Multiple cavalier owners please advise

As I sit her with my little man snuggled up against the side of my laptop I wonder how life will change when we add another cavvie to our household..........I feel stupid asking as I have spent my life in a multiple dog household but the decisions weren't made by me then and they are now.....

Whats the best way to introduce a new puppy to a dog that has been like a clingon! for the past 19 months. Merlin follows me evrywhere even to the bathroom and is my best buddy.

How does every day life change - going places, etc.

As you know I am smitten with the prospect of a new puppy who we will meet in a couple of weeks - I want to make sure that Merlin still knows he's my special soldier and the new pup is for him, a friend he can play with when mum and day have had a hard day at work and throwing a toy around all night can get a bit exhausting!

I really want them to be friends and am so worried if I do this wrong
1 - Merlin will hate me forever
2 - There will be jealousy (or even agression at worst)

I need some advice on the pros and cons and what to do to make it all run smoothly

Thanks in advance

Not such silly questions~
I also find myself in the position having seen a puppy yesterday, show potential possibly and wondering how like for Maxwell will change and how to make the adjustment go as smoothly as possible for all. Max will always be my special guy but my family and I are so excited and happy about the prospect of Hogan. I also am interested in hearing how wo make the transition as easy as possible for Puppy and for Maxwell.

Kirsty,

I'm sure it will all be fine . When I brought Charlie in, Maxx was all excited 'Oooh a playmate :lol: '

- 2 weeks later 'hmmfff when is he going home? I'm not talking to you anymore Mamma'

6 weeks later 'OK I'll tolerate him'

9mths down the line, Maxx will let Charlie snuggle up to him and even lets him get on the bed with us, we all snuggle up together :lol:

I honestly think that when you take on another one you will always worry about your first born - it's natural :flwr:

Anyway, the best advice that i think I can pass on to you is to let them sort out any issues by themselves. You are bound to have a few growls or 'snaps' between them at some stage in their lives - doesn't mean they hate each other. It is after all their way of communicating!

Unless they are ripping lumps out of each other (and this is very rare) they will settle down. Cavaliers love to have a friend :flwr:

One other thing I would always do too, is introduce Merlin to the pup away from home. His home is his territory and he might get miffed if you just bring the puppy in and expect him to love it. Always best to introduce them somewhere neutral, or even the breeders home.

I have always introduced other dogs to mine away from the house or sometimes just on the fornt door if they are visitors but if it was a foster or a new addition I would definitely introduce away from the boundaries.

Good luck Kirsty, it'll be fine and there are plenty of us here if you ever get stuck I take it that the Grandparents have agreed to babysit two???? :lol:

yes, they've agreed to baby sit two. I'm going to get a playpen so that they can put the puppy in it if they need to do stuff and also give the Mergits ( as we call him) some time out - do you think thats a good idea?

There are some great links in the Library section on introducing a new dog so have a look at those.

Generally introducing a puppy is pretty easy. Merlin will likely be a bit put out at first so give him lots of attention, but they will likely be racing around the house within a week. Sometimes older dogs take immediately to puppies; Jen's Abbey did to Gus for example!

I actually found it easier having two than one as you become slightly less of the focus which can be a bit of a relief at times! :lol:

Thanks Karlin and Maxx's mummy - that does put my mind at rest a little -

I didn't know whether to ask the breeder if Merlin could meet her older dogs when we go to visit as he has only ever met 2 others at training class? is this a good idea?

I was planning to take Merlin when we pick the pup up ( as I've decided already!!!) so he thinks its him going to pick him up ( my logic - probably not dog logic!)

Kirsty,
Teddy is slowly but surely coming around and realizing that his little sister is here to stay....
Last night during my preparing dinner, Teddy had a 'therapy' session.
I cut up his favorite hors d'oeurve...bits of raw carrot and put the gates up in the kitchen so that he could not escape from 'the other' ...
Well, it worked very well. Treated him with bits of carrot and Katydid was a bit mellower because he was hanging around and not leaving in such a flurry that his tail looked like bait to her! :yikes
Well, today we moved 'therapy' outdoors on the deck. As I cleaned up from tropical storm Ernesto, the two were gated on the deck as I swept and cleaned around them. It worked! They both ended up sleeping on Teddy's big pillow cushion together after an hour and a half of deck time!
Now...mind me, Katy wanted to sleep right up next to Teddy...but ended up sleeping on the other side of the pillow.
PROGRESS! I see it all coming together.
Katydid entered the home on 8/18.
Go for it. One more to LOVE!
Nancy, Teddy and Katydid
NJ

Oh Nancy, that made me laugh :lol:

It's actually quite amazing, my two are still having 'firsts' and Charlie has been here for 10 months now.

