Double the doodles, double the fun?

[cocoincanada]

Hi all,

 

We are thrilled to be in the process of adopting our 2nd doodle. We currently have a 3.5 year old Goldendoodle, and our new pup will be a young Labradoodle.

For those of you who have two dogs, just looking to hear some feedback on the following:

• How did your 1st doodle react when you brought home the 2nd, and he realized he was there to stay?
• Did you have jealousy issues? Did you simply deal with it by giving the dogs equal attention?
• What did your 1st do if the young pup peed or pooped on the floor, while working on being  housebroken?
• Did it take a while for the two of them to get along?
• To establish who the alpha was?
• Did they become best buddies in a short period of time?
• What about crate training when the 1st dog is no longer crated?
• Toy hogging?
• Car anxiety

I presume that these are all normal concerns for someone who is adding a second dog to the mix?

 

Sunny is not an aggressive dog, but he definitely tries to be the alpha when he's around other dogs. We think he will definitely be telling the new pup who's boss, right off the bat, but I'm hoping that after a few weeks (once Sunny has gotten used to the idea), they will become the best of friends.

 

Sunny is no longer crated. He was for the first 1.5 years of his life, but since then, he's been roaming free. He's very laid back and doesn't get into any trouble while we're out of the house. The occasional sock if we leave laundry around...at most. The new pup is apparently not good in a crate at all. He gets very anxious. I would still like to expose him to a crate, and make it a positive experience for him, to help get him over his anxiety. But I'm not sure how to do that when we have an un-crated dog roaming around.

 

Same for sleeping at night. Our bedroom is the only room in the house that has carpet. Sunny sleeps in our bedroom on the floor, in a giant dog bed. With the new pup not being fully housebroken yet, I don't mind him sleeping on his own bed in the bedroom, but I fear I will end up with quite a few messes to clean up. When Sunny was young, he was crated in our bedroom, so we could hear him whine if he needed to pee in the middle of the night. But, I don't see it going well if we crate the new pup while Sunny has freedom to sleep on his bed.  I can only assume that the pup would squeal to be out and with Sunny.

 

Also, Sunny is a bit of a toy hog. When he plays with another dog and that dog has a toy, well he instantly wants THAT toy. The other dog will give up, and go find another toy. And voila -- suddenly, Sunny now wants THAT toy. He plays this game and we are constantly taking toys away from him and giving them back to the other dogs. Then we give him his own toy to play with. But...you get the picture -- he always is more interested in what the other dog has. I'm wondering how this will pan out with a new pup. I don't want the poor pup to never have anything to play with because Greedy Sunny is busy stealing his toys and eating his bones all day. And we want to teach Sunny to share. Just not sure how. Wondering if any of you have similar experiences with this, and if so...how you dealt with it?

 

The new pup is also apparently very anxious in the car. The foster mom has been working with him, and he is getting better, but he doesn't want to go in the car at all. Seems to be scared of it and puts the brakes on. I am hoping that seeing Sunny in the car will alleviate some of his fears and he'll have a "monkey see, monkey do" attitude, but I'm also expecting that this may not happen and that we may end up with one dog (Sunny) who loves the car, and another (new pup) who hates it. Have any of you encountered this when a new dog was added to your family?

 

We are VERY excited to add a second dog to our family, especially another doodle! We hope to have him home this weekend.

 

Thank you all in advance for reading my LONG post, and hearing my concerns. Looking forward to reading any feedback you might have to offer me on any of the above.

 

[Penny, Comiskey & Beemer]

