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Adding a New Dog

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  1. kate
    Member

    Hello. This is my first post in these forums. I love this website.

    I have a question. I am looking to add another dog to my "clan", which is just me and my four year old German shepherd male, Franz (who is neutered).

    My intuition, my gut, keeps telling me Franz needs another dog playmate and companion right here. The dog I had for twelve years before him seemed content to play with neighborhood dogs on opposite sides of the fence. Not Franz.

    Are there any good guidelines for adding a dog to our little group? How to? Things to know?

    I am open to any way of doing it. I thought I'd go to the Humane Society.

    Franz is crate trained, but we use it less now. He sleeps with me. My previous dog, who I loved very much, did not. (He hated going up stairs.) I love the differences in dogs!!

    Any suggestions!

    kate

    Posted 1 year ago #

  2. lena
    Member

    Hi Kate,
    Thanks for adding to the forums! Not very many people are using them yet but hopefully you will also get other responses.

    One of the most important thing in adding a new dog is to do introductions in a neutral place so that the new dog will not feel intimidated coming into Franz's territory and Franz will not feel like he needs to defend it (if he is prone to such things).

    Many of the humane societies will have a social area where you can bring your dog to see how he will react to other dogs and help find a new dog who will get along with him.

    If Franz is a more dominate dog like a lot of the shepherds you may do better getting a dog who is more submissive.

    When you do find the right dog make sure that Franz still gets some individual time with you so he doesn't feel like that is taken away completely by the new dog.

    Also make sure you have two rooms or crates where you can keep the dogs separate when you are away from home at first until you know for sure they will not fight.

    Here's also a short HSUS article on introducing dogs.
    http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_sheets/introducing_pets_to_a_new_dog.html

    If you haven't checked out petfinders they are a great place to find a dog.
    http://www.petfinder.com/

    Good luck with your search!

    Posted 1 year ago #

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