New Boy

[claire w]

Hi,

Im looking for some advice from all the experienced cocker owners on here, please?
We have a 14 month old neutered male at the moment who is very loving and affectionate, and we have been thinking of getting another dog. I have a friend who knows someone who is looking to rehome their 10 month old male, due to the fact that there are 2 other female dogs in their house who bully it. Do you think it is a good idea to have two males together in the same house?
Our cocker recentley stayed with a friend whilst we were on holiday, they have a 3 year old male springer spaniel, and our dog loved being with him for the week, so much so that when we brought him back home it took him about a week to re-adjust to just us, as if he was missing him.
The fear that i have, is that whenwe got sam we took him and his brother charlie from the litter, then ended up having to re-home charlie because they just didnt get on, and i really dont want to do the same again, as it broke my heart the last time. Is it different when they are a bit older, i know that sam has turned out to be a great dog with no aggressive tendencies, everyone is is friend!!

[Billybang]

Hi new boy,

Others may disagree but I think it would be a bad choice to have this particular pup, the age gaps are too close and this may very well cause problems that you had with the two brothers previously.  The ideal time to introduce another dog/pup is when your first dog is fully mature that way there is much lesser chance of any heirarchy problems occuring. Sorry but I wouldn't take on this dog, epecially as there were problems for you before.

The person that owns this dog should just wait a little, the bitches will usually boss a young male around to put him in his pecking order as bitches in general are top dog in the house, he will learn his pecking order in the household and they will live together fine later on, your friend should give it a little more time. 

[Helen]

i agree with Billybang 

[Shazzie]

Totally agree.  I introduced a male cocker to my female cocker when she was nearly 3 years old.  We waited until we felt that we had done enough training with her before introducing a new dog.  My male younger cocker is a real handful much much more than I thought having had a really good female dog first, in hindsight if I had known how hard it was going to be I think I may have stopped at just the one dog!!

[Joelf]

We have always had male dogs together without any problems........BUT the resident dogs are fully grown & there is usually at least 3 years between them in their ages.

[charliesdad]

I introduced a 11 month old boy to an existing 9 month old and despite a little bit of handbags now and then we had no problems between the two.  unfortunatley the older one was from a farm type environment and had lived as part of a large group and depsite persevering he never settled to an indoor environment and I reluctantly rehomed him to another farm where the owners had 4 other cockers.  He's apparently well settle and happy now which I'm glad of.  Back to the point, neither were neutered and were really close to each other to the point of sleeping in the same chair, basket etc.

[tracyd]

I agree with the fact that they may be a bit close in age.  your dog probably looked up up the older dog he stayed with and accepted that he was the dominant one as it was unfamiliar territory so he was willing to be lower in the hierachy.  If you bring another dog of same sex and similar age into your house that is your dogs territory and it could be handbags at dawn!  .

You could take on this dog and they could be the best of friends but you would have to be prepared to give him up if it didnt work out and that could be upsetting for you and the dog 

Good luck with whatever you decide     

[ClareB]

I agree with the others, I'm afraid.   

When Milo was 14 months old, we fostered a 10 month old male called Mikey so they were exactly the same age as yours and your possible newbie.  We were only fostering Mikey as his previous family wanted him gone at really short notice, but we hoped that we'd be able to keep him.  As it happens, it really didn't work out.     Milo was miserable, he became withdrawn and all training that we'd done with him went completely out the window.  Admittedly, Milo's not the most assertive of dogs and Mikey was quite bossy, but I don't think that was entirely the problem.     In hindsight, I don't think Milo would ever had been happy sharing us with another male dog, and he was too young at the time.  We then had to make the heartbreaking decision to find a forever home for Mikey, and we still miss him and think of him now.   

We recently took on a year old Cocker bitch (Milo was just over 2), and it's been a completely different story.     Milo and Mocha are the best of friends, and his reaction to her joining our family is completely different to when we tried to introduce Mikey.  I'd wait until your dog is a bit older before introducing a second one, but depending on your dog, I wouldn't say that this definitely couldn't be another male.   

[claire w]

Thanks for all your replies, we have taken on board everyones advice. I don't think we will persue the matter further to be honest, we've both had a long hard think about it, we didn't want to just jump in with 2 feet.
I take it then from your responses it is best to have a male and female, possibly when ours is over 2 years old?
We would still love for Sam to have a friend but his happiness is our first priority, he is our baby afterall. So not going to rule it out altogether if anything else crops up.

[Nicola]

I agree with what everyone has said about taking on this particular boy at his age but if you really want another dog one way of doing it is to look for a suitable older rescue dog. Alfie was 10 months when I rescued Tilly and she had just turned 2 and they have been like two peas in a pod since the day she came home. They plonked down together on a duvet that first night and it has gone from there, they absolutely love each other and there's never been a cross word between them 

[Abby]

Don't be put off getting another boy when the time comes - it's the age difference in this case rather than the same sex that makes it tricky.

[Hurtwood Dogs]

Hi There,

I lost my 6 year old cocker earlier this year and got a new cocker pup very quickly who is now 5 months (male). I then had an attempted brake in while I was in the house when my pup was only 10 weeks and as I live on my own with my 5 yr old son and had been thinking about having two dogs for a while, I did a load of research and took the plunge and after a couple of meetings, re-homed a 2.5 yr old bitch 3 weeks ago. It's been brilliant.. the bitch (who is a Weimaraner not a cocker!) is mature enough to put up with/ignore pup when he's being a pest and he was young enough not to have his nose put out of joint. I chose the dog carefully (she's amazing and will stand back if my pup jumps in her food bowl but is firm with him if he's being a real pest) but it's worked really well. They both had a good level of basic obedience which has helped and I train them separately and some walks are separate too. It's hard work but very right for us and I'm thrilled with how it's gone so far..

Good luck with whatever you decide!
Hannah x

[JasperPop]

Hi,

I was asked just today if I would be able to take on a 9 month old Cocker bitch, (Jagger is only 4 1/2 months) as  my stepdads friend is looking to rehome theirs due to family health problems.

I would do it, as in a couple of years I want to be able to go back to work and dont want to leave Jagger all alone.  But the OH said NO! so I guess my difficult decision has been taken for me.  Reading this thread has made me think however that maybe a bitch and not a dog may be a better choice when the time does come......

Good luck whatever you decide....it is Very Hard to say no.  I am really upset, but i guess sometimes its for the best.   

[JaspersMum]

We have two boys and there is 13 months between them.  The eldest Jasper is my steady teddy  , Louie is a nutcase, they get on great but neither are they bossom pals.  Had Jasper had the characteristics of Louie we wouldn't have taken on another soo soon.  The two work for us and we would like another at some time but would have a bitch next time as I think that three boys could be pushing it... 

Good luck if you do but it sounds like you already had reservations or you may not of asked the question.   

[claire w]

I'm pleased to say that we are now the proud owners of a gorgeous 8 week old girl called Milly!!!
We thought alot about another pup and spoke in great length to our vet (who knows Sam well!) about the pros and cons. We picked her up on Thurs and I'm pleased to say so far so good, Sam has been great with her. I know its early days but hes learning that she is fun and they have had great fun most of the day today playing tug-o-war with Sam's raggy toy.
She is a feisty little girl who gives as good as she gets, Sam can get a bit rough (or over excited!) when playing but she hasn't yelped yet so just letting them sort it out. Is this the best thing to do? Or should i step in?
They have slept together in the kitchen since Thurs and not a peep out of either of them as soon as the lights go out.
So just to say I'm so proud of Sammy sausage i think hes going to make a great big brother!!