We have two goldendoodles....Comiskey (female) and Beemer (male).  They are 14 months apart.  Comiskey is and always has been a bit of a diva.  Our breeder suggested adding a male, otherwise there might have been a problem with establishing the pecking order.  She was not happy with the new addition for about two weeks.  They are not best buddies....but get along very well.  Comiskey is very independent and prefers to be on her own.  Beemer is a lover and wants to cuddle with everyone.  This does not appeal to Comiskey and she will just walk away....but Beemer has figured out how to get us to sit on the floor and cuddle, so Comiskey has become his play mate. They never fight, and when Beemer had surgery, Comiskey watched over him like a mother hen....if he attempted to do something that was a struggle for him, she would alert us to come to his aid...she also slept with him during this time.  It didn't take very long to establish the fact that Beemer was the male and Comiskey will give in to him (within reason)...she still has her own ideas on some things....Beemer liked the crate....Comiskey, never....but very quickly he gave up the crate also...(we are back to that cuddling thing again!)  We have two of every toy...but they still want the same one...they work that one out for themselves....we very rarely interfere in what they are working out....and they have done very well....Ah, car anxiety....Comiskey loves the car...Beemer, not so much....then we figured out that when Comiskey was young, she sat in my lap during her car rides for a whole year...Beemer went straight into a seatbelt....and he hated it....he is over two and still has a problem...until it dawned on us that he needed that time to adjust...so now he sits in my lap and does very well....small price to pay to get rid of his anxiety.  All in all....double the fun is an understatement.....they are wonderful...just try very hard to let them work things out....I am no expert, but our home is a quiet doodle home made up of mutual respect....good luck...you are in for quite a ride!

[Bonnie and Kona]

Adorable pair!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I didn't add a second doodle to an already existing one, but I have brought in Fosters.  I thought my girls would be very excited to have another dog in the house ..... boy was I surprised!  Our Lucy who is normally the laid back mellow one, became the "alpha dog" overnight.  It was her house, her rules.  Our Sophie who is normally the "Alpha Dog" (only because Lucy let's her be) was reduced to Number 3 in the pack when we have fosters.  Depending on how long the person has been fostering the pup, you may not even be really hearing about the pups true personality.  I've found that with my fosters until after about 2 weeks they are very insecure ..... then their true personality comes out.  So, Hopefully the new puppy is just a little insecure with the whole car and crate things and will be able to adjust.  I think many on here have new puppies that are crated when their older dogs aren't, so hopefully that won't be a problem if you can get past the crate anxiety.  I'm sure you will get lots of input here as many members have added puppies.  Best of luck.  Can't wait for pics.

[Adina P]

• How did your 1st doodle react when you brought home the 2nd, and he realized he was there to stay?

1st dog meeting 2nd dog was Clark's border collie Cass meeting his new doodle Thule.  Cass was an older adult dog at that time and Thule was 11 months old when we picked her up.  Cass wanted NOTHING to do with Thule and for about two weeks they'd bark at each other in the living room.  Early on they'd circle each other and Cass would hip-check her.  This was my first experience with dogs so I was worried, but they ended up fine together.  They never played because Cass was too much of an alpha 'mature' dog to lower herself to something like playing with another dog...but they co-existed peacefully and without any problems. 

 

A couple months later I brought 8 week old Rosco home.  While Clark and his dogs didn't live with me yet (we didn't get married till later that year) they spent a lot of time here so it was like practically adding a 3rd dog.  That also went fine.

 

Most recently when we were down to just Rosco (who was 4 at the time) we added Boca (4 month old pup).  Rosco is pretty cool with most dogs so they got along great right away.  No status issues.

• Did you have jealousy issues? Did you simply deal with it by giving the dogs equal attention?

No jealousy issues between Rosco and Boca.  Don't recall 'jealousy' or 'human attention' issues between Cass and Thule either.  I don't think you have to give dogs 'equal' attention--you need to give them the attention each one needs individually.

• What did your 1st do if the young pup peed or pooped on the floor, while working on being  housebroken?

It didn't seem to matter, although Boca really didn't have accidents as she was already 4 months. 

• Did it take a while for the two of them to get along?

2 weeks to tolerance for Cass with Thule.  Immediate with Rosco and Boca.  Some dogs take time.  Most young adult dogs do fine with pups...SUPER tolerant at first and then lay down the rules more clearly as time goes by. 

• To establish who the alpha was?

Cass was a TRUE alpha.  She was not mean, pushy, or aggressive, but she was not to be messed with and rarely needed to do much to prove it.  Rosco rarely tried to bug her to play.  Between Rosco and Boca I don't know if there is a real alpha--they kind of take turns depending on the situation. But neither are what I would consider a real alpha dog.

• Did they become best buddies in a short period of time?

