Getting another puppy

david75

we have a 5 month old male boxer and we want to get him another pup to keep him company.
should we?
same breed or different?
male as well?
should we get a younger one or the same age?
would it be more hassle than it's worth?(i've a feeling it could be)

anyone been down this road? any help is appreciated.

scotty1

I have a twelve year old jack russell we have her since she was nine weeks old . Last year year we bought a two month old cavalier king charles what we did was to limit access for some time by keeping the king charles in a cage for a few hours a day but in full view of the jack Russell two of them are the best of friends no problems by the way the jack russell is female, king charles male. Two of them are neutered

andreac

Personally i would wait another few months. Your dog is still a baby and still learning so adding another pup into the house could be a bit hectic.

I would wait until the dog is at least a year or more and all training is done and your dog is over the puppy stage.

I recommend a female, but get them both neutered.

toadfly

I would wait until your dog is fully completely toilet trained and has a good general obedience down. Two untrained pups are just a receipe for disaster.

Getting them both neutered will save a lot of hassle in the long run. Dogs in heat are a nightmare esp with you have a male too.

Evac101

I realise this is odd but one of the lessons we've learned is to ensure that the two dogs are roughly the same size (for play and for the reason outlined shortly) and roughly the same 'Ooooo' factor. Our older pup, a boxer lab cross, has found it quite difficult to transition from being an outrageously cute puppy to being a large (35kg @ 11 months) dog which people generally shy away from until they realise how lovable he is. This is compounded by the reaction his sister (a pedigree dalmation) generates which is universally 'Ooooo' even though she's only slightly smaller then him. So - ensure both mutts have a roughly equal 'Ooooo' factor to prevent jealousy issues I say or that the less obviously lovable one isn't bothered by it

(I am aware that this may be interpreted as me projecting onto the older dog but genuinely, he tries to interject himself between people and his sister when they're fawning over her)

Darkginger

I agree with andreac about waiting a few months - house training is so much easier when you know WHO has done the poo We've just added a 12 week old lab/collie cross to our household - our other dog (collie) is just over a year old, and it's working very well. Ours are both bitches, and I'd recommend you get a bitch - even when neutered I think male dogs are more likely to have territorial issues. Having two dogs is good in many ways - they entertain each other, neither is alone if we have to go out, there seems to be a genuine affection between most dogs in the same household (in my experience, anyway), and they always have someone to play with in the garden

12 years ago, we took on 3 puppies at the same time. That was a challenge, and not one I'd recommend to any but the totally devoted!

Cherry Blossom

My dog will be 2 years old in summer, I'll be getting a pup in a few months time. The timing for me seems to be spot on as my current dog is now more mature is over most of the craziness and has learned all the house rules - she didn't even try to steal a single toy from the kids over Christmas . You know how much work you are having to put into your current dog but each is individual and you won't know how much you will need to be put into the new one until it arrives. My advise would be to let your current pup settle in completely and adapt fully to your circumstances - life is a lot easier when you already have a dog that can help teach a new pup the ropes. You still have the rebellious adolescent phase to get though and a second dog will take it's cues from the first in terms of behaviour etc.

david75

Excellent advice thanks folks. We'll wait so. Our guy is 95% there on house training but the teen rebellion bit really snapped me out of it. I hadn't considered that at all and I've been reading about it and man it sounds like a tumultuous time so we will wait til he's over that. He's a boxer so they always have a big puppy head on them no matter how old they are.

Yesterday was so funny. He was sitting beside me as I was looking at tiny baby boxers on YouTube, they were doing tiny yips and yelps and he was staring at the screen entranced. Then he gets up and gies to the laptop and goes behind it looking for them. He couldn't figure out why he could see and hear them but they weren't there. He seemed sort if sad after it which is what made us wonder is it time to get him a pal.

We'll wait though. Thanks again.

david75

Hey
So it's two years later and once again I'm considering getting another dog to keep our guy company. He's two now. I work at home so he's never alone for very long, but I'd love to get him a buddy to keep him company. Is this a good time? Is it a good or bad idea? He seems a little lost sometimes( he's a boxer so he always looks sad even though he's the happiest dog I know). But I just think a little buddy would be good for him. He loves other dogs.
I don't know what to do.
Any advice appreciated.

DBB

By what you've said, it sounds like you're in a pretty good position to get another dog. I can understand your reticence, but feckit, if you've got everything you need in place, why not?
However, it might be ideal to try fostering a dog for a good rescue group... Dip the toe, so to speak, to see how the two-dog experience sits with you before making a 100% commitment. If the first dog you foster turns out to be right for you and yours, many rescues will let you make the arrangement a more permanent one!

borderlinemeath

Our female setter was 3 when we brought our rescue boy home. Best thing we ever did. We initially fostered to make sure that they would get on, that way we weren't fully committed to keeping him if there was any aggression or trouble between them. Thankfully they got on like a house on fire and he never went back to the rescue and now they are pretty much inseperable.

Fostering is great to see if your dog will tolerate another dog in his house, and is happy sharing things like toys and of course your affection. As another poster on your earlier query said, his dog literally puts himself between people and the other dog who are showing it affection. I have a foster dog here at the moment just like that, I pet anybody and he bulldozes in for a cuddle!!

If you let people know where you are based they could pm you some local rescues that you could have a look at. I know the one I'm fostering for has boxer/rottie pups looking for foster at the moment.

aonb

If your dog loves other dogs it sounds like he will be happy to have another dog arrive into the house. +1 for fostering a dog to test the waters - and as has been said, if your foster dog works out, you could keep it - win/win. I too volunteer for a rescue that fosters dogs - let us know where you are located - even if you dont go the foster route, you could get your dog from a rescue, the advantage of that being that if you get a young/grown dog, your boxer gets an instant playmate! Post a pic of your boxer too? 8-)

david75

This is him. Looks like he's floating but he was literally tearing past me at full speed. He loves the park:)

aonb

Lovely picture, LOVELY dog - if he were a horse, you would get high points in a Dressage test for that movement 8-)