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Second Dog Syndrome - Have you ever had it?


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Hi folks. I was wondering if this is a thing for other people too. It's been over 2 years since I got my bc pup and I'm sure many of you can attest from their own experiences, it's certainly not a walk in the park Vs the average dog breed. Looking back on those 2 years and I have to admit despite how hard the breed can be, they are something special. Despite the absolute lunacy of the idea of rescuing another BC is, I'm currently battling the urge as I met a lovely 5 month old BC pup who was part of a rescue/kennel walk near my house. I felt terrible for her and have since had a very strong urge to rescue her despite all the obvious challenges. 

Have you encountered these urges? If so, how did you react in this kind of situation?

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You currently have a 2 yr old bc ~ am I understanding correctly? I've had experience taking in another adult bc, have never had a puppy. I can tell you that introducing another adult was challenging for me. I don't remember details as the last time I did that was 10 years ago, but we did have some challenges. Resident bc was not all that happy to have another dog in the house, even though she had lived with 2 other dogs for most of her life with us. 

I'm sure someone else with more experience and a better memory will be able to weigh in soon.

Ruth & Gibbs

 

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1 hour ago, urge to herd said:

You currently have a 2 yr old bc ~ am I understanding correctly? I've had experience taking in another adult bc, have never had a puppy. I can tell you that introducing another adult was challenging for me. I don't remember details as the last time I did that was 10 years ago, but we did have some challenges. Resident bc was not all that happy to have another dog in the house, even though she had lived with 2 other dogs for most of her life with us. 

I'm sure someone else with more experience and a better memory will be able to weigh in soon.

Ruth & Gibbs

 

That's interesting, from what I understand it can go either way with any mix of age. I think it's dependant on the two individual dogs personalities and with new dogs its  basically a guessing game on what their personality is like until they settle in. 

I could say with optimism I believe my BC would adapt well, she is very friendly and loves to play with other dogs. She hasn't resource guarded toys/food when meeting other dogs in the past (I've spent a lot of time trying to prevent this sort of stuff with positive reinforcement), even when meeting new dogs she will often take her ball to the other dog to get them to play. But still you never know I guess.

I have noticed when she meets BCs in particular she tends to act differently than with other dogs. She's usually less cautious and very excited to greet them.

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When we introduced 8 month old Levi to 8 year old Buddy, it went pretty smoothly considering that at that time Buddy was unsocial with other dogs.  Buddy did some growling and forbade Levi from getting in Buddy's favorite bed, but that was the worst of it.  Over time, Levi insisted that Buddy play with him and eventually Buddy did!  Following Levi's example, Buddy became more outgoing and willing to meet strange dogs and humans.  Three years later, they are good friends.

To clarify, Levi is an intact male border collie and Buddy is an early-neuter male Australian shepherd mix.

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20 hours ago, Michael Parkey said:

When we introduced 8 month old Levi to 8 year old Buddy, it went pretty smoothly considering that at that time Buddy was unsocial with other dogs.  Buddy did some growling and forbade Levi from getting in Buddy's favorite bed, but that was the worst of it.  Over time, Levi insisted that Buddy play with him and eventually Buddy did!  Following Levi's example, Buddy became more outgoing and willing to meet strange dogs and humans.  Three years later, they are good friends.

To clarify, Levi is an intact male border collie and Buddy is an early-neuter male Australian shepherd mix.

That's a great story to hear, your dogs sound fantastic. 

I've heard a lot that with adding a second dog to the home, it is generally bad to get the same sex. Has anyone here dealt with issues around same-sex dominance when for example, bringing a second female BC into the mix?

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We have always had females together, unneutered. Never had any problems. 
My dog was a bit of a “troublemaker” as a pup. She was my mum’s dog back then. She was born with us so she lived with her mum. 
She pushed her mum around a bit, claiming the best beds for herself by staring at her mum to make her move. It was mostly us humans who didn’t like it - her mum just got up and moved to one of the other beds. 

Even though they are mother and daughter they are not great friends. They just coexist. Then my mum got a third dog, a Jack Russell, which was the perfect addition. She is perked mother dog right up and is my dog’s best friend in the whole world. Plus my dog doesn’t steal the best beds anymore.

I think it all depends on the dogs’ characters if things work out. My dog likes it best if there is another dog she can follow, which is why the Jack Russell works so well. Her mother is quite a timid dog so my dog has to decide things, which was fine, but not “great friend” material. 

I’m a dog sitter and I have noticed that some dogs make my dog “disappear”. They have such a presence that she just doesn’t bother to try to get my attention anymore (These are usually the dogs that have very clueless owners. I politely ask them to find someone else to dog sit).

Another BC could work really well. My dog loves them because they are very good at reading her and leave her alone after a quick sniff (which she communicates and other breeds tend to ignore). One of my guest dogs is a BC and they love to compete for the ball - other dogs usually give up because they lack the BC intensity/tenacity. They enjoy each other’s company even though they hardly ever seem to interact directly, but I can see it in the way they run ahead together extra fast when we go out. All of a sudden my dog goes a lot further from me and has an extra spring in her step. 
 

I guess what I am trying to say is: think about the type of dogs your dog enjoys and see if the rescue dog matches. If you could go on a walk with both dogs that would be helpful in telling whether they are compatible. 
Don’t be scared adding same sex dogs together. Almost all of my guest dogs are females too and I have never had a fight or tension between the dogs. 
Plus I have found that pups with a similar or milder character than my dog tend to follow what my dog does, which can make raising the second dog a lot more easy than a first dog. Doesn’t work for all dogs though, I’ve had some headstrong independent guest pups who wanted to explore the world on their own! 
 

Another thing to think about is how far along your dog is in training. Does she have good recall when she is playing with other dogs? Everyone has a pup these days and I have had a lot of days where I had two or more young dogs together, which was such hard work. Sloppier recall because the youngsters were having fun exploring together. They distracted each other in everything so I really had to work hard at the basics again, very different from when it was just one pup! The same pup would listen wonderfully alone with my dog (my dog is 6). But these young dogs were under a year old, or just a little over a year old, so still quite young.

Hope this helps in making a decision!
 

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We have always loved having 2 dogs. And for the last 17 years we have had 2 border collies, plus some fosters. Having 2 we find our dogs don’t rely on us as much more for their entertainment etc. on walks they check things out together, they run together sniff together. At home if they are bored they will interact with each other if we aren’t interested in playing. My older dog was an only dog for 2.5 years and he became very needy during that time, totaly reliant on us for his entertainment. We got the youngest as puppy, but it was 3 weeks before we all got home (long road trip and vacation to get him) initially he just ignored him but by the time we got home they were playing together and 5 years later they still are, and the older one was clearly in a better place mentally. 
I am slowly starting my search for border collie number 3, I compete in agility and my dogs are 5 and 12 so its time to add my next team mate… l do  think 3 will be a bit made

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On 10/8/2021 at 10:08 AM, Mana19 said:

Have you encountered these urges? If so, how did you react in this kind of situation?

Uh, no, I try to avoid situations like this..failure though as I'm up to 6 right now ;)  Besides 2nd dog syndrome only happens once. If you like her and want her, just do it. Go get her! 

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