Need advice on maintaining a two-dog household

[Beth]

Jack is two years old, and we would like to add another Corgi to our household. We would be getting a female puppy. We are not sure on timing; either this summer or next spring, depending on litter availability (we really hope to use the same breeder we did last time, as we are very happy with Jack).

Jack is a happy-go-lucky guy who has never once gotten in a squabble with another dog, and has no serious behavior issues, so I'm pretty sure he'll be good. We've had another dog in the house visiting, and he was thrilled for the company. I understand how to introduce a puppy to the resident dog. But I have some questions on making sure they continue to get along after the introductions, and I get conflicting info online. Some sources say you should let them sort out their own pecking order, while others say the opposite: you should step in at any sign of growling or air-snapping. Here are my questions:

1) I know to feed them apart to avoid food aggression, but what about toys? Should they be expected to share everything? Or should they each have their own toys? Puppies have special puppy toys that would be kept in pup's confined area, but I'm more concerned about when they get older.

2) When should I step in if there is a bit of a dust-up? Is it ok to allow the occasional "back off"growl between dogs? Or should that be stopped outright? I know out-and-out fighting shouldn't be tolerated, of course, but I am of course hopeful it would never come to that.

3) Should I continue to take both dogs out separately at times so they don't get overly dependent on each other, or is it ok to pretty much take them both out together? (I'm thinking I would want them to get used to going places on their own; Jack for instance does Therapy Dog work, and it would be a couple years before a pup would reach that level of training, if she even has a suitable disposition for it).

4) I have seen it recommended that you ALWAYS feed, treat, and pet the same dog (usually the older one) first in order to not upset the natural order. Is this a good idea?

5) The puppy would be in a round pen during the day when we are not home, and crated at night (this is the method we used with Jack, and it worked well). Jack now has the run of the house. Would it be okay to allow Jack into the room with the crated/penned puppy when no one is home (they could then interact through the wire mesh)? Or would it be best to use baby gates to keep Jack away from that room altogether when no one is around to supervise? (I would make sure they liked each other before I would consider letting him near her alone, even through the pen or crate).

6) Finally, a minor issue, is it ok to use the same brushes on both dogs (assuming they don't have any diseases), or should they have separate brushes. I'm sure they'll be on top of each other all the time, so I would think any contagious things they might pick up would eventually spread from dog to dog anyway, shared brush or not.

I know that is a lot of questions for one discussion, but I know we have several breeders/rescuers here who successfully maintain multi-dog households all the time, so I am sure you all have great tips!
Thanks in advance.

[Sam Tsang]

Here's what I've done with mine, hope it'll give you some ideas:

1. Our dogs each have their own own toys and I don't allow them stealing from one another.

2. I step in when they pull their lips back, that's a clear sign for escalation. Always watch for your own safety, your goal is to remove one from the situation, so pick the one that you can easily pick up, I don't make a big scene of this, simply step in, bear hug retrieval and relocate one dog to another room. Then I will go back for the other and check for injury. Be calm and remain in control, don't lose you cool.

3. You can take the little one together if she does well, our younger one was a handful when she was a pup, we didnot engage her in therapy work because she was not ready, so give it time and make other opportunities for socialization.

4. It is much easier to do this one on each hand. I make it a point to treat them equally.

5. There is a possibility that one may provoke the other (peeing on the crate or through the pen). So in the past i have crate both of mine and eliminated that possibility.

6. Yes :)

Great questions Beth! Good luck! 2 is twice the fun :)

[Beth]

Thanks for the great tips, Sam! A follow-up question: assuming they get along well when they are adults and are not prone to fighting, is it considered safe to leave them loose together when no one is home?

I am very conservative in determining when a dog can safely be left loose unattended, and Jack was well over a year old before he had that privilege. He mostly sleeps when he's home alone. I like the idea of well-behaved dogs having the run of the house, and it's worked well in our single-dog household, but am concerned about the possibility of a fight with no one there to supervise.