Cass and Thule were not play buddies, they just accepted each other (though Thule did really like Cass, Cass never was particularly 'buddy-like' with her).  Rosco and Boca became immediate friends but I wouldn't call them inseparable or anything.

• What about crate training when the 1st dog is no longer crated?

Made no difference.  I really don't think it matters to most dogs.

• Toy hogging?

All the time =)  They duke it out (not aggressively) and take and share and take and swap as needed.  The only toys my dogs really get into are bones and rubber balls.  They have 4 rubber balls and tons of bones and it's rarely an issue.  When they chase each other for what the other has, it's almost always in a fun, friendly, competition.

• Car anxiety: Not an issue here.  Does the pup have nausea on car rides or is it mostly difficulty getting in and out?  It might be an issue of it just being awkward to enter the car.  Problems getting in and out of cars always makes me think of Temple Grandin and her work trying to help cows feel more comfortable going in and out of those tight slaughter chutes.  If the cows felt comfortable, had sure footing, no weird lights or other visually disturbing things in the way they went in willingly.  Otherwise weird things would make them afraid.  So maybe look at the entrance to the car from the dog's point of view and see what can make it easier, brighter, darker, less claustrophobic or whatever.

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

• How did your 1st doodle react when you brought home the 2nd, and he realized he was there to stay?
  • Webber placed himself between me and Seda.  He also would chase her and pin her down by her neck, which she loved, and she pulled on his ears and bit his face.  All in good humor. Expect that they wil wrestle and sound like they are killing one another.  It is play (unless blood is drawn!!).
• Did you have jealousy issues? Did you simply deal with it by giving the dogs equal attention?
  • Yes, Webber is still jealous, at times, and I have had Seda for a year now.  It helped to give Webber one on one time (we took a rally obedience class together).  Webber still demands more attention than Seda does.  I make him sit/stay while I hug Seda if he is trying to hog all the attention.
• What did your 1st do if the young pup peed or pooped on the floor, while working on being  housebroken?
  • Second pup did not pee or poop in the house.  Every one went outside on the puppies schedule.
• Did it take a while for the two of them to get along?
  • They never didn't get along.  Seda pestered Webber to play with her.  That engaged him.  Once when he wouldn't respond to her she bit his private part.  He responded!  They have play time, that they initiate, every day and have since Seda came home.  They also chase one another outside and run like the wind.
• To establish who the alpha was?
  • The dogs figure this out themselves.  The younger tested the older until one of them came out on top.  I would advise you to let them figure this out and try not to interfere.
• Did they become best buddies in a short period of time?
  • I would say they are good buddies now, after a year.  Best?  I don't know.  They don't sleep cuddled up together, but I suspect that is because it is too hot.  Seda pays more attention to what Webber is "saying" to her than what I say, on occasion.  Webber never leaves my side, Seda is more independent and will wander off and do her own thing.  They aren't constantly paying attention to each other.
• What about crate training when the 1st dog is no longer crated?
  • Not a problem.  Seda is crated when I leave the house.  The rest of the time they are both roaming freely.  Seda came crate trained.  Webber is 3 1/2 and has been loose for years.  The rule is that if she chews something she gets crated when I leave.  Intermittently I give her a trial out.  I have never considered what Webber thought about it...or Seda either, for that matter.
• Toy hogging?
  • They play tug of war with toys and Seda likes toys more than Webber does, so she gets most of them.  I let them settle that between themselves.
• Car anxiety
  • Fortunately, neither one of them has a problem in the car.  They both love road trips.
  • --------------
  • Watching two Doodles play is so much fun.  They make me laugh every day.  Their personalities are different and I enjoy them both.  Don't worry,  the dogs will figure most of this out and you won't have to.

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

Webber and Seda

[Bonnie and Kona]

So sweet!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

• Did it take a while for the two of them to get along?
• To establish who the alpha was?
• Did they become best buddies in a short period of time?

