Two Puppies & a Lab??

[alclemmo]

Hi. Does anyone have any input or experience with my situation?

We have an 8 year old male labrador. We lost our female lab back in October. That is when Zoey joined our family, a female boxer. She is 7 months old now.

We are considering adding a german shephard pup to the mix. We have been wanting one. And now we watch Zoey (our boxer) trying to play with our mature lab, and he really can't keep up!

Does anyone have or had two pups at the same time? Is this an insane idea? Sometimes, I think it would be double trouble!!... and then at other times I think the two pups would keep each other company and be good for one another.

I'm just confused about what to do!

And if I decide to go for it... any thoughts on what sex I would need to add to the mix? Now... we have a mature male... and a female pup.

P.S. We live in the country. Our dogs have tons of room to run and access to a pond. One reason we are thinking of adding a shepherd is to scare off the coyotes!!

 

[Gatorblu]

Wait on adding another dog! Your pup is about to hit one of the most trying times a boxer pup can hit. And when I say trying, I mean for you! Around 7 mo's they tend to go thru a rebellious "teenage" stage. It will seem as all the training you have done to this point will go out the window. It will be much better to wait and get thru that. Not only that but training two pups at once can be difficult. You have to carve out time for each seperately. And honestly the two pups will both bother your older dog, so give him a break by waiting.

 

[Caney Creek]

I agree with the above on waiting. Boxer "teens" are tough!

Also wanted to say that, when you do add another dog, get a male. Boxer females can sometimes have issues with other females, especially when they are close in age. Your best bet to avoid fighting would be to get a male.

 

[Stub]

I have friends who have a 12-yr-old golden and two 7-month lab puppies. They mostly play with one another but they do torture the life out of the elderly lady golden. I'd say wait a bit longer before adding another puppy.

 

[Maplegirl]

Sounds like you have great intentions, but I'll have to agree with the above posts... Maple is going on 8 months old...and my goodness. You'd think she was barely 3 months again! She is potty trained, is a GREAT dog, but wow is she ever in the teenage stage. Commands/obedience that were almost reflex 1 1/2 months ago have pretty flown out the window. Enjoy what you have, and add another when this little one has matured more

 

[chrystel]

I agree with all the previous posts...

But I wanted to add: how about rescuing a 2-3 years old german shepherd? He could totally keep up with your boxer pup, yet would be over his teenage years

Oh and I would also go for another male when adding a third to the group