There are many advantages to owning more than one dog, from double the hilarity, companionship for your first pooch, and much easier training the 2nd time ‘round. I have seen many of these benefits first-hand, and they certainly outweigh any small hurdles we encountered. My senior dog, Roxy, perked up when I got Kona, and cuddled daily with Maxine, even if she was irritated by her invasive puppy-energy. Watching their relationships develop was and continues to be a rewarding experience. Fun stuff aside, there are also some important things to consider while you prepare for the transition, like possible changes to your existing relationship with your first dog. I am not a professional dog trainer, and highly suggest seeking out advice from a variety of resources, but I am happy to divulge the information I have learned from my years of experience. This page will serve as an advice and resource center for my Atlas families. From my experience, having more than one dog has enriched my relationship with them all, and has brought out fantastic qualities in each dog as individuals. If you can, try to remember that all dogs are different, and each home has a different pace to it, but consistency and preparedness go a long way!

Beforehand …

Before you begin the adoption process of a second pup, be sure that your first dog is ready for the change, and has demonstrated a sociably-flexible personality. By “flexible”, I mean that it is a good sign if your dog has displayed a general friendliness and acceptance of other dogs/puppies up to this point. If your first dog has been a bit standoffish or territorial around other dogs in the past, it may just require more training and precautions when introducing a puppy. If your first dog is or has been aggressive with other dogs, I strongly encourage using as much caution as possible, hiring a trainer, and consider your options. My oldie goldie, Roxy, was always very standoffish when it came to puppies, but it wasn’t because she was an aggressive dog. Roxy simply was irritated by their puppy-energy and had to growl to put them in their place and reinforce her personal space. Therefore, it is important to understand your dog’s behavior before purchasing a second dog/puppy. If possible, introduce an item with the new dog’s scent into the home before the adoption day, take your dog to the dog park, bring a friend’s dog over for a play date, etc. Bringing another dog over for a playdate can give you a preview of how your puppy may be welcomed. If your dog is aggressively hoarding toys, food/water, defending it’s space, and/or acting aggressively towards the visiting dog, you may have some work to do. Suggestions for the first few days home are mentioned further below.

It is important to consider that, even if your dog does well with other dogs out and about, they may be more possessive over their own domain. When introducing a puppy to your home, be sure to:

• Separate the two dogs. It may seem cute to have them meet face to face while in your lap, but a quick snap of the teeth can turn a fun scenario into a scary one quickly. First, have them meet outside, with handlers for each dog. I would then recommend letting the new dog into the house first to smell around, slobber on some toys, and generally explore without the shadow of the other dog looming over them. Once the puppy has had time to explore, bring your first dog back inside but keep the two separated for the time being.

• Remove/put up toys from around the the house, and instead introduce them to 2-3 toys at a time, adding more as you go. I would avoid introducing new toys at this time. You’re trying to reduce procession/control issues from your first dog, while showing them that there are plenty of toys for both of them. You don’t want your first dog feeling intruded upon and expect them to share a brand new toy this early on into their relationship. When introducing toys into the equation, I would recommend separating the two dogs first, and giving toys to the newest puppy. This will allow them to slobber and get their scent all over the toys. Afterwards, remove the toys from the new dog and give them to the other dog (keep the dogs separated at this time). This will allow your first dog to accept that the new dog’s scent will be all over “their” things. Repeat this process with just a few toys at a time until you can leave out the toys without aggressive hoarding/guarding. The more scents and toys passed back and forth while the dogs are still separated will greatly help the transition when they are together.

• With regards to food, I highly recommend adding another food bowl to your home for the first few months (at least). My girls do really well eating out of the same bowl now, but Roxy especially hated when someone would intrude on her meal. For that reason, I recommend getting two food bowls but keeping them within the same room. The hope is that you can feed both pups without creating tension over just one bowl. If you notice one dog moving towards the other’s bowl, and that other dog is showing possessive behavior, separate the two. You may even need to physically separate the two during mealtimes, but I would recommend trying to get them to the point of eating nearby each other. That way, you can leave food down whenever you need to, and know that they won’t fight over it. Water bowls are generally not heavily guarded, likely because water is available to most indoor dogs 24/7. If you can manage to make food available throughout the day similar to water bowls, neither dog will see food as a sparse commodity. Currently, I have multiple dog food bowls, always filled, and never argued over.
  

Once introductions are done, you’ll want to asses how they’re doing. This is a step by step process, don’t get discouraged too soon. Each dog and home is different, so please don’t be disappointed in your puppy or your first dog for their behavior. You’ve been aware of this change coming, but it’s harder for them to anticipate such a life change. And who knows, you could be reading this and have two dogs that “clicked” right away! That’s awesome! But I will still err on the side of caution and recommend taking your time exploring each dog’s boundaries.

If you’re done with introductions, you may be wondering how to go about training a new addition to your family while maintaining some normalcy for your first dog. There is no one-size-fits-all method for training, but I’d trust in your first dog more than you’d think. If you’re worried about training a new puppy, this is where having an older dog comes in handy! Your new addition will surely benefit from watching their older sibling go outside, wait by the door, listen to commands, get groomed, ride in the car, etc.

You may hear tell of older dogs regressing in their training when a puppy is introduced to the home. This can happen, but tends to happen to dogs close to the same age, and isn’t at all set in stone. This regression usually happens because your puppy is still chewing things, running wild, and still potty-training, all while being doted over and the center of attention. So your older dog learns “oh, this is okay behavior, and if the puppy pees, I have to pee over it because this space is mine too.” Therefore I highly recommend cracking down on your first dog just as hard as you would your puppy for training issues (chewing the wrong thing, destroying items, or using the bathroom inside, etc). I noticed that my stern “no’s” at Max were more than enough to make Kona take notice. Therefore, Kona never regressed and instead acts to correct Max’s behavior much of the time.

My life as a dog breeder has been made tremendously more simple with regards to puppy training because I always have an older dog to show my younger ones the ropes. I will say, one drawback for your first dog is that you may need to subject them to more strict rules than you normally would. For instance, when Maxine came along, I made Kona stay the night with her to crate train her (in a massive XXL crate). Before this, Kona was sleeping in my bed with me, but I needed her warm, calm demeanor to teach Max that the crate was okay. Max followed Kona & Roxy outside, and quickly learned not to steal from her older sisters.