Noticed Any Changes In Your First Dog?

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I'll always have two dogs! It's wonderful when they become friends. I had an only dog for a year before adding my second one. He was a terrible abuse case so I went to find a dog that hadn't been abused and she taught him everything. It did take 2 months before I came home one day and found them curled up together. They had a little spat in the first week, I've learned so much about dogs since then. All of that was perfectly normal.

The best thing to do when you bring your new dog home is to get the first one on the lead as well and walk them up the road together first and then in the house together. It doesn't always go well if you just bring a new dog straight into the house, you are bringing them onto the other dog's territory without proper introduction. Some dogs would be fine with this but I have now fostered over 60 dogs and find it best to do the above.

Don't give them bones together or leave them unsupervised with food. I feed mine separately. Some dogs will also dominate over toys, just be careful and observe/monitor these situations closely and all should be plain sailing.

Good luck - he is absolutely gorgeous to look at!

[Bubitty]

Bubby loves loves loves his Bitty! The first time he met her he bounded up to her. Poor baby was so scared of him she let out this anguish howl and he rolled over on his back straight away.

She’s going on 11 months and I am still waiting for that puppy licence to run out because she wreaks absolute havoc on him but to be honest I think he loves it! He works by the “never tell her off and try to ignore all bad behaviour” principle which isn’t very successful for him because she is quite a menace and he just never tells her off for anything!

He is not a cuddly dog by nature but if Bitty feels like a cuddle (she is a major cuddler), cuddle he will!

He’s also a lot more active these days. A few months before Bitty came home he seemed to reach this point where all he would do was sit around and look morose. These days they are always up to something, ratting, wrestling, tugging with toys, chasing each other or lazing around looking content.

One thing I am really big on is separating them so that they can both stand on their own without the other one.

[SparkyTansy]

Spartan is a sulker - he is fine with the other two, but is just one of those dogs who i think would have just been happier if he had remained an only dog... he has never really played well or interacted well with other dogs... when I got James he was very sulky and was like that for a good few months... he eventually got used to James and then I got Ari! Still... Ari was entertained by James most of the time as a pup and it left spart to doing what he does best... lazing and sleeping!!

[julesluvscavs]

I'm loving all the pics, especially yours TLC !

Joey had a brief period of being sad and lonely because our other dog Jenna had to be pts (due to inoperable cancer), but then his breeder rehomed his Mother to us 'Renae' and and we all lived happily ever after !

It was really exciting seeing him reunited with his Mother, and they get on really well together !

Edited April 5, 2010 by JulesLuvsCavs

[tlc]

thanks Jules!!

There is some lovely storys here, it's great how even the ones that initially don't get eventually come around!!

[becandcharch]

Gorgeous photos!

tlc I hadnt seen any of those before. So cute!

BEST thing we ever did was bring Asha into our family. Charche would sometimes just walk over and sit on her head but the rest of the time they just wanted to play or lick each other to death

They just get on like a house on fire.

You know I cant help myself.

1st day - Very curious. Who is this new dog?

2nd day -

1 month later - Can we keep her?

[tlc]

Love your shots Bec, your two look like a match made in heaven!!

[Nic oh lah]

This 2nd dog thread is perfect timing! We bought home Chase last Friday and Sophie seems to like him but she's a big bouncy girl and he's so little - i'm worried she's a bit rough with him playing! I think she thinks he's a yucky cat! lol.

[FionaC]

Our older boy was 19mths old when Archie came home .... the size difference was massive so they were kept separate when we weren't around and heavily supervised when we were around but they loved each other - it took several weeks for Morty to settle down though as every morning it was like he was in heaven finding another dog living in his home, wherever Archie went Morty would follow and he was right there with him at all times ... on the good side of things - he told us when Archie needed to go to the toilet and was a great mentor showing him how to do things, he also helped get Archie used to car travel so quickly (Morty is and always was brilliant in the car and now Archie is exactly the same) .... we felt bad cause we put Morty outside a lot more once Archie arrived just to give Archie some 1:1 time with us and if the play got too energetic, Morty normally spent the evening inside on the lounge with me but he started spending more time outside or in the back room, then we put in baby gates and that solved a lot of problems ... now Archie is older they both are inside on the lounge with me of an evening

Archie is now 19 weeks old and a lot bigger, still kept separately during the day as they will play rough if not stopped but they will sleep with each other (where they are now) and cuddle up with each other if given a chance

we are conscious though of giving them both time with us as individuals, we train them separately and walk them both together (the 4 of us) but also alone sometimes ...

[tlc]

Awwww lovely shots Fiona!!

