Getting another dog - already have a 6 month old puppy. Advice please

R2R

R2R

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I have a 6 month old Tibetan terrier puppy. Despite the stick I got initially (!!!!) for not having a ‘proper’ dog (as in working or something more fashionable than what is affectively a mini old English sheep dog without the brain), we really considered the breed – OH didn’t want to buy a small toy dog but a utility dog was best for us as we live in London (though migrating to the suburbs ASAP), and the dog would have to fit in around us for 2 days a week (meaning we didn’t want something that required a lot of company/exercise, for 2 days a week she has a long ish walk of about ½ hour first thing in the morning, and I take her out for a 10 min walk either before I go to the yard or before I go to work, then a dog walker for an hour and a half, and we walk her twice in the evening, one long walk and one short walk, once when we get in and once before bed) as well as being robust enough for stable life.

Thankfully although we live in London we live opposite a park and I am at the stables 6 times a week so she comes all weekend to the yard and in the week too.

She also has free access to a secure garden – I am paranoid so we have dummy cameras up – all day, every day, whether we are there or not.

She has settled into being a true London/country dog very, very quickly, I have to say she has been SUPER to train and I had her house trained in 3 days (clever puppy) apart from one accident when we were staying with my mum last week (never ideal, but if someone *read my dad* will close the kitchen door, then puppy will pee, it’s a fact of life), she does sit, paw, lie down, roll over (!!) and her recall is OK apart from when she is distracted, usually by another dog, and goes a bit deaf!! We are working on throwing her toys and ‘wait’ but she gets very confused about going to get the toy after she has waited.

Basically I adore her and she is fab…and doesn’t woof – I have only heard her woof once and she scared herself and ran under the table!!

I am writing for a bit of advice really. We recently stayed at my parents house for 2 weeks and even though my parents dogs are the canine equivalent of the wicked stepsisters in Cinerella (they are JRT’s with a true klller attitude) they got on really well. I saw how my dog really came out of her shell and seemed a lot more independent, even though she knew her place at the bottom of the pack. It was lovely seeing her in doggy company.

I was wondering if it was worth getting another dog, and if I did, what type of dog you knowledgeable types would recommend? My experience of dogs is of setters and jrt’s – neither of which I think would work in a small London house. I hate poodles too (sorry poodle lovers)

Any advice? Younger/older/when to consider getting one? Is it worth waiting? And do you think my pup will be happier with a friend to play with?

Thanks,
R2R
 
You don't *have* to get another, some dogs are happy enough being only dogs with human company and getting access to play with other dogs.

If you took on another, bear in mind they might not be so easy to train, to get on with, as friendly with other dogs or as relaxed with your lifestyle, our dogs have all been as different as day and night so we try not to compare them or expect the same things.

You could give an older. calmer rescue a happy retirement, you could get another Tib.
You could go for a greyhound or whippet, or a mini/standard schnauzer

I have two the same age, litter brother and sister (GSDs) and I would be lying if I said they were not a handful, even for experienced owners.

Dogs, particularly young ones, can 'change' once a new dog is added to the mix, sometimes one will become more dominant or submissive, or they may stay the same.

There are a tonne of variables.

I acutally like poodles, gutsy dogs with a good attitude, and there is at least one standard poodle competing at Schutzhund in the USA!!!
 
Poodles coats give me the heebies lol!!!

I know I dont have to get another dog, but having grown up with things in twos, I sort of do a bit of Noah if I have one of something!!!

So would you say it was best to wait until current pooch is older? We are going to have 1 litter from her (my mum wants one of her pups) so maybe wait till then and keep a puppy?

Just pondering over ideas.. :)
 
I don't know enough about the breed to be able to say whether you should wait or not. We have, for instance, introduced a puppy female to an 8yo female (disaster, then puppy had a go at her own daughter and another puppy bought as a companion - but she was a bit of a baggage!) 6mo male to a 10yo female (got on swimmingly) and now currently they were reintroduced at eight months, we had the male as a 6mo, and they get on great, bit of argy-bargy when playing sometimes but nothing serious.

I wouldn't really be wanting a litter from her without the required health tests (whatever these are for Tibs!) and would wait until she is perhaps two for that.

