experience of adopting new dog into family????

I am the Dad of a 4 year old Doberman bitch, had her since she was pup and had one litter herself, speyed since then.
I am thinking of adopting another but am unsure what effect it will have on my girl?
She is the kind that always wants cuddles and attention from me aswell as from thr last year since the pups has slept on my bed with me.
I'm just a little concerned that if another dog came into the family her personality may change?
Can anyone shed any light on this for me? Good and bad experiences so can make an informed choice.
Thanks Nick

It's hard to say without knowing your dog tbh. I have 5 dogs, 3 of which are Dobermanns. Two I've had from pups and one was a rehome. 3 of my dogs are rehomes and have all been accepted and settled in very well. That said though I've always had dogs in multiples and am used to dealing with all that entails. It hasn't always been easy the sbt and the terrier had a spell of aggro but that's now sorted. The 2 female Dobies did on occasion have a pop at each other mainly caused by Milan the rehome stealing and guarding food etc. Also problems don't generally arise immediately it's usually once they've had time to settle in and find their feet which is a couple of months down the line. If your really committed and know you wont jack it in whatever happens then go for it. As I said in the other post personally I think males and females are generally more accepting of each other, males tend to let females get away with murder tbh without feeling the need to react. As long as you share the affection around it shouldn't be and issue.

great post Trouble, really interesting and I wanted to give you a reppy...but it won't let me..says I need to spread some around!

Diesel was an only dog until he was 2 years old, then we decided to get him a companion, he was fine, it seemed to spark the old puppy in him and he seemed to love having a doggy buddy, the dog we took on was 7 months old, unfortunately things didnt work out (long story, we have cats too and she hated them) so we had to re-home her, Diesel was miserable without her so, eventually we gave in and got a pup, he took to her fairly quickly (once she stoppped bouncing around) and now they are best buddies.

I think it depends on the dog, Diesel is very laid back and quite frankly a bit of a twit so we knew he would be fine with another dog coming into his home.

Diesel is definitely happier having company but they do both get jealous over attention but not to the point where its ever got nasty.

Good luck with whatever you decide

I agree with what Trouble said about problems not arising immediately. I foster dogs for the Dog's Trust as well as having one of my own. I find that for the first week or so the dogs more or less ignore each other, apart from the odd sniff. Then they start to interact more.

The first dog we had was a staffy. There were no problems apart from the odd scuffle at the start over toys. The second dog was also a staffy but we had to let her go to another foster home after about 2 weeks because my dog didn't get on with her.

I'm now on my 3rd foster dog and they get on brilliantly. I would say that Bryan has been influenced by the other dogs. E.g. with the first dog he was a lot more energetic, with the second he got quite grumpy and with the third he is quite calm.

So, every dog is different. There's no way to predict what will happen when you introduce a new dog to your household.

So would you say it is impossible to know how they will get on based purely upon an initial meeting? Does a dog have to live in the household before you can be sure of what they will be like together...or can you tell initially?Do you get a vibe?

Thanks Trouble, I think the line I will go down is the one you suggest. A male would be better as she does get on better with them generally anyway.

I would say you have to live with them a while first. you do get a vibe, and even better if a dog has been in a home environment ie on foster first, but you have to remember that on intital meetings the resident dog is in a new place and not on their own patch so to speak so their reactions maybe different, take in to account as well that the rescue will be a bit unsettled if its a kennel situation and probably not showing what their real character is like

Having said all that i have fosterd over 30 dogs and only ever had a problem with one, who was a pregnant bitch who turned out to have a brain tumour.

Dogs stay with me for a minuimum of 2 weeks (this is usually as long as it takes me to get them neutered and jabs done very rare a dog comes in all done) but i have had certain dogs here for a couple of months, i tend to find that the fosters are finding their feet for the first week or so and then start to settle down and let their personality come through. Then we can properly asses what type of home that dog needs.

We will then set about matching that dog to the right owner, if someone applies for a dog that we don't think is suitable we will tell them and suggest an alternative if one is available, it works for us, we have very few dogs returned.

The other thing to take into consideration is the dogs past, personally when i took on Millie she was fine with Meg, and initially fine with other dogs, 6 months down the line after she had her paws under the table she was a nightmare, that had nipped several of our friends and had a go at numerous other dogs. (thats what happens when you shut a dog in a cupboard for the first 6 months of her life), but we worked through it and 3 yrs on she is a pleasure who accepts many astrange dog into her house.

I suppose what i am trying to say is find a rescue where the dogs are in foster, and be prepared to give it time. FWIW when Molly and Neam arrived they settled in like they had always been here

Forgot to add be prepared to be guided by the rescue, they will know which dog may best suit your circumstances and lifestyle

Wow!Well done you! Really interesting post too!!!! Very informative, thank you.

I totally agree with Lizzy23 - wow 30 dogs!

They are on their 'best behaviour' for the first couple of weeks and after that will test their boundaries.

I don't think an initial introduction has any bearing on how it will be a month later. When Bryan first met Tilly she went for him, but after that they were the best of pals (and still are).

The second dog he got on great with initially, then after a week or so she was too boisterous for him and it was turning aggressive.

Our current dog is the easiest one so far. He's very laid back and likes to sleep a lot Very different to the staffs who were more high energy.

I would recommend not having two bitches together, but that's just from my personal experience. I find two males or a male and a bitch are the best pairing.