Thinking of Adopting a Companion for Your Frenchie??

Then you MUST read this...

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Here are the invaluable pieces of advice I wish I had prior to bringing another adult dog into our home

PATIENCE!  I wish I had a nickel for every time Charlotte said this word to me. She said it could be 6 months before we had bliss in our home.  Please consider this timeline when thinking of adopting, this is a very real timeline!  Ask yourself, “Do I have 6 months to dedicate solely to two dogs?”, 6 months where your house could be completely on edge until the pups figure it out.

GET A CRATE! I did not want to hear this when Charlotte told me.  She was, in fact, the second person who told us - the first was our obedience trainer.  I thought: I have two adult dogs, neither of which have been in a crate for months; I do not want to “punish” either of them with a crate. Well, it was not punishment! When I say that Bruce woke up the next morning a different dog, I am not exaggerating. I had two different dogs overnight. Not perfect, but there was a newly established sense of security for both of my little men. We did not lock Bruce in the crate, instead we left the crate open and then used a huge baby pen to wrap around the crate so Bruce had an area to eat, play, keep his toys, etc. We called it, “Bruceland” (instead of Graceland). Maximus did not need to be crated since he stayed completely clear of Bruce’s area, but two crates should definitely be in the budget and on hand when considering the adoption of a second dog.

GET THE TOYS OUT OF SIGHT! Only put toys out when they are separated. Even after a month, they still were still not ready to share toys during community play time.

LET THE ALPHA BE THE ALPHA! They will let you know who the alpha is and you must accept the facts and foster that relationship. Do not attempt to fight nature. They will both be more confident and comfortable in their home. We badly wanted Maximus to be the alpha since he had been ours since he was a puppy, and this was “his house”. Charlotte said dogs are born either natural leaders or natural followers, and it's just a matter of to what degree and in what crowd. Well, Bruce let us know on day one, in a very shy, non-aggressive way, that he needed to be numero uno. Once we conceded and fostered his ranking, they both relaxed a bit.

FEED THEM SEPARATELY AND KEEP THEM LEASHED IN THE HOUSE!  A new dog has to feel that he is in a safe place before he can eat. Bruce barely ate or drank for the first 24 hours. As soon as Bruceland was established, he ate like a champion!  Also, keep both dogs on a leash so you can take hold of them quickly if a fight breaks out – safety for both  dogs (and their people) is essential.

EXERCISE! You cannot walk them enough in the first month. Get them in that pack mentality. Make sure you are the leader; get them beside you or behind you. Mine are most comfortable beside me (Maximus closest to me, Bruce on the outside).  A great technique that I used to get control over the dogs while walking is tying knots in the leashes, that way if something distracts them and they suddenly pull hard on the leashes, my grip will not slip and I can make a correction quickly. Also, the knots keep them at a consistent distance.  I walk them about four times a day for 20 minutes and then let them play loose in the yard afterwards for at least 15 minutes at a time (the yard would be the only place they would play together for the first month).

LET THEM FIGURE IT OUT, EVEN IF THAT MEANS LETTING THEM FIGHT IT OUT! This was THE MOST difficult part of the whole process; it absolutely broke my heart to see my boys fighting. I tried everything before conceding to this method; water bottles, diving in and breaking it up myself, commanding them out of it, pinning them both down – nothing worked. Charlotte and our obedience trainer stated they had to establish the dominance in the house, and Maximus would be less apt to initiate a fight if his mom and dad did not save him every time.

Charlotte explained that there are different types of fighting: if the boys were going after each others’ faces and ears and just making a lot of noise – this is natural sibling rivalry or the result of jealousy or anxiety – and the chances that one or the other of the dogs would get seriously hurt or worse were slim to none.  Charlotte said “even these ‘safe’ fights resulted in a tear or puncture to the face or ears, and I know this is scary, but there will be blood!” When Charlotte said “blood”, I was horrified! I thought I could never let it get to a point of blood. Any conflict, not matter how mild, should always be monitored and you should always step in if it gets too rough.

However, if the dogs were to go after joints, legs and necks, then there were very serious aggression issues present, and we could have a huge problem on our hands.  Dogs intent on disabling or seriously damaging one another have murder on their minds, and should never, ever be left alone together, or even allowed to start a fight, let alone finish one.   In situations such as this, letting them fight it out could result in a dead or seriously injured dog. 

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