New Dogs, Rescues Vs Puppies?

[Dan]

As everyone knows, once I have myself a bit more sorted in life I'd love to add another member (or 3 ) to my "pack". I've had Loki since he was 3 months old, and went through the usual first 2 weeks of puppy hell, which was all so worth it in the end.

 

But I'm a bit torn on whether I'd be looking at another puppy, or maybe just going right for an older dog. I feel like if I started from a puppy, they'd have a much better chance of getting along well, but on the other hand, a dog that already has a few of the basics down would be nice.  

 

Those of you that do own multiple dogs, how did you start off? Did you get multiple dogs just all at once, or start off with 1 and add more gradually? If you added them gradually, was it a rescue/older dog, or another puppy? If it was a rescue, how did you "compatibility test" your existing dog(s) with the new one? Did the rescue have any bad traits that were difficult to train out? Are your dogs any less loyal/affectionate/caring about you than when they were by themselves? Do you find dogs of the same sex get along better than different sexes etc?

Edited December 5, 2014 by Thingz

[Andy]

My personal opinion is to go the rescue route.

There are so many Huskies in rescue centres due to uninformed people getting them because they are the "in" thing to have.

Then discovering how difficult a breed they are and dumping them on the streets.

Plus there are so many BYB just churning out super cute puppies without all the proper checks and procedures, Just for the money.

When the rescue centres are empty then get a puppy.

[Dan]

Oh I definitely agree, I'm just curious how most people found they get along with their existing dogs

[Andy]

When we rescued Darwin we had 3 months of peace, Oh, that was easy. . . we thought.

Then Echo began to attack Darwin almost on a daily basis.

2 1/2 years of bloodshed (mostly Echo's as Darwin defended himself) until it all finally settled down.

Now they are good buds.

time and Patience, we weren't giving up on either of them

 

Echo and Darwin now

[mydiamond]

Oh I definitely agree, I'm just curious how most people found they get along with their existing dogs

 

Well, let the new dog meet your existing dog! Rescues would most likely ask you to visit with your dog in tow when you're seriously considering adoption. See the chemistry between the two, see again few days later, bring the new one home for a visit, keep the new one home for a week (some rescues let you do this), and then make the decision. Breeders (mind you only the reputable ones) make you go through an even longer process since the pup isn't even born yet. Some even goes as far as matching you with a pup of their choice to ensure you get only the one that suits your pack most. But personally, I think rescuing is a lot easier. Dog overpopulation problem aside, it simply feels safe to know that the dog (not puppy) you bring home is much less likely to have a sudden/gradual change of personality and would stay friends with your current dog. In this forum alone, I observe that puppy owners tend to go through this is-the-larger-dog-going-to-eat-the-puppy phase which is very tense, stressful and definitely unpleasant. With rescues, there's no "the larger dog". There should also be less of "are they going to get along" pondering sessions. But then again, I've never had a puppy so I can't speak for them. Bias alert!

 

Seriously though rescues rock  

 

... I mean... bias alert.

[Dan]

Well I've had the experience of raising a puppy now, I can say I'm in no real rush to do it again for sure

[Jay]

I started with Nikko as a puppy when he was 10 months old.  I quickly decided that he needed a playmate as he was a handful as an only dog.  We had visited a few adult dogs, which did not go well.  I decided to get another puppy, so when Nikko was done with his training classes I brought home Yukon at 8 weeks old.  Nikko did very well with him, and Yukon held his own too.  They quickly became best friends and now they are pretty attached to each other.  

 

I was actually fine with 2 dogs and wasn't looking for a third, especially since I have limited space.  I saw Kodiak on a rescue site, so I took Nikko to visit him.  They got along well, and Kodiak was amazing so I brought him home.  

 

Even though Nikko got along with Kodiak, once we got him it was pretty rough for awhile.  Kodiak took the place as alpha and fought with Nikko several times, sometimes drawing blood.  Kodiak even fought with Yukon, and one time injured him bad enough I almost had to take him to the vet.  Now, after 18 months I think they all get along great, and Nikko and Kodiak even play together well.

 

I don't think I could go from 0 to 3 dogs right away, or even 0 to 2.  I would need to do it one at a time; get them where I want them with training, and THEN add another one.  Although I love the idea of rescuing, it all depends on the personality of your dog.

 

Good luck

[Dan]

It's still a very long time off yet, depending on how life plays out for me. Definitely won't be where I'm living at the moment anyway. I'm reading a heat index of 37.5C outside in the shade at the moment, very nasty. I just love the idea of dogs having each others company while you're not home. It seems they all have an initial period where they're figuring out their place, but are usually fine after that going by the posts so far.

 

Out of interest I just had a look at one of the shelters websites around here and not a single husky (phew, I may have caved in ), mostly just all those short haired breeds that are already massively overpopulated up here, you know the ones. Poor things

Edited December 6, 2014 by Thingz

[NOBELHOWLUC49]

I have rescued 2 dogs and my Mum has rescued most of hers.  I tried to Rescue a GSD called Izzy not so long ago but Bella was not very taken with her and we thought it best given Bella's disability of being blind not to try again.  That's how we decided that Howlers brother Lucky would be our 4th Woof.  (apart from he's the cutest little devil.)

