Subverto
New member
First, a bit of back story. When I first got my Newfoundland, Nala, I was living in an apartment. She was raised an only dog, but there was a large park across the street from my apartment, so she made a lot of great doggie friends to play with in the park. Last year I ended up buying a house with a big fenced in yard, and since then have been entertaining the idea of getting another Newf, because I love the breed so much and would love for Nala to have a brother. The only issue is that I'm a single male in my mid 20s, and feel that taking care of two Newfs on my own would be difficult both physically and financially. As such, I decided to postpone adding another Newf to my house, despite having the accommodations for one.
Recently, a friend of mine landed a job in my city and has since moved into my house. I explained my doggie dilemma to him, and he informed me that he has wanted to get a Labrador Retriever for quite some time, but has never been in a living situation where it made sense (he has mostly lived in small apartments in major cities). He suggested he adopt a Lab, and we could kill two birds with one stone by giving Nala (who is now 2.5 years old) a friend while he finally gets a dog that he's wanted for a while. On the surface it sounds like a win/win, but I have some concerns. At the risk of turning this post into a novel, I'll list them as bullet points.
1. Nala has never lived with another dog. She gets along great with other dogs outside the house, but another dog has never even visited her at her home. Is it possible she might get territorial?
2. Being a 2.5 year old Newf, Nala has brief spurts of high energy, but spends most of her day lounging around napping. My roommate is looking into adopting an 8 - 14 month old Lab, and from what I understand Labs are just a big ball of non-stop energy for the first 3 years of their lives. Could this cause problems, particularly if the Lab wants to play all the time while Nala just wants left alone?
3. My roommate has no idea how long he plans on living at my house, let alone staying in the same city. He has a tendency to move around a lot (historically only staying in one city for a year or two). If Nala and his Lab were to develop a strong bond, how hard would it be on her when my roommate eventually moves out?
4. Any other issues or concerns you can imagine might arise from this situation?
Any and all input is greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Recently, a friend of mine landed a job in my city and has since moved into my house. I explained my doggie dilemma to him, and he informed me that he has wanted to get a Labrador Retriever for quite some time, but has never been in a living situation where it made sense (he has mostly lived in small apartments in major cities). He suggested he adopt a Lab, and we could kill two birds with one stone by giving Nala (who is now 2.5 years old) a friend while he finally gets a dog that he's wanted for a while. On the surface it sounds like a win/win, but I have some concerns. At the risk of turning this post into a novel, I'll list them as bullet points.
1. Nala has never lived with another dog. She gets along great with other dogs outside the house, but another dog has never even visited her at her home. Is it possible she might get territorial?
2. Being a 2.5 year old Newf, Nala has brief spurts of high energy, but spends most of her day lounging around napping. My roommate is looking into adopting an 8 - 14 month old Lab, and from what I understand Labs are just a big ball of non-stop energy for the first 3 years of their lives. Could this cause problems, particularly if the Lab wants to play all the time while Nala just wants left alone?
3. My roommate has no idea how long he plans on living at my house, let alone staying in the same city. He has a tendency to move around a lot (historically only staying in one city for a year or two). If Nala and his Lab were to develop a strong bond, how hard would it be on her when my roommate eventually moves out?
4. Any other issues or concerns you can imagine might arise from this situation?
Any and all input is greatly appreciated! Thanks!