Advice on second dog, please

CFC

Hi all

I am seriously considering getting a second dog and am going to go look at one on Saturday. I have never had two dogs at the same time.

I currently have one entire male westie/bichon cross and am going to go and see an unneutered !!!!! westie/bichon cross on Saturday. She is 8.5 months old and obviously I would need to have her spayed as I do not intend to breed.

I have been told conflicting things about having two dogs!
a) that two males get on better
b) a male and a !!!!! get on best
c) that a !!!!! will turn territorial and a bit aggressive after her first season so may not get on well with a dog in the home after this point (obviously a concern for me because I do not know how old a !!!!! is when she first comes into season so not sure if there will be time to spay her before her first one)
d) that females rule the roost and can bully a dog


So questions are:

1. How old is a !!!!! when she first comes into season? (average)
2. Which is better, two dogs together or a dog and a !!!!!?
3. Do !!!!!es usually have a personality change after their first season?
4. Are !!!!!es generally bullies in the home? (my dog is very gentle and rather timid)
5. The best way to assess whether this !!!!! would get on with my current dog - we do intend to take him but is it possible they are ok at first but fall out later?

As you can see I am quite nervous, we do want another dog and a companion for poochie, but poochie's welfare comes first, he is the light of our lives.I would very much appreciate insight and opinions

EmptyPockets

CFC wrote: »

1. How old is a !!!!! when she first comes into season? (average)
2. Which is better, two dogs together or a dog and a !!!!!?
3. Do !!!!!es usually have a personality change after their first season?
4. Are !!!!!es generally bullies in the home? (my dog is very gentle and rather timid)
5. The best way to assess whether this !!!!! would get on with my current dog - we do intend to take him but is it possible they are ok at first but fall out later?

Hi CFC.

We have two dogs, and in my opnion it is double the fun, double the laughter, and double the amount of cuddles!

1. A female dog will have her first season anywhere between the ages of about six months to one year old. Most vets advise to spay after the first season.

2. I have always understood that a male and a female will get on better together, but I think it really comes down to the dogs' characters: our male is very 'dominant' (bossy and has a big ego!) so we went for a fairly laid-back female in the hope that they would get on. So far, so good.

3. We had our first dog for five years (until she passed away). She was never spayed and we had her from eight weeks old - I never noticed any change in her personality once she'd had her season. I haven't heard that before, either...

4. Again, I think it comes down to the character of the dog, not just the sex. I've NEVER known a female dog who was a bully in the home!

5. Will you be taking on a rescue? If so discuss it all with the staff and I'm sure you can arrange a few meetings before committing to anything.


As for bringing a new dog into the home, we found that having two dog crates worked very well for slow introductions, plus giving the dogs their own space to get away and chill out on their own. It took some time but our two are now the bestest friends I've ever seen.

Sagz_2

Excellent post EP!

The only thing I would add is that I've found my b itches to rule the roost at home..... but that could be because they take after their owner!

As for mixing dogs the best tip I have is to let the rescue do it! They are the experts and match dogs every day so will know what signs to look for.
If it's a private home you are going to see the new dog in, once you've met the dog ask if the current owner would meet you and your dog in the local park - so that every one is on an even footing. Then just be calm and cool, no exciting games or treats and just let the dogs set the pace for their interaction.

If you take the new dog home then make sure all toys, bones, chews are out of the way and make sure you have 2 water bowls, 2 beds etc so they don't have to fight over them, and again keep life very calm. When it is time to give toys I always make sure there are enough toys for one eachand one left over (so in your case 3 toys), this stops one dog hogging all the toys.

There may be a squabble in the early days, try not to react to it and just walk away. Dogs can't ask each other what their farthers did for a living, can't compare cars or bank accounts so they have to work out ranking in their own way, the sooner they work it out the sooner you can all live happily. Oh and don't try and choose who will be 'top dog', it's awful hard work backing up a weaker dog who would really be happier taking a back seat. They will work it out - just chill.

Good luck!

lisawood78

I have 2 b*tches and a dog and the eldest b*tch is completely and utterly top of the dog pack.

Good luck op

zaksmum

I have 2 dogs, Lucy who's nearly 8 and Jack, nearly 3. It truly warms my heart to see them together...they absolutely adore each other. Lucy's been spayed but Jack's entire...there's the odd bit of licking of Lucy's bits which she seems to love but no other hanky-panky. Lucy's the boss, Jack totally defers to her but he's cheeky with her too, only as far as she allows though.

They play fight together, rolling on the floor having a great old time, and fall asleep snuggled up together. Walk together when they're outdoors and look after each other if a strange dog attacks either of them.

If there is a bit of a tiff when you first bring the new dog home, let them sort it out. They will establish their own pecking order.

