Hi

As some of you may know from my other posts we have a 1yr 5 month old Lurcher Cross Collie dog and he is a bit of a handfull for my wife plus he spends short lengths of time alone when we go out to work or for an evening etc.

My question is would it be wise if we get another smaller dog so my wife can 'have a dog she can walk' plus a friend for our dog?

If so we would get one from a rescue centre and it would probably be slighlty older than our lurcher in a hope for it to settle him down and set examples of good behaviours to certain limits.

If we do go ahead, bearing in mind we live in a park home, what is the best size dog or breed? Assuming we are lucky to find one my wife has always wanted a labradore as our old dog was a labradore cross mongrel, thats what we set out to find when we ended up with our lovely Lurcher!

What is the best way of finding a second dog knowing it would be compatible with our present one? And introducing it onto his 'teritory' as it stand unshared now?

Thanks

Duke

:)

Hi Duke!

I'm going to be very honest here - I would not get another dog yet.  From your other post about control outside the house, it sounds like you have a lot of work to do with your current boy - adding a dog will only increase your workload.  Even if it didn't pull, lurcher X still would - and take it from me, it is not possible to train a dog not to pull (excepting the use of headcolalrs or no-pull harnesses) whilst trying to walk one that doesn't - leash pops don't tend to work, so every time you correct the puller by stopping or going back, whatever your method, you find yourself correcting the other dog for walking well.  Then you find yourself doing twice the walks to train the puller by himself - not fun, i've had to do that a lot with my two - my dobe pulls, my rott X doesn't.  The same is true of your guy criss-crossing in front of you and changing sides - correcting him for that will only frustrate another dog by disrupting its otherwise pleasant walk.

You msut also consider that another rescue dog may well carry its own set of problems - small animal aggression, dog aggression (i know it sounds odd to have a dog-aggressive dog living with a dog, but my bro's dog is like this - gets on fine with mine tho!), or other problems - that could make walks even less fun than they are!  Or, it could teach your exuberant lad other bad habits, or he could teach the new dog bad habits.

I don't mean to be horrendously pessimistic - i'm aware it's kind of coming across that way! Of course there is a chance a new dog would work out fine.  But I would recommend working with the dog you have - placing him in some training classes would be a good start - before you get another one and double your workload.  My two are fairly well behaved (so I'm told, anyway..) and I find they are an awful lot of work.  They both have bad recalls like yours - and having to train good recalls in two dogs as I'm having to, as thoroughly as is necessary, is like a full time job.  Incidentally, here's the method i'm using:

http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/Lesson6.html

For the pulling, I have been clicker training my dobe - you don't need a clicker if you're not familiar with them, though.  I would treat your pup for walking where you want him to, and say "heel" or whatever your command is.  Treat him a lot to start with until he's fairly reliable and responsive, then start gradually treating him less - if he starts to lapse, up the treats and then fade them more slowly.  It can take quite a while, but it seems to be quite effective.  Another method is to stop and walk backwards 6 steps every time he pulls - also quite effective.  With both methods, or any you decide on, you msut remember to _never_ let him pull, not once - or he will elarn he can get away with it occasionally.  Strangely enough, occasional reinforcement often makes the behaviour stronger than regular reinforcement - it's the same mental process that gets people hooked on gambling.  Above all else you do, remember to stay calm and consistent - pick a method and stick with it, and no physical corrections (apart from guiding him back to where he needs to be, of course) or shouting - i've noticed in my own dogs that when your volume goes up, they tune you out.

Good luck, I hope all goes well for you!

I agree with Nikita, I wouldn't get another one either. To be honest, most rescue centres wouldn't let you have one based on that information anyway. Think about it, why would they give you another rescue when you still have so many problems with the last? Also, I think you will find getting another dog to improve the firsts behaviour wouldn't work anyway. Dogs generally learn each others bad habits before the good ones so you'll more than likely end up with two dogs who are both out of control!

IMO you should put all your energy into sorting out your Lurcher, (which I'm sorry to say will require training, there is no quick fix) so your wife can work him in the way you describe.

