In the November issue of Dogs Today you published an article on the top ten tips for selecting a dog and my question relates to that.
Do you have top ten tips for selecting a second dog and how best to integrate him/her into your home with your existing dog?
We have a three-year-old Border Collie who we think is well trained and we feel we are ready to start again and introduce another dog (from a puppy) into our home.
Lance and Sarah Doggart, by email
One good and old tip is to swap scent. Once you have selected the puppy and a week or so before it comes to your home, take the puppy's blanket that it has been sleeping on and place it in the existing dogs bed. And do the same with the existing dog's blanket (place it it the puppy's sleeping area).
ReplyDeleteScent is a huge sense in the canine world. This swap allows both dog's to associate the other's scent with sleeping and normality. It also helps to prepare them for the new situation.
Good luck Julia.
We had a rather sad experience when we got a puppy to join our 3.5 year old Springer: We had to return the puppy (Chesapeake Bay Retriever) after a week of disaster! Ok, the puppy was already 14 weeks old and was kept on her own at the breeder's but the two dogs simply didn't communicate on the same level. Things like how is play initiated, who goes first through the door - all resulting in nasty arguments.
ReplyDeleteA couple of months later we then got another Springer puppy and the two get on really nicely. So, my tip would be to get a puppy of a breed with a similar temperament and range of expression.