[Sam Tsang]

You're very welcome Beth, yes, my dogs have the run of the house, they have earned my trust around 2 :) But when I get fosters or visitors, they are in their separate crate for everyone's safety.

[Judi, Dawn, Soffie & Griffyn]

We got Griffyn when Soffie was 1 year 3 mos old. We brought her with us to meet him and his litter mates. Griffyn somehow knew that he was "the new little brother" and he immediately pursued Soffie. Soffie on the other hand, was a bit stand offish which according to the breeder was a good sign. Here is a link to a video of their first meeting. http://www.dogster.com/video/542960/my_guy_griffyn_2

Some of the things we did were:

1. We wanted Soffie to be assured she was still #1 but we didn't want to "polarize them either". So we do always put her food down first, but his bowl is always in my hand and goes right down on his mat immediately after she gets hers. And yes we have their dishes in separate areas. But, interestingly enough they both drink from the same bowl. We initially gave each their own water bowl, but for some reason Griffyn wouldn't drink from his bowl, and Soffie never minded him drinking from hers. In fact they many times will drink at the same time.

2. They each have their own crates. Soffie had "graduated" from being crated at night when she turned 1 year old. She also had earned the run of the house when we left. We kept with the same schedule for Griffyn and when he turned 1 we left his crate door open at bed time. And where Soffie had opted to move from the crate to the bed with me; Griffyn preferred to sleep in his crate at first. Now he is what I call a "roamer" he starts off in Dawns bed then sometime in the night will leave and come into my room and then he moves again and ends up back in his crate. Soffie is always sound asleep on my bed. Stretched to the maximum space, I might add!

3. Toys..... they play with each others. We really never tried to keep anything seperate. They trade off. If she has something he wants, he waits till she leaves it then runs to grab it. And vice versa. They have also learned to "take turns" fetching a ball or whatever. He is better at bringing it back. She isn't quite so quick. But they each will wait if it's the other's turn to retrieve.

4. Even though I wanted Soffie to always feel like she was #1 I also wanted Griffyn to feel he had his place at the head of the line sometimes too. So.... in the morning, he is the one that goes out first. But we have always walked them together. And as far as any other attention, they jump over each other to get to us when we get home so there's no picking who comes first. And as I said, they've learned to take turns playing... that just kind of happened. And as far as when we're just relaxing and cuddling lots of times they're on either side of me on the floor or on the couch getting equal attention.

5. We didn't try to keep Soffie separate from Griffyn at all when he came home. But.... when we left the house we DID crate Griffyn and left Soffie loose. On two separate occasions we set up a video camera to record what if anything went on while we were gone. Here's what we saw...... Soffie walked by the crate and then went immediately out of frame. The rest of the video was of Griffyn sleeping soundly in his crate.

6. We bought the furminator, we use it on both dogs.

7. They have had some "moments" with each other. And what we found worked the best when it escalates to something more than just "fun" rough play. We make a very loud noise that kind of sounds like neeeaaaa!!! and stomp our foot. This distracts them. And then we get on the floor with them and tell them to "make up" I know it sounds funny but it works and they do make up with each other.

So...... all that being said. It's what has worked for us. But..... you will discover that things will fall into place for you and your new "family". Go for it! And have fun!! I for one have never regretted bringing Griffyn home.

[Matt & Hilliary]

Haha, that video is too funny. He kept going after her, but she kept running away :p

[Beth]

I just watched the video. How cute! At that age my pup was a walking set of teeth! LOL

Thanks for all the tips! I'm learning a lot from everyone else's experiences.

[Dez Hunter]

I don't have any experience on any of this so I don't have any tips or advice, I just wanted to wish you luck on your puppy corgi venture!

[Susan and Merlin]

This is what works in our five dog household, made up of dogs from 26# up to 100#, ages from 4 to 18.

