I have a 9 year old chocolate bitch who is very docile and friendly with other dogs and I have 3 children aged 2, 5 and 7. My friend is a dog walker and she has asked around if someone would take on a 3.5 year old chocolate bitch. I am really interested but I have never had 2 dogs together and I have also heard that if you have 2 dogs it's best to get male/female and 2 bitches can fight. Please can someone advise me on whether it would be a good idea as I don't want to create problems for my 9 year old lab. Thank you.
Hello and welcome to the forum. How about, if you're interested, you see if you can arrange a trial? I have one dog and two bitches, and they all love each other. The two older dogs hated the puppy at first, but adore her now. Most Labs don't have the extreme reaction my two did, though! I think you can expect your older dog to be a bit put out at first with an "intruder" in their house, especially an adult dog (puppies generally have a "puppy license" which means older dogs give them a bit more leeway), but, in general, most dogs will settle down to their new routine quite quickly, and accept the new dog as part of the furniture after a couple of weeks.
Thank you for your reply. Would another dog change the temperament of my older dog? I would say I'm an experienced dog owner as I have had them all of my life but I'm not experienced with multiple dogs.
It is written that the two bitches are the hardest pairing, but I have had two/three bitches together with no issues at all . As Fiona rightly says , the resident dog might take a little time to come round to the idea , but they usually do ! We rehomed a small toy breed dog five months ago , and my Labrador Sam, who is six years old , ignored her for a day or two , and she ignored him until something passed between them and it was game on ! Labs are on the whole very tolerant kind dogs , not given to being put out for too long !
Two bitches can fight, so can two dogs and a dog and a bitch - it is all down to the temperaments of each individual dog and lots of other daily occurrences. No-one can say whether two dogs will get on and there is no reason why they should after all I'm sure we don't like everyone we meet and have to interact with. If you are interested in re-homing this dog it is best to arange two or three meetings for the dogs to see how they get on - not just initially but when together for longer, particularly with the children present. Would it be possible to arrange for the dog to stay for say a weekend so you would have some idea as to how they would settle together?
Thanks for the replies. I hadn't thought about trialing a weekend, that is a good idea. I think I have read a lot of things online and scared myself. The lab being regimes is said to be good with other dogs and children.
I forgot to add that the dog that is up for rejoining has not been spayed where as my older dog has. Would that be a problem initially? If I went ahead and regimes her I would get her spayed.
I don't think that spayed or not is going to be an issue as much as the dogs' temperaments themselves. That said, I probably wouldn't want to rehome a bitch with an existing dog if she was about to come into season, as, just like humans, they can be a little off at that time. So, maybe it's worth discussing the timing of her seasons first?
I think two dogs is really optimum. Our two girls get along fine together. Tilly, our 11 yr old gets a lot more exercise because of Cooper. I wish ours were a little closer in age but even with a 9 year spread they play together some times. Remember that Labs were bred to get along with other dogs, particularly other gun dogs, and most of them do.
Thanks everyone, sorry for the delay in replying I was doing dinner and bedtime for the children and only just logged back on. I think I will try and arrange to meet the dog with my dog and children and see what happens.
