For example, many people consider adding a second dog to their households because their first dog seems lonely, and this is understandable. However, it may be a mistake if it’s your primary or only reason. Bringing a new dog home doesn’t mean the two dogs will immediately become friends. Nor does it mean your dog will be less lonely, play more, or have a better life. In fact, it could mean more stress, especially during the adjustment period, and less attention from you.
If you are not sure of the answers to these questions, you might want to do a bit more research before you make a decision about whether or not to add a second dog. Consider taking your dog to a play group, doggy day care, or another place where he or she can engage with well-socialized dogs. Consider having a “trial run” by fostering a dog or having a suitable dog friend come and visit for a weekend. Talk to your trainer or other animal care providers and ask their opinion on whether your dog would be a good candidate multi-dog household.
Is your dog a good candidate? There is no single way to determine if a dog will do well with another dog in the home. In general, dogs that are confident, calm, and friendly toward other dogs may be good candidates for the multi-dog household. Finding a suitable companion for a dog who is nervous, shy, or fearful around other dogs may be much more difficult.
Set your dogs up for success. Feed them in separate bowls and even separate rooms or crates if they appear competitive about food. Make sure they have their own toys and beds. Respect their differences and their individual needs and make sure you spend time with each separately where they can have your undivided attention. Teach them polite behavior – like sitting for treats or to be petted – so they learn that competition and pushiness won’t get them what they want, but being polite will.
The Fitzs enjoyed a unique and ideal situation when introducing Sally and Chester. First, they were able to have the two dogs meet in a yard at the rescue kennel. Then, because the rescue kennel was six hours from home, the two people and two dogs spent the night in the completely neutral environment of a hotel room.
In hindsight, the biggest challenge we faced wasn’t adding a third dog to our family – they sort of work that out among themselves – but adding a puppy! A high-energy puppy who’s a chewer! Most of our extra time and energy was spent on puppy stuff like redirecting to appropriate toys, house training, and so on. And I would say that our biggest mistake was that we didn’t build in time for Cooper to have quiet time in his crate while we doted on Emmett and Lucas. (Honestly, that proved to be impossible: Cooper, the escape artist.)
We tried to spend time with each of them every day, but I think there would have been less jealousy in the beginning if we had done a better job with that. If you have older dogs in your house and you’re thinking about adding a third dog, I would suggest considering a dog who is past the puppy stages because it’s just one less thing to manage during the transition.
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In the end, having three isn’t much harder than having two. It’s an extra scoop of kibble to pour and another dose of heartworm medicine to buy, but it’s also another playmate for your existing dogs and another life you saved.
I’ve gotten a few emails asking about how to add a third dog to a two-dog house, so I wanted to put together a post about my experience. But I realized that I need to start out with one qualifier…
I also recommend the article I wrote titled The Ground Work to Becoming a Pack Leader. This is part of the protocol we use in our home to introduce new dogs and puppies.
Bringing a new dog into a home is always an exciting time. Its like adding a new family member or guest to the household. While much has been written on bringing puppies into the home – very little has been written about bringing new adult dogs into the home. This article should help you make some decisions that will ease the transition.
This photo represents a huge problem. Allowing dogs to lie on furniture is only asking for dog fights and dominance issues. In this case these dogs almost killed the little dog on the back of the couch before the owner made the necessary changes to stop the dog fights he was having.
The average pet owner does not have a clue about how strong the genetic pack instinct is that floats just under the fur of their lovable family pet. The addition of a second or third dog into the home often triggers a genetic pack drive or RANK DRIVE. Many people are shocked and confused when they see the level of aggression that their sweet family dog is capable of.
There is usually more than one thing going on that result in these problems. To name just a few: a house dog is often territorial; there can be rank or dominance problem between the new dogs; or there can be inter-male or inter-female issues that result in aggression.
How to Introduce A New Dog To Your Pack | Cesar Millan
Initial interactions between resident dogs and new canines can be unpredictable. For this reason, such introductions should be approached with caution and planning. As with people, first impressions are important and can set the stage of a relationship between pets residing in the same household. There are a variety of possible scenarios that are dependent upon the age, species, temperament, pecking order status, etc. of the animals to be involved in the introduction.
If your current dog or dogs have a history of fighting with other dogs reconsider your choice to take on an additional canine family member. The happiness of your current dog may need to negate your desire to have another pet.
If you are not willing to consider keeping your dog a solo pet it would be wise to speak with an expert in canine behavior and implement the suggested behavior modifications with your dog(s) before attempting to add a new member to the current canine or pack already established in your home. Your dog(s) considers your home to be his den. That natural territorial component combined with a history of aggression towards other dogs could set you up for a dangerous situation if these issues are not dealt with proactively.
During the first few weeks after bringing the new dog home, nurture this blossoming relationship. Make sure you have removed any toys or personal items belonging to you current dog(s) before introducing the new comer. The idea is to remove any impetus for conflict.
For the first few weeks each dog should have a separate area where it is confined for sleeping, meals, time- outs, and when there is no one home to supervise. This can be accomplished by crating the dogs or keeping them in separate rooms. After a few weeks if everyone seems to be getting along well you can start to leave the dogs together without supervision for short periods of time. If all seems well with them, slowly increase the length of time until you feel you can trust them for longer periods without mishap. Do not ever leave them unsupervised with food available to them. Eventually you may be able to feed them in the same area if you teach them manners for this situation. If food is left in the bowls by any party pick it up and offer it again later.
During these first few weeks it is also a good idea to introduce variables into the interaction periods. Have people come to visit, and other families interact with the dogs during their together time.
If there appears to be any ongoing tension between the dogs keep their periods of interaction or hanging out together brief. Halt any escalations of temperament with a firm, consistent command and then separate them for a short period. When they behave well together praise them equally.
If despite your best efforts tensions between the dog members of your household persist or escalate, contact animal behavior expert for advice. This help could come from a veterinarian, veterinary technician, dog trainer or animal behaviorist.
In the event that a dog fight should occur you must stop it to prevent further injury. This being said, never, ever, get into the middle of it. Try distracting the dogs with a loud noise, if this does not work you can throw something soft such as a couch pillow, a soft plastic dog dish, or a coat at them, or if outside spray them with hose. Once they are distracted for a moment get a hold of at least one of them and separate them until they are calm. This does not mean they cannot be introduced again but they need to be kept separate for a short time until tensions between them have eased.
If the new inductee is a puppy, some slight variations to the above guidelines may need to be implemented. Puppies are exuberant in their actions and interactions and are not often experienced enough to recognize and consequently respect the warnings of older members of their species. This is a good reason to leave puppies with their mother as long as possible as she will teach them species specific manners and the ins and outs of interacting with their own species. If you have the choice of taking a puppy from its mother at 8 weeks, or 10 or 12 weeks, go with the longer period. Just a couple of weeks can make a huge difference in teaching a puppy positive social interaction within its own species.
Click here for an article containing tips on how to introduce a puppy to older dogs.
Dogs are communal animals and generally enjoy the company of others of their species. If the initial introduction period is managed in a calm, well planned manner, your new family member will likely bring much joy to all of your human and canine family members.
In rare instances, your dogs may not may not achieve a relationship in which they can be trusted to stay alone together or even to tolerate each other for more than brief periods. Be willing to accept this possibility and have a plan now that you have committed to this new family member. There are creative ways to live with dogs that cannot get along.