Introducing new puppy?

[DngrsDan]

Hi all. We have owned our first rottie for over a year now and we absolutely love her! My wife and I even argue over whose dog it is, (if she should ask-it's mine ) as I have REALLY grown to love Josie. We have a female german shepherd ( Matti )which we've had for 4 years that also loves Josie, she missed her terribly and wouldn't eat while Josie was getting spayed. Yet Matti is in charge and Josie does not challenge her at all. They get along wonderfully. We like Josie so much we want to get another rottie. We are wondering how a new puppy would be received by Josie. I believe she would readily accept another presence, but the wife wants reassurance. BTW we also have 3 house cats that both dogs are familiar with, and they are accepted by 2/3rds of the cats. ;-> So another animal shouldn't be a traumatic event for her. She hasn't exhibited TOO much aggression against strange dogs, but we live out "in the boonies" so Josie hasn't had too much exposure to other dogs. Some, not much. At times she just exhibited curiousity, at other times she wanted to eat'm - especially if THEY were barking at her. But she was still under my control. We sent her through puppy obedience school soon after we got her and she heels and sits beautifully. Extremely well behaved, yet does exhibit protective tendencies-especially if the person starts talking with their hands! Personally .... I think she is everything a dog SHOULD be and am grateful to have her.

Looking forward to hear from you guys.

Thanks

[poohbearsmom]

I personally like to suggest waiting until the youngest dog is well matured (2+years of age) and ongoing training has produced a very reliable companion (which encompasses more than sitting and heeling perfectly) before adding a new pup to the mix.

Please describe what you mean by your sentence:

Extremely well behaved, yet does exhibit protective tendencies-especially if the person starts talking with their hands!

Thank you.

[Burnsway]

Also think about them all being Seniors around the same time. This can get hard and emotional......just ask me......

Three dogs and 3 Cats will become a zoo and the dogs can become a pack which makes training harder. And if they all get sick around the same time, it can break you fast......

[DngrsDan]

poohbearsmom......

thanks for your response. What I was referring to was an incident we had happen where the Terminex guy came into our house (uninvited) while my wife was downstairs with both the dogs. When she came upstairs, with both dogs in attendance, the guy was standing in our living room. I was not at home or I would have given the guy grief about just walking into our house that way. She said that the shepherd kept trying to herd the guy away from her while Josie stayed right at her knee watching the guy. She said Josie did not act menacingly or growl or anything, just watched him while staying at her side. The guy started waving his hands around while talking and Josie gave a few quiet "huffs", still not aggressively, just making herself known. I realize more is involved than just sitting and heeling but Josie has demonstrated her obedience many times and hasn't shown any resistance to corrections or commands, nor shown any attempt of dominance over our family members. We read through this forum prior to our getting Josie and studied up on the breed so we would know what we were in for. I can understand your concern about introducing another pup at her age, and I probably wouldn't have even considered it if Josie exhibited some behaviour that would cause me worry over it. But she has such a sweet personality and is such a well mannered dog that I think it would not be a problem. It is just that we MIGHT have a chance to get another rottie from the same lineage as Josie and are thinking about doing so.

[2rotties2luv]

Aside from the advice already given, please be aware that at 1 - 1.5 yrs old, Josie is not yet mature and as she goes into adolescence, her personality may change. While she may remain compatible with your older female, the chances are that Josie will eventually challenge the older female. It is always recommended to adopt dogs of opposite sexes, as they are much more likely to get along than dogs of the same sex, especially females. Browse through the "Behavior" forum, there are quite a few threads discussing the difficulties of multiple female dog households. That said, it would probably be a good idea to wait until Josie is fully mature, at around 3 years old, before you consider adding another pup.

FYI, I adopted two rotties of the same lineage (same parents) that were one year apart in age. While they both had stable temperments and good nerves, they were quite different in personality. So if you were to adopt another dog of the same lineage, you would not get another Josie. Also, it took a LOT of time and effort on my part as I had them both in training classes for about 3.5 years. It meant two evenings a week devoted to training classes at different levels.

[poohbearsmom]

Originally Posted by DngrsDan

poohbearsmom......

thanks for your response. What I was referring to was an incident we had happen where the Terminex guy came into our house (uninvited) while my wife was downstairs with both the dogs. When she came upstairs, with both dogs in attendance, the guy was standing in our living room. I was not at home or I would have given the guy grief about just walking into our house that way. She said that the shepherd kept trying to herd the guy away from her while Josie stayed right at her knee watching the guy. She said Josie did not act menacingly or growl or anything, just watched him while staying at her side. The guy started waving his hands around while talking and Josie gave a few quiet "huffs", still not aggressively, just making herself known. I realize more is involved than just sitting and heeling but Josie has demonstrated her obedience many times and hasn't shown any resistance to corrections or commands, nor shown any attempt of dominance over our family members. We read through this forum prior to our getting Josie and studied up on the breed so we would know what we were in for. I can understand your concern about introducing another pup at her age, and I probably wouldn't have even considered it if Josie exhibited some behaviour that would cause me worry over it. But she has such a sweet personality and is such a well mannered dog that I think it would not be a problem. It is just that we MIGHT have a chance to get another rottie from the same lineage as Josie and are thinking about doing so.

Were her hackles up while the man was waving his hands?

[DngrsDan]

pooh.....

no.....she wasn't exhibiting any aggressive attitude at all, and her hackles were not raised. She didn't even really bark, just made a huffing type voice. Just as if to say hey, I'm watching out for mommy. I saw her do the same thing with another service man we had in. She was friendly towards him, not at all apprehensive or upset he was here. It's just when a stranger starts waving their hands around she pays more attention to them-but still not in an aggressive attitude. While I appreciate her watchfullness I would NOT allow her to be "aggressive" towards anyone in our house.

[DngrsDan]

*****UPDATE*****

Well, after taking your advice in here and thinking it over we decided to hold off on getting another pup right now. I was kinda against the idea anyway since having two Josie sized dogs (115#) along with Matti (65#) would be a little too hectic. We also talked it over with our trainer and she agreed with 2rotties2luv about the female household.

Thanks for all your inputs.

DD