getting a BC pup

[lindameik]

hi we have a 5 year old male BC we are thinking about getting a puppy a male one and iam not sure how our bc would take to this any advice for me the pups wont be ready for 5 weeks .

[RaisingRiver]

How is your dog w/ other dogs in general? Know anyone with puppies that you could go visit? Will the place you're getting the pup from let you do a meet & greet w/ your BC (that's the best way cuz it's meeting the exact dog).

 

There's also a thread in here somewhere about how to introduce a new puppy.

[lindameik]

hes not to good with other dog especially when we are out its a BC pup we are wanting to get will that make any difference being the same breed

[AK dog doc]

Some dogs just don't like other dogs, and some dogs don't like puppies at all. You'd need to be prepared that it might not work out and that the puppy would be at potentially significant risk. You'd also need to take steps to be certain that you've got a real plan in place, not just "I thought it might be nice to have two dogs" or something equally vague. You need to have concrete and specific stuff in mind about how to handle conflicts and how to avoid them in the first place.

 

Generally speaking, you're more likely to have conflict between two same-gender dogs than two opposite-gender dogs.

 

As to whether it being the same breed would help - maybe, maybe not. Finn tends to like other herding breeds more than non-herding breeds (they "get" him better, in play and general interaction), but sometimes they annoy him more as well, because they are in the same niche, which means competing for the same resources.

 

Doesn't mean you can't work it out. Just means you need to have a good plan in place first, including a bail-out position in case it's not working out.

[lindameik]

i dont know what to do we are going to look at the pups 2night i dont want my own dog to suffer or get stressed what kind of problems could occur

[lindameik]

also forgot to add this part when we got our BC he was a pup we had a dog already she was a shih-tzu do

[Root Beer]

Originally posted by lindameik:

i dont know what to do we are going to look at the pups 2night i dont want my own dog to suffer or get stressed what kind of problems could occur

Your current dog most likely will be stressed - at least to some degree - if you get a puppy. The addition of a new dog to the household will change your current dogs life.

 

That doesn't mean that in the long run it would be a bad thing.

 

Speedy was 9 months old when we got Maddie (who was almost 2 at the time). He was stressed when she came. He has never been particularly chummy with other dogs and he was nervous about the newcomer to our household.

 

Within a week they were best friends, but he had to get through that initial stress for us to get to that point.

 

And that can take a while. We dog sat for a friend a few times this past winter. Even though the dog was at our house for almost a total of a month, my dogs never really got comfortable with her being at our house. If she had been a permanent resident (which was a possibility at one point), it would worked, but it would have taken some effort on my part to make it work out.

[RaisingRiver]

I would ask if you could bring your current dog to meet the pup you would choose.

 

My dog Jaida is an alpha to dogs and has always pretty much ignored other dogs, only sniffs them at introduction (ie. at the dog park) - never plays. She has accepted the 5 other dogs that have come into my home at one time or another the last few years w/out a problem.

 

River was the first dog under 1 year old that I brought home (8wks) and Jaida did growl at her a few times the first few days. I set ground rules that that as not ok, by repremanding Jaida. Never happened again and now they are fine and even play together when Jaida's in the mood.

 

I think having your dog meet the pup now would give you a very good indication.

[Allie+Tess&Kipp]

I took my older dog, who was about 1-1/2 years old at the time, to meet the new puppy when the puppy was 5 weeks old. She did not seem to care one way or the other about him. We took that as a good sign. Tess is not keen on other dogs. She is fine with them, but she never plays with other dogs and never goes up to greet strange dogs very willingly. For her to ignore the puppy and pay attention to me, that was good. She was not scared, she was not worried, and she was not stressed out. All good things, knowing what I know about my dog.

 

The day we picked Kipp up, we left Tess with my parents for 2 hours while we were out. It helped that I had the world's most outgoing, unflappable, trouble-making puppy to introduce to Tess as her new friend. Tess and Kipp did not really interact until we got them home that evening and everyone was tired and relaxed.

 

For the next few months, Kipp spent a lot of time in his crate so that he did not get into stuff and for housetraining purposes. They had supervised playtime only, and often I would have both dogs with me in the yard or in the house but have them doing different activities. Tess would be fetching while Kipp was tugging, or Kipp would be fetching while Tess was doing tricks, etc. They each also had separate time with me every day, several times a day, for the first few months.

 

Whenever anyone yelped, the puppy went into his crate. That was the rule, and that was an easy one for everyone (my friends & family included) to understand. Please note that it was almost NEVER the puppy who was yelping. He was almost always the stinker. Tess was very tolerant of his antics. Tess also has been top dog from day one.

 

We got a male because we already had a female because according to everything I read, two females was a bad idea, and usually a female will submit to a male and there are not many dominance problems. Of course with a puppy that is different, but the general idea was that they'd sort it out without any bloodshed. Tess is very submissive--but not with Kipp.

 

Kipp is unflappable and tolerant and easygoing and generally mellow. This is exactly what I asked for. The person I got Kipp from knew Tess and knew her mother and siblings very well, so knew exactly what I wanted and why. Based on all the experiences I had watching Tess interact with other dogs, dogs she knew, dogs she did not know, puppies, older dogs, dogs her own age, dogs her size, smaller ones, bigger ones, etc. I decided a puppy was the best choice.

 

It all worked out for us rather well. I think the most important thing is to really KNOW your dog inside and out, and then do what is best for your dog and your situation.

 

Allie + Tess & Kipp

[Allie+Tess&Kipp]

I forgot to mention that we moved about 1 month before we brought home the new puppy. This gave me the opportunity to change the house around (more crates, more dog beds, etc.) and change Tess's routine just a bit here and there so that she would not be upset when there were changes when the puppy came. There were no changes for Tess when the puppy came other than she had a new playmate. I think that probably helped quite a bit.

 

Allie + Tess & Kipp

[punkrockbc]

We just adopted an 8 week-old Corgi/Aussie? mix puppy from rescue. Gonzo has literally never played with a puppy as an adult, even though he is friendly with other dogs. Our pup is 12 weeks, and they wrestle and romp around together several tims a day! =)

 

I did a lot of what Allie suggested. I give both of them lots of time & attention seperately, and they are never together alone. The first week, they only spent 1 hour a day at most together... which was hard! It is a huge commitment and takes up tons of time. Thankfully my Mom works at home and was home almost all day to play with them seperately.

 

If your dog is dog-aggressive, I am not sure if this is a good idea at all. You should see a behaviorist first, to personally evaluate your dog and give you good advice about a puppy.

[lindameik]

well we went to see the pups ive chosen a girl.our dog isnt agressive i just dont want to upset him to much and iam prepared for some hard work to come in 5 weeks. iam not to sure how to introduce them its no ideal to take him to meet the pup as our dog can travell. we are going to get a crate is this a good idea?