We have a 10 year old chocolate Labrador Retriever.  She is an awesome
pet, with a perfect personality.  We are interested in adopting a
younger lab for our older dog to "train" (not for obedience, just for
personality).  Is this possible?  Is this reccommended?  Will our old
girl get too jealous and upset or will she relish playing mommy to the
pup?

Hi iamann,

Thank you for a very interesting question.  

Mother dogs pass many of their personality traits on to their puppies,
so meeting and liking the mother of the new pup helps ensure you'll
get a puppy you can live with.

In general, older dogs tend to *try* and dominate a pup.  One
important factor is if your older dog is socialized and has been
around other dogs and how she interacts and relates to them.

I'm not exactly clear on how one dog can train or teach another dog a
personality trait.  Pups will be pups and for the first 1.5 to 2 years
there's going to be dramatic changes from week to week.  After an
initial adjustment period, your new pup will probably take on some
behavior traits that your older dog has.  But, no one can predict your
new pup will eventually have the same personality as the older dog.

Each animal is a unique individual.  Even when obtaining two pups that
are litter mates-siblings each will have traits that distinguish it
from another pup!

One thing I'd advise you to do is pay a lot of attention to the older
dog after you bring the new pup home in order to not let her feel left
out.  The older dog is used to a certain routine and she's been the
top dog up until now.

For the pup's safety - supervise the two dogs when they are together. 
Your older dog may have the greatest personality in the world and not
mean to hurt the new pup, but it's important to make sure older dog
doesn't get too rough.

Crating is a good idea... giving the new pup a place of it's own that
he/she can feel comfortable going to when doggie stresses build up. 
Many pups and adult dogs will retreat to their crate (or 'den' to
their way of thinking) if they want some quiet time. The crate should
be your pups own personal space, just for them, somewhere quiet but
where they can still see what the rest of their pack (you and your
family) are doing.

Your new puppy has just been taken away from her mom and littermates.
She is vulnerable and impressionable. What she needs how is security
and routine. Set up a small room to be her very own special haven for
the next couple of months. Paper the entire floor and put her
food/water bowls and bed in one corner. Scatter her toys everywhere.

Play with her quietly and gently. Don't flood her with attention and
activity. If she looks like she wants to sleep, leave her alone.
Puppies need lots of sleep - and the crate is the perfect place for
new pup to be alone and secure in it's own private place.

Finally, no one can determine how your older dog is going to react to
the new dog.  Much depends on her mood on that day and how much she's
actually been around other dogs.  Whether she'll want to 'mother' the
pup can also not be determined in advance.

With that said, I can give you some guidelines to follow.



Shaping A Pup?s Personality
http://www.ideamarketers.com/library/article.cfm?articleid=33062

"The next point of emotional and behavioral growth in a dog occurs
when the puppy is transferred to a new owner or during the period of
eight to twenty-four weeks of its life. During this time a puppy has
to get used to a new environment, new odors and a different lifestyle.
This may cause some stress and the symptoms that accompany it
(throwing up, loose stool movements and a poor appetite) which may
persist for up to a week.

Whether a pup remains with its Breeder or moves to a new environment,
the period from eight to twenty-four weeks begins a new chapter in any
pups life. During that time they will begin to establish themselves as
self-sufficient individuals. Feeding and sleeping habits will be
formed, territorial claims will be established and relationships with
other animals formed. Positive reinforcement can be used during this
period to let a pup know what is expected when it comes to compliance
with acceptable behavior."

=========

Subject: rec.pets.dogs: Your New Dog FAQ
http://www.cs.uu.nl/wais/html/na-dir/dogs-faq/new-dog.html

Please scroll to What If I Already Have Pets?  This is slightly beyond
1/2 down the page.

=========

Some good advice can be found here - Current dog HATES new puppy!!
http://www.i-dog.com/board/messages/169/87083.html?1096402042

=========

Puppy Basics - Training the First Week
http://www.perfectpaws.com/frstwk.html

=========

Socialization Tips and Puppy Training Pointers
for New Puppy Owners
http://www.perfectpaws.com/pup1.html


Perfect Paws Puppy Training 
http://www.perfectpaws.com/pupstuff.html

=========

Information on puppy crate training:
http://www.boxerworld.com/puppy/crate/

Crate Training Your Dog or Puppy
http://www.perfectpaws.com/crt.html

=========

Here is a list of some other dog behavior questions I have answered.

