Adding Another Puppy???

[jcbobo]

We have a 9 month male right now and are looking to adopt a new baby. We want a female companion for him to play with spend his days with. We are curious how our male pup right now would do with a new baby puppy in the house? He is definitely still a puppy but hes also over 65 lbs . He LOVES other dogs at the dog park and we think we have socialized him pretty well. I just don't know how he would act with a little baby puppy that never goes back where it came from, . I do think he would grow to love her much faster than he would an older dog....like bringing in a dog his age there could be more possibility of them clashing? Please share your experiences with me!

 

[JackBrickman]

We have a 9 month male right now and are looking to adopt a new baby. We want a female companion for him to play with spend his days with. We are curious how our male pup right now would do with a new baby puppy in the house? He is definitely still a puppy but hes also over 65 lbs . He LOVES other dogs at the dog park and we think we have socialized him pretty well. I just don't know how he would act with a little baby puppy that never goes back where it came from, . I do think he would grow to love her much faster than he would an older dog....like bringing in a dog his age there could be more possibility of them clashing? Please share your experiences with me!

My boxer was about four when I added my second dog (a GSD), so my situation was a bit different, but I'll offer you what advice I can.

One thing you need to figure out is whether or not your dog is toy possessive. Would he fight another dog over a toy? Keep in mind that it's different with people. My GSD is very toy possessive with other dogs. If someone brings a toy out to the dog park, I have to leash him up or ask them to put it away. However, I can take toys from him without issue.

So you should definitely figure that out first, as you can probably figure out the issues that might arise when a new puppy tries to take one of your dog's toys. My boxer is about the least possessive dog in the world. He won't fight another dog over toys (generally he doesn't much care about toys at all any more aside from the occasional chew session) and as such it was pretty easy to integrate a second dog with him.

If your dog isn't toy possessive and enjoys the company of other dogs, integrating another puppy probably won't be a huge issue. Your current dog may act out a bit, but eventually he'll figure out that he's not being replaced.

Also, this is pretty common knowledge, but introduce them on neutral ground. Let them get to know each other somewhere where your current dog doesn't consider it his domain. It could be a parking lot or a park or anywhere really. Just somewhere neutral for both pups.

 

[Caney Creek]

The best time to add a second puppy is after your current puppy is no longer a puppy. That's usually around 2 years old. Younger dogs who still themselves have "puppy mentality" will often regress in training when another untrained pup comes into the household... then you're basically training 2 puppies at once which is not easy. I would wait another year or so before getting another puppy. A trained adult dog who can handle the energy level of a 9 month old would be your best bet right now.

 

[Jan]

Another alternative, might be to adopt an older boxer that is 2-3 years old.