Bringing a new dog into the home.

RICARDO1982

Hello Im looking to see what every one else thinks of the best way to introduce a new dog to the home.
Me and my girlfriend are moving into our own home in january we have a 2 year old jack russell male(he is neutered) and want to get a female companion for him. ( when things settle )
He is a friendley little lad and enjoys the company of people and other dogs, he does not fight and i only ever seen him snap at a dog once in self defence.
However my concern is whenever me or my other half show any time for another dog ie. petting etc. he dosnt look too pleased and tries to get our attention.. Its funny looking.. He is never aggressive and is all happy again when the attention is back on him..

Do i just get the dog and let the two of them find their own place in the pack without interference. Show no preference for either of them????

arybvtcw0eolkf

RICARDO1982 wrote: »

Do i just get the dog and let the two of them find their own place in the pack without interference. Show no preference for either of them????

Here my advice based on recent experience.

All dogs will show a little jealousy regardless their nature, I wouldn't be overly worried in that regard.

As for introducing the new dog, I took advice from the guys here and introduced our dogs to each other on neutral grounds and when they were comfortable with each other we took the puppy into the car with the older lad.

By the time we got home they were firm friends and there was no territorial desputes.

After that we just let them work away with finding their own place in the family home and we all live happily together since.

woofie87

oh, I had the same concerns before we got our second dog three weeks ago. I asked for advice on this forum and gots lots of great tips that helped to make those last three weeks managable ( it was a thread called ''should i get him company?'' and the advice was spot on, in case youi want to read the replies). Although Woofie seemed to be fine with other dogs before it was a different story to bring one to his kingdom. We introduced them in the animal shelter and came back twice to walk them together. On the day we were taking Sasha home we left Woofie with my friends and brought Sasha to their home - they were on neutral ground and had a little play together and lots of sniffing. First week was tough though, lots of snapping over toys, food and places on the sofa. Woofie was v possessive of everything and jealous of any attention Sasha was getting ( though following advice given he was getting much more attention and affection from us than her), would not let her jump on the sofa or sleep in front of the fire. My husband took a week off work and stayed with them. Three weeks on and guess what? Best friends forever, he is the leader, she is following him around everywhere, they play together, share the sofa and blanket in front of the fire happily, they even drink from the same water bowl (sometimes at the same time) though we are very strict about separate food bowls and making sure they eat from their own bowls only( food is still a little bit of a sensitive issue, so they are supervised at feedeing time, but they are both rescue dogs and it was always going to be the case). They stay together when we are in work without any problems and I can honestly say Woofie is looking out for her and making sure she is not lost when we go walking on the fields ( she is still a bit of a puppy and gets hereself in all sorts of puppy trouble). So my advice is , go ahead and get your dog a friend, give them time and all will be well. It wont be in the first couple of weeks and sometimes you will be worried if it will ever be, but eventually it will!

RICARDO1982

Thanks for the advice guys i will see how things go will probably rescue a JRT Female. Me and my girlfriend will probably take some time off to help get settled.. Get used to the different walk routes .. training etc.

thanks again