Picking a companion for our puppy

[Umslopagas]

Hi all,

I've had my puppy boxer male for 2 months now, he's 4 months at the time being.

Both me and my wife work, so the puppy is left home alone for about 9 hours a day, which has caused some over-excitedness once one of us returns home and also some signs of frustration like digging and chewing.

I sent him to a professional trainer's to try and see what we can do about them and he managed to improve the dog's behaviour through socialising him regularly with other dogs.

Now, after seeing what he's like after he dealt with other dogs and puppies I've decided to buy him a companion, some other puppy so that they can keep each other company while we're not home in the morning.

My question is, should I get a female or a male?

 

[Cami]

The best pairings are male/female followed by male/male.
That being said.....
Your pup is bored. Adding another puppy will result in you having TWO BORED PUPPIES.
In a perfect world you are thinking that they will play for those 9 hours you are gone and won't be so "over-excited" when you return. It just won't happen.
Instead you will have everything you are having now with one pup only doubled.
It is safe to assume but correct me if I am wrong......a 4 month old isn't close to being fully trained. 100% potty trained or obedience trained. I have an 11 month old who has never been left for longer than 3 hours at any one time and there is no way in heck that I would add another to the mix! She isn't anywhere old or mature enough for me to even think about taking on another one of HER! I work with animals for a living and can honestly say that adding a 2nd dog to the mix in an attempt to correct this type of problem is never a good decision. I see it with my clients. I also hear way too often...."We should have listened to you!"
Chewing is normal puppy behavior. Digging is a sign of boredom. Your pup doesn't need another puppy to play with but an increase in exercise and mental stimulation.
The trainer who socialized your pup was providing your pup with more exercise. Another assumption on my part but it was probably supervised play as well.
9 hours is a LONG time for a Boxer to be alone no matter the age. It is nearly an eternity for a 4 month old puppy!!!
I'd seriously reconsider your decision to add another puppy to the mix (at this time). I think you are just asking for additional trouble.
Two pups can surely play together and tire each other out when supervised play is provided but left to their own devices......one word.....TROUBLE. The always sleep eventually and recharge their batteries. :D

 

[Umslopagas]

The best pairings are male/female followed by male/male.
That being said.....
Your pup is bored. Adding another puppy will result in you having TWO BORED PUPPIES.
In a perfect world you are thinking that they will play for those 9 hours you are gone and won't be so "over-excited" when you return. It just won't happen.
Instead you will have everything you are having now with one pup only doubled.
It is safe to assume but correct me if I am wrong......a 4 month old isn't close to being fully trained. 100% potty trained or obedience trained. I have an 11 month old who has never been left for longer than 3 hours at any one time and there is no way in heck that I would add another to the mix! She isn't anywhere old or mature enough for me to even think about taking on another one of HER! I work with animals for a living and can honestly say that adding a 2nd dog to the mix in an attempt to correct this type of problem is never a good decision. I see it with my clients. I also hear way too often...."We should have listened to you!"
Chewing is normal puppy behavior. Digging is a sign of boredom. Your pup doesn't need another puppy to play with but an increase in exercise and mental stimulation.
The trainer who socialized your pup was providing your pup with more exercise. Another assumption on my part but it was probably supervised play as well.
9 hours is a LONG time for a Boxer to be alone no matter the age. It is nearly an eternity for a 4 month old puppy!!!
I'd seriously reconsider your decision to add another puppy to the mix (at this time). I think you are just asking for additional trouble.
Two pups can surely play together and tire each other out when supervised play is provided but left to their own devices......one word.....TROUBLE. The always sleep eventually and recharge their batteries. :D

Thank you very much for the advice, most if not all your assumptions are correct, I'm still working on his leash training and basic obedience commands.

However, bear with me a bit here, won't introducing another when he's older be more difficult?

Things are different a bit in my household as I've moved into a house with a garden, hence my idea of bringing him a companion, as they'll have their supervised exercise off-leash on a daily basis besides the walks ofcourse, would this help with all the excitedness?

 

[Cami]

However, bear with me a bit here, won't introducing another when he's older be more difficult?

