In a few months I'd like to get a second dog, but my current dog is rather finicky. Trying to think this through.
So my 6 year old dog, Rooney, is a female terrier mix, 30 lbs, and kind of neurotic. She can be shy and fearful though she ultimately loves all people. She gets an anxiety pill every day, which helps, but I'm not sure she's happy. She lives for human attention and snuggling and I work a normal 9-to-5. I would like to get a second dog to be a companion for her, and because I love dogs too of course.
But here's the issue. Rooney doesn't really like other dogs. At least, she is very scared of them when she first meets them, and she goes into flight or fight mode. As in, if she can ignore them or get away, she will, but she interprets normal dog behavior as a threat when it's coming from new/strange dogs. Then she does a very panicked scream/growl/bark and her body gets all tense. I'm not sure if she would actually bite or not because I've never let her get into a situation where she could.
There are some exceptions. When I got her as a puppy, we lived with another (smaller, male) dog, and they got along well, even though that dog was kind of a dick. My sister has a french bulldog (smaller, male) who doesn't seem to set off her fear at all, although she is still a little touchy about him getting on "her" couch or taking up too much attention from the humans. And some days we will go to the farmer's market or whatever and she will be curiously sniffing the other dogs and slowly wagging her tail. I do think she WANTS to be with other dogs but she's afraid.
Okay, this is getting long. I am very willing to have a long, cautious introduction. Like over a couple weeks, gradually letting her get used to the new dog. And I have some tips and tricks from a rescue agency for introducing two dogs. So assume I will do my very best to keep both dogs safe and happy. On to the question:
1. Dog breeds. I'll be adopting, so obviously I won't be getting a purebred, but if anyone has some recommendations for breeds that tend to be medium-sized (or a little smaller), patient, gentle, calm, etc, I'd appreciate it.
2. Age. Originally I was thinking I would get an adult dog, so I could tell if its personality would be a match with Rooney and my household in general. But, since she does better with smaller dogs, I was wondering if a puppy would be a better choice and feel less threatening to her. She might not even perceive it as a dog if it was small enough. Plus, puppies are so resilient and joyful, I feel like they would be less likely to be like "Okay bitch, what is your problem?!" On the other hand, I don't want the puppy's psyche to be affected by Rooney's attitude.
Thoughts? Opinions? Anyone else had a problem like this and what did you do?
Thanks all |
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