*_3

Its lovely you are thinking about taking on a rescue dog, many people don't even consider one.

1. No he's not too old, if he is friendly with other dogs out of the house then thats a step in the right direction!

2. All rescues I know of will rehome to homes that already have another dog, obviously some dogs need to go as only dogs so you wouldn't be able to have one of them.
Is he castrated? Some will not rehome to a household that has a dog that is not castrated/spayed.

3. Normally a boy/girl pair works best, you would go and meet the dogs at your local rescue and see if there are any you get on with, then you would arrange to take your GSP to meet her. If they get on (be prepared that the dog you love your GSP might not and you may have to try another one), then you could ask for the dog to be brought to your home to see if they get on there.
After that you will need to be careful for a while to make sure there is no jealousy, but it should be ok!

Good luck!

getcarter

Hi

I've got a GSC x 2 yrs. Have just adopted a Staffie x puppy. I have had no problems with them getting on, if fact have to seperate them a lot otherwise they play all day!

Went to Dogs Trust, they will only rehome a dog if you have had a 'dog mix' first to check they don't hate each other.

I had 2 crates so they both get some space but the puppy hates it, ripped her paws to shreds and lost a few teeth yesterday! (£150 at vets!!!!) so will now put them in the larger crate together. Not sure older dog likes it much but will keep a close eye of them and take him for long walks by himself.

ANy other concerns pm me!

carter

MrsTinks

I think having a look at www.oldies.org.uk might be a good start

No dogs are rarely too old to have a new friend introduced into the household so long as they are friendly.
Why not start by having play dates when walking and then allowing the friends dogs home for 30 mins etc. Then meet at your place and stay for 30 mins before going out and then have "sleepovers"

I'll bet he'll be fine to be honest and just make sure you always feed the dogs seperately to stop any scraps over food.

Sammy_Girl

Thank you all for your wonderful advice.

We have had 2 other doggie visitors inside our home before. One is my parents' 1 year old westie, and the other is a friend's rather feisty 3 year old JR. My pooch didn't used to relate too well with small terrier type dogs when we were out and about, but since the Westie and the JR have started visiting regularly he's really really good with them. The Westie first visited when he was about 4 months old and commited the heinous crime of trying to eat the crumbs of my dog's treat off the floor. This led to the poor Westie, pooing in the corner of the kitchen . Needless to say, from that point I have always given treats/food seperately.

Now though, he will happily run around with the westie, until the westie pins him on the ground, tails wagging of course

I guess the next step is to talk to some local rescue centres. From previous experience, I get really sad actually going to the centres as the doggies just want someone to love them . But discusisng my options over the phone first would be a good step.

My dog is castrated, vaccinated, flea proof etc so should be no problems there.

BabyKat

When you go to the rescue centre take your dog with you. That way he can meet the other dogs and help you choose what dog you want.
I was worried about this too as i have a 2 year old lhasa cross and 2 weeks ago brought home a lhasa puppy. It was a bit of a strain at first as my older dog growled at it and wouldnt go near her in fact she hid but 2 weeks down the line they are the best of friends and love to cuddle up on the floor together

orlao

As long as you do a bit of homework first it should be fine;)

My 2 JRT girls, until a couple of years ago, have always had to put up with visiting foster dogs, usually rottie dogs.......

What usually worked for me was
1) Remove any "special" toys, they only came out under supervision
2) Feed seperately
3) I usually had *hooligan* youngsters (about 8 - 14 months old) for attitude assessment to small dogs, cats, horses, cattle and chickens:eek: Most of them were dogs that were given up because they weren't little and cute anymore and of course their owners hadn't put any real effort into their training....30 - 40 kgs of dog with a Kevin attitude and no manners soon gets passed on:mad: so be prepared for some training needed particularly if you get a youngish dog.
4)Usually a dog of the opposite sex is better so I never fostered girls unless they were under 12 weeks, just as a precaution.
5) If your dog is a dominant type look for a fairly submissive companion and vice versa to avoid them having to sort out a pack order IYSWIM.

Whatever rescue you go to should have the experience and knowledge to guide you all the way including advice after you bring the dog home. If they don't ask all the questions and are prepared to let you take a dog without a homecheck,meeting your pooch and introducing them beforehand.....run a mile because it's not worth the heartache for you or the dogs to have a failed rescue.

If your dog already likes fairly feisty terrier types that may be the way to go regarding breeds.;)

Best of Luck!

Sammy_Girl

Thank you all

Following your advice, I am going to go and visit a couple of rescue centres and chat with the staff for their opinion on the best way forward. I would so love to find a dog who gets on with my current dog. But sometimes my dog is easily waylaid by others so I will just have to make sure that they don't become "partners in crime"