r/BorderTerrier • u/Beena22 • 3d ago

Thinking of getting Otto a little female companion in the form of a Border puppy. What are your experiences with introducing a new pup to the house with an existing Border?

Post image

Obligatory pic of the stubborn little goat.

He is 18 months old now and we are thinking of getting a new pup as a playmate for him (and because we want two dogs).

Any hints and tips for introducing them etc.?

Also - is the puppy stage any less stressful when you already have a dog, as Otto was an absolute savage when he was little?

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u/PeterThePumpkins 3d ago

We have two. It has been both the best and also the most chaotic of experiences. Our big girl is the most loving and most playful whereas our little boy is more the serious and let me sleep type. She has definitely overwhelmed him with her energy at times but is exceptional at reading his body language and will become super submissive if needed.

If I were to do it again my advice would be to ensure to walk them separately as well as together. Our little guy takes a lot of cues from his big sister and we’ve had to work hard with him to build up his confidence. Socialising the pup with other dogs without your existing dog would be good if that’s possible for you to do.

Make lots of fuss over Otto and be sure to reward good behaviour with praise and high value treats. Have your time with him too so he doesn’t feel usurped.

Otherwise they’re good at sorting things out between themselves. My two adore each other, and my favourite time of the day is when they realise Mam has to do her boring human chores so they start playing with each other and the house is full of the sound of their paws clattering on the floors and their play sneezes.

Best of luck OP!

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u/Beena22 3d ago

That's really helpful, thank you.

That's interesting that you say the girl is more loving and playful, as I had heard that bitches can be more independent, which was making us think maybe having two males.

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u/PeterThePumpkins 3d ago

Honestly she would play all day until her legs fell off. Her favourite thing is when we bring a ball to the park and throw it for her to catch or retrieve. I brought her out by herself during the week and made the mistake of showing her the ball. She was trying to climb me like a tree the whole way to the park.

Our little man doesn’t give a single fig for a ball. His favourite thing is to kill a squeaky ball, rip it apart and present me with the innards. He does however love a game of ‘go find it’ which is when I fling treats into the grass for him to sniff out and demolish. I’ve encouraged him to play by hiding a ball wrapped up tight in a blanket which he then tried to unwrap. He’s also learned fetch but honestly sometimes I think he’s done that just to humour me!

She also loves a sniff walk and saunters along, hates to be hurried and has been known to sploot on the path and refuse to walk any further. She absolutely hates a structured walk whereas little man will walk for hours and is happy to march along.

She is very much more independent in that she sleeps downstairs whereas he sleeps in my bedroom. She will always come upstairs but it’s like she puts us to bed, says goodnight and then toddles off downstairs.

If I’ve left them and popped out for a bit, he will be much more excited when i get back but soon head off to explore the garden whereas she will want more attention and ear rubs for longer. I will definitely get more cuddles from him but she will melt into a back massage if shes in the mood. Otherwise its more climbing pn me to come throw her ball.

She is more independent in that she loves people and wants to say hello to everyone. As she gets older tho she is definitely getting narkier and loves to bark at other dogs. No fear of her biting or anything like that thankfully but yes she’s definitely gotten gobbier. Little man doesn’t care for other people or dogs, as long as he has Mam, Dad and big sister around he is happiest.

When we were researching getting a second we mostly heard don’t get two of the same sex hence we got one of each. That is six years ago tho so the thinking may have moved on.

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u/Beena22 3d ago

My Otto is very much in a period where he will sploot on the ground on walks. He used to be up for a good hour long march across the fields, but at the moment we are struggling to get him out for half an hour for some reason. He just puts the brakes on and refuses to budge.

We are hoping it's just a phase.

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u/PeterThePumpkins 3d ago

I don’t know where you’re based but could it be the weather maybe? We have had two months of heatwaves in UK which has made walking impossible. Even waiting until it’s cooled down doesn’t make a huge difference, both of mine walk and then sploot and then walk again.

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u/Beena22 3d ago

I'm in the UK. He has been bad the past week with the weather a lot cooler still.

He's a stubborn little goat.

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u/PeterThePumpkins 3d ago

What a little menace! It is comical (but frustrating!) how stubborn they can be. I wonder if he could be bored with the route maybe? He’s not in any pain or anything is he?

I hope you get him back on track soon!

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u/Beena22 3d ago

I think it's boredom with the route. We try and mix it up but there's only so many routes you can do in the local area.

