Hypothetical question here ;)

My two are not very well socialised (I got them when they were 2 1/2) IF and it a big if lol, I wanted to introduce a new dog, how would you suggest I go about it?

Would a bitch or another dog fit in better? (I have one of each)

Puppy or older? Same age?

it all depends on the nature of the dog and the dog you look at, if you have a dominant dog try to lookf or a new one thats not overly dominant or very submissive, you need to match characters rather than sex, we have 3 males and 3 females and at times have had 5 females 3 males or vice versa and due to match of character weve been lucky to have a happy group. Choosing a new companion should take a while either speak to a really competent rescue who will know their dogs personalities and match accordingly and spend some time visiting and mixing your dogs with the new one if you can. When we have new boarders come to visit i introduce mine one at a time to them giving each time to sniff and then get bored with the newness and settle, eventually once they are all introduced we allow them to mix carefully and never not watching them until we are happy they have settled. anna.x.

you forgot to mention 'breed?' ;)

what was it you were contemplating getting?

please don't say 'I've seen a fantastic mastiff I'd love to adopt' :roll:

lol! Another small breed, probably chihuahua or another crestie

I know this is a fairly old topic but I didn't like to start a new one with the same title.

We have a 3yr old male Cavalier King Charles and we've just acquired a new male between 18 months/2yrs old. They get on fine when walking but when in the house the younger dog is showing signs of wanting to be alpha leader and our older dog is easily pushed aside and puts up very little resistance, probably due to him being used to being the only dog. I'm ready to accept that we may have made a few mistakes so far but I'd like a little advice please.

The younger dog was living with a female cavvie before coming to us and is constantly chasing the elder around the house sniffing his rear which our elder dog isn't too keen on. The elder does have the occasioanl sniff back but only when the younger isn't looking. As soon as the pup notices and turns around our elder dog is off like a shot and the chase begins again until stopped by us. There's been the odd little growl from both dogs and a snap last night from the pup (who is much more vocal than the elder) and the pup was sent to his bed for a short time where he cried constantly to be let out. Obviously this is something he's not been used to whereas our elder dog is aware of the house rules.

At the moment both dogs are drinking/eating from the same bowl which I've discovered today is likely to be a problem as when the elder went for the biscuits he was pushed out of the way by the pup and was too put off to go back until I sent the pup to his bed and stood there while the elder was able to eat. We used to keep the elder's bowl filled with Baker's Complete Meaty Meal chunks and he was happy to eat when he was hungry but due to introduction of the pup and the problem I noticed tonight, seperate bowls and specific meal times might have to be the solution here. Obviously I'm only guessing as I'm no dog expert and am still learning.

If anyone can give a tried and tested solution here I'd appreciate it. I'm sure both dogs will be ok once they've got used to each other but I'm a little worried about this alpha male problem. I'm sure it won't go away as it's what they do. :roll: