Should I Add Another Dog?

Should I add another dog? It’s a question I ask myself every time I’m thinking about bringing a new dog into the house. If you’re here right now, I imagine you’re asking it too. However if you’re like a lot of my clients you might not know how to make an educated choice. You have 1 or maybe even 4 dogs already and they’ve brought so much joy to your life. It’s only natural to consider whether one more dog might add more fun to your family. But will it turn out well? Are you ready? Are your other dogs ready? Let me lead you through my own thought process so you can draw your own conclusions. 

The Practical Considerations: 

• Do I have enough time to meet the needs of this new dog? More training, more walks, more individual time?
• Is there enough room in the budget for more dog food, veterinary care, supplements, training, toys etc.?
• Can I financially handle multiple medical emergencies with my dogs at the same time?
• Are there restrictions in my town, city or from my landlord on the number of dogs I can own?
• Do I have the appropriate setup and lifestyle for the lifestage of this dog? 
• Is this breed appropriate for my family makeup, time commitments, and home environment? 
• Are my other family members ready for a new canine housemate? Do my childrens’ life stages require extra work from me?

Should I become a multi dog household for the first time? 

This makes the whole question an even bigger and more critical one. While you may feel incredibly comfortable and confident in your life with one dog, owning more than one is an entirely different skill set. When I first made this leap, I was a brand new baby dog trainer and let me tell you, there wasn’t anything about multi-dog living in the PetSmart training manual. I did my very best with the only advice the internet had to offer me: A parallel walk in the neutral location. Luckily Zeke and Phoenix were a gentle introduction to multi dog living but they still forced me to grow incredibly fast. However not everyone gets easy mode and often those are the people who end up in my Dog Fight Rehab Program down the line. 

Not to worry though, that baby trainer grew up, specialized in multi dog households, and is here to tell you what you’re getting yourself into! 

• Introductions are about so much more than parallel walks in a neutral location. Dogs need extra guidance with one another for the first 6-18 months. Don’t worry I have a lot of resources for you: 
  • Dog and Puppy Introduction Survival Guide
  • 10 Big Dog Introduction Mistakes
  • How to do a Parallel Walk
  • Thriving Multi Dog Households Online Course
  • Should I Add a Third Dog YouTube Video
• You will need to pay even more attention to meeting your dog’s needs. Dogs with unmet needs are more likely to have conflicts in their relationships.
• It’s not twice the work, it’s triple the work. You now have to support dog-dog dynamics in addition to everything else. 
• Be ready to learn how to speak dog. You may have gotten away with not being fluent before now, but it’s no longer optional with 2.
• Does your current dog struggle with behavioral issues? Watch out. Social learning is a thing and dogs can learn bad habits from each other. 
• You’re going to need to know how to stop a dog fight in case of emergency.

If you need support in learning how to be a guardian to multiple dogs you can also join my free Facebook Group.

Are my dogs ready for another dog? 

Never forget that it’s not just you that has to live with the dog you’re bringing home, your dogs do too. Failing to take this into consideration has thrown many a multi dog household into mayhem and disarray. I really encourage you to follow the work of BHARCs to see how free living dogs form  and navigate relationships. What I will tell you here is that throwing 2 dogs into a 900 square foot apartment or a 1700 square foot house and expecting them to be automatic best friends is about as unnatural as it gets. That puts a lot of pressure on us to facilitate the space and time that lets a relationship form between dogs.

Are these statements true of my dogs?

