Advice on a new dog.
Discussion
DMN said:
Well it appears its not to be.
Seems Pepper has been an only dog for too long. They walked ok alongside one another down a country lane near the rescue centre, both on their leads. However when we got back to the centre and we let Pepper off inside a play pen with my wife inside, whilst Raymond stayed on his lead outside. The sniff's quickly turned in growls and showing of teeth, mainly from Pepper. My wife was rightly devestated, but its clear its not going to happen for us and Raymond. We are thinking of going back and trying again, but only if their behavourist thinks it a good idea, and will be there on site as well this time.
I think that Pepper would be better with a much younger dog than Raymond, and one who was not as big.
Sometimes dogs just won't get along, no matter what you try.Seems Pepper has been an only dog for too long. They walked ok alongside one another down a country lane near the rescue centre, both on their leads. However when we got back to the centre and we let Pepper off inside a play pen with my wife inside, whilst Raymond stayed on his lead outside. The sniff's quickly turned in growls and showing of teeth, mainly from Pepper. My wife was rightly devestated, but its clear its not going to happen for us and Raymond. We are thinking of going back and trying again, but only if their behavourist thinks it a good idea, and will be there on site as well this time.
I think that Pepper would be better with a much younger dog than Raymond, and one who was not as big.
We have a little Jack Russell b
h that we rescued from Battersea last year. Since then she's moved to Qatar and now the UAE with us. Feeling like she could do with a friend, I ended up rescuing a Beagle from a vet in Dubai (owners had done a runner).Worst thing I ever did.
After five months of trying everything including crating them both, we finally decided enough was enough last month. His anxiety caused him to destroy our house whist we were at work; he'd nip at her constantly and to top it all off, he barked relentlessly any time we left them alone. His behavioural issues also impacted her to the point where they both became very aggressive with other dogs.
I felt like I had failed him and myself as a dog owner, but the stress of coming home to destruction was putting strain on my marriage too. Our neighbours also hated us and our JR had changed from the cuddliest, cutest thing in the world, to rabid monster.
Handing over the lead caused me to burst into tears, but two weeks on, we have our sanity back, the house is calm and the JR is back to normal. Sofa is still utterly shagged though
Thats a shame blumpkin.
Personally, I didn't think Raymond was the answer. He's a lovely dog, but I think Pepper needs a dog smaller than she is, and not as active as Raymond. We'll give it a bit more thought before carrying on. Our next few weekends are busy, so we'll have to wait a bit anyway.
Either way I hope Raymond gets sorted soon as he is a smashing dog.
Personally, I didn't think Raymond was the answer. He's a lovely dog, but I think Pepper needs a dog smaller than she is, and not as active as Raymond. We'll give it a bit more thought before carrying on. Our next few weekends are busy, so we'll have to wait a bit anyway.
Either way I hope Raymond gets sorted soon as he is a smashing dog.
DMN said:
Thats a shame blumpkin.
Personally, I didn't think Raymond was the answer. He's a lovely dog, but I think Pepper needs a dog smaller than she is, and not as active as Raymond. We'll give it a bit more thought before carrying on. Our next few weekends are busy, so we'll have to wait a bit anyway.
Either way I hope Raymond gets sorted soon as he is a smashing dog.
I think the first question is always, do you need another dog? I think a lot of people (myself included) feel that because we cruel parents who work all day, abandon our dogs, that they must be miserable as sin and therefore need company.Personally, I didn't think Raymond was the answer. He's a lovely dog, but I think Pepper needs a dog smaller than she is, and not as active as Raymond. We'll give it a bit more thought before carrying on. Our next few weekends are busy, so we'll have to wait a bit anyway.
Either way I hope Raymond gets sorted soon as he is a smashing dog.
However, I think many will find that their single dogs get used to being number 3 in the pack below Mum & Dad (or after kids etc) and are quite happy holding the fort during the day assuming there is at least some toys to keep them occupied etc. And a classic mistake people make is to assume that adding a new dog(s) to the fleet will solve the problem of an existing dog with anxiety.
However, adding another dog to the mix instantly destabilises the pack and creates the question as to who should be the 'highest ranked' dog. Now, if your pooch is already quite submissive and introverted, then adding a more robust dog to the mix (or vice versa) may not cause a problem, but this is not an easy thing to determine. How long does it really take for dogs to sort out their place in the pack? Despite the initial friendliness a lot of owners find that problems develop perhaps a week, two weeks or even a month after introducing the new dog to the home.
In our case, the JR has always been quite an assertive little madam and therefore (as hindsight has taught me) adding a larger than life, bouncing and excitable Beagle to the mix was a recipe for disaster, even when they seemed perfectly happy on first acquaintance. When we relocated to Qatar initially, our JR went to stay with my Dad four a couple of months, who has an old Chocolate Lab. The two of them got on really well and so I assumed that she would love a friend out here...
I think it's therefore essential that when you do add another mutt to the family, that someone is around all day every day to properly settle them. That in itself is obviously a huge undertaking if both parents are normally working. Thereafter, it's a case of constant reassurance and repetition to realign the new dog to your routine.
It's hard work and in some cases simply too much of commitment. For us, the two dog scenario was simply too much stress and hassle when we're living in a different country with various objectives for doing so. Fortunately, our Beagle was snapped up by another family with an existing Beagle (stay at home Mum etc) and appears to be doing very well.
To the OP; your instincts may be right, the dogs may be right, but we got
from Cyrpus in January this year. As she was wild for a few years, she was a complete 'boss' and was right at the top of the pecking order. Obviously,
wasn't happy with that, as he was used to ruling the roost for the 18 months before she arrived. They were at eachother for a good week or so, and couldn't be left unsupervised that whole time, but after the first week they settled and soon became inseparable.
Sadly, Bella died on September the 24th very suddenly, but she was the best thing we ever got and we'll always be grateful for the memories we have of her, even if it was only for 6 months. She was a dog in a billion.
It can work! And the more you put in, the more you get out.
from Cyrpus in January this year. As she was wild for a few years, she was a complete 'boss' and was right at the top of the pecking order. Obviously,
wasn't happy with that, as he was used to ruling the roost for the 18 months before she arrived. They were at eachother for a good week or so, and couldn't be left unsupervised that whole time, but after the first week they settled and soon became inseparable.
Sadly, Bella died on September the 24th very suddenly, but she was the best thing we ever got and we'll always be grateful for the memories we have of her, even if it was only for 6 months. She was a dog in a billion.
It can work! And the more you put in, the more you get out.
- edit* - We are also in North Yorks (Catterick) and we have looked at all the places you've mentioned.
Edited by TheLordJohn on Wednesday 4th November 09:14
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