2 (or more dogs) and PACK instinct?

[diana72805]

Hi everyone, I haven't posted in the forum very much over the last few months... just been sorta lurking in the background here and ther. We just got our second GSD pup today. Her name is Tarja and she is about 7.5 weeks old. Our first GSD, Jaz - will be a year old this month.

My biggest concern, though, is having two dogs and them forming a pack amongst themselves. For anyone who knows more about this, please be so kind as to inform me? What I've heard thus far is that they will establish ranks among each other and will feel as though they are a separate pack from the rest of the family.

How can I make sure that they continue to recognize my fiance, myself and my daughter as part of the "pack" and higher ranking than they are?

How should we handle rough play? Let them play it out or is it better to break them up? I've been told that mom will often separate the pups when they engage in rough play?

Any other tips or advice is highly appreciated.

[AbbyK9]

The situation in which people worry about having two dogs "form a pack" - or rather, become more attached to one another and less to their people - is when someone gets two dogs from the same litter, or two young dogs about the same age to where the dogs will grow up with one another and may bond more with each other than their people.

I would not be too worried about this with adding a new puppy to your home when your first dog is already a year old. Jaz should already be well-bonded with the family and have some training underneath his/her belt.

It's important that you spend the same amount of time training and being with the new puppy you did with Jaz, giving the pup a chance to bond with you through training. If you do NILIF training on a daily basis, definitely do this with the pup as well as it will help you establish who's where in your home and whom the pup should listen to. Your fiance and your daughter can (and should) also practice NILIF with both dogs.

Definitely make sure that each dog gets one-on-one time, especially training time, and keep up training with the first dog as well as get started on it with the new pup.

As far as rough play goes, your pup is just that, a young pup. Most grown dogs will give pups a "free pass" on bad behavior until they are a certain age, but I would definitely supervise play and ensure that your pup doesn't get too much onto Jaz's nerves and that your pup doesn't learn it's okay to be a nuisance to your existing dog, even if Jaz gives her a pass for the time being and doesn't correct her behavior.

[onyx'girl]

I agree with Chris. NILIF goes a long way in the pack structure getting established.
If Jaz is also female you may have some issues in the future with them.Because they are less than a year apart, it would be a concern.
I have two females(both spayed) and one is submissive to the other. I also have a young intact male which can throw a wrench into it.
If Kacie challenges Onyx, though, I do have to intervene and diffuse the situation. It has happened a few times and mostly it is me that they are getting snarky over. When I'm not around they seem to get along ok according to my DH and kids.

[JKlatsky]

I agree. You'll have to be careful with 2 females. You may never have problems...but you should still be vigilant. I will step in with my dogs if I think they are being "too much" for each other. I don't let them roughhouse inside at all.

I did notice that my 2 dogs together will "pack" more when with strange dogs. My older female got very protective of the new puppy and though she never previously had any kind of problem with other dogs at parks and such...she started to get more snarky with the puppy playmates.

[Zoeys mom]

So true about dogs who live together protecting each other. When we first brought Zoe home my lab was 7 and not too happy about the new arrival. He completely ignored the family for two weeks and ignored all her attempts to play for months. However, when a foreign dog got a little rough with Zoe my very dog friendly lab kicked it into high gear and ran right into the aggressing dog at full speed. Now they play well together and love each other but it took lots of time. I always fed the lab first, greeted him first, and walked him first so he new he was still my #1 boy and not getting snubbed for the new cute puppy. Just spend tons of time with your 1 year old dog, then time with the new pup separately, and still make time to watch the two play together

[diana72805]

Jaz is a male, Tarja is a female. We were worried about having two males (or two females for that matter) together, so we decided one of each would be beter.
Zoeys_Mom - I like the idea of feeding the first dog before the new addition. I can't believe I didn't think of that!

So far, Jaz has been trying to get Tarja to play with him, but it's her first day home so I think she's still a little nervous. Also, we do practice NILIF training with both dogs. I guess I got nervous when we brought her home and people started saying "well, they tend to form packs if it's more than one". I've heard it in the past, but suddenly it hit close to home now that we finally have our #2 pup. I am hoping for a very smooth transition... this should be quite an adventure!

[alaman]

I have six, three males, only one altered, and three females, only one altered and there is no pack as generally thought of. Just six dogs that look to me as their leader and simply enjoy life and working. From 5-1/2 years to six months. The only order among them is who gets to drink water first.

[diana72805]

Originally Posted by alaman

I have six, three males, only one altered, and three females, only one altered and there is no pack as generally thought of. Just six dogs that look to me as their leader and simply enjoy life and working. From 5-1/2 years to six months. The only order among them is who gets to drink water first.

Wow... Six! Well bless your heart for giving them all a surely wonderful home! I get so frustrated when people (usually my relatives) say things like 'oh what do you need another dog for'? Yeh, I probably don't "NEED" another dog, but we have them as it is now and I intend to give both dogs a happy, healthy home. It's always nice to hear of others who take in even more than that.

I have a friend who has 4 dogs. It's so unfortunate because 3 of them are constantly barking at anyone who comes up to the door (and not warning barks, but seriously look p/o'ed) None of the dogs are properly trained and all I hear whenever I visit are the dogs being YELLED at and none of them listening. I know that's the kind of owner that I do NOT want to be. Whether it be 1, 2 or more dogs in my home.