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Advice On Getting A Second Puppy (Possibly By Friday)!


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So, Wyot is over a year, 14 months to be exact. He is WONDERFUL, and so smart and amazing, he keeps us on our toes and teaches us a few things, and of course, tries to get away with some things. Well, hubby has been talking about getting another, larger dog for a while now. He's always loved Bernese Mountain dogs ever since his sister had a pair. Well, we went in to get fish (yes, for our little tank) at our local pet food distributor, and they have puppies in there all the time, from local breeders...and lo and behold, there were St. Bernards, and he just fell in love!! I have 24 hours to change my mind, but I put a deposit on a little 11week old male pup- who seems to be the quieter and calmer of the bunch of them. He came from a litter of 14!!!!!!!!!!!!! (there were 3 males and one female in the store). They've been to the vet for their initial check ups and first vaccines today.

 

Can anyone advise or give any information if they think this is a good age/match/etc.?? We both think Wyot would LOVE to have company and teach a little (big!) younger brother...I've never had two dogs before, but I think having Wyot would help in the training? We would crate the new pup at night of course, and keep him in the kitchen area as he got older, just like we did with Wyot. Just don't know how that would affect him, considering it will be where his crate was when he was little, and will he accept the little guy being crated at night? What if the baby cries? Wyot is also amazing off leash- I can't remember the last time he was on the leash, quite frankly. So, there it is. I am excited, but also wonder the new adventures/difficulties/joys this would bring.

 

Any advice would be very very welcome- especially before taking such a dive into this!! Thanks in advance... :)

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I have always had multiple dogs, currently 3. My ai dog was Kai was about 18 months old when we picked up our 2nd ai puppy Jesse. There was a bit of sulking and probably some jealousy at first from Kai, but they are totally bonded and the greatest of brothers now. You should have no problems bringing a new pup into your home, Wyot will soon love the new guy. It is good to crate the puppy both for safety, potty training and to give Wyot breaks from the puppy when he needs them! Congratulations and have fun with your little pack! :)

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Thank you for the advice, Sschenk...I will store for when we do get another, which we will...this one was not meant to be, unfortunately. We researched Saints, and as good of a temperament, etc., they are low energy dogs. They are short lived, and huge problems with stomach tortioning, and especially if too much exercise, they get hip dysplasia, bone cancer, etc...it would not be fair to Wyot to love a brother, then lose him 8 or so years later, and we go hiking a lot and as you know, our dogs are rockets! His Saintie brother wouldn't be able to keep up, and if he did, it'd be to his detriment. I am sad, but confident that we will find a little brother for him soon....we just bought ten acres on top of a mountain, in the woods, and hopefully will break ground in the spring, so lots of adventures for our growing pack!

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I'm really glad you did the breed research before sinking your heart into a new family member. You did the kindest thing for this fella too since he won't be left at home while everyone else has fun. I don't know anything about Saints except that giant breeds tend to all have shorter life spans. My Brother in Law loves the idea of a Mastiff but won't get one due to the life span.

 

We've always had a GSD or two but the health and temperment issues with GSDs seem to get worse (finding a suitable one) as time marches on. I think that is a problem with many breeds unfortunately.

 

I was going to suggest Wyot meet the pup to see how the chemistry is.

 

We thought we could handle a Belgian and we did read up on the breed. We actually tried a "mellow" Belgian Malinois that was 14 months (past the worst puppy destructo poc period) and professionally extensively trained. We visited him with the little dogs 3 times before taking the plunge, but we found he had no "off" switch. He was too high energy for us in that I don't want a career as a K9 handler, I want to work in my glass studio. He needed to put his pants on and work 8 hours at a real job - like Airport security - every day. He has a day job now and I'm sure he's happier than he would have been with us. He's literally completed training appropriate for any type of professional work and his day job is teaching other large breed dogs with dog aggression issues to be good K9 citizens. I actually think he would have been wasted on us.

 

I think if you have experience with a breed and know it fits your life style then it's easier to find a good fit and a good dog. How are Bernese Mountain dogs? Are they fit? Why not get another AID (some of them are really big - you could ask for a big one)? You might be able to find organizations that works with the breed to talk to about who breeds sound pups (if that's an issue) and or testing - how to test a pup. We used a service to find a GSD. They know breeders that consistently produce sound dogs and they know testing methods for intelligence and temperament. Finding a quality GSD is difficult. They looked at 17 dogs before procuring one for us. That's not to say you can't find an awesome dog at the pet shop - one of our best GSDs ever came from a pet shop (I'm betting he got super socialized there) - but it helps to know some basic puppy tests and it's really hard to walk away if the fit isn't there. Also consider talking to your Vet about breeds. They see the best and the worst, including those that have to be put down early for health or temperment issues.

