[Linda1270]

As a lot of you are aware, I have a 9 month old female GSD named Tess and now I have a 3 month old female Cairn Terrier puppy named Maisie, which I have just adopted. I wanted a playmate for Tess and also wanted a small dog due to owning a small ranch home and not having a lot of room for two large dogs.

They get along very well, they play constantly until they both just about drop, which is what I wanted. Tess sometimes gets a little too rough with Maisie, however, Maisie is a little instigator and will not back down from anything Tess throws at her. I read that Cairn Terriers where courageous and that a lot of them will end up getting hurt because they never back down from a fight. I see this in her in a very big way. They totally freak me out when they play so rough, but my husband tells me to just leave them alone and that's a lot easier said than done.

One of the issues I have is with there food. Tess is on Nature's Variety Instinct Duck and Turkey and Maisie's been eating Nutro Max Chicken and Rice, but Tess loves Maisie's food and tries to gobble it all up on her. Maisie appears to like Tess's food and tries eating that. I am in the process of weaning them both off their food and putting them on Canadae All Life Stages. That way they'll both be on the same food and their won't be a problem. In the meantime, I've really having a time keeping them separated at meal times. I've tried different rooms, feeding both of them in their own crates, etc. Any ideas? Will Tess eating the Nutro Max puppy food bother her at all, where she's a large breed?

It's going to be so much fun training Maisie....I'm trying to get her to go on the puppy pads but so far, that's a big no, hasn't gone there on her own yet.

If anyone here has recently added a second dog to their household, I've love to hear how it's working out for you and if you have any suggestions, please feel free to jump in.

 

[wolfy dog]

I would hire a trainer to come to your house to help you get some structure.
In the meantime get this book; "Feeling Outnumbered?" I believe it is by Patrica O'Connell (check Amazon to be sure).
If you let this go on, you'll be out of the picture soon.

 

[Linda1270]

Wolfy Dog - Thank you I will definitely get the book, in fact, I will probably download it to my Kindle shortly. I do have a trainer that comes to my house to work with Tess and I intend on asking him for help with the issues I'm having with their food. Hopefully, once I have them both on the Canadae, it won't be to hard to manage because they'll both have the same food.

One good thing that has come out of this already is the fact that they play so hard that they fall asleep early and sleep right through the night. I put them both in their crates last night at 9:00 pm and I was up before they were this morning at 7:00 am. I was amazed!

 

[Lauri & The Gang]

Easiest way to deal with food stealing - put them in separate crates, give them their kibble and give them 15 minutes to eat. At the end of that time remove the bowls and put away any leftovers.

You could teach them where their eating place is and that they are not allowed to eat from the other dogs bowls. Give them each their bowls and watch them. They instant they walk away from their bowl, remove it and do NOT allow them to eat out of the others. You can use leashes to tether them to a cabinet or another object. They will soon learn that if they leave their bowl while it still has food they will lose that food.

I feed 7 dogs in my kitchen. Each dog has a spot and they know where that is. They also know they are not allowed to go after other bowls until that dog is finished. It's just a training issue.

As far as them playing together - when my GSD plays rough with one of my Cresteds they either cry out (not in pain but as a signal that they don't WANT to play rough) of they bring it right back to him.

 

[Lauri & The Gang]

it won't be to hard to manage because they'll both have the same food.

But you don't want one getting too much and the other not enough - even if it's the same food.

 

[Linda1270]

But you don't want one getting too much and the other not enough - even if it's the same food.

So true, I didn't even think of that one....I have always had one dog at a time so this is a whole new learning experience for me. I like your advice regarding the food situation and also their playing together. Maisie does cry out when she's had enough but always goes back for more. I give Tess all the credit, Maisie is the instigator, she never backs down and never knows when to stop.

Thank you Lauri, as always great advice.

 

[Lauri & The Gang]

I give Tess all the credit, Maisie is the instigator, she never backs down and never knows when to stop.

Thank you Lauri, as always great advice.

That's a terrier for you!

My Crested boy, Fuego, is always the instigator with Mauser, the GSD.