Our old lab mix, Simon, was alpha - not mean, not aggressive, just nurturing but the boss.  As a puppy, Ned bugged so Simon finally bit him on the snout one time - Ned squealed and that was the end of it.  Ned respected Simon.  They played tug-o-war but did not wrestle - I think Simon was too old.  Our Springer went into a depression when we got Ned.  Pushy Ned just stole toys right out of our Springer's mouth, even his favorite fuzzy ball.  The Springer seemed depressed for nearly a year, but finally came out the other side.  The Springer is not a dog who really knows how to play with other dogs, although sometimes he tries. There was never any fighting between these guys. All are neutered males. We also got an adult doodle rescue a year ago and while that is another story, the two doodles play and wrestle. Ned established himself higher in the pack than Clancy from the first just as he did with our Springer.  Now that our lab mix is gone, Ned is our dog in charge. He is the pack protector (at least he thinks so) and takes whatever toys he wants when he wants.

• What about crate training when the 1st dog is no longer crated?

• What did your 1st do if the young pup peed or pooped on the floor, while working on being  housebroken?

Ned must have been crate trained at the breeder's because he went in it and stayed without crying.  We used the crate at night and when we had to leave the dogs when we were in the RV, otherwise Ned was in our den/kitchen area. We have a doggy door and that is a great way to housebreak a dog.  He learned within days to use the doggy door.  It was summer though and a lot of Ned's puppy days were in an RV.  We just took him potty often (what else did we have to do with our vacation?) and crated when we left him. The other dogs were uncrated and never considered having an accident in the house just because Ned might have. 

• Car anxiety?

None of the dogs have travel problems, although our lab mix got car sick sometimes when he was a puppy.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

We have 2 doodles as well. We have Murphy, who is 2 1/2 and Bella who is 11 months. Murphy is not an alpha dog and Bella is still a baby, but a rambunctious and boisterous one and has no problem getting in Murphy's face should he ignore her.

It took Murphy about 3 days to actually engage in any activity with her, before that he just watched her from across the room.I felt he was just waiting for her to leave and trusting that he has always been Numero Uno, he didn't see any reason to interact with her. He otherwise tolerated her craziness.

There are only some very short bursts of what you could call "jealousy" or maybe protection, when Bella is being Bella and trying to be the center of attention and Murphy will let her have it with barking and wrestling her away from me. Murphy doesn't like it when she does something wrong and he has been a little tattle-teller at times too. He will look from Bella to me and back and forth to get my attention if I can't see what she is doing wrong. He then will go hide or put his head down as I scold her. He has hardly ever heard a harsh word from us, and since Bella can provoke a saint to swear, Murphy shows us that he doesn't like this new tone at all.

As for being buddies, they play together all day, wrestle, chase each other, run around together in the yard, walk side by side on their leashes during walks, they have an unspoken language that you swear you can almost tell what they are saying and her presence has made him much less anxious when we leave the house.

She was in an X pen for the first 4-5 months and Murphy probably was just relieved he didn't have to deal with her, but wasn't alone. As she got better at being out roaming free, we stopped the pen.  There was no problem with her sleeping in the crate at night and Murphy on the bed. It's just the way it was and both accepted it without a problem.

I do let them sort out their differences themselves unless I feel it's getting too rough or someone is being too aggressive and I hear growling that doesn't sound friendly. They have never hurt eachother altho it can look as though they do. And they always go back for more of the same, so it's just their doodle play,

Toys are never a problem and I have mostly things that they do together, tug toys, a buddy ball,(I think it's called) other balls. He doesn't seem to want her chew toys or fight her for things, but she is a brat when he has something she wants. Mostly with just barking, and honestly they eventually work it out if I stay out of it and can tolerate the barking. If not I step in and take the item from them both.

As for cars, Murphy would ride on the back of a motorcycle if we let him and Bella just loves to jump into the back of the car to go for a ride, but vomits most every time. I feel it's just motion sickness and hope she will outgrow it soon. They otherwise love to go out for little car adventures, so it seems.

It will all work itself out I'm sure. I think they like having another dog with them and learn eachothers place in the lineup very quickly. I also think they learn from eachother very fast, so potty training, leash walking, going outside when told, all were very easy to train Bella for. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

 

'

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

 

Congratulations on your second Doodle!  I love having two...and I know they love it too (well most of the time).

• How did your 1st doodle react when you brought home the 2nd, and he realized he was there to stay?

Guinness never really showed any indication that he was upset when we brought his "brother" home.  He went with us to pick him up, and the two rode home together all cuddled up. 