If you do retain a puppy, bear in mind that mums and daughters can be a bit scrappy in my experience, anyway.
 
CaveCanem said:
I don't know enough about the breed to be able to say whether you should wait or not. We have, for instance, introduced a puppy female to an 8yo female (disaster, then puppy had a go at her own daughter and another puppy bought as a companion - but she was a bit of a baggage!) 6mo male to a 10yo female (got on swimmingly) and now currently they were reintroduced at eight months, we had the male as a 6mo, and they get on great, bit of argy-bargy when playing sometimes but nothing serious.

I wouldn't really be wanting a litter from her without the required health tests (whatever these are for Tibs!) and would wait until she is perhaps two for that.

If you do retain a puppy, bear in mind that mums and daughters can be a bit scrappy in my experience, anyway.
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Ohhh really? I didnt know about the scrappiness.

TT's are very soft bouncy dogs, mine is very, very calm and gentle :)

If we do have a litter, she will be hip/eye tested, and we will go through her breeder and do it all properly
 
I agree with CC, I would not get another till she is mature, and trained as best you can before introducing a mass distraction:D
Obs if you want to breed u have to wait another year and a half so thats better timing, but also agree mother daughter/litter sister can be naughty with each other and it's not always a loving mother daughter relationship, we get a fair amount of esp smaller breed relatives handed into rescue for scrapping..but not all obviously.
 
There are some practicalities about having two young dogs together. Personally I have given myself at least a year with the first puppy before getting another one because by then the first one is reasonably well behaved. E.g. if the older dog recalls well this will help the training of the younger dog, but equally if the older one runs off the younger is likely to follow, or if the older dog knows a sit/wait in the car you have your hands free to deal with the younger one safely, etc.
 
Hey, we had our wire haired fox terrier for just under a year before we got a sprollie :D She calmed down a lot when he came home. She taught him how to dig, bark and jump over fences >.< but it was also easier to train him as he just copied her :D . They're inseparable. Why not get another TT one of the people at Uni breeds and shows TTs (she took them to crufts this year :) ) and is based in London.
 
Jake10 said:
Hey, we had our wire haired fox terrier for just under a year before we got a sprollie :D She calmed down a lot when he came home. She taught him how to dig, bark and jump over fences >.< but it was also easier to train him as he just copied her :D . They're inseparable. Why not get another TT one of the people at Uni breeds and shows TTs (she took them to crufts this year :) ) and is based in London.
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Oooh whereabouts? And have you met any? What did you think?

We usually get a "What kind of dog IS that...." comment every time we go out!
 
Hey I've only seen pics of her dogs (they all have the long show coats :) ) She says their the clowns of the dog world :D Not sure where abouts in London though.. I can PM you her name I think they are registered breeders so they should be on a TT registered breeders website. If not I'll ask her :D
 
In general I think it is best to wait until they are over 2 years of age before you get a second dog, then you've gotten past any possible "teenage" hiccups etc, they get plenty of joy out of meeting "friends" out on walks too.


If you plan on breeding her, besides health tests and temper, have you showed her or plan to show her? I don't believe that only the so called most beautiful dogs should be allowed to breed, no matter how beautiful, there is no point in breeding them if they don't have a temper that people can live with, but on the other hand, I think that they should at least look like an average example of the breed.

Also since you plan to breed her, why not simply plan to keep a puppy yourself too?

:)
 
R2R said:
Oooh whereabouts? And have you met any? What did you think?

We usually get a "What kind of dog IS that...." comment every time we go out!
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At a puppy class that I attended with one of my late bitches many years ago, there was three litter siblings that by coincidence had ended up at the same dog club.
They clearly recognised each other at the first meeting and looked like three bouncing furballs besides their owners, who only had eyes for each other. But after the first meeting, when they were allowed to play together, they played almost as much with the other dogs as they did with each other.



At least two of them also attended the two following classes, so I saw them from they where a few months old until about 1,5 years old. One of them I've met a few more times through the years but his owner lost interest in keeping his coat looking like a Tibetan Terrier, so she tried trimming him in a few different styles, Löwchen, Terrier and Schnauzer etc.

Otherwise I have to admit that they simply appeared as happy as the other puppies/dogs in the classes.

:)
 
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