I am hoping for some advice please, all will be gratefully received
We have an 18 month old female JR x Chihuahua. She is good as gold, very affectionate and well-trained and loves other dogs. She had so much fun playing with my Aunt's Yorkie the other day that we decided to get her a playmate.
We have found another female, same cross-breed and will be getting her next week.
I am just wondering if there are any definite 'dos' or 'don'ts' when it comes to introducing them? My main concern is sleeping; our dog sleeps in a cage and she often spends time in there (with the door open) through the day too. Should we let the puppy sleep in there with her? Or nap though the day? And do we feed them together, or feed one in the cage maybe?
Thanks for any advice, we are so looking forward to getting the puppy and just want them to be good friends

if caging has worked well for your first dog,why not get the new pup a cage too?

this way it will be easier to separate them to feed them at meal times and fro sleeping arrangements too

I had been thinking about this, it's a matter of space really but we could just about do it if necessary. Is this the 'norm'? I don't actually know anyone with two dogs well enough to know the details/set-up! Thank you for your reply

Dogs are overated, get a camel.

we have two collies, but have never crated a dog
they had the kitchen to themselves while they were little (easy to clean floor if they do go)
they slept in there on a night until they were properly house trained and out of the chewing/wrecking the place stage, then they are allowed to range free in the house

they were gotten at much different stages though - our first was in 1997, the second in 2007, so a sizeable age gap.

i know a breeder of westies who has a cage for each of her bitches which they sleep in on a night and are eat in when they have something easy for another dog to steal, like a chicken wing, rather than food in a bowl
these are also show dogs so they need to be used tot he crates, but to be honest i think they are a good idea - it gives each dog their own set space

where as ours have had to decide amongst themselves where they call their own - it's nice to give them the choice but crating removes the problem of them squabbling over places (never happened with us, but i imagine it could happen)

If it has worked for you with one dog, i would continue in the same way with your second dog - otherwise it will be one rule for one and a different rule for the other
which is never really a good way to do things

Thank you Some good advice! We didnt start out with a cage but we got a trainer and he suggested one because she is so tiny ( the first dog) that he said leaving her out in the open when we're out would scare her as she would think she had to guard the the house? Also we have kids so the cage works well as a hiding place when shes had enough of them!

What I was actually thinking about was having them in the same cage, rather than one in one and one not, if that makes sense. As they are extremely small (first dog is about 4lb) there is definitely room for both in her cage, but not sure about the best way to introduce that to her, if at all?

I was thinking it might be nice for them to cuddle up in there together while we are out, which is for about 2-3 hours a day, and during the night. Is this an over-optimistic idea?!

i certainly wouldnt recommend crating together, especially at first. if a fight breaks out there is no way of escape for either of them. it simply isnt fair IMO. if they are happy to snuggle up together in the first few months then consider it i guess, but me personally i would never contain 2 dogs in the same small space like this, especially 2 bitches given they can be the worst for bickering and fights breaking out. i think you would be far better off, and the dogs far happier, given their own space to themselves.

I agree wholeheartedly that they should each have their own crate and own space. Please dont over romanticise this situation. They could become the very best of friends but there may be some issues of dominance that will occur as the puppy gets older/more challenging.

After all the 1st dog has had you to herself for a long time - and may not want to share you. Or there may be fights [you are going to have 2 bitches after all] at some point if the new pup is feisty.
So do anything to help the situation - and let them have the space to adjust to this particular situation.

Only saying this as I once had a lovely bitch, the most loving and sweet dog ever who we tried to get a friend for. We tried, more than once, with other bitches/pups and she hated every newcomer particularly one where there was such a fight [after 3 weeks of everything seemingly ok] blood was drawn and they couldnt be in the same room together [new dog rehomed].
She just wanted to be our only dog, full stop.
I'm sure you will be luckier but read up about introducing a new pup, especially as you will get another bitch [and chihuahuas are very much one-man dogs].

Please dont get a dog if its going to spend long amounts of time in a cage.... that is not what a cage is meant for and is becoming a lazy habit for certain owners who are to lazy or don't have time to train the dog properly

Thank you Kelly82 and Quatro I will take your advice on board. We do have a travel-cot kind of thing for our first dog so I think we will let the puppy sleep in this until we see how they get on.
Quatro, had your dog previously been friendly with other dogs? I really hope we don't have the same problem but of course I must remain open minded. Fingers crossed!
For owners that don't have crates, would you keep a new dog/pup in a different room at night at first? Does anyone recommend any books/websites about introducing a second dog? I've not had much success looking so far!
Max25 she doesn't spend long amounts of time in her cage, not with the door closed anyway, and she is extremely well-trained so you don't need to worry, thanks.

we kept our pup in the kitchen at night
where as the older dog was allowed free reign of the house - her usual thing.

during the days he was allowed out with her while we were there, but if we went out he was back in his place in the kitchen

when the pup had learned how to behave in the house, he was allowed the same freedom on a night and through the days if we were out

this part though, took about a year and a half to get into him

No my comment was not at you directley Hannelise its just i have heard of people keeping dogs in crates all day while they were at work, at night while they were asleep, and in the crate again for nights out etc. what is the point of getting a dog to do this with it? a dog is a pack animal and needs and deserves a lot more than this.

I agree To be honest I didn't know anything about crates until our trainer suggested one, and I didnt believe she would actually choose to go in it of her own accord until I saw it with my own eyes! She's in there with the door shut twice a day most days, when I do the school run

It's the pack side of things that makes me want to get her a companion. Although there's nearly always someone here and lots going on, it seems natural that she would want a friend...I just hope it works out that way!