 

If you can rescue then I would recommend this, they come with a history most times you do not know, but they are the most loving faithful dogs once they learn to trust you.

 

In the very long future I will rescue another woof. No dog belongs in a kennel or to be mistreated, they all, in an ideal world should have a forever home. If I win the lottery (ha ha) I will own loads of dogs.  I have already made the plans in my head and have appointed my woof manager, Sam at work.  LOL. she will manage the running of the estate and the small furries side of the venture. 

[robke]

I have always had rescues, Bindi & Alpha is the first time that we had 2 dogs...had Bindi first for 1 year then saw Alpha in the rescue kennels and I fell for him eventhough it toke 2 hrs for him to come up to meet me in the enclosure of the kennels and it did take a bit longer for him to walk up to Di. then we went out to meet Bindi for a neutral terrain walk and par for a few fights not looked back...

 

We Di and I will only look at rescues as there are way to many dogs, not just huskies, in kennels worldwide...

[Dan]

 If I win the lottery (ha ha) I will own loads of dogs.  I have already made the plans in my head and have appointed my woof manager, Sam at work.  LOL. she will manage the running of the estate and the small furries side of the venture. 

 

If you need any extra staff just let me know .. my only request would be that I could take any of them home at any time

[NOBELHOWLUC49]

Travel might be a challenge, but if your looking for somewhere cold and want to move countries, your on my team  

[Dan]

Move somewhere cold? Flights booked, I'll be there tomorrow 

[NOBELHOWLUC49]

Got to win the lottery first.    but anytime you want to visit the Freezer aka the UK. your welcome.   

[Dan]

Hmm .. maybe if everyone on this forum bought a ticket, and if anyone won, we could just set up a huge centre somewhere. Better odds then

 

I hate the heat, the sooner I can get out of here the better. Probably just move further South to start with but I wouldn't rule out moving overseas at some point. I like AU but apart from family, there's not really much here for me

 

Did a brief search for members on this forum in the same city as me and didn't get any hits, but I guess with a population just shy of 180K what was I expecting. I need to be around more husky people!

[Andy]

Hmm .. maybe if everyone on this forum bought a ticket, and if anyone won, we could just set up a huge centre somewhere. Better odds then

 

I hate the heat, the sooner I can get out of here the better. Probably just move further South to start with but I wouldn't rule out moving overseas at some point. I like AU but apart from family, there's not really much here for me

 

Did a brief search for members on this forum in the same city as me and didn't get any hits, but I guess with a population just shy of 180K what was I expecting. I need to be around more husky people!

Move to Manchester UK that's Husky central

[goingsolo]

Both my boys are from dogs trust, we had Charlie for a year then got solo. Took charlie to meet him and they got on fine in the 2 years we've had them they have had 2 fights, both started by Charlie, to be fair solo lets him get on with it. We prefer tp miss the puppy stage due to work commitments and have no regrets rescuing.

[Clare70]

We have 3 dogs and all are rescues. We started out wanting to rescue a GSD but the right one never came up. We then started looking at huskies as there seemed to be so many of them needing homes, we did some research and then met a couple. Harry was the 3rd husky we met and we immediately knew he was the dog for us, he was a stray so his history is nil, we don't even know his age though they guessed at the time he was about 18 months old.

 

 A few months later we talked about rescuing another dog, a companion for Harry but I wanted to wait until the spring.  My husband was working close to one of the largest rescue centres in the UK and would go and walk the dogs in his lunch break and became a volunteer. He met Snowy, a 4 month old GSD x husky who was struggling to be rehomed due to his upbringing, he was a nightmare of a puppy. It broke my husbands heart to see Snowy in there and so he brought him home without me even knowing.  I wasn't best pleased as you can imagine but there was no way I couldn't care for him and within a few days I fell in love with him. So the gap between getting Harry and Snowy was 3 months.

 

One year later we rescued Maiya, shes a 6 year old Malamute. We hadn't really thought about having 3 dogs but having kept in contact with the dogs home they would contact my husband each time a northern breed dog got brought in, incase we could rehome them. Well my husband and daughter went to the UK for a small trip and went and visited Maiya. Well they knew she would fit right in, so the following week we took Harry to meet her.  Harry didn't make too much of her at first but they seemed to get along, so we brought Maiya home that same day.  Once we were home Snowy and Maiya fell in love!  They have a really close bond, she sort of mothers him and he really pushes his limit with her.  They play all the time and are best of friends.  With Harry it's a bit of a different story, he tolerates Maiya but doesn't really like her, mind you he doesn't really like anything  He's a very strange dog and quite a challenge.  Soemtimes I feel like we have 2 dogs and Harry is the lodger

 

I would love a puppy one day but for now I'm very happy with my lot, they keep me on my toes.