Second Dog

[pinkpaws]

Hi I have a lovely chocolate labour who we all as a family love and spoil . She is the fifth member of our family. She follows me everywhere and i am in her eyes pack leader. I or rather we would like a second dog but my fears are will our lovely lily think we no longer love her and be upset by the second labour.I know this sounds silly but am asking advice on here because we are all animal mad and am hoping for some helpful input into how best to extend our family by one more furry body many thanks in advance.

[Tilpil]

The biggest thing would be too let them sort there own position in the pack out without interfering if we interfered between our two the next squabble was a lot worse and when it's a Doberman versus a cocker it wasn't nice but the more we stopped it the worse it got you just need to give them long runs to get too know each other and introduce for the first time on a walk is always a bit better and make sure no one treats the new dog any better than the old or differently including visitors other than that it's play by ear some dogs get on really well others not so much. Mine get on brill but he first few days weren't very good

[D0oinMeCleanin]

I don't even know where to start...

In the nicest possible way, please read this and this before getting a second dog. Your dog doesn't think you are pack leader, dogs do not think like that, she thinks you are a resource. She will not worry that you don't love her if you bring in another dog, she really doesn't understand love in the way that we do, she understands that you provide food, fun and comfort (i.e you are a resource) she may start guarding her resources from the second dog if things are not handled properly, depending on her nature and previous training. Please do intervene if they get into a scuffle, in fact, intervene before they get into a scuffle. These things can and do escalate if they are not addressed properly, sometimes to the point where it can never be rectified.

The best way to go about it would be to approach a rescue, who will asses both your current dog and your family and advise on which dogs they have who would suit your current set up and who should provide back up and help with any teething problems you have.

I found the biggest change when I went from one to two dogs was the increase in noise. Play fights are not quiet. I'm sure at times my neighbours must think I run a dog fighting ring in my dining room.

If you read up on canine behavior you'll be able to spot any problems (resource guarding is the most common in multi dog households) before they start and work on solving them.

[NumptyNameChange]

i have two dogs and my first was a lovely clever and beautifully behaved lab. I got a second dog when she was nearly two and she handled it beautifully. As she is so tolerant and accommodating it was down to me to tell the pup when enough was enough and give her a break. In the early days i used a crate for the pup so my lab got a break and the pup learnt to have alone down time too.

Two dogs imo is hard work. Mine get on great but none the less two dogs feels a lot more than one in terms of attention, hair, muddy paws etc. I also found number two is harder to bond with and train than the solo first dog.

Give it plenty of thought but i'd say healthy happy labs are generally accommodating and companionable and handle change well.

My second dog is a lhassa and she is insane and a pita but family.

[pinkpaws]

Many thanks for all your help we will give it some real thought and some more information will also be needed . Thanks again my fellow dog lovers

[Eastpoint]

I agree with numpty's second paragraph. My second dog is larger than the older one (same size as their predecessor) & the amount of mud dust we had in the kitchen last year was shocking. I also agree on the training thing, however they do like playing with each other and look for each other when we are on walks in woods.