hello to everyone,
i need some advice,please. i'm getting a 16 month female lhasa apso in a week's time. i'm going to make sure she's settled with my family,and build a bond up with her,etc, but then want to get a puppy in the near future. i've researched into this, but have found can't get any consistent advice. i'm want to get a male cocker spaniel puppy, and i want to know if this looks like disaster to you lot!!!i have a smallish house, but huge garden, and lots of land nearby. i know lhasa apso's aren't as active as the spaniel breed,and am worried it would be too much of a difference for the dogs to be happy. i don't work, so am not getting two so i can leave them all day, but just want them to have company to ramp around with, and also i want the pleasure of owning two quite different breeds. am i being selfish, or could it work? i would of course be spaying the lhasa apso bitch.
any advice much appreciated
beth

Can't think of a good reason why this wouldn't work, Beth. Have you owned dogs before ? If you have you will know what is involved in their care etc.
Two dogs can be hard work but if you're home with them all day, you'll have more time to see to their needs etc. (that's the theory anyway :) )

I don't know how long you want to wait before getting the second dog - I think I'd want to assess the nature and behaviour of the first one before making a final decision.

Joyce

The Lhasa is young and after a few months a new puppy would be a great idea. Often very different breeds get on brilliantly. There isn't a huge size difference, and the Lhas will be able to keep the young pup in it's place and be able to tell him when she has had enough.

I would say go for it.

thanks for the reply. am so relieved!! i couldn't see why it wouldn't, and thought if the lhasa is as well adjusted and trained as she is supposed to be, i thought she could actually be a good influence on the pup. i'm not sure exactly when, but like i said i want to completely accommodate the lhasa first. how would the crate training go, as the lhasa is fully crate trained for sleeping at night, and has her crate open otherwise. would i have to put the pup in his own crate next to the lhasa??? any ideas??? the crate would only be used as recommended on this website,such as nightime,for an hour while i going shopping,etc.
getting excited now!!! was worried it wouldnt be a good idea....
thanks so much.by the way, i have had cockers before,when i was younger, and know a lot of theory!!!! and some practical stuff.
beth:)
any more advice would be lovely.....great website. lifesaver for us not so experienced dog lovers.....

Hi Bobo
Go for it, no reason why you should have any problems, why have one to cuddle when you can have two :D
Tracey

thanks tracey. i'm going to. will start making enquiries to good cocker spaniel breeders. will post again no doubt with lots of questions when i have both of them!!!!:) in the mean time, any more advice from owners with two dogs of different ages who are crate trained would be great. thanks again.

Hi Bobo, I’m interested in your choice of dogs. What was the reasoning behind this choice? I think most people on the point of buying a puppy would be thinking about that breed rather than already planning on getting a different breed. Usually it is well after acquiring one breed the person starts to think about something different.

John

Hi John,
well I was planning on getting a cocker puppy, as i've had one before, and always loved them. I had only started to get into the research, when my aunt, who lives in Cumbria, had a stroke .She knows I love dogs, and has begged me to take her lhasa. I thought about it for along time, thought how I really had my heart set on a cocker, but then made up my mind not to let this lovely dog go into rescue. No-one else in my family could help, and I said I would. I then thought why not get my cocker anyway, and hopefully they would be great fun for each other. Do you not think it's a good idea?
Beth

Sorry Beth, I just get concerned when I hear of people getting two different breeds, about the possible intention of putting the two together to produce "Designer" dogs.

There is no reason why the two dogs should not become firm friends. I would just recomend you wait a little while till you get some training done on the first one.

Best wishes, John

Hi John,
No way, like I said the Lhasa will be spayed as soon as is possible, and I definitely wouldn't want to breed from any pet of mine. Far too hazardous in inexperienced hands, and I'm sure I couldn't add to any breeds qualities. No, I understand your concern. I think it's quite horrendous all this designer breeding. I couldn't believe Dogs Today had a section in the back for gettting advice on labradoodles!!! I'm sure they're gorgeous and much loved pets, but are not a proper breed,surely.My poor auntie assures me that the lhasa is trained well, and hopefully, through the teenage terror stage.| will wait at least a couple of months , if not longer to make sure she is sound on all the basic training, and to make sure she's happy with me(nightmare if she isn't!!!):( before I take another pup on.
Thanks John,wish me luck
Beth....

Your eight week old cocker pup will have vastly different diet, containment needs and feeding times than your adult lhasa. You might want to read up on puppy care if you are rusty. I recently obtained a puppy after a dozen years with older dogs, and found myself unprepared, so I hit the books.

Thus, you can't crate them together.

Your 8 week will need to eliminate every 3 hours on average. Each month of age should extend the storage time by another hour. Therefore, you need to provide a space for your pup that permits it to pee without soiling its crate. An exercise pen papered with newspapers and equipped with a small dog bed - perhaps in an OPEN crate is a good set up. You never want to put your pup in a position where it is forced to pee to pee in a crate

To housebreak you will need to take your pupster out to its potty place every time it wakes up, after each meal, after hard play, and after a nap.

if i were you, id wait about 6 months, at least before you get a second dog.

This will give you time to get into a routine with the first one, (especially since you have longer to prepare it for a friend) and you will know lots more about its personality.
Although a new dog settles in pretty quickly, i have found that it takes the owner much longer to learn the dog!!!! also, little foibles and quirks will show up, which you will better understand with a bit more time.

But, it is brilliant having mulitple dogs (i have three), seeing them play and interact with one another, its just ace!

Good luck and i hope it all works out well for all concerned.
Em

Em,
Thanks for the reply, and the other poster before, and I think I will wait for a few months to see what sort of personality the lhasa has. What breeds do you have? Their ages? I'm sure it must be wonderful seeing your dogs have a fun life together!
Thanks for your good wishes.I will post again when I decide on the timing of my next pup.
Beth:)

Hiya,
I have two crossbreeds, and a lurcher puppy!

Saffi is the eldest( but i got her second!) and she is a collie GSD cross. She is about 5 years old, and has had an odd life before me, mostly shut away with very little human/dog contact.
Rocky was my first, he is coming up to three now, and is a gsd, staff, lurcher sort of a thing, i have had him from 4 or 5 months old.

Dilly i have had from 6 weeks old, he is now 6 months, and a little devil!

It is brilliant seeing them interacting, they all have different characters, Saffi likes to play, Dilly likes to eat, Rocky likes to be left alone, as he is a grumpy git.

im sure u will have lots of fun!

Em

:) :) :)