Two Dogs or Three?

Question
Hi

For the last 12 years, we have had two black Labradors (litter mates) and these dogs were our pride and joy and never wanted for anything.  Very sadly, six months ago, we had to have one of the dogs put to sleep due to ill health.  Jack, our remaining dog, was understandably lost without his brother, so we waited a couple of months and then, against the advice of various people, we bought a chocolate lab puppy.  She has now been with us for two months and has settled in really well with Jack and they get on fine, although naturally, she does tend to annoy him now and then by jumping on him and wanting to play. He copes with this by nudging her under her tummy and giving her a lick and everything calms down once again.

We now think that it may be a good idea if, maybe within the next six months or so, we got a second puppy to keep our four month old company (though she will be nearly one by then) and give her someone her own age to play with, therefore taking the 'pressure' off our 12 year old dog.  Like our two original black labs, the two younger dogs would basically grow up together and leave Jack to have a bit of peace and quiet in his senior years.  People without experience of dogs are telling us that we shouldn't have three dogs, but the way we are looking at the situation, Jack spends most of his time sleeping these days #he suffers with arthritis#and we thought that if we had two younger dogs together, they could simply have someone their own age to play with, therefore giving Jack some quiet time.  Space within the house is not an issue, and we certainly have the time to walk the younger dogs - could I just ask whether you would anticipate any problems in going down this road?  

Any advice would be truly appreciated.

Answer

Hi Carol,

I have three dogs, and they get along wonderfully, so I'm here to tell you that it can be done! It sounds like you know how to show your dogs that you are the leaders, which is important. Dogs need to know the ground rules, which includes who's in charge.  Without that, some dogs are more than willing to make a power play for that authority, and that's when problems occur. By the way, now is a good time to start your 4 month old puppy in a Puppy Kindergarten class. Check with your vet or local boarding kennel to see if you can get a recommendation for a class. The better trained and socialized your puppy is, the better she'll be with the new puppy. It doesn't sound like Jack will be a problem, but you may need to protect him from the new pup.

You will have the best chance of success with another male dog, as two female dogs in a house can have problems with aggression. Be sure to select the new puppy for temperament, not just a beautiful face. A submissive puppy will respect the "pack" order that exists.

Best of luck!

Patti