second pup

Question
QUESTION: we have a six month old lab which is three quart lab and qaurt spaniel, he is awesome dog...i am thinking of getting a lab bitch who is eight to nine weeks old.. do you see any problems with the two,, the male is going to be neutered in a month or so.. he is a well balanced cruizey laid back pup.. infact an easy pup to train and be with..

ANSWER: This should go fine.  With both dogs fixed by 6 months, you shouldn't have problems.  A male and a female is the combination least likely to be a problem.  The 6 month old should be delighted to have a new puppy to play with.  Rough play is very common, but usually the larger dog only needs occasional settling down while it learns not to be too rough with the puppy.  We frequently have visiting puppies that have such an age difference, and have never had any problems.  



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: so im assuming that although our boy is six months old and our girl will be eight weeks old, he won't try humping her and she should be ok..she is a labrador.  we plan to get him fixed in another month or so..am wondring who will be the dominate dog and will this cause us problems.


Answer
I can't promise he won't try to hump her, neutered or not.  Some neutered males will still mate with females is season.  As they mature, they will sort things out, although a male and female usually cooperate as a team rather than compete.  That is why everybody suggests a male and a female and not 2 of one sex.  

There is no real rush to neuter males as long as you aren't having behavior problems.  If you delay spaying a female after 6 months, you risk her coming into season, and then it is best to put up with it and wait until she is all done.