Getting A Second Dog (Whippet Puppy)

[Guest Lily]

We've had our greyhound for a little over 2 years now and she is well-adjusted. She has never displayed signs of aggressivity towards other dogs. She gets along with other dogs just fine, we've never had any issues at the dog park or at daycare or when we board her. On walks, she often displays playful behavior (play bow, wagging tail) when we meet other dogs. She especially likes medium sized dog or those that are about her size. She seem to like smaller dogs too as long as they behave well and don't bark at her constantly, or jump at her face which is a thing puppies do quite a lot!

 

We've recently decided to get a second dog: a whippet. She will be 4-months when we get her so we know there will be an adjustment period for both. The puppy will need to learn good manners and proper social skills and grow out of her bitey/nippy phase because we're pretty sure this is something our grey won't like very much. We feel our grey will really enjoy having a companion at home and we want to make sure we do whatever we can to ensure that everybody is happy and comfortable.

 

The puppy is coming home in 5 weeks so we have a bit of time to prep. Any suggestions on good reads is appreciated! We are getting the puppy outside of our home state and we are bringing along our grey for the trip. We will be away for a weekend and sleeping in a hotel for 2 nights. We feel this might actually work out well as the dogs will get to hang out together outside our home first, before they come home together.

 

Anyone wants to share experiences or advice on adding a second dog—puppies especially?

 

Many thanks!

[Scoutsmom]

Don't worry, your grey will teach the puppy manners. It is something that adult dogs do instinctively and they know to be gentle. Several of my greys have met puppies and been quite friendly, but when the pups act like pups, my dogs will correct them. For example, there is a pittie mix pup up the street. My Henry first met her when she was about 2 months old. Being a pup, she tried to climb up his face, he immediately growled and sort of swatted her. She immediately went on her back in a submissive position. Henry sniffed her and every thing was fine. Ever since that encounter whenever they meet (she is now an adult) she is very respectful of Henry but they love to meet each other.

 

I think your grey will love to have a whippet friend. Just don't interfere when she is teaching manners and make sure she is able to get away from the pup if it's energy just gets to be too much for her.

Edited February 17, 2017 by Scoutsmom

[Guest Lily]

Thank you Scoutsmom for the quick reply! Making sure she is able to get away is a very good advice. We live in a small apartment where escaping is not really an option but we'll make sure that she gets some quiet time... We still have the baby gate we used when we initially adopted our grey... Maybe it's time to take it out and use it again to create separate spaces inside the apartment.

 

What is everyone's thoughts on using a muzzle for the first time they meet? We've done it for greyhound play dates but never on a one-on-one meeting, especially not with a puppy.

[smurfette]

When my mom got her poodle puppy he tried to lick Colin's ear while he was laying on his dog bed. Col showed his teeth - Bendith wasn't impressed, Col growled - Bendith wasn't impressed... He tried again.... Colin jumped up, put his open fang over that baby dog and did the most impressive growl bark thing I have ever heard. He was so fast. Bendith screamed and ran to hide behind my mom's boots.

My mom looked at that frightened little ball of fur and just said: That's what you get for annoying the big dog.

It looked scary. It was so fast but Bendith was completely fine, not even a wet spot on his fur. And until today both of them are good friends with Bendith being very nice to Colin.

Even if his reaction looked quite scary to us humans Colin reacted very clear and absolutely right.

Don't be afraid if your grey shows the new pup the ropes even when it gets louder sometimes.

[krissy]

Unrelated to the dog-puppy interactions, but for puppy raising I highly recommend reading Ian Dunbar's books "Before You Get Your Puppy" and "After You Get Your Puppy". If you google them I believe the first hit is for PDF copies of the books.

[Guest Rainy]

"The Art of Introducing Dogs" by Louise Ginman. Not about puppies specifically, but a very good read nonetheless.

[JJNg]

I got my whippet puppy at 4.5 months old and also had 3 greyhounds, a senior whippet, and a geriatric whippet mix at the time. My other dogs did surprisingly well and practically raised her. Definitely a good idea to use her muzzle for the initial meeting to be on the safe side. My dogs are crated when I'm not home so I didn't worry about the puppy pestering the others, and I also crated her in my bedroom at night (all the other dogs are loose in my bedroom with the door closed).