I have 4 and the only one I brought in as an adult was a female all others been puppies since 3 of them is males but if brought in as younger or can be older if female then you should be fine
Adding a New Dog
Max is 6 months old and we have all adjusted. He is by himself for 8 hours a day and does very well. Well I've been thinking how nice it would be for Max to have a friend. My husband is a little reluctant because Max can be a handfull at times. I told him instead of Max chewing on him he would chew on the other dog lol. Should I leave things as is since Max does well by himself would I be adding more chaos to the house with another dog? What are your experiences with adding a second dog. Max loves other dogs and he votes yes.
Dawn
Dawn
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
Adding another dog didn't work for my boy. Cause you are gonna split your attention for each dog. I have 11 month old male gsd and 6 months old female min-pin. I can see that my boy doesn't like him very much. After we got minpin, he got lots of diarrhea probably due to stress. I took him to the vet, he couldn't find anything, he said it might be due to presence of new dog. And another bad habit he got after I got minpin is him starting to eat poop. He never ever did that even when he was a puppy (he is still a puppy though). It sounds so nice to add another dog, but since he is a puppy, I wouldn't add another one till he is 1.5 yo at least. You know shepherds matures very slowly and accepted as a puppy till 1.5 yo. So basically it may work for you, but didn't work for me. And another thing is your pup is 6 months old. To raise a two pup at the same time is **** of a job. And you say he stays alone for 8 hours..German shepherds needs lots of attention especially during puppyhood. You have to be with them as much as you can. If Ii were you, I would wait till he is 1.5 yo at least. But again, this is just my opinion. If you have thatt much time and energy good luck. I hope it helps..
When I brought Dante home my intention was to add a 2nd when he turned a year old.
When his first birthday came around I decided I'd add a 2nd when he turned 2 years old.
He's 4 now
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and still an only dog - though he will have a "brother".
I decided that he needed my focus, that he, and I, weren't ready to divide my time between two until he was grown.
When his first birthday came around I decided I'd add a 2nd when he turned 2 years old.
He's 4 now
I decided that he needed my focus, that he, and I, weren't ready to divide my time between two until he was grown.
I would give your pup as much one on one as you can. Adding another is going to be harder to train and you may lose the focus on you. I got a rescue(almost 2 yr old) when Onyx was 5 months and not that I regret it, but Onyx would have been a better trained dog, if Kacie wasn't there for her. I do/did train separately, walk separate and together, but if you want to title/work your pup~ focus on the one you have. Then in a year or two get another one.
We brought a puppy when Yana was 14 months old. I absolutely don't regret, Yana became much, much happier dog after getting a playmate and a sibling.
But this new addition doubled the amount of work for me. I spend one-on-one time with each dog every day, meaning at least one separate walk for each one, at least one training session for each one, I take them separately to classes, and also Anton gets his socializing trips to different places almost every day. When they are outside in the backyard I'm with them, playing and supervizing.
But this new addition doubled the amount of work for me. I spend one-on-one time with each dog every day, meaning at least one separate walk for each one, at least one training session for each one, I take them separately to classes, and also Anton gets his socializing trips to different places almost every day. When they are outside in the backyard I'm with them, playing and supervizing.
I would wait a while. If he's still a handful (which is totally normal at 6 months old!) you have some more training work to do with him. A second dog is a fine idea once you've got Max practically perfect.
Thanks so much. All the info has helped make me decision to wait.
Max thanks you too!
Dawn
Max thanks you too!
Dawn
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
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