I'd definitely say go for a male and female together if you can, both my dogs are very sociable but if Lucy didn't like any other dog it'd almost certainly be a female.

If you CAN have two dogs, do. It's so rewarding watching them together.

CFC

Thank you all so much for your input and thoughts, I very much appreciate it. The dog I am going to look at is a private rehoming rather than a rescue, so we'll just have to go along and see how they respond to each other. Thanks for the advice re managing that meeting too.



Ooooh edited for next concern - I've been told that sometimes the dogs will bond more closely to each other than t their humans, if my poochie did that it would break our hearts - we're not ready to come second! Does this tend to happen? I'd rather (selfishly) keep him on his own than have that happen....

EmptyPockets

CFC wrote: »

Ooooh edited for next concern - I've been told that sometimes the dogs will bond more closely to each other than t their humans, if my poochie did that it would break our hearts - we're not ready to come second! Does this tend to happen? I'd rather (selfishly) keep him on his own than have that happen....

This can happen, IF you let it. But there's no reason for it to be that way.

Our two have grown incredibly close - they are never far from each other's sides. But we make sure we give each dog some seperate playtime, and seperate cuddle time, every day. As long as you work on the bond you have with each dog individually, there is no reason for you to come second.

A really great way to reinforce your bond with the dogs is to give them regular training sessions, seperately. We do this once or twice every day or every other day if we're really busy. We just put one dog in the garden for ten minutes and devote that time to the dog indoors with us. We do a lot of clicker training and cover things from 'sit', 'paw', 'heel', to things like 'roll over', playing fetch... anything really, just so the dog's attention is on US, and what we are doing is FUN for the dog.

EmptyPockets

zaksmum wrote: »

If there is a bit of a tiff when you first bring the new dog home, let them sort it out. They will establish their own pecking order.

Sagz wrote: »

There may be a squabble in the early days, try not to react to it and just walk away. They will work it out - just chill.

Just a quick note regarding the two dogs and possible 'squabbles' or fights... in my opinion, based on experience with our two, I would say it is a very dangerous thing to ignore any potential behaviour which could lead to a fight.

We found that, on occasion, our two (in the early days) would have the odd growl or grumble at each other. It was usually over a toy we'd accidentally left down, or a chewy-bone they'd found stuffed under a chair. The first time it happened, things got a bit snarly and heated and it sounded quite scary. While I understand that the dogs were probably just sorting out a 'pecking order', I was not having that sort of behaviour towards each other. I put a stop to it right there and then, and things quickly returned to normal.

I would much rather step in early and put a stop to anything like that which could easilly and quickly escalate into a dog fight. Our two get along quite happilly and have clearly established their pack/rank/pecking order WITHOUT any squabbling or fighting.

I just think that you walking away and letting them 'sort it out' is a very dangerous thing to do and you might regret it if things get out of hand. Better to let the dogs know straight off what you will and will not accept. Our's know without question now: growling or grumbling at each other is not on. They've never had to have a 'tiff' to sort out who's boss.

Not trying to cause any arguments with this comment, just wanted to give another side to consider

lisawood78

I agree with Emptypockets on the squabbling part to a point, we have just introduced an elderly male Dane to our pack of 2 young b*tches (where the older of these is clearly the boss) We did not want them to get too rough with him, as his back legs are a little wobbly so made sure that any grumbles were just that, the odd minor growl or raised lip. We have let them establish their own pecking order though, especially with regards to toys and treats etc, if he is grumbing cos one of them (the youngest) is trying to take his treats then we allow him to, as long as it is just a grumble. If things go a bit too far which they have twice since we got him, then a powerful shout of NO to all of them stops things cold and they are all in trouble, as like EP says, we won't stand for it.
Now he is in and settled there is no grumbling or arguing at all, there are play arguments, when he and the youngest are fighting over one toy, but it is all a game of who can keep it from the other one, tails wagging and lots of barging.
The eldest b*tch (the boss) just stands back and lets thm get on with it.
So from a house of 3 dogs (giant) I say it can be very rewarding, hard work at times but very worth it, just take it slowly and carefully.
Good luck!

zaksmum

I did say "a bit of a tiff" by which I mean a growl or very slight snarl. I keep an eye on things and if tempers did flare I'd stop it immediately with "NO!"

Both my dogs would instantly stop what they were doing and peace would be restored.

Obviously I'm not there all the time and the dogs are left alone together. But I know that if Lucy starts on Jack he'll back off straight away and Lucy will leave him alone then.

I'd never let any serious disagreements happen between them.

EmptyPockets

zaksmum wrote: »

I'd never let any serious disagreements happen between them.

I hope you don't think I was suggesting you would, zaksmum... I just thought, for the OP, it was a point worth clarifying.