[MarsNPluto]

How long did it take for the new dog and the resident dog(s) to get along? And how long did it take before you could trust them being alone together?

I am considering adopting a 1.5 year old poodle mix, and my current dog is 9 months old. They both are neutered males. Pluto is very playful and [mostly :] well-behaved, and the dog I want to adopt is playful as well (both well-socialized with dogs). Do you think they are too close in age? I of course will have them meet before anything, but I was just wondering how the process went for everyone at first with multi-dog households?

 

[fostermom]

I foster, so my dogs are really used to other dogs coming and going. When I finally decided to add Danny as my third dog, part of the reason was because my other dogs had chosen him as part of the pack. He was with us for 6 months and there were times that Jasmine and Jasper had to remind him that he was playing too roughly by correcting him.

I had a person who wanted to adopt Danny and I sent Danny to him for an overnight with his dog. His dog picked on Danny the entire time Danny was there, so the potential adopter brought Danny back the next day. When Danny came in the front door, Jasmine and Jasper threw a welcome home party because they were so happy to see him. That's when I decided to adopt him myself.

 

[missmarstar]

When we adopted Dillon it was love at first sight for Sammy. He was in heaven and found his best buddy.. they were running around and playing the first day and snuggling together that first night.

Obviously, after our experience with Gus, we've realized that is not always the case. It just depends on each dog, and each situation.

 

[mayapaya]

Ours went (and is still going) fairly smoothly when we brought home Payton at 7 weeks, Maya was almost a year old. They are "half sisters". I could tell Maya was a bit taken aback at first. She did alot of bone and toy hiding, and she was not wanting to share any of her things with Payton. There were a few tussles, and Maya growled/snapped at Payton once when Payton had taken her favorite bone. It's a bit different in my situation, because I am still crating my dogs when we are not at home, or unable to watch them. I paid VERY close attention to their interactions for the first few weeks, but they seem to be settling in nicely now, and actually exchange a few kisses here and there!

 

[Phoebe's mom]

When we adopted Captain we weren't sure if we were going to keep him as it wasn't the best time for us to have 2 dogs. He just fit in so well, Phoebe and him were best friends. He was 10 months old and she was 4 months old. They played lovely and have never had a fight or disagreement. Captain has about 20lbs on Phoebe so he can play a little rough without realizing.
I didn't leave mine alone for a whole just because Cap was so big and Phoebe was still sort of a baby. Now I leave them in the garden alone but if I go out and leave them at home they are in crates.

 

[cgriffin]

It took my lab mix about a week to warm up to Toby, my golden, when I brought him home, is a long time ago. Thunder was 2 years old, Toby 7.5 weeks. Toby fell in love with Thunder instantly and Thunder was his hero, lol. They are best buddies. When the stray dachshund came along, they had played and gotten used to each other, because the dachshund kept hanging around for about a month. I thought he belonged to the neighbor he was staying at. But the neighbor claimed it was a stray.
Anyway, they all found their way to each other now and never got into a fight. They love each other.
Good luck to you with your boys!

 

[MarsNPluto]

Thanks for the responses, everyone! I'm hoping that we qualify to adopt this little guy, and that he is still available next weekend (I am missing the adoption event this weekend due to an out of town trip). He just seems sooooooo perfect! I will probably keep the new guy in a crate for the first month or so because he is not housetrained yet, and we will figure it out from there. Do you have any advice on how I can figure out when the time is right for them to be alone with full run? I'm a little afraid to experiment prematurely...

I am crossing my fingers that Pluto will adjust quickly and without any tiffs. When he did stay at my friend's house with their dog and cat he did well. Their dog is the jealous type, and stole all of Pluto's toys and hid them in a corner, but he didn't care... he just played with their cat's toys. I'm thinking a second dog would enhance both our lives, more cuddly time and kisses, plus I feel awful when I get home from work and I have to cook/clean, then soon after it's bedtime. I'm sure he could use the companionship while me and my roommate are away/busy. And sometimes I feel like there is nothing more fun than watching dogs play with each other.

Phoebe's mom - how old are Phoebe and Captain now?

missmarstar - how old were Sammy and Dillon when they came together? Did you crate them or give them run of the house/yard?

mayapaya - how difficult is it raising two puppies? Luckily Yogi (the lil guy I want to adopt) is an older puppy, but he is still a puppy... lol

 

[missmarstar]

missmarstar - how old were Sammy and Dillon when they came together? Did you crate them or give them run of the house/yard?

Sammy was 10 months, and Dillon was 2-ish. We never crated either one and they had full run of the house together.

This was the them the week Dillon came home

 

[MarsNPluto]

Sammy was 10 months, and Dillon was 2-ish. We never crated either one and they had full run of the house together.

This was the them the week Dillon came home

Soooooooooooo cute!!! This is making me want a second dog even more now. Moments like those... much too precious.

Oh yeah, and a question for everyone since I've never had a multi-dog househould before... how difficult is it walking 2 dogs by yourself? I will be the primary caretaker. Both dogs will be on the smaller side since both are mixes, but I do still want them to be as behaved and manageable as possible... if possible? lol

 

[CAROLINA MOM]

Soooooooooooo cute!!! This is making me want a second dog even more now. Moments like those... much too precious.

Oh yeah, and a question for everyone since I've never had a multi-dog househould before... how difficult is it walking 2 dogs by yourself? I will be the primary caretaker. Both dogs will be on the smaller side since both are mixes, but I do still want them to be as behaved and manageable as possible... if possible? lol

Majority of the time I walk both my guys myself, I don't have any trouble with them. Sometimes my hubby will take Roxy, I find it's actually easier for me if I walk them both by myself.

