[Dailydrool] Getting a second basset hound

[dpmcquade at verizon.net]

If Onslow likes other dogs, getting another basset may be the best thing you have ever done. Bassets are bred to be pack animals, and most of them seem to like having another pack member.

We have added new hounds to our pack at various ages. Our first basset, Jane, was four when we brought Belvedere into our pack, and she almost immediately adored him. But we've had no trouble adding new dogs, no matter what their ages. I simply would not add a very young puppy into an older dog's home. All that nipping and playing might wear thin rather quickly. But we have just added Horton, who is a year old, to our pack of Dexter (who is six) and Holly (who is twelve). It has worked beautifully because Horton is a very mellow puppy and beyond all that biting stuff.

That being said, there is a way to introduce two dogs that is likely to make them like each other better. Do not simply bring the new dog into the house. Introduce them outside, in your yard, on the street, or even in a nearby park. Let them sniff each other and get to know each other a bit or walk them together for a while. When everyone is calm and happy, bring them together into the house.

Be aware that over the course of the next couple of weeks, your dogs will be setting up their pack order. That means that one dog will be "top dog" and have the rights to going through doors first, eating first, having rights to toys or beds, and so on. Anything that's good, in the dogs' eyes, the top dog gets first. But your dogs will have to work out who is top dog. If you try to force Onslow as top dog and the new dog is determined to be top, you will simply keep their relationship unsettled. Once the pack order is set, you will probably do best to feed treats to the top dog first and otherwise go along with the order they've established. Though once they know you will always be fair on giving them both treats, you may be able to vary this.

Recently I read that any place in the pack is a good place, if the dog is happy with it. I would have said that our Dexter would have fought for the bottom place in the pack. And for a long time, he did. Any new foster who came in could have the second spot in our pack, with his blessing. But a couple of fosters ago, suddenly he gained the confidence to insist on second place, and in our new pack, with Horton, that's his spot. But Dex decided to take that spot. We never insisted. Thankfully, Horton seems to like the bottom of the pack, so it's been no problem.

For two weeks or so after the new hound is added, I find that bassets do what I call "jousting." They will fight over the top-dog things--or at least the ones that the top dog really cares about. If he doesn't care about toys or who goes through the door, you may have peace on that issue. But if the lower dog transgresses on something the top dog cares about, warfare may begin. It may seem as if death is the aim, but unless you have a really aggressive dog, the "fighting" will all be sound and fury. The worst that might happen will be that someone accidentally nicks someone else's ear or nose.

As long as blood is not drawn, I let them settle things between themselves. But in the early days I keep a spray bottle filled with water on hand, and if things get too dramatic, I spray thoroughly on each dog. Usually that stops the fight. But if it doesn't, you will have to separate the dogs with a towel or coat or some such thing, preferably something you don't care about getting a bit torn. As soon as the dogs cannot see each other, the fight should stop. Put them in different rooms to cool off. But the fact of it is, you may not need to go to such lengths. A spray bottle may well be the most you need.

Three days after we brought Belvedere into the house, he and Jane were draped all over each other on the couch. They may have had some turf wars after that, but they were minor. The two of them had bonded and loved each other for the rest of their lives. And we've never had dogs that could not get along (though I'm sure some folks here have). I would make sure that the rescue you adopt from knows you need a dog that gets along well with other dogs, and your introduction should be fairly carefree.
Pam, food slave to the Dashing Bassets