Adding to the pack
I would love to hear from those of you who have experience with adding a corgi puppy to your already existing corgi households. Stanley is going to be a big brother next month to a tri-color girl we're naming Charlotte. I think he'll do wonderfully as a big brother but of course I anticipate a transition phase. And I just want to do what is best for him and Charlotte.
How can I make the puppy introduction to our household go smoothly? How do I handle feeding them? Crating them? Walking them - is it better to get two leashes or one of those "coupler" leashes? How is it going down stairs with two corgis???
Is Stanley still going to be as attached to me? I don't want to lose out on that. Stanley is a real
momma's boy and I have to admit, I like it that way. Do you think Charlotte will be more attached to
her daddy or even more so to Stanley? I hear the second dog is often very bonded to the first dog.
Besides some advice, I'd love to hear stories about what it was like when ya'll added a second dog.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Betts on
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I just introduced a new puppy to our house. I was the only one home the weekend Ffionn arrived, so I couldn't do the "walk the dog and have them meet up with the new dog outside their territory" thing that has been suggested as the best way to introduce them. However, I knew that my dog Rufus is very other dog friendly and so I used a second method, where I put the new puppy in a crate and let Rufus "find" him. He was interested in Ffionn from the start, barked some but never growled. Ffionn, however, was terrified of Rufus for a couple of days and would hide his face in my neck or armpit when Rufus was around. I gave Rufus lots of TLC when puppy was sleeping, but did keep Ffionn on my lap when Rufus was around. After three or four days I put puppy on the floor and sat right there while Rufus sniffed. One week later they're playing tug of war, tearing around the house and sleeping side by side.
I am one of the people who doesn't like the feed separately idea. I always feed Rufus first,although I prepare their foods simultaneously. They each have their own area on opposite sides of the kitchen. As soon as I've put Rufus' food down I put Ffionn's down. When Rufus finishes, because he inhales food, while Ffionn is daintier with his, he immediately comes racing over. I stand between them and don't let Rufus eat until Ffionn is finished. Rufus likes the lick the plate at that point in time but again, has never growled or snapped at him. I definitely keep Ffionn away from Rufus while he is eating, though.
It's early of course but what I'm loving is that Rufus is no longer bored. He's got a buddy to play with. They both are very interested in me, come when they're called, etc, and Rufus definitely still loves TLC. Now I've got two dogs lying by my feet instead of one.
Ffionn is too little to go for walks yet but I'm think of getting one of the "Y" leashes and seeing how that works out. I used to walk Rufus and Chloe with two leashes, which required a fair amount of leash mastery and some untangling skills.
Going down the stairs must be supervised, as Rufus will give Ffionn a "nudge" if I'm not there. But there's no growling or anything yet.
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Permalink Reply by Tauna and Kota on
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lol @ "nudge" I wonder if it's playing or if it's a oopse mom i accidentally "nudged" Ffionn and he fell down the stairs kind of deal. I'm glad you are having such a great time with your babies
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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Sparty was 1 1/2 when we brought Buffy home. She was 9 weeks old. You would have thought that we had brought him the best present ever! they played and he was really nice to her. He would lay on his back and let her jump on him and bite him all over. If she yelped he would back off right away. I never had much luck with the leash coupler but the one I had attached them rather than split from the hand. Sparty was not too happy when he had his leg lifted and she decided to go elsewhere. The other kind might work better. I use two retraction leashes now and it works well but I also have a third dog. I think I must just be good at it from having horses when I was younger. I walk all three with out issues with the third on an 8 foot leash. It is important to make sure the puppy has time to eat without the older dog's help. I had her in the kitchen gated away from Sparty to feed until she was older and ate at a similar speed to him. At about 1 1/2 she may start to challenge him a bit so it will be important for you to be in charge to avoid any fights. Hopefully Stanley will be happy about his new sister too. 2 are more fun than 1!!
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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I brought home a second adult instead of a puppy, and the new dog was older than my original dog so the dynamic was different. However, Jack (my first Corgi) was beside himself with joy to have another dog in the house. He's a "the more the merrier" kind of dog. It was the new dog, Maddie, who was aloof with Jack and got jealous if I petted him.
