Adding a 2nd puppy

Question
Hello
My wife and I recently brought a home a new female Beagle puppy. She is about 8-9 weeks old and is going to her first vet visit this week. It so happened that our vet had thought of us on matter related to an 10-12 week old female Beagle puppy that was left in their care. The short story is our last Beagle puppy had to be put down in Feb due illness and it broke our hearts. Our vet thought of us when this Beagle was dropped off. She's healthy, good temperament, and well potty trained so far. We are going to meet her on Saturday with our other pup to she was she is like. My question is is it a good idea to have two such young pups in the same house? I have seen conflicting views on this. I've seen that it helps with the housebreaking or it hurts the house training. I've also seen that it can make overall training easier or more difficult. Also how would it be to have to females in the house? I have been told the best combo for two dogs are fixed male and female and that two males can cause a lot of dominance problems but I haven't heard anything about two females. Can you help? Thank - Scott

Answer
It is hard to say how much of a problem you will have.  What I have heard is that 2 puppies so close together in age will bond to each other and tend to be poorly socialized to people and other dogs.  The other thing is that 2 females is the combination most likely to be a problem.  In many cases, my advice is to follow your heart.  This could be a case where it will get broken.  There are plenty of anecdotes about where a dog had to be rehomed because 2 of them had such a drive for dominance, even spay/neutered, that they could not get along. I never have seen any figures on how often it happens.  I would plan to spay both of them and obedience train them.  I have friends that have 4 intact females plus 2 spayed ones in their home and no problems.  

The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts.  Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog.  Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones.  You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/  For young puppies, try this:

''Elevation for small puppies:  Sit on the floor and gently put your hands around your pup's middle, below his front legs, and lift him up.  He is facing you.  Hold him for 15 seconds.  Repeat until he no longer struggles.  If he is past 10-12 weeks, lift his front feet off the ground, but don't pick him up.  

Cradling for small puppies:  Hold your puppy gently on his back, as you would cradle a small baby.  If he struggles, hold him firmly until he quiets for 10-15 seconds.  With larger pups, you can do this as your sit on the floor, with your pup between your legs.

Quiet lying down:  Place your pup on the floor on his side, with all 4 legs pointing away from you.  Use your hands on his neck/shoulder area and middle, to hold him in this position.  When he is quiet, praise him.  Lengthen the time that you keep him quietly in this position.  When he accepts this position well, handle his paws and muzzle, while keeping him quiet.''

The quotes mean this isn't my original work.  It is copied from my Puppy Raising Manual.  I have long used these or minor variations of them, and they are very effective.  You may want to give him a belly rub while he is on his back too.  Helps bonding.  There is a big difference between him rolling over and demanding a belly rub, and you choosing a time to roll him over and rub his belly.  The latter cements your place as pack leader.