Hi all, New here so please be kind I'm getting my 5 month labs brother when hes 8 months old. I know a lot of people would advise against this so please don't say how this won't be a good idea etc. I've done a lot of research into it and we have a lot of spare time to give to it. Would just love to hear about anyone that has introduced a second pup to first one - Any ages - How you went about it, where they slept, walks, time apart, implementing smells? And if anyone has done the same age gap? Thanks
Also - anyone's experience of 2 males? I've hear some people says its ok and others say 100% get opposite? Thanks
Hello, I think for you it is not about introducing 2 dogs, its introducing 2 dogs the same age. I have experience of having 2 dogs but it was pretty easy as one was 8 and one a pup, both were intact and they were best buddies for life. You will be having 2 adolescent dogs at the same time which will be a different challenge. Just because they are brothers does not necessarily mean they will get on. You will need to introduce them slowly on neutral ground. Possibly lots of contacts before him moving in. When at home you will need to separate them when not supervised as there will be plenty of boisterous play that could end up in a tussle. Its hard to say how it will go until you start the first contacts. It could be fine, but equally not the best idea. They can get locked into each other and are much harder to train. You have to do everything separately, which always takes time away from one dog. 8 months is a challenging age as they are pretty full of beans, need lots of physical and mental exercise, and no where near trained. There are others on here have more experience than me, good luck.
Hi Natalie, Welcome to the forum! Raising two young Labs at once will be a challenge, but it's not impossible if you have the time and resources to keep them separated for a good portion of each day and during training. You can find some information on what you will be working with here, although the article focuses on younger puppies some of the challenges will be the same. You can also find more information on getting a second dog in general here. Let us know how you get along!
thank you for the reply and your thoughts It'll be myself and my partner who will be taking the older one to work with him during the day whilst i look after the younger one at first. so they'll def have their separate time during the week and time together at the weekend. Which I hope will then mean they are still individuals but close. Where was the neutral ground you introduced them? As thinking about how cant put a younger puppy on the ground much? Also thinking about introducing toys that smell of the new pup to the older one etc. Did you do anything like this? Thanks