• Did you have jealousy issues? Did you simply deal with it by giving the dogs equal attention?

The only time I see any "jealousy" is when I'm giving one of them attention...the other one will worm his way in to get a "piece of the action".  I'm not sure it's jealousy as we know it.

• What did your 1st do if the young pup peed or pooped on the floor, while working on being  housebroken?

If Murphy had an "accident" during his housebreaking, Guinness pretty much just ignored it.  Murph was never "alone" where this could happen....if we wern't watching him he was crated at the beginning.  We took him right out, and cleaned up the "mess" immediately, so Guinness never had a chance to get into it even if he wanted to.

• Did it take a while for the two of them to get along?

Not really....as I recall they played together right from the beginning.  Guinness was still pretty much a puppy when we got Murph so they both loved to play.

• To establish who the alpha was?

That changes all the time.  There are situations where I feel like one of them is taking an "alpha" role, but then the next day it could all change depending on the circumstances.  I also just let them work it out.  I never tried to establish either of them in that role.  They both know that my DH and I are the alphas in the house....they're just vying for who comes next in the hierarchy I think.

• Did they become best buddies in a short period of time?

It didn't take long.  I can't even imagine them now not being together.  If I have to take one somewhere (like the Vet) the other will just sit or lay by the door waiting.  They are always together in the house.  I'd say they're are really bonded pair and have been from the beginning.

• What about crate training when the 1st dog is no longer crated?

That never seemed to be a problem.  Guinness was out of the crate when we got Murph.  Often if Murphy was crated, Guinness would just lie right next to the crate....he was always in the same room as his brother.

• Toy hogging?

Yes, lots of bed and toy hogging.  Murph is much bigger than Guinness, so it's easy for him to take things away from Guinness.  I've been working on this, and it's happening much less frequently now.  I should have started earlier in retrospect.

• Car anxiety

Murph never had any issues about being in the car.  Guinness got carsick as a puppy, but we had meds to control it.  Now the two of them absolutely love going anywhere in the car.  I just have to say "road trip" and they run down and wait by the garage door.

Good luck with your new addition.  I hope you find having two as much fun as we have.  The best part is on bad weather days when I just can't get them out to walk, they exercise each other.  They'll chase each other around the house and wrestle until they're both exhausted. 

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

Congrats......  I brought Sasha (Goldendoodle) In January and by the time September rolled around that same year I had Oliver (Labradoodle).  They are great together, they immediately got along so well, there was never any issues what so ever.  Sasha is my littl princess and is very much a mommie's girl, I wanted to get Sasha her own puppy so she would have K-9 company and conpanionship.  I wanted to get another puppy while Sasha was still very young so she would welcome the puppy.  Its been 10 months since Oliver join us and it has been the best 10 months ever.  Both are spayed and neutered and could not get along any better than they do.   I would love to have #3 :)     I brought Sasha with me when I went to the breeder to pick our puppy and let Sasha interact with the puppies.  I was lucky that my breeder let me do this and encouraged me to include Sasha in the process.  When I went to pick up Oliver to bring him home I brought Sasha with me, it was 3 hr. car ride which gave them time to ajust outside of the home and when we got home it was like they have been together all along.  I am the alpha dog so there is no issues between.  There was not even a transition period, they just automatically got along.  Both dogs are crated so there is no issues with the crate.   Oliver at times takes Sasha's toy away when she is quietly playing with something.  If she is playing with a toy he will walk by her gently take it away from her, walk a couple steps away and drop the toy.  I am trying to break him of this habit and I am not sure whether he is trying to extablish alpha position but that is my role and I am not giving it up any time soon :)   My best advise is to include your 1st dog in the process.  Good luck and keep me posted

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Well, take this advice that we heard from so many-have them meet in a public place outside would be great. Another thing, our puppy came in and took over the house including all Chloe's toys. We were told to show the first dog the attention first and we were also supposed to take them out for separate quality time, leave one home sometimes. We tried the crate at night and we gave up and let her sleep with us because Chloe did. They were in side by side crates during her potty training due to Chloe's issues with chewing so that was ok. Chloe is very submissive to Myla she gave up. Just don't forget to shower your  older one with love and attention too! They will work it out. Good luck!