Sorry if that's not the answer you were hoping for but I have had rescue dogs for years and each has carried it's own challenge. No way would I have ever tried to deal with 2 at the same time! :-)  

Hi

Thanks for all the opinions!

We have tried clicker training but what a handfull with a puling dog a clicker in one hand and a bag of treats in the other its a magic trick in itself to counjour up a treat in a click for fast reward of good correct behaviour!

I know it may seem an extra worlkload with 2 dogs but what our intentions were was to have another smaller dog that my wife would take care of and not me. Its that or having to send our Lurcher back and replace it with a smaller more manageable dog but thats not an option as far as im concerned! Besides my wifes initial non bonding with him she now loves him to bits when hes good!

She simply cannot manage to walk him or handle him in agility classes not only due to his bad habits but because of his size and power and speed. However rather than her being left out (after all we got another dog after our old one sadly passed away) as she missed walking the dog which helped her get out of the house and stay healthy!

She is always asking if we can get another dog and our dog needs a companion as I am the only one who can walk our Lurcher!

She is upset that she now has a dog but cant take it for walks especially as she has learnt to love him so much! Hope this explains my conundum a bit better?!

:(

I really agree with the others that you shouldn't get another dog. I have a rescue dog and it took several years to get him 'nearly' right. We then took on a puppy which managed to pick up the older dog's habits (OK - not serious ones). Particularly if you are thinking of getting another rescue dog, you will never know beforehand what you are taking on. Our rescue dog was marvellous for the first few weeks and then his problems showed themselves. Please concentrate on getting your existing dog sorted. It is unfortunate for your wife, but it is not the dog's fault that he is too strong for your wife - if you concentrate on his problems, hopefully she will be able to manage him soon :)

Daisy

Perhaps if you gave a bit more thought to these problems before you brought your current rescue home you would not now be facing this dilemma.

However what is done is done and I think you can both put in the time and effort needed to get this one right before ending up with double the trouble...................

What happens if and when you are sick and your current dog has to be walked etc?

Prehaps your wife could take your dog to classes. She will bond more with him whilst also learning how to handle him correctly. You dont need to be strong to handle a powerful dog but you do need the dogs respect for them to obey your instructions. As for getting another dog - i would wait untill your dog is older and your wife can cope with him in all situations. I mysef have 2 dogs the first being an only dog for 2 years. We thought he would benifit from an compainan and he has. He is well trained and we both felt it was the right time to have another dog, BUT he didnt pass on any good habits instead he learnt all the bad habits the new dog came with however we wouldnt of managed if we had still had problems with him (he was very naughty whislt he was growing up :D ) If your wife thinks she can handle him then you might not need another dog as she will be able to walk him herself. hth

I started with one dog, went to training class and was very happy with her behaviour and attitude towards other dogs etc.  Decided she was old enough - 2 years -  and well enough trained to bring home another dog- her half-sister.  We're delighted to have both of them and wouldn't go back to having just one BUT my near 'perfect' dog has developed all sorts of behaviours that weren't apparent before.  We have had to return to basics to tackle lead work - its a competition to see who can be ahead and they are walked on a brace when going to the moors etc.  Recall became a problem, bringing a ball back when the competition would nick it from under your nose - no way!  Deer all of a sudden became the moving target that they had never been before.  When out and about if another dog messed with me or her 'puppy' there was real trouble in store.  This was not behaviour that my dog had displayed before.  The dynamics of the relationship had changed and I really wondered if I had done the right thing.
We are now in a much better position and going out has returned to the pleasure that it used to be and I am now back to being the female in charge but this is only after reasserting my postition, hammering home their lead work and training and being very firm.  The breeder who I bought the dogs from is fantastic and very supportive as is my friend who is a dog handler and very well qualified to point out areas I need to improve upon!
This is an ongoing process and one which I am happy to continue but it is a long slog and I would think you both would need to be in some position of control with your existing dog before you considered another.
Best wishes!