Thank you everyone for your input, I am so excited about the puppy and want to be as prepared as possible. It feels like when we had our second child, I even found myself considering a present 'from the puppy' earlier

im not a fan of cages (have tried one), but dogs do need their own private space, especially if there is another animal in the house. I would suggest keeping first dog to what she is used to and introducing the other dog to the new environment but ensuring that there is space for time out if and when they choose, or (for the first few weeks/months) when they are alone. If they get on well then they will decide if they want to share a space together.

HanneLise - the dog I am talking about was a happy friendly calm laid back bitch who never ever showed any aggression to any dog, or any human at all in her life. - Apart from the time a man approached our car once and she snarled, barked her head off as she felt he was threatening us and our territory [the car], so merely doing her duty in my eyes. Not even when we had a dog stay who continually wanted to mount her and made her life a misery did she snap at him!

She was fine for about 4-5 days until she worked out any newcomer may be a permanent fixture. But then she would warn them with a short sharp snap, to leave her alone and wouldnt want them anywhere near her. Fair enough.

The incident in question was because the other dog was a feisty bitch who was quite dominant and insisted on going through a doorway first [after she'd been there about a week] - then all hell let loose.

In short our dog didn't want to share us I guess. Some dogs dont. She turned out to epileptic in the end so she needed one to one care - maybe she already knew that!

[IMHO Use of crates is for having 'there' in the day, doors open so each dog has a chance to sleep in peace and have quiet time if they need it - and maybe when owner has to leave them for short periods, thats all. For anyone thinking I advocate caging dogs for long periods - I dont.]

Thanks for all the advice, a quick update if anyone's interested!!
We started the puppy off in her own box while she and the older dog got used to each other, then after a few days we tried them together for a daytime nap while we supervised!
They have been fine ever since, the puppy has brought a new playfulness out in the dog which is lovely An added bonus was that once sharing a cage, the puppy never used her pad in there so it's helped lots with the toilet training.
They are currently cuddled up together on their bed with their new Christmas collars on; happy days
Thanks again, to all who helped

Can we have some pictures please.

I would if I could; have not long mastered Facebook photos! I didn't even know DS had a photo section

they don;t,. but you should be able to cross link form facebook with them

sounds like a wonderful situation they've found themselves in

i love the way a new puppy can bring out the pup in older dogs - our girl was ten when we got jake 4 years ago, gave her a whole new spring in her step

OP don't need this advice anymore but will post to help anyone else who's thinking of 2nd doggy.

We had our dog til he was 2 then got a second dog. She was also 2 - she had been a show dog but was being retired. So we were introducing two adult dogs and had never done that before.

The way we did it was, use the baby gates. So for the first month, the female dog lived one side of the gate and the male, the other. They started to show a lot of interest in eachother through the gate, wagging tails etc so we could see it wasn;t turning aggressive. But even so we were very cautious. We walked them together form the first day as that was the highlight of their day and we worked out if they associated the other dog with having fun - they'd like them.

Then it became obvious by about week 3 or 4 that they'd be fine as we let them off the lead, the played together and seemed to crave being together, standing at the gate, nose to nose!

So by the time we moved the baby gate, they were both very familiar with eachother.

Another thing that helped was our original dog staffie - was crate-trained. The new dog - bull-terrier - wasn't crate trained or interested in it. It helped that he was crate trained though as it gave hm his own space where he could go if he chose to be alone.

I think we were lucky in retrospect, they had compatible characters as she is very laid back and gentle and submissive and he was much more dominant (though not aggressive), and outgoing.

He had always been great with other dogs but got more aggressive to them on walks once he had his bitch. So you have to watch that.

Also be sceptical about people saying you should only have a dog and a bitch, as since our dog died we noticed - much as she loved him - all her 'friends' are other female dogs and she gets on with them just great. Yet I've noticed some rescue charities will only home a bitch with a dog and vice versa - but dogs don;t always follow the cliches!

My dog is elderly now the staffie died 4 years ago. She was absoltuely bereft but we decided not to get a second dog again, but to concentrate on her. Now I'm beginning to wonder if we shouldn;t get a second, though as she did get so much out of being one of a pair.

If you don't have space for side by side crates could you sit one on top of the other ? We did that and used a couple of old belts to hold them together.

I hate to see dogs in crates and we have always had 2 or three dogs at a time and we always let them mix in their own time . and always their own bed so they had their own space

Sometimes it is very much the best idea, we have crated some and not others depending on the dogs. The one's who had crates loved them and would go into them like a basket and it gave them somewhere quiet when they needed it.

Yes. Our late staffie loved his crate with a passion - he'd take himself there when he'd had enough (which in a house full of kids did happen!) But our bullie has never showed the slightest interest in it, and felt happiest on the sofa or my bed, which is her 'retreat'. Horses for courses - some dogs love their crates, others not.

My dogs are weird when it comes to their crate. During the day they're fine with it, and will make the choice to go in themselves if they want. However, at night they seem to hate it and if you put them in at bed time they won't settle. But then my dogs are strange anyway...one of them was licking a door last night

Regarding crating them together, we have 2 female dogs (a lab and a jack russell) very close in age (only 5 months between them) and they share a crate quite happily. We weren't sure if we should do this, so when we got the 2nd we asked the vet and he said as long as they get on, there was no reason why they couldn't share a crate. We've got the biggest one we could find...you could easily fit 2 grown men inside it.

Even when not in the crate they snuggle up together to sleep, it's very sweet! I just know that we're gonna have one very sad dog the day one of them finally goes to the big kennel in the sky