🐾 Welcoming Another Dog
A Guide to Multiple Dog Households
Adding another dog to your family can be a wonderful and rewarding experience — for both humans and animals — but it’s not without challenges. A multi-dog household requires thoughtful preparation, time, and a solid understanding of your current dog's needs. Before you decide, ask yourself:
“Am I getting a new puppy for me, or for my dog?”
If your answer isn’t “for both of us”, it may be worth pausing for a bit longer.
📌 Things to Consider Before Adding a Second Dog
🕒 Time and Commitment
Puppies require a huge time investment, especially during the early weeks. If you’re already juggling a busy schedule, ask yourself whether you realistically have the time to manage training, enrichment, and individual attention for two dogs — especially while the puppy is learning.
🧠 Training Two Dogs
Training becomes more difficult with two dogs — you’ll need to work with each dog individually as well as together. If you don’t have the patience or support to do this consistently, your training results (and relationship with both dogs) may suffer.
🐶 Dog-Dog Dynamics
Social relationships depend heavily on individual personalities.
Avoid choosing a dog of a similar age, sex, and energy level to reduce the chance of conflict.
Opposite-sex pairings tend to be more harmonious.
Breed traits and past social history matter — do your homework!
🔍 Trial Period is Key
Plan for gradual, supervised introductions before making a permanent commitment. These initial meetings should be calm, on neutral ground, and always monitored.
❤️ Your Current Dog Still Comes First
Adding a new puppy into the mix shouldn’t come at the expense of your current dog’s well-being. Consider:
Will your current dog feel overwhelmed or frustrated?
Do you have enough resources (time, money, space, energy) to care for both dogs equally?
Can you give each dog individual attention every day?
Fairness matters. It’s up to you to teach the new puppy respectful behaviours and protect your older dog from constant pestering.
🚨 Reality Check: Conflict Can (and Sometimes Will) Happen
Even well-matched dogs might have scuffles — especially during times of stress, change, or competition over resources. A little grumbling or growling is part of normal communication, but active fights can damage relationships and erode trust.
Many dogs are friendly outside the home but may become territorial when another dog moves in.
✅ Tips for a Happy Multi-Dog Home
✔️ Avoid potential trigger items like pigs’ ears, high-value chew toys, or beds that could cause guarding.
✔️ Feed in separate locations at set times — food prep can cause high arousal. Crates are helpful!
✔️ Provide multiple sleeping areas with distance between beds and kennels. Don’t force closeness.
✔️ Walk the dogs together, off-property, twice daily for positive bonding time. If needed, ask a friend to help walk.
✔️ Train each dog individually every day. A trained dog is a relaxed and confident dog.
✔️ Mentally and physically stimulate both dogs through enrichment, games, and structured routine.
🐾 In Summary
Living in a multi-dog household can be incredibly fulfilling — but only when managed with fairness, structure, and awareness of each dog’s needs. It’s not about giving each dog equal treatment — it’s about giving them what they need as individuals to feel safe, supported, and loved.