Hey everyone,

I have been thinking about adding a second dog to the household. I already have one, my Lab Mix, and I want to bring her into Obedience Classes first, and hopefully fix her leash pulling problem before I get another one. I plan on adopting one from a shelter-I figured that I would be able to go in there and ask the staff about which one they would think would be compatible with my current dog and other animals. But, I wanted to know if I would be able to crate both of the dogs in the same room? I go to school during the day, and my parents are at work during the day, so I do plan on getting either a young or adult dog, not a puppy, so the dog won't freak out while we're gone...would I be able to put both of the dogs in seperate crates in the same room, or would that not work? I don't plan on getting a second dog right away-I would like to get my current girl more trained. I have had her for a couple of years, and she listens to me pretty well-just not on the leash, and not when she's distracted-which seems to happen pretty easily. :P She is a sweet dog though-would a male or female be a better playmate for her? Thanks in advanced for any answers!

if you want to breed put a male if not a female. try to put them in the same room and check if they are going to fight. if that happens separate them with one another to avoid distraction.

Best thing we did was get a second dog. I'd never had two at once but now that I have I wouldn't have just one again. I think a lot will depend on the temperament of the new dog. We got a new puppy rather than a grown dog. That way we could reinforce dominance. For instance we always put the first dogs' food down first and let her out of her kennel first.

We crate our dogs at night. Our first dog was used to this since the breeder used crates. Our new puppy hated it, but we faced the crates at one another and she settled down. If you get an adult dog that hasn't been crate trained it can be difficult, but again it depends on the individual dog, I've known some dogs to chew their way out of crates.

[lil mutt]

I think as long as the new dog is not aggressive everything will be fine...

The decision to add a new dog to the pack shouldn’t be taken lightly. I counsel prospective owners of new dogs to be clear about their needs and preferences rather than making spur-of-the-moment rash decisions, because their success at integrating a new dog into [IMGCAP(1)]an existing “pack” so often depends on their ability to make informed decisions. These choices include what kind of dog to adopt, how to prepare their home to accommodate the new dog, how to introduce the new dog to the existing household members, and how to incorporate her into family routines.

Bringing a new dog into the family can be fraught with unexpected developments, no matter how experienced a dog owner is, how well her home is prepared, and how good-natured the dogs are that she already owns. I’ve incorporated a new dog into my family dozens of times in my lifetime, counseled hundreds of clients about how to do it, and written a number of articles about it for this magazine (see “New Puppy Survival Guide,” this issue), and I still am surprised by the issues that can arise when a new dog comes home. However, with preparation, flexibility, and dedication to principles of positive training and behavior management, most dog owners can get through the adjustment period with peace in the pack.

Open your heart
I recently had the chance to practice what I preach when the loss of Dusty, our valiant Pomeranian, left a vacant spot in our pack last spring. Dusty had been my almost constant companion for close to 15 years, and though it’s been nearly five months, the pain of his passing is still close to the surface. I often tear up as I think of his dear little fox face and boundless good cheer.

One of the things I do to help ease the overwhelming hurt of losing a close companion is to remind myself that it also means there’s room in our family for another. Without actively looking, I know that a new furry face will one day draw my attention and grab my heart, as surely as if I had hung out a “Vacancy” sign. So it was early this summer, when I was doing behavioral assessments at the Humane Society of Washington County, where my husband, Paul, serves as the executive director.

As is my custom on the day that I do assessments, I made a quick pass through the kennels before picking up paperwork for the day’s list of dogs. In one ward, a brindle-and-white pixie with huge stand-up ears, a low-rider body, and an excessively generous tail with one decisive curl in the middle captured my attention. A Corgi pup? I glanced at her kennel card. Sure enough – a five-month-old Corgi, and a Cardigan at that. (Pembrokes are the Corgis with short tails, Cardigans have long tails.)

I have long been enchanted by Corgis, and occasionally fancied adding one to the family some day. Perhaps this was the time?

Dashing back to the Operations Center, I placed the Corgi’s paperwork on the top of the stack. I was determined not to make too rash a decision – we would at least evaluate her before I lost my heart.

Develop a list of desired traits
In my case, I knew that I was looking for a small- to medium-sized dog, with a preference for a short-coated female. With three other dogs in our home already, a smaller dog would fit better than a larger one, and with one neutered male dog at home who could sometimes be aggressive with other male dogs, estrogen seemed like a wiser choice than testosterone. I lean toward the herding and working breeds; I like their genetically programmed work ethic. As much as I adore our most recent addition to our canine family (Dubhy, the Scottie), I really wanted a dog who was more hard-wired to work closely with people, and one who would (I hope) grow up to be highly social with people and other dogs. And I like to adopt dogs who are five to 10 months old – past the worst of the puppy stuff, but still young enough to be programmable. With that checklist in mind, the young Corgi seemed to fit the bill – so far.

The results of her assessment were mixed. On the positive side:

• She was highly social; she couldn’t get enough of humans – so much so that I was confident she’d be a good off-leash hiking partner on our farm.

• She was very bright and trainable; she quickly learned to offer sits during the training portion of the process.

• She was resilient and nonassertive, responded well to the startle test, and offered appeasement signals rather than aggression during the “stranger danger” test.

In the negative column:

• She did pretty persistent tail-chasing during the evaluation. Uh-oh ... a dog with obsessive-compulsive behaviors at the tender age of five months. That’s a red flag!

