Pet Information > ASK Experts > Dogs > Dogs > which breed?

which breed?

19 10:03:36

Question
For the past couple of months I've been looking into getting a second dog. Right now I have a 4 year old female jrt. She's actually very good and calm in the house, but it's most likely because we take her on daily walks, hikes, and do agility with her. So, we want to get her a pal. We've gone to dog shows and have visited different breeders. We really like the swedish vallhund, boston terrier, and manchester terrier. We thought that getting a puppy would be best so they could have a close bond with each other. Even though our current dog is really good in the house, she has a HIGH prey/hunt drive for everything that isn't a dog outside of the house. We want a second dog that isn't going to have such a strong desire to hunt like our jrt does. Which dog would be the easiest to manage and to add to our life style out of the 3 listed above or would you recommend a different breed? Thank you!

Answer
Dogs are individuals.  Go to www.akc.org and read the description of a JRT.  Is that just like your dog, or different?  You can't count on a member of another breed being just like their breed description.  

One of the best sources for dogs with a predictable personality is the rescue dogs. These are dogs that lost their home, but were taken into a foster home to be retrained as necessary and placed in the right home for them. You may find a rescue near you starting at http://www.akc.org/breeds/rescue.cfm The rescues charge a fee to help cover their expenses, but is much less than the price of a puppy plus all its medical expenses the first year.

Once past 3 years old, many dogs don't want anything to do with puppies, their sharp little teeth, and their biting games.  You need to teach the puppy to leave the older dog alone.  As soon as the puppy starts to focus on the older dog, give it a sharp ''Ah, ah, ah!'' and offer it a chew toy.  You may want to avoid that by getting an older dog.  

I would get a male too.  Occasionally 2 dogs won't get along.  The most common case is 2 females.