What to expect with second dog?

Hey all,

Bit of background is that we currently have a lurcher (saluki x greyhound x collie), he's three years old (had him from 10 weeks).

We're thinking of applying for a puppy from a local rescue centre, which currently have a litter of mixed breed (husky x collie) puppies.

Now I do work most days, however we pay for doggy daycare for our lurcher currently and don't mind paying to send a puppy also. Of course I'd take some holiday off from work initially to settle in said puppy to our home but I feel confident that our lovely and experienced dog sitter would be more than equipped to offer lots of lovely socialisation, walks and potty opportunities as she does with our current dog. (they go for the whole day not just out for walks)

I just wanted to know how others found the dynamic changes from a one dog household to two? Though I suppose it depends entirely on personality. Our resident dog is very sweet and adores everyone/thing so we're hoping that he will be a good 'example' to a new dog.

I'm also curious about the 'husky' part of this mix, I've never owed and never considered a husky before so I'm not really familiar with common traits of the breed bar the usual comments of 'never let off lead' and 'nightmare breed'. Is this really the case?

We've owned collies in the past so I am familiar with a heavily driven, need to work attitude (which actually, was always much easier to cope with than the lurcher trait of counter surfing ) and fully intend to do a lot of positive training with the puppy.

Just looking for confirmation really that we are doing the right thing and trying not to be put off by 'breed' stereotypes. I know it isn't ideal for me to work and to have to use a daycare, however as I have children I feel more comfortable (though they are very animal savvy) raising a puppy from scratch. But that's my own personal thought.

The puppy may well veer to the collie side of things anyway.
Yes huskies can be a nightmare, all too often because people buy them because of their blue eyes, never even going into their needs and the amount of exercise they need. I do know of some people who've managed to train a recall into their husky, not many though to be honest.
However.....the breed I am involved in DOES have husky in the background, probably 30 years or so back. I have 3 who are trained to Gold Good Citizen Standard and one who is Bronze standard. So not untrainable if approached in the right way. Mine all have a good recall, but do have a high prey drive, so I do have to keep my eyes open for approaching squirrels, rabbits, cats etc. They are fine with horses and cows, wouldn't let them offlead near sheep or poultry.
As long as you do your research and go into it with your eyes open as to what the possibilities are, ensure you take your puppy to classes for instance, start as you mean to go on with recall etc. get it instilled in there early on, there will be times when you are totally ignored as your puppy matures and tests boundaries, that is perfectly natural

Cant offer advice about huskeys but as you are adopting a puppy , bear in mind that he will go through different stages as he matures and his behaviour will change and his behaviour towards your other dog wil change too.

Your other dog is sweet natured so might find your new pup over whelming as he grows and test limits . I know that the usual advice is let them sort it out the pecking order but it can lead to the older dog being bullied and harassed ,
Alison

Things only start getting interesting/tricky when you add 3 + 4.

On a more serious note though my main advice echoes what Dibby has said and would be not to let your puppy play too roughly with the older dog, rag its ears, bite around the face etc as many good mannered older dogs will tolerate far too much rough play from a pup before they tell it off and this can lead to the puppy expecting to be able to treat all older dogs it meets on the same way, causing problems later.

Don't expect them to be best friends right away . Your older dog might not immediately like the pup and that's quite normal . Let your dog have somewhere to get away from the pup they can be very persistant in annoying the older dog . Allow your older dog to tell the pup off if it is being really annoying, the pup will soon get the message .
Don't know anything about husky part of the breeding but you sound sensible so any problems should be able to be sorted out whatever they are .
Have fun !

Collies and Huskies are social breeds so it shouldn't be an issue. Hard to say for sure though since their background on the parents might not be known by the rescue. Having 2 dogs together is a lot for fun than just 1. It's always so much fun watching them play and interact with each other.

Thank you for the wonderful advice given, some full collie puppies came into another local rescue recently (owner couldn't sell them) so we decided to go for what we know instead in the end.


We've had Indy (Full name: Indiana, of the Jones variety ) for just a day so far. Feels so wonderful to have a collie again!

Kim my knowledge of all this is limited but for what it's worth I think you have made the right decision Better the devil you know.
Indy is adorable, who could have ignored such a gorgeous pup.
Good luck with her and I hope we see a lot more of her as she grows up

What an absolutely adorable little sweetie pie!

Thank you

We are very pleased with him, though he's lulled us into a false sense of security on our first day I'm sure

Our older dog seems on first reaction overjoyed to have some company. That might wear off after day or so I expect haha!