 

IMO 2 is a great and healthy number. Chances are you can't take Wyot everywhere with you and even if you could, it helps to have someone on his wavelength. 14 mo is a reasonable age for adding a second pup. They will have similar energy and interests. Wyot will likely take the brunt of teething. Sometimes the 2 might be double trouble but on average Wyot will likely be more help than you will ever know. Cake is 4 now and neither she nor Waki are interested in being puppies with our puppy. They are parents to him and translators. For example Fenris was squirming and refusing to put his pants on so Waki growled at him and Fen held still for me after that. I was scolding Fen for trying to eat the electrical wires and he was just doubling down so Cake came over and put her body between Fen and the wires and snarled. AIDs are very subtile and quiet dogs. GSDs are often at 11 so the AIDs spent the first 3 weeks teaching Fen to be calm and well behaved in the house but Hair on Fire at the barn/fenced area.IMG_1216.png (Waki sitting on Fen).

 

Good luck in your search!

Edited by Sherab
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It is good to crate the puppy ~snip~ to give Wyot breaks from the puppy when he needs them!

 

Ah hahahaha! So true.

 

Hope you get another AIDog. If not a pup, then maybe one of the retired breeders.

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Thanks all for the wonderful feedback!!! Hubby was just saying this morning...what about another AI dog?My ears perked up...but I think the waiting list is really long...there's a lot going on for us, and I would like to get a companion for Wyot sooner rather than later, as he is really good at staying home (nothing damaged, lol, and the greeting we get when we come home-singing, dancing, circling, trying to jump up for hugs!!!), but we hate leaving him, and as you said, you can't always take them with you. Never thought about retired breeders...we do want a little brother, rather than a sister...hmmm...we'll have to take a good think here and see what comes to us.

 

Love this community!!! :)

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I work with dogs, I didn't want to say it cause I thought your choice of the St. Bernard was a done deal but everything you said about their health and energy level is very accurate. They have so many health issues it breaks your heart. I deal with an average of 16 different dogs daily and I can honestly say that AI dogs are the ultimate dog! Second best are mixes…(health wise), the shelters are full of great mix breeds and usually the staff has insight to the temperament of the dogs. One of the greatest traits of AI dogs is they get along with everyone, my dogs come to work with me daily and their energy is cohesive with whatever comes in. I am crazy in love with these indians!!!

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Thank you so much for your insight! It is a wonderful thing to come here and know you will get honest opinions...we are ready for a second dog, and Wyot too...can you tell? :):wub:

 

PS- I agree, mixes from shelters also have better health- and the staff really are great and intuitive, as you said!

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Also, my best friend got an adult from Kim. He's absolutely wonderful but also a lot of work as everything was new to him as far as life in the "city" plus he's quite a skittish boy.

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Yes...the dogs have a great outdoor life at Song Dog...so I can only imagine. I think I'd like Wyot to "school" his little brother, lol! I love the outdoors, and it does my heart good when we go hiking and Wyot runs laps around us, doing twice what we do, and he does stop to look back and make sure we are behind him. He always comes running back to help when it looks like I am having trouble (ie, I got stuck on a branch with my scarf)...LOVE their way of being so attuned and helpful to us!

Edited by KittynDoc
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Sometimes Kim has older pups that did not place for some reason. It is worth a phone call, or email.

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How ever you do it, I'm sure it will be glorious. Likely with another AID pup it will be love at first sight. One of the great things about it is it comes with a life time expert to assess the personality of the pup, drives and predispositions against your family requirements. Beats having to figure out how to test pups your self.

 

Keep in mind it may take a few weeks with an older dog, (I've heard 2 weeks of "honeymoon", 2 weeks of testing and 2 weeks of finally gelling to get to the point of not being able to think of your life w/o them) especially a different breed as they won't be completely matched in language and drivers with your AID.

 

When AIDs give their hearts the other dog becomes a part of them forever. Both mine were raised by a male and female GSD. For over a year (since their last GSD papa passed) both have been grieving, serious, low energy and I wasn't sure they'd ever play like they use to. They'd become very inactive and dis-interested in playing. We got Fenris and it took them both 1 week to stop looking like we had betrayed them (Waki living mostly under the bed) to Great JOY and constant playing. Even so the first day they (grimly) took up the roles of parent and care taker, not leaving the puppy's side for every single nocturnal potty adventure and incessantly watching the little guy and correcting his behavior (sometimes from under the bed). The big shift happened this week with the AIDs playing with Fenris in the house and surrounding Fen to help him sleep (he had shots and is very cranky today). We just started week 5. Cake offered her paw to Fen and stayed with him for 1 hour, paw to paw, making sure he slept. IMG_4676 (1).pngIMG_4678 (1).png

 

Keep in mind you might be in for an adaptation period and we all are here for you.

Edited by Sherab
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