Bringing in a second...or third...or

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Bringing in another dog into a home that already has a dog, was easy for me. The older one "taught" the new one where to do business, what the routine was, what was OK and not. There was very little training on my part and no housebreaking. It was great. I'll never have one dog again.

What were your experiences?

[Deena Womack]

My husband and I are seriously considering a second doodle. I can't believe how easy it was convince my husband we "needed" another one. I think a companion for Cali would be beneficial. I had thought I wanted to get another girl but after reading everyone's posts, I am now questioning whether to seek a boy or a girl. Well we have time to think about it as I want to wait until Spring.

[Susan, Zeke. Lily & Jasper]

Ditto from me on more than one doodle! Since bringing in Lily ( doodle #2) Zeke has been a better behaved boy. He had plenty of exercise before but almost zero play time with other dogs as most of the dogs in our neighborhood are older and not up to puppy antics or the dogs at obedience were discouraged from playing together. Lily and Zeke hit it off from the start and are very similar in their activity needs. Also I think Lilly had been lonely too! They play pretty rough with each other without hurting which is a relief to my husband who had been Zeke's play rough partner. ( he didn't always fair as well as Lily does) his hands are just now healing up after having Lily for almost 3 weeks. Our dogs are just 1 1/2 months apart in age but very different in how they have been raised. Zeke came from a breeder and has known only love all his life, also started training very early. Lily on the other hand is a rescue, though loved, not very well nourished nor trained. She is another testimony to how smart these dogs are. She watches Zeke to pick up on acceptable behavior and is learning very quickly. They both are just the delight of our lives and that joy reaches to everyone we know because we can't stop talking about them and showing them off!

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Now that I have a foster dog with me for a week, this brings my pack to 4 dogs. I thought is was going to be really rough but they have all settled in quite nicely. Finnigan took awhile to learn the routines, maybe 3-4 days, but now he knows the ins and outs of our household. So far, I have not seen any negatives with this new arrangement and everyone seems to have their place in the pack.

The three older ones lead the way and Finny follows right along. For a puppy mill rescue from Almost Heaven (Hell), he needs to learn everything a puppy would and he's 2. He loves the "Good Boy" party I throw for him when he does good on a task and he's really coming out of his shell. Today, I was brushing Jack and Finn was afraid of the brush. I guess it was something in my hand that scared him. After awhile, he crept closer and I was able to switch the brushing back and forth until I was only brushing him. Imagine being 2 before you get brushed!

Anyway, 4 is no more difficult than 3. It's a little more food and a little more poop in the yard. (Good thing I have teen aged boys to pick it up). But it's a LOT more hugs and slobbery kisses. Hopefully, we will find Finny the best forever home and know that he was able to get his start...right here.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Do you have pictures posted of Finnigan?

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

FINNIGAN

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

He is truly beautiful. You can see it in the eyes!

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

He is gorgeous! I shudder to think why he lost the leg! He is very regal looking. Like a distinguished war hero.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

I don't even want to tell you how he lost it. It's too horrible. He is a distinguished war hero.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

He is beautiful and looks really happy in your yard. I hope he finds a wonderful home.

[Susan, Zeke. Lily & Jasper]

We recently fostered a stray minature long haired dachshund for 2 weeks. This little guy showed up in our neighborhood with no collar but appeared very well kept, recent grooming, nails trimmed, very well mannered. I just knew he was someone's treasured lost baby. I took him to the vet to see if he was microchipped but he was not so my DH canvassed the neighborhood and put up flyers at the grocery store nearby. No one claimed this beautiful dog for 2 weeks so when a neighbor notified us of a known family who were looking to buy a dachshund, we arranged a meeting and now he is the much loved companion of 2 very happy little girls and their delighted parents.
I said all that to say this...having just one more little dog in the house was a lot more stress than I would ever have imagined. He was potty trained and of very mild temperament but our doodles were all out of sorts because of him. First of all he is an unneutered male, although not at all agressive, Zeke was very intimidated by him and wanted to avoid him. Lily on the other hand thought he was a new toy and constantly tried to engage him in cat and mouse, with her pouncing on him. After the first day he had enough of that and would let her know when he was done with that nonsense. Feeding time also became an issue with my doodles not eating their morning meal and the little guy stealing from their bowls after he had finished his. Since we do not have a fence, we leash our dogs to take them out to do their business, seperatly because there are fewer distractions. Adding one more to the mix really made a difference. On the positive side, there was another happy face to see you when you got home with his offering of kisses and cuddles. If we didn't have the doodles I certainly would have kept that darling little guy but after living with us for 2 weeks it was clear we were over our limit in dogs. After he left with his new family I could noticibly see Zeke relax and Lily searched for her toy for a few days but finding him a new home was the best decission for everyone.

[Lori]

We already had a Shih Tzu and a Pekingnese, Two weeks ago we got a Goldendoodle puppy, Leo, and it appears that HE is the jealous one! I've had the Shih Tzu (Tai Chi) for nine years, since he was a puppy, the Peke (Missy) for only a couple of years. She is a rescue dog and I suspect she's about the same age as Tai. They get along great and always have. We got the Doodle as a puppy because Tai doesn't like big dogs too much. He's not afraid of them - quite the opposite. Our neighbors Australian Shepherd jumped on my daughter when she was about five and it frightened her. He hasn't liked big dogs since then. We thought if we got the Doodle as a puppy they'd learn to play when they were all about the same size and sort of grow into one another. So far, so good...although Leo is a little rough at times and is growing so fast. He's already taller than Tai, but Tai still outweighs him. Anwyay, Leo seems to get really wild in the evenings, and finally I realized that he gets jealous! I've been trying so hard to reassure the old-timers that they weren't being replaced and then I noticed that he was jealous when I paid attention to them, AND he gets jealous when they start to play without him. I'm sure it will iron itself out with time and attention. Just figuring that out and trying to be sure that someone is also paying attention to Leo has helped. And he started Puppy School tonigh so he got an outing all by himself. I think once he's had all his shots and can go on walks it will help diffuse some of that energy that is currently directed at Tai Chi. He leaves Missy alone - she's had puppies in the past and explained how it was going to be to Leo the day he moved in. He still respects her!