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Comment by Sir Riley of Pembroke on January 15, 2009 at 7:13pm

God luck with getting your australian shep puppy! They are beautiful dogs!

Comment by Judi, Dawn, Soffie & Griffyn on October 29, 2008 at 11:39am

Soffie was a year old when we got Griffyn. The breeder let us bring Soffie with us to "test" how she would be with a puppy. And our experience was great! Soffie was a little leary at first which the breeder told us was a good reaction. If she had acted aggressively towards the pups then she would have suggested we rethink. Griffyn, somehow, seemed to realize he was our little guy and made sure Soffie knew that he was. I have a video of our first meeting (titled My Guy) on Griffyn's Dogster page. http://www.dogster.com/dogs/542960
Soffie accepted him into our home without any objection and believe me when I tell you she was one little spoiled "only puppy'!!! And they get along just fine. They love each other and have little spats with each other just like sisters and brothers. And I now can't imagine how either one would be without the other.
I say go for it! And Kiwi will love you for it too!

Comment by Jenni & Dave Fields on October 29, 2008 at 10:59am

I am glad I found this post....Dave and I have talked about adding another Corgi to our house once Spencer is a little older (he will be a year old in January). We are thinking about an older dog and not another puppy.. All your input and insights are very helpful! Thanks!!!

Comment by Cindi on October 29, 2008 at 9:53am

One of the best tips I've been given and share with my clients is: When you get your new pup, bring your other one and introduce them on "neutral" ground such as a park. Let them play a bit and get to know each other. Then bring them home together. It allows them to get to know each other without the "Mom, he's in my spot" behavior.

The second is socialize, socialize, socialize! Get them out together. Walking is a great way to do that. When you walk them together, starting with one on each side of you on a short, loose leash, they start to see each other as part of your pack. Walking is great for you, essential for your dog, and works wonders on getting dogs to get along.

Third, get involved in training. Train your young pup and use the skills you learn to encourage them both to have good manners. You'll be glad you did.

Good luck!

Comment by Carlie on October 29, 2008 at 6:11am

Huge thanks to everyone who has responded, I really appreciate the knowledge and stories that everybody has to share with me. Kiwi is incredibly well socialized, between daycare, play dates, and the dog park she's one happy pup, and gets along really well with other dogs. I have noticed that she has shown some signs of being toy aggressive, I am going to be talking to our trainer about the best way to handle that with the arrival of a new puppy. I want Kiwi to know that she will always be the "1st pup" but I want to be able to share the attention and the love as equally as possible. I'll be sure to share everyone's responses with my husband. Thank you guys again.

Comment by Wendt Worth Corgi's on October 28, 2008 at 11:48pm

Well I'm sure you expect this answer from me...LOL Of course I have and its been fine but each individual is differant. If your ready and dedicated then do it. I've taken 2 pups at just around 8 weeks together and before they were a year old have taken other pups in. As you know..Corgis are highly intelligent and for a bit it was alittle hectic but I had so many young ones. You should be fine. Your older one will show him the ropes and they'll have a blast. You'll get much enjoyment out of it and will have much to talk about. Good Luck.

Comment by Sam Tsang on October 28, 2008 at 10:29pm

Hey Carlie, i think the most important thing is making sure Kiwi is well socialize before the addition arrive. Mocha is a social butterfly, but it took him about 3 months to fully accept Vienna's arrival. Of course both Mocha and Vienna are very dominant to begin with, it definitely helps if kiwi or the new arrival is more submissive than the other, that will make the transition much better. We're currently fostering a 4 yr old name Albert, he is VERY submissive and that really makes the pack dynamic smoother.

I think when a new pup join the pack, sometimes the older dog relapse in their training: potty train, jumping up on people or fighting for attention in general...etc. So one word of advise is reinforce the training now, when the new addition arrive, they will try to push their boundaries, so you'll need to re-direct them and show them both what is okay and what is unacceptable. Good luck!

Comment by JollieEllie on October 28, 2008 at 10:17pm

I added Bailey (then 3 months) when Truffle is about 2 years old. One thing I want to suggest is to talk to the breeder and make sure the personalites of both dogs matched! I have such trouble because none of them is more dominant than the other so the integration takes longer. Even know, 6 months later, they still haven't figured out who's the boss and it's a nightmare as they would continuously fight.
Sure both bring us joy but having a second dog doesn't mean it's easier. I thought Truffle would teach Bailey the rope but Bailey has actually picked up her bad habits and during Bailey's house breaking training, Truffle would also had some accidents and needed to be retrained.
sorry don't want to be a party pooper here but just so you can prepare yourself. :)
I heard lots of wonderful stories about how the second dog bonds straight away with the first so I think most important is to look for one that balance your current one out.

Comment by Laura Jones on October 28, 2008 at 6:48pm

Well I probably am not a good person on giving advice, but I did add an aussie puppy to our family the end of August, he was 12 weeks old at the time and like Kiwi KC will be 1 in February. I expected a huge problem but so far everything is ok. In fact KC seems to be learning a little something from Levi. I was worried about him picking up on her bad habits, her biggest one is she does not like to come when she is called, but he does and she doesn't like the fact that he gets lots of loves and goodies and she doesn't if she doesn't do what she is told. I think like adding any one to the family there will be some problems and ups and downs but it is all on how you handle it. We make sure KC knows that we still love her and we try to take them indivudually sometimes instead of always together. She has turned into more of my husbands dog and the aussie is definately more mine. We are such suckers we are thinking of adding another corgi by the end of the year. In my opinion these two breeds are the best and they are both such smart dogs and learn so quickly. In some ways I believe it has been beneficial to us in the fact that KC is the more outgoing and Levi is a lot more timid and layed back, they really balance each other out, she is bringing him out of his shell and he is teaching her that sometimes doing what you are told and being quiet has big rewards. I have discovered through reading and the breeder I got Levi from that aussies tend to be more of a one person dog, not to say he isn't good with the whole family and knows they are his, but he tends to listen better to me and is more likely to want to be near me all the time, where KC is happy whether she is with me or my husband. I could go on forever about my furry kids and probably still not make any sense. LOL! Don't know if I helped or confused you more but I wish you good luck.