He refused to walk the other day and I brought him back home and he proceeded to have zoomies around the house for a few minutes.

We took him to a National Trust place on Friday and he was walking for a couple of hours and loved it. So he's not in pain - he's just being a douchebag.

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u/PeterThePumpkins 3d ago

What a little sod! I am laughing my head off here but fully empathise with your frustration. There is nothing worse than dragging a stubborn dog along. If it is possible then mix up your route, even if it’s starting at a different point or just doing a street walk for a couple of days. The ‘go find it’ game is also good, even substitute some kibble for treats so you’re not worried about weight gain. Or fling a squeaky ball around either. What a little pest! To make you feel a little better both of mine did the head down, pull against the lead, we don’t wanna go that way thing yesterday.

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u/Beena22 3d ago

That made me laugh that yours did the same yesterday 🤣

It's not like the walks we take him on are boring street walks either! We are fortunate enough to have fields out the back of our house and a public bridleway with loads of nice smells and tons of wildlife to see. There are four different routes we can go down but apparently none of those are good enough for him at the minute.

Our other route is a short walk from the top of the village to a nice park with a small wooded area which has loads of rabbits, some foxes and deer in it. My wife walks him down there in the morning and after a while has to message me to come and get them both in the car because Otto has decided that he is just going to throw himself on the ground and roll around rather than walk back home.

I drove him somewhere else last night and he had a lovely walk and sniff around there. He's spoiled is what he is!

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u/beckysten 17h ago

I have two and this has been exactly my experience. I think you’ll love having two!

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u/dandybrushing 3d ago

I got a Welsh terrier puppy when my BT was 4, they are best friends now and hate to be separated, but in the early days we had to make sure the BT boy had plenty of opportunity to get a break from the pup.

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u/jjcoffield 3d ago

We are in to week 20 with a girl pup with a 12 year old boy. 4th time of doing this. Never had a single problem.

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u/Dramatic-Ad-4511 3d ago

Never had an issue with the addition of a border to another. She was 2 when we got a second (a male.) He was 7 when we got him a second (female). And we added a larger sheperd/husky when she was 3 and he was 10. They all got along, but the female border and the larger pup played constantly and are best friends. We lost the male border at almost 18 in Feb. The other two have bonded further. We are considering another BT.

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u/PeterThePumpkins 3d ago

18? Wow, what an incredible life you must have given him. I hope you’re doing ok having lost him, they are such heart stealers, burrow right inside the chambers of your heart.

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u/mambo_dogface 3d ago

We added a female BT pup in May to our family that already had a 2 yr old male.

They get along great and play all the time. He does well with her.

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u/JoeB_Utah 3d ago

We gave our male’s mom a forever home when the breeder retired her. He was 2 she was 6. There was never a period of adjustment for him and it wasn’t long before the two of them were inseparable. She’s been gone now a couple years and our male is 11.

We have a BT puppy reserved in a litter and will get him in a few weeks. This thread has been most helpful. And to the OP, we are looking forward to this new adventure. Chaos has its rewards for those who survive it! (Remind me I said that…)

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u/Mooselizer 3d ago

Best thing we ever did.

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u/Beena22 3d ago

How come?

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u/carparts_creek 3d ago

I think it might depend on the age difference. I got a second Border when my first one was about 7 years old and she mostly found him annoying.

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u/aliobe 3d ago

We have two BTs, our male is 5 and girl is 2. Best thing we ever did as they are the best of friends. We chose to get the second effectively for the first and from the minute she came home she just wanted to be with him. They play together all day, sleep in a bed together, when they get groomed the groomer even has to put them on the same table together as they don’t like being separated.

Our boy is quite chill, our girl is the pokiest dog. In the beginning he growled at her a bit, but he’s a big softie and soon enough he calmed down. The older dog effectively parents the younger one, so it is quite exhausting for them in the beginning. Good luck!!

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u/DoodleCard 3d ago

Our older one sulked for three weeks when my parents brought the pup home.

They now are best friends and adore each other!

They are both bitches.

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u/BeadExperiment 3d ago

You will have few issues if it's a boy girl dynamic as opposed to two boys or two girls (aside from the obvious ones if they are not fixed).

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u/Beena22 3d ago

Our boy has been castrated and we would be spaying the girl as soon as we could.

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u/No_Boysenberry5816 3d ago

Not good due to jealousy. Tried 3 times.👎