Buying another puppy

I would be gratefull for any advice anyone can give me about getting our next pup, Holly is 10 months and a beautiful little girl we want to get her alittle brother or sister, it wont be just yet as I want holly to be over 16 months. I was thinking about a boy but some people have said a girl would be better, I dont really mind because all cavailers seem lovely to me, but wanted others opinions on this.

Thankyou

Everyone who has more than one cavalier has had this same question. It REALLY depends on your Holly. If she has a good temperment - another pup with a good temperment should mesh fine. You have to remember that new pups usually act a bit crazy until they settle down. If you have a female who has a strong ALPHA personality-- I'd look for a boy. Females tend to rule the den. Having two strong personalities can cause clashes.
IMO, most cavaliers get along well with others. We have a couple of fosters every year and even with strange cavaliers coming and going-- we've never had a fight.

My two do fine with other sexes. But I can tell you that Shelby is definitely the bossy one :lol: When I have a foster my two are great for determining tempermant. Jake is pretty easygoing although a little jealous whereas Shelby tests them by putting them into their place and explaining that Jake is hers!! One of my little fosters (a boy) was an absolute love bug. Drove Jake nuts when he would try to jump in my lap and find this boy already there. He would watch Jake and Shelby play and one day decided he wanted to join in. Shelby quickly showed him that he needed to ask her for permission first. She pushed that little boy into a corner and stuck out her chest at him. Then turned around and went back to playing with Jake. Such a bossy broad.

I have two males, and they get along great.
Although Darby appears to be the bossy one Dudley puts him right in his place when he needs to.

If you already have an Alpha Female, I would go with a male.
They are more forgiving just like in real life.

Buying another pup.

Thanks for all your replys. This is going to sound abit lame but im not sure if i would call Holly an Alph female, when i take her for walks she likes other dogs but the tail dissapears under her and she always sits down and lets other dogs sniff and circle her, when they trot off then she gets up and trots behind them. My son has a miniture jack Russel and when he comes round she runs around with him quite happily, I do have to keep my eye on them though cause he is young like her and he can get rough and she never puts him in his place ( I wish she would sometimes). Anyway I will see how she develops over the next few months and then decide, I would quite like a boy, but i want to do whats right for Holly.

Hi there, just saw your post about getting another pup sometime in the future. I have 2 girls and they are just beautiful together. The older one was 16 months old when we got the second one who was 16 weeks old when we got her. Lottie became quite motherly toward the younger one who can be a bit bossy at times but really the older one is really the boss. The younger one licks her face and they curl up together. Lottie (the older one) was never really a strong personality but we always made sure that she got the attention first to keep the pecking order so to speak. Cavaliers do seem to know other cavaliers though!!! It helps!
Julie and the girls

I started off with a girl, India, then added a boy, Geordie. They have always been best buddies. They are very playful with each other.

We have added another girl, Chockie, who is 1 year older than the first two. Her relationship with India is very easy going and low key, while her relationship with Geordie is more complex. Geordie and Chockie love to race each other out the door, off the deck, to the corner of the yard. They have a fun competitive thing going! He also wants to sniff whatever she's sniffing, etc.

Chockie doesn't join in with Geordie and India's rough play, but she does like to fetch with them!

Geordie loves to snuggle with either girl and always wants at least one of them to come outdoors with him.

Just based on these dynamics, I'm thinking I'll always have at least a boy and a girl together.

If you have a girl a boy is almost always the best choice in terms of how easily a second dog will fit in. With two males, or two females, one is always going to have to be the boss and settling this issue can be difficult in some cases with some dogs (it rarely is with cavaliers, but nonetheless, the easiest option is definitely the one you are leaning towards, so I'd go for the boy).

Be aware that alpha dog standing is very complex and the dog that to our eyes seems to be 'the boss' (eg the alpha) is often NOT (most people would believe Jaspar is in my group but it is Leo). Also the dogs almost always could care less who is the alpha; and humans have no say in the matter (indeed by trying to retain a dog in the top position you can actually cause serious infighting between dogs because it will make the top dog have to struggle harder to prove its position when the human is doing things to consciously make it seem less important -- so it is really important not to intervene in how the dogs settle themselves into position -- beyond not allowing fights or serious scuffles IMHO -- even though we may feel one needs to retain a position it may not have any longer anyway!).

Truly, most people probably cannot actually guess which dog is the alpha because this area is so poorly understood and so many incorrect generalisations have been made about dominance and behaviour. The alpha dog will NOT usually be the most pushy, the one who always takes toys, the one that gets in scuffles. These will almost always be the dogs that are allowed to get away with such behaviour by a calm and benevolent alpha (for that is what the alpha usually is) or they are other number twos challenging the alpha from time to time. Alphas tend to be gentle and benevolent dictators who typically will only put a paw down when directly challenged or really annoyed.

Most of the time none of this matters to owners especially if you just have two dogs. The more dogs you add to a group the more likely flare-ups may happen because all the dogs have to figure out where the new one fits in. Likewise if the top dog eventually grows too old or ill to maintain its position or passes away there can be a serious battle within a pack group to sort out who becomes alpha. But the average dog owner just will never, ever see this behavious and probably not ever be totally clear on who is the alpha unless one dog is particularly submissive.

I bet all of you who have met my three though Jaspar was the alpha! :lol: And not quiet little Leo. But it is very definitely Leo. Lily is a very alpha female but still number two to Leo.

I have two males and they are the absolute best of buds. They go everywhere together and copy each other's every move. While I was temporarily staying with my mother in law, she has a female cavie. Mostly she just seemed annoyed with how rambunctious my boys are, but after a while she got over her snooty attitude and joined in the romping fun. It really just depends on your girl and you know her best. 10 months is a great age to bring in another baby because she is still very much a puppy herself.
I would find a puppy with a calmer temperment if your girl is a bit timid. Be sure to ask the breeder about where the puppy stands in the litter, if he/she is super curious and outgoing or more mellow. A great question is how the puppy interacts with it's littermates and that will be a good indication of how they will enter the relationship with your girl. Puppies experiment with dominance roles while very young and a good breeder will be able to describe these thoroughly to you.