 

[Shalva]

we add dogs here all the time as well... I am sure that my olders are like "please tell me this one isn't staying"

they are used to dogs visiting and coming and going and new additions so here it isn't a big deal at all but we go slow

 

[Ninde'Gold]

It took about a year for Reece and Tucker to become best buddies (Reece had lots of issues).

You can't separate them now.

We're getting a puppy towards the end of the year, we're excited to see how it goes.

 

[vcm5]

Marlene that is just the sweetest picture in the world! Next year when I am ready for dog number two I want it to happen just like that! Easier said than done of course, but that is my hope!

 

[missmarstar]

Marlene that is just the sweetest picture in the world! Next year when I am ready for dog number two I want it to happen just like that! Easier said than done of course, but that is my hope!

We could not have been luckier, it was the best match. They are still best friends 4 years later, and it's hard to imagine our lives without Dillon in it. Sammy was definitely a dog who needed a buddy, he blossomed once we adopted Dillon.


As for the question about walking two together, it's definitely do-able but I prefer to walk mine separately. It gives me a chance to have some one on one time with each dog out of the house away from each other.

 

[Karen519]

MarsNPluto

MarsNPluto

Be sure to bring your boy to meet the dog you are adopting.
We've always had dogs that really get along-they've usually been 11 mos. - 18 mos. apart, sometimes a male and a female, both fixed of course. This is the first time we have two males.

 

[MarsNPluto]

Majority of the time I walk both my guys myself, I don't have any trouble with them. Sometimes my hubby will take Roxy, I find it's actually easier for me if I walk them both by myself.

Is it easier because they pay more attention to each other and you, rather than the rest of the world, or? I enjoy my walks and I'm sure chaos will ensue at first, but I'm hoping it doesn't last too long. I may get easy walk harnesses for both of them if need be. Maybe that will help some.

We could not have been luckier, it was the best match. They are still best friends 4 years later, and it's hard to imagine our lives without Dillon in it. Sammy was definitely a dog who needed a buddy, he blossomed once we adopted Dillon.

As for the question about walking two together, it's definitely do-able but I prefer to walk mine separately. It gives me a chance to have some one on one time with each dog out of the house away from each other.

I can only hope I have as much luck as you when the time comes for me to add another dog (which is hopefully soon, of course). I wish I had time to walk each separately. I will definitely try that as much as possible, but most of their time apart from each other would probably be sleeping separately at night at first, obedience/agility classes, and when they're at daycare playing with other friends. Hoping that's enough...

MarsNPluto

Be sure to bring your boy to meet the dog you are adopting.

I'll definitely be doing that Though it won't get the whole picture I'm sure an initial meeting would be a fairly good indication of how they'd get along.

 

[mayapaya]

mayapaya - how difficult is it raising two puppies? Luckily Yogi (the lil guy I want to adopt) is an older puppy, but he is still a puppy... lol

It is alot of work. I really can't sugar coat it. There are times I have regretted this decision, but they are few and fleeting--I just love them both to to pieces! Golden's are such social creatures--I can tell that that as much as Payton may get on Maya's nerves at times, they love playing together!

The main thing I am battling right now is training. Maya was doing very well--we were just working on correcting a few things (over exuberant greeting symdrome, counter surfing, length of sit/stays, etc). Once Payton arrived, she seems to be reverting back to some of her old habits. Yesterday the two of them destroyed a pillow, that I know Maya alone would not have touched, so Payton was the instigator, and Maya just joined in the fun. Maya's face was priceless when I walked into the room " uh oh, Mommy's not going to like this, it was Payton's idea!" Anyway, I digress--lack of sleep will do that to you Thanks to some good advise from Deber, I started working on their training sessions seperately, although I do some training with Maya when Payton is around to introduce distractions. Payton's not at that level yet. As for walking two at a time, I haven't mastered that feat yet--have just gotten to the point of nice walks with Maya, but Payton is all over the place. But, I'm hopeful I'll get there in time. I hope this all goes well for you and they bond like my two have. This is my first experience having two, and I'm happy I do!

 

[MikaTallulah]

Buddy is very submissive & Cozy my mama yorkie is a complete Alpha. She told Buddy from the start she is the boss and that was it. Cozy would bark, growl, and nip at him if he tested her. I closely monitored all interactions between him and the other dogs the first fews days especially. I would keep him tethered to me at night time so that the girls (yorkies) felt safe. He never showed any jealously or aggression towards the little ones. He is low man in the pack and Cozy keeps it that way. Buddy could careless. He gets everything he wants.

But if there were problems I would have found another home for him quickly. The safety of my Yorkies (existing) pack comes first and foremost.

Roxy, Lucy, and Zoey were cautious of him for a few weeks but otherwise fine.

I could not crate Buddy due to his intense fear of it. So I would gate him and Cozy (16 pounds) together if I needed to leave for an hour or so to start with. I knew she would be fine and she scared him (still does now). He has separation anxiety issues. After a few weeks I would let the other dogs in with him when I left. Zoey and Roxy could slip thought the rails and leave the room if they wanted. They always were in the same room when I got back.

 

[MarsNPluto]

Hi everyone,

With the constant battling of Pluto's giardia, traveling, etc. I realized I've neglected this post! I just wanted to tell you all THANK YOU for your advice! We have met two great matches for Pluto (one including that poodle mix I previously mentioned), but I do want this giardia to go away first, and there are still some things I need to arrange around my place before I can seriously go through with the application process. I am not in a rush, but I definitely want this to happen (hopefully within the month) and am keeping in touch with their foster moms. I hope that I am just as successful with the initial introduction of a new dog into my home as some of you were! Hopefully I'll have an update for you guys soon

 

[MikaTallulah]

Duplicate post.