Effective housebreaking of Labrador Retriever 
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=417542

out of control dog! 
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=214780

Aggressive dog 
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=289931

irrational fear on the part of labrador retriever 
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=357385

=========

Best regards and Good Luck!  :)
tlspiegel

One good way to find out how your older dog would react to a puppy, would be to 
"borrow" one from a breeder/ shelter for a couple of days. That would
give you an idea of how she would tolerate a newcomer into your home.

Steph53

A dog loving friend of mine gave me this advice years ago, and it
apparently works, as I've never had any problems introducing a new
puppy to an older dog.

Introduce the dogs for the first time in a neutral territory. Don't
bring the new puppy into the home first, as your older dog may feel
threatened and jealous. Instead, let them meet each other in a
dog-friendly park, or a friend's yard. After they've had a "whiff" of
each other, take them to your home together.

Good luck!
crabcakes

Thank you crabcakes for your comment.  My answer provided that
information in the link

Subject: rec.pets.dogs: Your New Dog FAQ
http://www.cs.uu.nl/wais/html/na-dir/dogs-faq/new-dog.html

Please scroll to What If I Already Have Pets?  This is slightly beyond
1/2 down the page.

3rd paragraph:
   Introduce your established dog and the new addition in a neutral
   place, like a park or a home that is new to both animals. Both dogs
   should be on a leash. If your current dog is obediance trained, a
   down/stay is in order. Allow them to sniff one another and encourage
   play, discourage agression. Should your adoptee show agression,
   forcibly place the dog in a submissive posture and hold it there (as
   in an alpha roll). Then allow your established dog to come and sniff
   the new dog. What this does is diffuse a potentially violent situation
   by forcing the new dog to be submissive to your established dog. The
   new dog learns to trust the established dog by realizing that the
   established dog is not going to eat him, and your established dog
   learns that the new dog is submissive to him. This fosters trust
   amongst the two animals. This may not be necessary, but sometimes it
   is. By all means, if the dogs want to play, _let them_. In fact,
   encourage them, and don't interfere unless you feel you must.

Hi steph53, cracakes and tlspiegel:
Thanks for your answers.  To clarify--we don't want a clone of our
older dog or a new pup; we prefer an older dog, beyond puppy stage. 
Our dog is wonderful, in and of herself, but we would welcome another
dog, quirks and all!  I have been told before (and your answers seem
to confirm)that older dogs have maternal instincts towards younger
dogs, if properly introduced, under certain circumstances.  I feared
that our old girl might get overwhelmed and too jealous and her older
days might be ruined, which is why I posted the question.  In that
case, we'd wait until she passed to adopt.  I now have more
information about how to facilitate the transition if we do adopt a
younger dog.

I've certainly seen dogs learn from other dogs.
Ditto older cats minding unrelated kittens.

Dogs are, intrinsically, pack animals, so having a couple is perhaps
kinder than just having one.

If your existing houndette is pretty sociable, and if she has not
worried about friend's dogs in her house, especially staying
overnight, then a small female (ahem get my drift) companion might be
rather pleasant for her.

I am assuming that you have a reasonable sized garden, and do not
leave her locked in the house.

Your biggest problem with testing her out (the suggesting of neutral
territory was superb) is that by the time you have picked out a likely
chocolate labrador puppy and presented it to the 'matron', you will be
hooked.

Personally I would go for it, but prepare fallback plans, and stick to
them, if it looks as if there are any problems.
I do not think that keeping them apart is a good idea.
If it is working, you will know within 15 minutes of getting home.

I am a volunteer with an animal rescue organization. We generally
recommend that, if you're adding a second dog to a household with an
older female dog, you choose a young male as the adoptee. Older female
dogs are often snappish and hostile to young females, and are more
likely to behave in a motherly fashion toward a young male.

This isn't true in all cases, of course. Dogs, like humans, have their
own individual personalities, and their social behaviors are not
totally predictable.

We had a mature black Labrador named Lwaxana (we called her "Loxie")
who readily accepted a male golden retriever mix as her companion;
when we added a third dog, a young female terrier, Lwaxana became very
aggressive and hostile toward the newcomer, as if she thought that we
had hired her as a replacement for Loxie.

Pink,

I'm not sure I agree with you there

Adding a rumbustuous and (ahem) virile young male could be a problem.

Loxie was probably just narked by continuous harrassment.

However, I am biased, we always had females ... Just had an idea.

My comment above applies only to neutered pets. The animal adoption
group with which I have experience requires neutering, so I can't
comment on the "virile young male" aspect.