Best time to get 2nd boxer

[HaiducAgnita]

So I had my Haiduc for a couple of months now and I'm really considering getting him a sidekick.
Right now he is 15 weeks. When would the time be right to bring in another boxer? I'm thinking not really another 8 weeks old one, but about 4-6 months of age.
Also, since my Haiduc is a male, I read that 2 males may not get along that well, but if getting a female, wouldn't it be more difficult to keep them apart during her heat?
Thanks!

 

[Maxwell's Ma]

I got Riley when Max was about 7mos old. They get along great. As far as keeping them apart I would suggest getting them fixed. It really is the best thing for both sexes. Decreases their chances of other health problems such as cancer. And solves the problem of keeping them apart...

 

[MKAD]

I got Sammy when Sal was about 8 months old. He was fixed before I brought him home. They are best of friends and he is a lot more calmer than Sally is. Best thing I have done!

 

[gmacleod]

The ideal time to get a second dog is when the first reaches 1-2 years old.

To a certain extent, getting a second earlier can be fine - IF you've got enough time to interact with each of them separately. That means separate walks, separate training (and that also means going to separate classes) separate playtime and just general time away from each other and interacting solely with people. If you don't do that, then you can end up with poorly trained dogs that take their cues from each other, rather than from people - and who are excessively dependant upon each other. If you do a search of the forums (and generally online) for "littermate syndrome" then you get an idea of the potential pitfalls, and the amount of time (which is truely double) you need to be able to put into raising the pups.

Obviously, things get easier if you have several people to hand - so that different people can be working with different pups at the same time. But if you don't, then it really is going to take a massive amount of your time and may not be a great idea.

Delaying until the current pup is a year or more old, on the other hand, makes your life a heck of a lot easier. Rather than having to cope with training two puppies, you instead have one already-trained dog to help lead the new puppy. Worth bearing in mind

As for genders - you should not have an unneutered male in the same house as an unspayed female. Even if you can successfully keep them apart (something that frequently fails), it's really not fair to have a male dog smelling an in-heat female. If you're not planning on spaying/neutering your pets, then it would probably be a better idea to get two males. That is usually a fairly successful combination (its only with 2 females that you really enter risky territory).

 

[liamsmom]

i agree with gmacleod and i can speak from experience that she is so right in what she is telling you.
we adopted Liam as a puppy and then 6 months later adopted Moby as a puppy. they are only 6 months apart in age.
it was not easy!!!!!
thankfully, hubby and i work together with each dog. EVERY SINGLE DAY!
that means separate time from each other...lots and lots of training.
before we got involved in training, Liam and Moby were getting along with each other fantastically but as far as the dogs were concerned....hubby and I were out in left field somewhere. to them...we were only people that they shared their house with.
one we got involved in training and began working with them individually....they both blossomed. but it wasn't without a lot of hard work on our part. it's a lot of playing with each dog on their own...training each day....separate times with each of them.
i say wait....to get your second boxer.
i would personally get a very solid foundation with your baby first. get involved in a great training class. socialize him with dogs you know are good with other dogs. bond with him. love him. ...then get another dog.
we have two males and a female (10 years old) and the two boys work out great.
when we had only two dogs we had a male and a female at the same time. all of our pets are spayed/neutered.
so if i were you i would definately spay and/or neuter them, like gmacleod said.
good luck!

 

[Super Boo]

We waited until Boo was over a year and pretty stable as far as potty trained and reliable since I didn't want to have to crate two dogs. Then we got Skye. Now we added to our "pack" by getting Scarlett, but the older two are 5 & 6. I think its far less stressful and you can enjoy them more if you wait until one is past the puppy stage. Then the older one will help you train the new one.

 

[drsgfan]

We waited until Sammy was just turning two. Ruby is also two and fixed as well. They hit it off right away and love each other. I love having two boxers! I would wait until yours is fully house trained and 1 to 2 years old so he can be a good teacher.

 

[Mwarlzabwark]

combinations

male and female work assuming one of them is fixed or that you want puppies. male to male works great it is a giant male buddy system. two females ...oh now that is a joy. i have two female non boxers and one male boxer. he loves them both even the one that has decided her house her toys her rules she is so in charge. luckily my other female is pretty docile and could care less 99.9 percent of the time which dog is running the show that day. if i had two females that thought they were alpha i'd probably be a giant basket case. until i met my hubby and we had a place we could have a dog, i'd never had a female dog ever. we always had at least two male dogs when i was growing up. And none of them we had were anything less than best buddies.

 

[DiverDiva]

Oscar was 2 when we adopted Mali, who was 11 months. I can't imagine having 2 Boxers under the age of 2. I needed that time with Oscar to get him trained and settled down. We're still waiting for Mali to settle down...

 

[SweetCody]

We got Aniah when Cody was around 22 months. I could not imagine having two puppies at the same time. I also think it is very important to have a firm foundation with one before you bring another into the mix. Cody still has his stray "Wildman" thoughts zoom through his head, however his training is so ingrained now that we can easily cool him off. Aniah is learning, but slowly, and Cody is actually very helpful in her training as well.