• She never stopped moving. This little girl clearly is more energetic than the average dog.

• She was very vocal – and her voice was very shrill.

Despite my intent to make an unemotional clear-headed decision, I was smitten. I carried her into Paul’s office and set her on the floor. He looked at her, glanced at my face, smiled, and said, “When are we doing the paperwork?”

We weren’t quite that foolhardy. We were confident that Tucker and Katie could manage to live with her, but knowing that Dubhy can be selective about his canine friends, we arranged to bring him in to meet her. If he gave the nod of approval, we would adopt. One week later, Lucy (short for “Footloose and Fancy Free”) joined the Miller family.


...The rest of this article is on the homepage of Whole Dog Journal is the monthly guide to natural dog care and training. with additional info and tips on this topic of adding a new dog to your home.

Thanks! Hope that helped...:-D

The decision to add a new dog to the pack shouldn’t be taken lightly. I counsel prospective owners of new dogs to be clear about their needs and preferences rather than making spur-of-the-moment rash decisions, because their success at integrating a new dog into an existing “pack” so often depends on their ability to make informed decisions. These choices include what kind of dog to adopt, how to prepare their home to accommodate the new dog, how to introduce the new dog to the existing household members, and how to incorporate her into family routines.

Bringing a new dog into the family can be fraught with unexpected developments, no matter how experienced a dog owner is, how well her home is prepared, and how good-natured the dogs are that she already owns. I’ve incorporated a new dog into my family dozens of times in my lifetime, counseled hundreds of clients about how to do it, and written a number of articles about it for this magazine (see “New Puppy Survival Guide,” this issue), and I still am surprised by the issues that can arise when a new dog comes home. However, with preparation, flexibility, and dedication to principles of positive training and behavior management, most dog owners can get through the adjustment period with peace in the pack.

Open your heart
I recently had the chance to practice what I preach when the loss of Dusty, our valiant Pomeranian, left a vacant spot in our pack last spring. Dusty had been my almost constant companion for close to 15 years, and though it’s been nearly five months, the pain of his passing is still close to the surface. I often tear up as I think of his dear little fox face and boundless good cheer.

One of the things I do to help ease the overwhelming hurt of losing a close companion is to remind myself that it also means there’s room in our family for another. Without actively looking, I know that a new furry face will one day draw my attention and grab my heart, as surely as if I had hung out a “Vacancy” sign. So it was early this summer, when I was doing behavioral assessments at the Humane Society of Washington County, where my husband, Paul, serves as the executive director.

As is my custom on the day that I do assessments, I made a quick pass through the kennels before picking up paperwork for the day’s list of dogs. In one ward, a brindle-and-white pixie with huge stand-up ears, a low-rider body, and an excessively generous tail with one decisive curl in the middle captured my attention. A Corgi pup? I glanced at her kennel card. Sure enough – a five-month-old Corgi, and a Cardigan at that. (Pembrokes are the Corgis with short tails, Cardigans have long tails.)

I have long been enchanted by Corgis, and occasionally fancied adding one to the family some day. Perhaps this was the time?

Dashing back to the Operations Center, I placed the Corgi’s paperwork on the top of the stack. I was determined not to make too rash a decision – we would at least evaluate her before I lost my heart.

Develop a list of desired traits
In my case, I knew that I was looking for a small- to medium-sized dog, with a preference for a short-coated female. With three other dogs in our home already, a smaller dog would fit better than a larger one, and with one neutered male dog at home who could sometimes be aggressive with other male dogs, estrogen seemed like a wiser choice than testosterone. I lean toward the herding and working breeds; I like their genetically programmed work ethic. As much as I adore our most recent addition to our canine family (Dubhy, the Scottie), I really wanted a dog who was more hard-wired to work closely with people, and one who would (I hope) grow up to be highly social with people and other dogs. And I like to adopt dogs who are five to 10 months old – past the worst of the puppy stuff, but still young enough to be programmable. With that checklist in mind, the young Corgi seemed to fit the bill – so far.

The results of her assessment were mixed. On the positive side:

• She was highly social; she couldn’t get enough of humans – so much so that I was confident she’d be a good off-leash hiking partner on our farm.

• She was very bright and trainable; she quickly learned to offer sits during the training portion of the process.

• She was resilient and nonassertive, responded well to the startle test, and offered appeasement signals rather than aggression during the “stranger danger” test.

In the negative column:

• She did pretty persistent tail-chasing during the evaluation. Uh-oh ... a dog with obsessive-compulsive behaviors at the tender age of five months. That’s a red flag!

• She never stopped moving. This little girl clearly is more energetic than the average dog.

• She was very vocal – and her voice was very shrill.

Despite my intent to make an unemotional clear-headed decision, I was smitten. I carried her into Paul’s office and set her on the floor. He looked at her, glanced at my face, smiled, and said, “When are we doing the paperwork?”

We weren’t quite that foolhardy. We were confident that Tucker and Katie could manage to live with her, but knowing that Dubhy can be selective about his canine friends, we arranged to bring him in to meet her. If he gave the nod of approval, we would adopt. One week later, Lucy (short for “Footloose and Fancy Free”) joined the Miller family.


...The rest of this article is on the homepage of Whole Dog Journal is the monthly guide to natural dog care and training. with additional info and tips on this topic of adding a new dog to your home.

Thanks! Hope that helped...:-D