Not usually! Older....meaning mature and well behaved adults (doesn't have to be a senior) are great teachers! Younger pups tend to "follow" what the older dogs do. They can be a great resource since they know the rules and the goings on of the household. Pups learn to mimic what other dogs do. If a pup sees another pup/dog digging in the yard but didn't think to do it itself you can be sure that eventually it too will decide that "Hey digging is fun!"

Boxers are just excited dogs for the most part. They are high energy and then some! Wearing them out is the only way to deal with their "excited-ness". If they don't have an outlet for that energy they will create ways on their own to drain that energy. Some chew on whatever they feel is interesting (or available) others dig. Some bark non-stop or tear homes apart. As I type my 11 month old is busy burying a new ball in the couch cushions so that she can DIG them out. She knows she isn't allowed to do this but I am not paying her any attention so she is creating her own "game" entertaining herself while I ignore her! Bad mommy.

Adding another pup when yours is only 4 months old and not fully trained is a disaster in the making. I don't mean this in a bad way.... more comical if you can get past what you are dealing with now and understand that it will take twice as much work since you will have two high energy pups to tire out at the same time. They will play together and that will be helpful but you would still leaving not one but 2 pups alone for 9 hours a day. You will still have to teach BOTH not to chew or dig and any number of other things they think up that you would rather them not do. Potty training isn't finished yet either and you will travel down that road again with the 2nd pup.

I need to go and rescue my couch!

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

I completely agree with the above. And I've always introduced either a puppy or another adult dog to an already existing adult dog in my home and NEVER had a problem. My first was a male Boxer, he was around 6 years old and had been with us for 4 years when we adopted our second Boxer (a female), and she was around 4 years old when we adopted her, so we introduced a 6 year old to a 4 year old worked out great.

My next was introducing my 7 year old female Boxer to an 8 week old puppy which we had no issue doing.

After that it was bringing in a 1 year old German Shepherd and bringing him in with my then 3 year old male Boxer and 9-10 year old female Boxer.

Never had an issue. I also pet sat in my home and fostered for a rescue so I brought full grown dogs in and out frequently and never had any problems whatsoever.

If you're having issues with your pup digging, etc I'd recommend either seeing if you can put your pup in doggie daycare a few times a week and/or have either an adult or neighborhood teen come by to play with your pup 1-3 times during the 9 hours. Also make sure there is LOTS of playtime before and after you get home. This should help with the chewing/digging which means your pup is bored.

 

[Caney Creek]

Adding another pup when yours is only 4 months old and not fully trained is a disaster in the making. I don't mean this in a bad way.... more comical if you can get past what you are dealing with now and understand that it will take twice as much work since you will have two high energy pups to tire out at the same time. They will play together and that will be helpful but you would still leaving not one but 2 pups alone for 9 hours a day. You will still have to teach BOTH not to chew or dig and any number of other things they think up that you would rather them not do. Potty training isn't finished yet either and you will travel down that road again with the 2nd pup.

I agree 110%!

I think you need to spend more time exercising and training the pup you have. Right now it seems your mindset is, that if your pup has a buddy he will have been playing all day and be tired out and calm by the time you get home. WRONG! They will have BOTH been cooped up in the house/yard all day (most likely wreaking havoc, yet somehow their energy levels will have not subsided in the least) and you will have excitement times TWO when you get home. At 4 months you have NOT yet seen the energy requirements of a boxer and just how boisterous they can be. Wait until your guy is 60 pounds. And you want to add another one already?? Trust me, it's MUCH easier AND less time-consuming to train one puppy at a time. If you get another pup now you'll just end up with two untrained dogs.

 

[Umslopagas]

Well, you've all done enough to convince me to put this idea off for a couple of years.

Since this is a puppy selection section, I'll post my other questions in the behavior section, which I'd all like your input on it, since things in Egypt are different, we have no puppy day care and no pet sitters whatsoever.

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

Doesn't have to be a pet sitter. Could just be a neighborhood teenager who wants to make a few extra bucks for a few months. Or a stay at home mom who wouldn't mind coming by a few times a day, or a next door neighbor that may have different hours than you, etc.