i have a two year old male labrador and i want to get an other dog too but i don't want them to fight!?

Question

i have a 11 month old baby boy!i would like the second dog to be abit of a better guard dog but friendly too !

Answer 1

Labs aren't bad guard dogs. Maybe yours hasn't had an opportunity to act like it yet but if someone broke in, you might be surprised. Regardless, if you get a young dog, as in a pup or a year or so, maybe opposite gender, the dogs will become pack mates quickly and easily. You need to be the leader of the pack. The things you do to establish this are too much for this post, but check into it. When you are the leader, and they are pack mates, the fighting will be minimal. In fact, almost any combination of dogs, if they live together, will establish a pecking order and once that has been done, they won't fight much if at all.

Look into the various breeds of dogs and their personalities to figure out what would be both friendly and protective. What comes to my mind right now, if you are looking for a guardian companion for your son to grow up with, would be a great pyranees. They are huge, super nice, affectionate, and bred to guard sheep from wolves, by fighting them if need be. They are loyal to the death to their pack though.

I have found German Shepherds to be wonderful but slightly stand-offish. They make good guard dogs too. Between their shorter lifespans, standoffishness, and potential hip problems, you may not want a GS though. They are great for some but not others. It would be for you to decide.

I can't stand the way they feel and look, but full sized poodles are also highly intelligent, affectionate, and make good guard dogs, believe it or not.

Labs are wonderful. There's no reason not to get another one, really. They may fight less if you get a female. Like the other poster said, you'd still want to have your male neutered if you haven't already.

I have 2 shepherd/lab mix females. They fight but not as bad as they used to before I took training classes. They are very smart, affectionate and friendly to people, and (unfortunately) will kill any living animal that comes into my yard, other than another dog that I have introduced, and they lose their minds if a stranger comes by if I'm not around. I couldn't ask for better dogs, but they do fight -- and they have screwed up my yard beyond all recognition.

Point is, mixed breeds can be great dogs too. Sometimes, a dog is a dog. If you pick a pup with big paws and traits of larger breeds (or if you know the parent breeds), something with bright eyes and curious, that's not a bully, but also not shy and hiding, and you train it well and get it socialized and treat it like a family member of course, then it should be a great dog, will guard you, because you are it's pack, and would be all you want in a dog.

At the risk of riling up fans of certain breeds, if it were me, I'd stay the heck away from anything with pit bull or chow in it. Chows and mixed chows will be fine for years, then one day, something will snap, and they can attack viciously. Same with the pit bulls.

A friend of mine has a rottweiler that she's crazy about, and the dog is super calm and friendly as can be, but when I ring the doorbell, the dog sounds like one of those guardian at the gates of hell type dogs until my friend tells her to shut up. I don't know much else about them but its something to look into. The dog is about 120 lbs.

Don't forget, the bigger the dog, the more they eat. Mine are in the 50 lb-ish range, and I am very glad they aren't huge. They are big enough to do discourage about anybody (unless they have a steak in their pocket), but not so big that I can't get in there in the middle of the rare fight and break it up without risking my own health.

good luck

Kevin

Answer 2

I recommend that you to wait until your human baby is older.

If you decide to add another pup to your house things may work out fine, but I can't guarantee that. Introduce your dog to the puppy before bringing him home and see if you can get a trial period in case things don't work out. You will need to see how the dogs behave together in your home.

What I strongly urge AGAINST is getting a dog to be a guard dog when you have a baby in your house. I specialize in working with aggressive dogs, and there are a number of serious problems that could arise- all of them put your baby at risk.

Your baby absolutely must come first no matter what. You have a sweet and loving dog. Leave well enough alone.

Answer 3

start with a baby gate between rooms, and let them get to know eachother through that, once you feel they are use to that, then you can let them play. Then train teh other dog to be more aggressive to unwanted company. And the two of them should be fine. Sometimes it depends though on whether or not you want protecton from humans or other pets, bc you can confuse him if you teach him to be animal aggressive. That should already be instinct for when he feels threatened. But training him to protect your house, and your property, and you, shouldnt be a problem with other pets. Gool Luck

Answer 4

OK if u want another dog get a puppy that's like 3 weeks old.that way it will grow up with it and wont fight. that's what we did

Answer 5

I suggest you go to Leerburg.com. Read owning 2 puppies and introducing a new dog into the home.

Answer 6

so long as you have all your dogs shots...the humane society will allow you to bring in your own dog to see if the new dog you are adopting will get alone with each other before adoption

Answer 7

i had a 11 month old black lab and a 13 year old mut.

they got along great!

Answer 8

You should take your dog to obedience classes or have him play with other dogs then get another dog when he gets along with other dogs

Answer 9

all dogs will bark..... make sure the two yr old is neutered