[Dailydrool] getting a 2nd basset

[Opal-Deitering, Gaylene]

Hi Robert

If you haven't already picked your new fur kid, take your current male with you to the rescue or shelter if it is possible and see if someone really seems to like your dog.  Try to match energy levels if possible, but understand that not all rescues are going to be confident and extroverted when you meet them.  Rescues that foster will be the best judge of a dogs character, energy levels, and fears.  Rescues also vet their dogs, and to the best of their ability don't release pets with chronic or communicable illnesses unless the vet misses something, or unless they disclose what they know to you.  If you have already decided on your second dog, I would still try to do the following:
Introduce your dogs on neutral territory, at a dog park or at least out in the yard. Walk them together for a long time before allowing them to sniff and become acquainted.  This establishes from the very beginning that you are the boss over their encounters. Establish the household rules right from the start, such as HUMAN ALWAYS goes through doors first, then invites dogs in or out when they are calm and paying attention.  If you don't want them on the furniture with you, sit on the floor with them.  If you crate, crate from day 1.
Plan to feed separately and at specific times.  You may free feed your current dog now, but in a multi basset household that is nearly impossible.  One will gobble it all and end up sick or fat, the other will start resource guarding, and that can only be bad.  I crate feed 5 of my 6 in the morning, and separate them to eat in the evening.
Do an extra thorough basset proofing to the house, even though you already have a basset doesn't mean that the new one will behave the same way as the first one.  One may kill all remotes and cell phones, while the other might really have a taste for shoes or throw pillows.
I am sure that lots of others will chime in to this discussion, but most of all, congratulations on your decision to add another needy dog to your life.  I am sure that it will be both rewarding and challenging.

Drool to all in need.

Gaylene Opal-Deitering
My passions do not replace my relationship with God, but are instead a reflection of it!

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