Tonight I was in the bath and Maxx got fed up of laying at the side of the bath waiting for me. When I came out of the bathroom, both him and Charlie were curled up fast asleep together on the big snoozee cushion on the landing - Charlie has never used it before but there they were both snoring loudly :lol:

So sweet really :lol:

Hey Kristy,

I also replied to the message you left in the puppy pic section if you didn't see it, but I wanted to reply and tell you how things have gone for us so far. Riley is almost 11 months and Fletcher is 3 months. We had planned to wait a bit longer to get another pup, but an opportunity with my breeder came along that I couldn't resist. So far it has been the BEST decision we could have made.

Day 1 - Fletcher came home and we slowly introduced him to Riley. I held him and let her have a sniff. She backed away and gave me a funny look. :? The first night, she didn't want much to do with him and she did look at me like "what is that and why is it in my house". You could tell she wasn't happy about the new baby.

Day 2 - We all got up and went out side and Fletcher started to pounce at Riley. It was almost like a lightbulb went off and she realized that he actually wanted to play with her (she tries deperately to play with our older dog and cat and they just look at her like she is nuts). Once she figured out he wanted to play, she was a lot better.

For the first few days, Riley would go from "I love my new brother" to "ok, and when was he leaving".

Fletcher just adores her. He won't sleep at night unless she is next to him. They are really getting along well and we have had a few snips from Riley at him over some of her favorite toys (and stinky socks), but we just firmly tell her NO and she gets over it.

I purchased a 6 sided puppy play pen that sits in our living room and has enough space for 2 beds and LOTS of toys. We put them in there when we can't keep an eye on them and they love it. They actually go in on their own to play or chew a toy.

I know all dogs are different in how they react to a new pup and we have been very lucky so far. I think once Merlin realizes he has a playmate and companion, he will be fine, it just may take some time.

Oh, and Riley has taken on the role of teacher. You can see her trying to teach Fletch how to do different things. He is learning to do things so much quicker than she did so it has been much easier on us. It's almost like having a babysitter in the house. Riley has always got her eye on Fletch.

All in all, things are going much better than we had thought and I can't be happier that we have Fletch. I hope things go as well for you and Merlin!!! I'm sure they will!!!

We just took this tonight. Caught them in a sweet moment!!!

Kirsty,
We are going to be introducing our baby to it's "puppy" very soon. I have so many of the same concerns. Duncan is so sweet and loving to every dog (and person) he meets, but what am I to do if my sweetpea growls/snarls/snips at our new little man? I am dying to see how it all turns out. My husband and I have been in conversations for the past week about how we will let Duncan know that he is #1 and the "alpha-cav".

We plan to crate-train the new puppy as we did Duncan, even though this means leaving them a part when we are at work. Duncan will get to sleep in the bed while the baby is crated through the night until he is pretty completely potty trained. Duncan will get fed first, etc.

We know it will be a process, but we hope, as you do that Duncan will come out of this with a best friend and companion.

I will keep you posted as I hope you will and maybe we can get through some of the challenges together!

We got our Sophie when Lottie was 14 months old (Sophie was 16 weeks). I was extremely fortunate as they seemed get get on reasonably well right grom the start. Lottie seemed to turn into a little mother,. We did try to make sure that Lottie was always put first and the things that were especially hers were out of bounds to the 'newcomer'. My two snuggle up to each other all the time and often move as one when they go anywhere. I just love having two of them. Best of luck!
Julie and the girls

Thanks for all your advice - most of you seem to have introduced a different sex or two girls - any advice with boys?

Kirsty, mine are both boys!!!!!!!!!

I have 3 boys and we brought our girl home last. When we got Casey at 14 weeks old, Murphy was 17 mos. old and Duffy was 5+. Casey tormented them both to play. He used to wait until Murphy was lying down, go up and grab him by his ear and spin him around the floor like a mop. Finally, Murphy would just growl at him to say "Knock it off kid. Learn some manners." They play and zoom the yard together now just fine. So let Merlin establish his boundaries with the pup and teach him when he has gone too far. They will work it out and become best buddies. We do feed the dogs separately to avoid any fights over tasty tidbits and give each dog a safety zone where they don't have to guard their food. Plus then we can tell who ate and who did not. You and Merlin are going to love having a buddy.

Thanks - I don't think the food bit will be a problem as Merlin is quite happy to eat his own tea with Grandma's dog at both our house and their house - hopefully this is one less thing to worry about!!!!