When is the Best Time to Add a Second Pup? When pup number one is a good example for pup number two!

Connor and new little sis, Kaylie.

Your new puppy will learn as much or more from your present dog as it will from you. Your adult dog will be your new pup's mentor. Housetraining will be easier when the new pup follows its "aunt" or "uncle" into the yard after meal times. Patterns and routines that you painstakingly established for your first dog will fall into place with little or no effort for your second pup. Training will go easier as the pup will take a hint at what cues mean by following the adult dog's lead. (You'll also have to train separately, as copy cat pups generally have no idea what cues the other dog is following until they've been taught by you alone!) Your dog's friends will become your pup's friends.

Puppies learn by watching and imitating. They learn limits and boundaries, bite inhibition and communication skills by interacting with a well-adjusted, skilled older dog. They will also learn the bad things - and maybe even more quickly! Don't get a puppy to "fix" a problem with your current dog. If your present dog is unruly, chews the wrong things, barks when he shouldn't or escapes the yard, he will teach those things to your new pup. If your dog is a bully and mistreats the pup, the pup may become overly submissive or defensive with other dogs he meets and may practice the example by bullying softer dogs as he gets older. How your dog feels about strangers and friends will be modeled for the puppy. A poorly socialized dog who has issues with other animals or people will share those perspectives on the world as well. Your pup will take it as fact that some things are dangerous and that whatever behavior the adult dog is demonstrating is how best to handle the situation.

Get a second pup when your dog is:

• A good example of proper manners
• Mature and well-socialized
• Old enough to understand that a puppy is a baby and must be treated gently
• You and your current dog work well together as a team

See also:
Raising and Training Multiple Dogs
Living with Littermates
Working a Group

This handout may be reprinted in its entirety for distribution free of charge and with full credit given:
© CAROL A. BYRNES "DIAMONDS IN THE RUFF" Training for Dogs & Their People -
ditr_training @ hotmail.com - http://www.diamondsintheruff.com