Tips for Going from One to Two Dogs
What’s better than one dog…two! Navy truly thrives around other dogs so Zach and I always knew we wanted to get a sibling for Navy. The hardest thing for us in this entire process was finding another dog that would mesh with our current lifestyle. As we considered adding another dog to our pack we made sure to read and research as much as we could. Almost all of the articles we read stressed the importance of finding the right match in a second dog. Truthfully, this is why we were so picky with our second dog. After a lot of careful consideration, we ultimately decided to get another cardigan welsh corgi puppy from our same breeder, and the rest is history.
We’ve definitely had our fair share of highly requested blog posts, but ever since adding Duke to our family, tips on bringing a second dog home has been our most requested topic. We are not dog-parenting experts by any means, but we have definitely learned a thing or two adding a puppy to our house. Take a look at a few tips we gathered for easing your transition from one to two dogs.
LET YOUR DOGS MEET IN A NEUTRAL LOCATION
NEVER introduce your new dog to your first dog inside your house. Pick a neutral location for the two to have their first meeting. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to try taking them for a walk together. Once they are calm and tired from their walk, you can take them inside. It was recommended to us to allow the first dog to enter the house before the new dog.
HAVE PEOPLE GREET YOUR FIRST DOG BEFORE THE SECOND
Okay, puppies are cute, we all know it and I know everyone will want to meet your puppy. Dogs can get jealous too! Rather than have people rush to greet your puppy, ask them to give your first dog a little extra attention before showering your new pup with love.
CARVE OUR QUALITY TIME FOR YOUR FIRST DOG
If you are bringing a puppy home like we did, take advantage of puppy napping time! Your new pup will (hopefully) nap a lot, giving you some down time. Try spending that down time with your first dog. Go outside, take a long walk somewhere new, play fetch, visit your local pet supply store–do something fun!
GIVE YOUR FIRST DOG EXTRA LOVE
You will be giving your new dog a lot of attention. We made sure to make Navy feel extra special when we could. Navy gets her food first, treats first, extra praise, etc. This really helped Navy realize that while we now divide our attention between her and Duke, she doesn’t always come second.
MONITOR PLAY TIME AND INTERACTIONS
Never ever EVER let the two dogs alone…at least for the first month. Our trainers recommended we allow 15 minutes of supervised play every hour. They also recommended we stay no less than two steps away from our dogs, just in case we need to intervene. The most important thing to remember is to take things slow!
KEEP YOUR DOGS SEPARATE DURING MEALTIME
We are so lucky that Navy is not reactive or aggressive when it comes to food. Heck, she would gladly let another dog take her bone or eat out of her bowl. However, this is not the norm for most dogs. To avoid potential fights and aggression, we recommend feeding the dogs separately.
We hope you liked reading through our tips! Having two dogs can really be fun, but it is also a lot of work. Take a look at a few articles we read prior to bringing our new puppy Duke home.
- https://thebark.com/content/bringing-home-second-dog
- https://pets.webmd.com/dogs/features/adding-another-dog-to-your-home#1
- https://www.rescuedogs101.com/best-way-introduce-second-dog-into-your-pack/
Did you like this post? Read another one of our Puppy 101 posts here.
what do you think?