Adopting Ringo on Saturday

J

Jasper's Mom

Forums Regular
I can't wait. I adopted a 6 month sheltie 1 1/2 years ago and now I am adopting an 18 month old sheltie named ringo. He was found as a stray. I can't wait for tomorrow and I will have a family of 2 shelties. I know a lot of you guys have more than one sheltie. What is the best way to introduce them? I have to drive 60 miles to pick up Ringo. That is when the 2 dogs will meet.
i can't wait. Do you have a favorite leash to walk two dogs. Any good advise for a new mommy of 2 shelties is welcomed. What not to do.....
They are both crate trained. how far apart do i keep the crates....

oh so much to learn....Pictures will come after i get him home.

I can't wait..... Will they share toys....
 
How wonderful for you! There's nothing better than two Shelties, just ask Barb. But be aware that there could be an adjustment period while they may not be the best of friends. They will be, eventually!

We always try to introduce new arrivals outside, with the new family member on a leash so the existing dogs aren't barraged with puppy enthusiasm in their own house. Then puppy goes in a crate where they can sniff each other through the bars. If that goes well, I'd let them interact a bit, but be sure to feed the newbie in his crate so your older dog isn't threatened....there's no better way to make enemies than for puppy to try to steal his food!

You can keep the crates as close together as you like, and give them play time but be sure it's supervised. Some dogs will share toys; others are very territorial, especially with chew bones.

With two dogs, I just walk them on two leashes. That's impossible when I walk three, so for that I have a connector leash that allows me to put two on one lead. You can find them in pet stores or in the catalogs, like Drs. Foster and Smith or J.B. Pet.

Good luck with the new arrival! Take lots of pictures, and enjoy it! :biggrin2:
 
Ann nailed it pretty much. The good news is that they are pretty close in age. And both male. I personally think that helps.

I would try to introduce them on neutral ground first.

Then bring both pups inside and monitor for the first few minutes. If Jasper and Ringo seem to be content just to kind of sniff around each other, that's fine, but I would introduce Ringo to his crate as soon as possible (assuming you are crating).

If not, then you'll need to keep an eagle eye on the two of them.

As for toys and bones....they seem to go through phases, but mostly my boys just steal from each other. Sometimes they will play tug with each other, but mostly I have to encourage it.

And then there is the roughhousing! Be prepared for that! It will look like you have to take a hose to them to separate them, but they really are playing. Attune yourself to differentiate between "play grrrr's" and honest fight. It's only happened maybe twice since I brought Indy home, but you know the difference immediately.

Congrats on your new baby! Two is definitely better than one. (And someday I hope that three will be better than two! :yes:)
 
Jasper's Mom said:
I can't wait. I adopted a 6 month sheltie 1 1/2 years ago and now I am adopting an 18 month old sheltie named ringo. He was found as a stray. I can't wait for tomorrow and I will have a family of 2 shelties. I know a lot of you guys have more than one sheltie. What is the best way to introduce them? I have to drive 60 miles to pick up Ringo. That is when the 2 dogs will meet.
i can't wait. Do you have a favorite leash to walk two dogs. Any good advise for a new mommy of 2 shelties is welcomed. What not to do.....
They are both crate trained. how far apart do i keep the crates....

oh so much to learn....Pictures will come after i get him home.

I can't wait..... Will they share toys....
Click to expand...

Well as you know we have 2.Trapp is 6 months old,and we have a 10.5 week old Jasper!

Do they share..yep. Wreastling & zooming are thier favorite pastimes.

I do have two crates,one is in the living room,where we are for the most part,and I have another in the kitchen/dining room.Which was Trapp's.However he has'nt used it in over a month.

We don't even put him in it when we leave anymore,and he sleeps with Earnhardt now on the sofa,or he may start out with us on the bed,and get down and go to the living room with Earnie.
I do think we have been blessed with a 6 month old that we can honesty say,we trust.

I do however use 2 baby gates,to corral Jasper in on the flooring,if I need to.So baby gates have been my best friend~ (save's my carpet)

Their first meeting for our two,was at Janite's house.Trapp had a blast there,although I don't think it really sunk in that Jasper was coming home,till he was in the truck for the ride home.

Since that day,they have been stuck to each other.:wink2:
 
Congratulations on your new arrival! They should be best of friends after they get aquainted. Best of luck on the newbie and may you be blessed with many happy and healthy years together.:cool:
 
My pups got along right away. Actually, Marius helped us choose which little girl to bring home. They met on our turf, I hear that is not always a good idea though.

Marius spoils her rotten. He lets her have his rawhide and his favorite toy (Bob). If he wants to be left alone, he gently growls at her and hops up on the couch where she can't reach just yet.

I think it is very important to pay attention to their sounds at first. Panda growled at Marius just yesterday and took a nip at him that was serious. We are lucky he just didn't care.

We crate her in the kitchen during the times we are away. Marius (who is 1 1/2 btw) is free to run the house. We are almost ready to let her be baby gated in the laundry room.
 
Congratulations! Keep us in the loop for how they meet and greet and get along. We've added quite a few dogs here over the years and it has generally gone well; even the rescues that had significant issues got along well with the cats and dogs long before they felt comfortable getting along with all the humans
 
Congratulations on your adoption. We adopted Baxter last August from a sheltie rescue. Baxter and Fergus were introduced in our driveway(on leashes of course) and got along right from the start. Neither of them are agressive and I'm sure that helped. They play very well together and have never had a cross moment. They even sleep in the same bed. Baxter has lost quite a bit of weight and his bed is too big for him now. He's very willing to share especially on very cold nights. When I walk them I use two leashes.
 
i am so excited

I am so worried but so excited for tomorrow. I have 15 hours till Ringo joins the family. Jasper and ringo will meet at thr rescue for the first time. Then we head him for an hour drive. I guess I should put the crate in the SUV. I am going to try it first with out crating Ringo for the drive home. The rescue said he rides well.I need to stop at pet store to get 2nd crate. I am so excited. I have been thinking about this for a year. So tommorrow is a big day. I was talking to Jasper when he was on my lap tonght. I told him we have to share starting tomorrow. Guess my lap can hold both. I better get some sleep. I will be dreaming about shelties. That is a gOod thing. Thanks for all your comments.
 
Jasper's Mom said:
I am so worried but so excited for tomorrow. I have 15 hours till Ringo joins the family. Jasper and ringo will meet at thr rescue for the first time. Then we head him for an hour drive. I guess I should put the crate in the SUV. I am going to try it first with out crating Ringo for the drive home. The rescue said he rides well.I need to stop at pet store to get 2nd crate. I am so excited. I have been thinking about this for a year. So tommorrow is a big day. I was talking to Jasper when he was on my lap tonght. I told him we have to share starting tomorrow. Guess my lap can hold both. I better get some sleep. I will be dreaming about shelties. That is a gOod thing. Thanks for all your comments.
Click to expand...

Yep, I can tell you from experience that a lap can hold more than one sheltie.

http://www.sheltieforums.com/album.php?albumid=112&pictureid=1348
 
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