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Old February 17th, 2014, 11:31 PM
Gozer Gozer is offline
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Thinking of adopting another puppy.

I have a wonderful female black lab puppy(9 months) and I'm considering adopting a female lab close to the same age. I planned on getting another lab but wanted my dog to be a couple years old before doing so. She is used to getting a lot of affection. I'm worried that sharing the affection while she's still a puppy may affect her developing personality. I have owned two dogs at once but the age difference was never less than three years. I'm just unsure of what to do.
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Old February 18th, 2014, 08:40 AM
Longblades Longblades is offline
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If there is any one age that stands out for when all hell breaks loose and Labs become teenagers I swear it's 9 months old. Most reputable breeders will not let a person take home sibling puppies, so getting another the same age might not be a good idea. Generally we say once your current pup is well trained and reliable then is a good time to add another dog.

What are you doing with your current girl? Classes, competition? Labs thrive on structure and need a good physical workout every day. I wonder if adopting an older dog might be better if you plan to go ahead? Personally I would find a younger puppy, with it's different exercise requirements, would be hard for me but I have a job to do and only so much time for training and working with one dog, let alone two.

Think hard. Two the same age would be more than double the work. Ideally they would go to separate training classes and need a lot of individual work from you. Good luck.
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Old February 18th, 2014, 10:51 AM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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I would not have to female pets in my house . That is asking for trouble , there can only be one queen in the house. I think it would be best to get a male dog but a little younger and introduce the two slowly. It would be great if you bring an item that smelled like the new puppy into the house first so your first dog can get use to the smell .
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Old February 18th, 2014, 11:36 AM
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hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
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We've got 5 fems and 3 males, varying ages, although six of them are within 2 years of each other. We got our first puppy, Ember, shortly after adopting Cass when she was 9 mos of age. Our second puppy, Cole, we got a few months later--he's about 2 mos younger than Ember. For a while, I'll admit, it was a bit of a circus () and when we moved from that house we had to totally relandscape the small backyard because it was about down to bare earth...but if you have the time to dedicate and the commitment to work with both dogs, both separately and together, there's no reason you can't make it work. But it can be very trying and difficult at times.

A lot of your success will depend on your patience level and the personalities of the dogs. If your current labby is still very much a puppy in behavior herself, adding another pup to the mix is going to give you double trouble. In that case, adopting a dog more the same age as your lab might be a better option.

Our Cass was pretty mature for her age (sort of an atypical setter at 9 mos) and she took over as the mother figure for Ember when he arrived, so we had no issues with double trouble puppy shenanigans till Cole arrived.... Had Cass been a typical wild setter child, we would probably have had to pass on Cole, just for sanity's sake.

All three of them bonded to us as well as to each other. Working separately with them, both training and for play, builds their bond with you. Working with them together while training teaches them to work together and still pay attention to you. So if you have time and commitment you can make it work
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