1. My dogs may each have a toy or two that I bought specifically *for* that dog, but in general - everybody shares. No one is allowed to be possessive of a toy. One thing I learned in agility was that the surest way to get a dog to want a toy is to not allow him to have it. That could create friction between the dogs. Also, my dogs eat side-by-side. Food aggression is absolutely not tolerated. If a dog shows aggressive behavior toward another dog over food, I pick their bowl up. I haven't picked a bowl up in years. :)

2. Basic manner correction is okay between dogs. Anything more than that is not acceptable. YOU are the dominant one, YOU are there to correct the dogs. Allowing your "alpha" dog to demonstrate too much dominance over another dog(s) will undermine your authority. In your presence, you are the one that sets the rules.

3. When a dog wants out, I let them out. Usually everybody goes out together, especially if they see their brother/sister going outside, because outside is fun.

4. Probably. Can't say that I practice it though. :D I do feed my most dominant dog last, which is also opposite of what most dog folks say. I also make them wait for their food - they can't stick their noses in until I've said they can.

5. I have one dog I keep in a crate while I am gone, and ironically, it's the corgi. He is in a different room with the door shut. I think it would be kind of mean to allow the other dogs to roam freely around his cage while he's locked up. That, and he has some anxiety issues, so I like to provide him with a quite place where he can relax and not worry.

6. Yes you can use the same brushes on each dog. ;)

[Bev Levy]

We added Buffy when Sparty was 1 1/2. He was thrilled from the beginning! She was only 9 weeks old so just a playmate. Eventually when she was between 2 and 3 we had a couple of incidents where she attacked him at bed time. After a little detective work I figured out that each night while I was washing my face my husband was bringing her in bed with him and making a huge fuss over her. She apparently got the idea that she was the Ruler of that room. When he stopped doing that she never went after Sparty again. Sparty never retaliated which is odd because he has always been more dominant. So far we have had no incidents with Izzy. She is 2 and he is 10.
We did add my son's doberman this year but they have been around each other. Sparty never has liked her but I know Sparty well enough that I usually recognize the stare he gets when he is mad. When that happens I distract him or step in and back him down.
When we feed them Sparty gets his first and we feed them a few feet from each other. At first I watched to make sure there was no attempt at sharing but they all figured out pretty quick that was not Ok.
No one is very toy possesive so that is not an issue. However, as with children, they always want the toy the other one has and will wait patiently for the one in possesion to leave it.
I crated until 2 but the dobe has to be crated always so that removes that issue.
Good luck!!

[christy fry]

I maintain a 3 dog household and have never seperated for anything other than poddy training in the beginning. I walk them together and apart depending on what I'm doing some things corgis can't do, so only my lab will go. My animals are mellow
share toys, sleep together, I had conversations with all the breeders about wanting a quieter temperment from the pups I've gotten. And the breeders would show me the puppy's that had those tendencies. The breeders were never wrong either. All my animals go to daycare once a week each (by themselves) so they know how to interact properly with all sizes and ages of other dogs. We've never had a fight and step in to avoid one rarely. I do believe the less stressed you are about the new pup the less stressed your current pup will be . Good Luck

[Stephanie]

Topping this for any more information that might be out there. Bear's breeder just emailed me that they'll have new puppies soon and I've been thinking about a second one for a while.

Bear is 8 months old - was potty trained in the first two weeks we had him home.

He's a friendly and outgoing dog, loves to play with the boxer across the yard and has since he was 8 weeks old.

He has never shown any aggression towards another dog.

He loves his crate but also loves to be with me.

Questions: is it too early to bring another pup into the mix? Will they form their own "pack" without me, leaving me on the outside? Will having a puppy in the house undo all of the training that Bear and I have done? Will Bear enjoy the company or be offended by another dog?

[Bev Levy]

Probably not too early. It sounds like Bear would enjoy another family member. I think it is a good idea to follow the breeders advice on which puppy to get. So far my experience is that the first dog is heavily bonded with us and the second one is a little more bonded with the other dog. I don't know if it is always like that but that what happened at our house with the two puppies we added.