My partner and I are in fundemental disagreement about our dogs. he has 3 retrievers, i am just about to get a cocker puppy. all are male. We maintain seperate houses and the problem is that he insists it is unfair for me to have a dog as it will not be able to become part of the pack. i maintain that the other dogs will accept my puppy, as he will be there on a regular basis. however, will my puppy pine for the other dogs when he is alone with me at my house? I know I need to establish myself as the 'alpha' in the relationship - but will dog comapnions be more important than me? We work together, so the dogs will all be spending the majority of their time together. advice please!

Hi my situation is different in that I jointly own dogs with my daughter.She lives in her own house with one of our dogs and the others live with me,they have no problems at all with accepting that Bria is part of the pack she visits regularly and we go to their house,there are no territorial problems they just accept the situation and greet each other on meeting. Best Wishes Gillian