I would say it took a good two months for her to fully warm up to him. Jack is not a cuddler so they are not "best friends" kind of dogs but they are almost always within a few feet of each other and play-fight or chase at least once a day except when it's hot. I crate them next to each other, though mine are rarely crated. I feed one on each side of our kitchen peninsula and do stand guard when they eat (food or treats) to make sure no one is a thief. I use separate six-foot leads when I walk them and don't have a problem. Like Bev, I grew up handling horses so after leading around a thousand-pound animal, two dogs don't seem too much trouble.
When I get new toys I always get two of each. I like having two. Training time is harder to come by because I have to crate one to work with the other. Other than that, it's great and I wouldn't want to go back to having one.
Both of mine are bonded more to us than each other, but again the second did not come in as a puppy.
Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Honestly I have always just brought the pup home and everything has worked out well. None of my dogs have any food issues so they might try to eat someones but no aggression issues. I would have a crate or pen to give the pup a rest and maybe for food till you know. Mine love pups but when they are small I am cautious to not leave them alone as an accident could happen due to the size difference.I really don't see any major problems. Thjey'll be having a great time soon. Enjoy the fun!
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on
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I'm not sure about adding another corgi, but we're going through the same thing! Wednesday we're adding a 7 year old male to our pack...In the past I've always had 3 or 4 dogs, with various foster/rescues mixed in for short times and everything has gone fine. As long as your dogs are well socialized and know that you are the leader, you should be OK. I'd introduce them away from the house. But with a puppy, they are usually accepted OK. It's kinda funny because one of my dogs would always look at me like "seriously? An infant? Do we really have to put up with this?" but then would just more or less ignore them and let them do what they want. Others would mommy them....when they get to "teenage" years, 8-9 months, things become a little more hairy, because the pack puts up with less shenanigans from the youngster. I don't think you'll have any problems with a male/female ratio--as long as when the female becomes mature and "bossy" the male doesn't have a problem with that.
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Permalink Reply by christy fry on
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Yup =) just like Jennifer said puppy's are generally accepted it's when they get a little older. Jordan was 1 when I brought Teagen home and they were fast friends till she was about 8 to 9 months then I went through a little over 2 month squabble fest between the 2. Sometimes it was over toys sometimes over things only known to them ( I couldn't figure out what started it) and now they are fine no more fighting =)
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Agreed about the male needing to put up with female bossiness! My male is the more dominant of my two dogs, and yet the girl will shove him out of the way for cuddles, try to steal toys from his mouth, try to nose in on his food, etc.
My male is very dog-tolerant, but every once in awhile he gets royally annoyed and gives her a huge snarl. When he does that, she is out of there. Best combo, IMO, is an easy-going male and a not-too-dominant female, or if the female came in first then a more dominant female and an easy-going male.
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Permalink Reply by Stanley & Charlotte on
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I'm glad to hear some many good experiences with adding a second dog. That's very encouraging! I know Stanley is going to be a great big brother. It's just going to be a different dynamic for him not being the only dog and having our utmost attention all the time. But I'm hopeful having a buddy around will make up for it.
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Permalink Reply by Vee Luther on
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We've always had a trio and currently they are 4, 2 and 10 months old, all neutered males. Intro takes place on a big,grassy area in front of the house and the older boys have alwyas been curious and playful with the new puppy. Our latest pup was on the quiet, cautious side at first. Now that he's a teenager, there's LOTS of noise and wrestling and once in a great while, some serious corrections. Just don't mistake the play noise for trouble--corgis are really noisy!
I fee them all at the same time, but 4 or 5 feet away from each other and stand around while they eat. The puppy eats very slowly so I have to make sure that the older boys dont' finsih his meal.
As for walking, I have a coupler leash and the 2 older dogs walk on my right, and the youngest on a regular leash on my left. They wear training collers for walks only so that I can give a correciton if needed. Each has been through basic obedience so they're pretty good at walking along beside me. We walk in a park quite often and I make sure that when other dogs or joggers go by, they all sit until the distraction passes. The only tough moments might occur when bagging poop of one while they are all milling around!
The biggest surpirse is that the newest puppy is in love with our cat and they are nap pals and groom each other. Who knew? The other dogs will play tag with her but these two are clearly bonded. Of course, the cat probably thinks she's a tri corgi instead of a calico cat!
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Agreed on the noise! When my two are playing it sometimes sounds like a huge dogfight.
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Permalink Reply by Nicola Porter on
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I have superstar visiting and man is she bossy, Alondra doesn't call her a diva for nothing.
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