[wuffles]

Our older boy D'Artagnan wasn't too keen when we brought Porthos home (he still isn't overly in love with the young scamp...as Porthos likes to hang off of his ears or bite Tagnan's tail and Tagnan is very shy, cuddly and docile whereas Porthos is not!)

This is the case for us too - we have a 5yo and introduced a 12 week old puppy. The puppy just constantly bugs him, she loooooooves him and follows him everywhere She's 4 months old now and they do play quite a bit, but the old fella tires of her quite quickly, and she never gives up

They do get along fine, I think Satchmo just wishes we brought him home a lazy greyhound instead of a crazy aussie shep His reaction isn't what we expected as he loves playing with other dogs, it's just having a puppy in his face he objects to!

I also think it will improve when she gets older and stops licking/biting his face and jumping on his head when he sleeps :D

Edit: Thought I would add that our first dog is MUCH more food motivated and willing to train with the puppy around.

Edited April 6, 2010 by wuffles

[stef_83]

saffron got very jealous and bit aggresive towards the new dog.

[percyk]

we have always had multiples

and they all react differently

we definitely have dogs here that would enjoy being the only dog

some breeds i reckon just prefer being the only pooch

but our mix works because basically we have different breeds that dont really compete for our attention

some aloof types who seldom come up for a pat and others that are glued to your side

thats the key i reckon

how laidback

how possessive

and the gender is important to in some cases

ours are boys...all desexed and they run together

we also have an old desexed bitch and she tolerates everyone to various degrees

her favourite shell actually play with and sleep with

the others treat her with reverence and pretty well give her space

shed prefer to be on her own i think

our youngest dog is the one that loves the pack the most and he is the dominant one now and will bow to the old bitch usually

he will snap at her if there is food around but only airbite

she has a proper go at his feet and is totally unafraid of him

all of our dogs never play together

they kinda pair off sometimes

and thats cute to see them wrestle

but someone else joins in theyre ignored or even told off

our second oldest dog seems to be the lowliest on the hierarchical ladder and he is easily bossed by all...never snaps ...just accepts his lot and does his own thing

when he plays with the old bitch he comes to life and also enjoys a romp with our daughters little dog

they all can be trusted to stay together unsupervised but id never leave bones around

[mokhahouse]

Mokha was just over 4 months old when we brought home Molly. She was a year old and seemed huge compared to Mokha. The first week was interesting because Molly had been spayed and had kennel cough so we were keeping them seperate but he new someone had invaded his territory. After the first couple of introductions they were great together. It was a funny dynamic in the house because Mokha was boss but he was so little compared to her. She never challenged him for top spot and they adore each other. They like to do everything together. I think we were very lucky with Molly, it wasnt an ideal situation in hindsight to bring her home as she was untrained and had lots to learn. It was hard going the first 6 months training two pups but the rewards of seeing them together now is so worth it.

ETA my sig pic was taken about 3 months after Molly came home and they have been side by side ever since.

Edited April 6, 2010 by mokhahouse

[Bubitty]

Here are some photos of Bubby and his Bitty:

Mini Me and Big Me:

Can't sleep without a cuddle big brother!

Someone get this puppy off my nose!

Best friends! Just chilling!

[Snout Girl]

Here are some photos of Bubby and his Bitty:

Mini Me and Big Me:

Can't sleep without a cuddle big brother!

Someone get this puppy off my nose!

Best friends! Just chilling!

aaaawwww so cute! i think i am

[tez]

Thanks everyone for sharing your expertise and experiences and most of all your very very cute pictures! Makes me even more excited to bring home Scout!

Tlc...you are truely evil with ALL your piccies of the fabulous four!!!

I'm thinking that things SHOULD go pretty smoothly as Jane is a very easy going dog around other dogs. She may however be abit puppyish with Scout and not leave the poor guy alone so we will have to watch that Scout is not too over-whelmed for the first few days til he gets used to her!!!

[Blue Fox 001]

Fantastic photos everyone, they all looks so happy to have a companion. I am trying my hardest at the moment to talk the OH into another dog to keep our standard poo company.

We had to have our older GSD pts last September and I think "T" would love to have someone to run and play with. I think the OH loves the way things are and the amount of attention he gets from T at the moment so he is afraid that if T has someone else to play with he'll get left out

[tlc]

Bub, beautiful shots!!

Tez, I am sure that Scout and Jane will be a match made in heaven!! Will have to keep this thread bumped up so you can add some pics of the two of them playing!! Do you know what day you can get him yet??

[Snout Girl]

I have a classic photo of bert and sally when bert came home....looks like sally is trying to eat bert

(actually now that i think of it, maybe she was. she wasnt too impressed when we bought him home! lol)

I love the second photo, its like David and Goliath. Plus, look at Bert's puppy tummy he looks like a little buddha!