Hi

I have a male ISBT and he is 13mths old. I would like to get another dog and I would like to know when would be the best time? Should I wait a bit longer until my little baby has grown out of puppyhood? Please could you give me some advice.

Thanks

I have a 13 month old GSD i also would like another dog, I dont really know when the best time would be so cant really help you, but personly I'm going to start thinking more about it when she is two to two and a half.
K

I introduced a cross bitch to a westie dog while he was still young. A friend intro duced an adult to a pup and they were fine. The westie wouldn't accept another dog now he's grown up. It depends on the dog in my few experiences. Have you tried having one of your friends dogs in the house (if any have dogs) at all? You may be able to gage it by that.

I think the best time is when you have your first dog trained to the point that you can rely on them, my young springer was very naughty as a puppy and would have been a terrible example to another puppy, however once she was well enough trained and we knew she would not get the new puppy into to much trouble then we went ahead.

If you are thinking of another male then I would let the one your have now reach full maturity before introducing another, then hopefully the new dog will accept the current dog as the one in charge, under you, of course, and you will have no or at least controllable problems. Don’t know when ISBT mature but would think between 3 & 4 years.

I have two male Mals and they are fourteen months apart. Although the eldest hit adolescence in a big way and dislikes other male dogs intensly (a breed trait) he accepts the other dog as part of the pack. The younger one has started adolescence and this is when I thought we would have problems but although he tries it on, he will ALWAYS back down (and long may it last).

I'm afraid I know nothing about your breed but if they are a dominant dog, I hope this info will help???

I am interested to hear you post that you have two males together ...
Have you had any trouble with them at all ?
Its just that I am looking to maybe get another dog maybe next year and I already have a male . He is very friendly with other dogs (athough I know it can be different when another moves into the home ) . Do you seperate them when you are not at home ??

I have two entire males, Lel, but they're not staffs. (I wouldn't dare advise anyone on on the behaviour of two dogs of a breed I know very little about!) Mine spend their entire lives together, day and night, whether I'm in the house or not. But then they're litter brothers- I don't know what it's like to introduce a male pup to another male.

Sorry it's not a lot of help.
:)

Hello,
Just want to say that I have 2 male entire dogs, a 9yr old Spaniel and a 4yr old BC. The spaniel has been used at stud 4 times, and this hasn't made a difference to their "pack". The BC is still top dog and the spaniel is below our BC bitch. The only problem we had was when the 4yr old BC got to about 15months and wanted to overpower the spaniel, but they sorted it out with only minor bickering.
Char123

Till recently I had 2 intact and 1 castrated male and have no trouble and I'm about to add another male puppy that will remain intact. There will be at least 3 years between them, it may be possible to manage males of closer age, I have not tried. Would add that males are easier in most cases than females, I'm not saying that females will always fall out, they don't in most cases, but when they do, it is almost, if not impossible to repair, males on the other hand can turn play into an argument and after you have calmed things down, be back playing within moments. Bitches never forget and in my experience once bitches have had a big fall out you will have to separate them.

Thanks Jackie
I am more persuaded to choose another male because I really dont think keeping a bitch and a male is a suitable option for us . But I want to make sure that I am not leaning towards another male becase that is what I know ...I havent had a bitch of my own before.
But I dont want to have two males if there is an issue with ranking etc . Sorry for rambling on - I just want to make sure that another dog would work in the family without causing problems or jealousy etc.
Lel

Hi Lel,

I actually have three entire males, the two Mals and a fourteen year old mongrel (imagine a border collie but cocker spaniel sized!). They all sleep together and are fine when left alone in the house. In fact, I only have problems when we are there - and that's between the mongrel and the older Mal. They have only had one scrap - we quickly learnt not to approach when they are facing off and to distract them instead. The older Mal is very dominant and although he is 100% with people, he has a problem with other male dogs, especially Mals. However, he has never had a problem with the younger Mal, just a low grumble puts him in his place. We're also on our breeder's list for another male....
I know of other people too who have more than one male Mal without problems, although I can't comment on other breed traits :)

I have a 6 year old newfoundland dog,and a 20 month Tibetan Masiff,then the 6 month old Dogue de Bordeaux, I think that I have had no trouble with them because as they were added, they were small pups and were accepted, but I do not think that the situation would have been the same if I had tried to bring an older male in.None of my my males are the dominant leader the 4 year old Newfoundland bitch is the top dog although she is a lot smaller than my male newfoundland they all seem to back down from her.