1. My dog’s behavior in my home is how I would like it to be. 
2. I don’t have reason to believe that my dog would attack a new dog. 
3. If my dog has fear, trauma, aggression, anxiety, reactivity, impulsivity etc. I have: 
   1. Successfully worked with a qualified trainer to alleviate these issues.
   2. Taken my dog for a thorough medical screening with my veterinarian. 
   3. Considered behavior medication with my primary veterinarian or a veterinary behaviorist. 
4. My dog has been able to interact with other dogs in a positive manner previously. 
5. Their daily needs are met and a new dog isn’t going to compromise that.
   1. Social
   2. Mental
   3. Physical
   4. Husbandry
6. My dog has responded well to adjustments of schedules, routines, and my home environment that I have made to match what things will look like with a new housemate.
7. They are no longer openly grieving or having changes in behavior in the wake of losing a housemate. 
8. Their medical conditions are properly treated and they have been thoroughly screened for pain. 
9. My dog can spend time alone, separated from me within our home.
10. They have trained skills that will allow me to help them disengage from the other dog. Things like whiplash turns, recalls, hand targets, positive interrupters.

Spending the time to make sure your current dogs are on the very best footing for an introduction can save you a lot of heartache! 

Should I add this particular dog to my home?

Not all matches are made in heaven. However you can stack the deck in your favor. Here are some considerations: 

• Listen to what your dog has told you about which dogs they like and dislike based on their behavior out in the world. Ignore that information at your own risk.
• Same sex aggression occurs between dogs. These cases, especially between female dogs, can be more severe. 
• Senior dogs may really struggle with a puppy. If you go this route, be prepared to use active supervision and separation using gates long term.
• Dogs with trauma can particularly struggle with emotional regulation in interpersonal relationships. If you’re not  experienced or willing to work with a professional on your introduction, this is a riskier choice. 
• Certain breeds of dog are known to struggle more with aggression toward other dogs as a whole, either same sex or over things like resources. This is due to selective pressure applied to breeds over generations. Where possible, consult a professional about the best dog for your situation. 
• Aggression toward other dogs can pop up in certain breeding lines in any breed. If you’re working with a breeder, be open about your desire to live with multiple dogs and discuss how their dogs do with other breeds, same sex, intact males, relationships before/during/after heat cycles etc. 
• Health issues can impact interpersonal relationships in dogs. Especially if pain is involved. Be sure that you are ready to properly manage a known medical condition to put your dogs in the best position to get along. Know that you may need to lean heavily on separation and management during flares. 
• Dogs/puppies from impoverished environments like puppy mills can have trauma, lack of socialization and big feelings about resources. Make sure you are working with an ethical breeder or a rescue/shelter. If you adopt a dogs/puppy with trauma, know that you may need the help of a professional in your introduction. 

Should I add another dog if I’m grieving?

If you’re a dog lover who’s an old pro at living that multi dog life, the loss of one of your dogs is a major driver behind this question. It’s important to realize that you are then asking yourself to tangle with grief at the same time as your new addition. This was the position I found myself in almost 6 years ago when I brought my youngest dog Fish home. After only 6 months from the traumatic loss of a young dog I had to really think about whether I was ready to give a new puppy my all.

Grief is a deeply personal experience. You know yourself best. For me, grieving Griffin was incredibly raw. Notably, his life and the decisions I was forced to make put me in a form of trauma therapy called EMDR. I did a lot of work in those 6 months but I wasn’t fully healed from that experience, that would only come later. 

These are the questions I asked myself about my grief before I brought Fish home:

1. 1. Could I find joy in interacting with puppies and young dogs again?
   2. Was I ready to approach this dog as his own clean slate? 
   3. Has my grief stopped impacting my daily life in big ways? 
   4. Did I know if I  needed my next dog to be a different breed, sex, or color? 
   5. Was I willing to let go of more of his things to make room for the new dog?
   6. Did I have a support system if I misjudged things and grief interfered in my relationship with my new dog?
   7. Could I talk about and look at Griffin’s things without crying?
   8. Would this new addition be a healthy part of moving forward?

Personally, I was looking for yes answers to all of these questions. Your questions might look different but I hope this jumpstarts your own thinking on the topic.

Ultimately the answer to this question is entirely up to you. I sincerely hope this helped you feel more confident in your choice to bring a new dog home to your existing dog(s).