Puppy #2? Guidance?

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WeHeartClaire

New member
Hi all!

We are first time Newfie owners (after having a German Shepherd for 8 years) and LOVE our Claire Bear. We are in process of adding a 2nd newfie to our home. Claire is 7 months old and the new pup is 13-weeks old, both from the same breeder.

We have a 6-year old daughter and will be foster parenting soon (to 1 child, age 4-6).

My question is this... how do we best introduce our new pup to our current pup and does anyone have experience owning 2 Newfs at the same time? I am a little concerned that we are going to be in over our heads... We know that the cost will be extremely high for vet bills and food cost, etc... I am more concerned that the girls (Newfs) will not get along?

Any suggestions for helping introduce them the best way? Tips for raising 2 Newfs??

Thanks!
 
Angela

Angela

Super Moderator
Hi and welcome.
I have just got a 13 week old puppy two weeks ago. I also have a 41/2 year old and a 12 year old Newf. The 12 year old is not impressed with the puppy but the 4 year old I introduced on leash in the back yard before bringing the pup into the house. I supervise all interaction with them as I don't want the pup to get knocked by an exuberant 4 year old.
At the ages of yours I don't see an issue with them not getting on. I would be careful to watch all play until the pup is bigger.
Costwise, yes 2 cost more than one. I have pet insurance for the younger two which you might want to consider.
Anyway, those are my thoughts, let us know, and welcome again.
 
W

WeHeartClaire

New member
Angela, thank you!

We were just discussing getting pet insurance as we went through a surprise osteosarcoma with our German Shepherd and figured we should protect ourselves with 2 large breeds. Can I ask which insurance you use?

I cannot imagine have 3 Newfs! Sounds awesome! :)
 
5

5PotatoChips

New member
When Malka was 8 months old we added two Newfie puppies. (Yes, we were crazy!) Malka absolutely adored them and loved cuddling with them. We had no problems with them getting along. We did keep a close eye on playing though, like Angela said. It took Malka a bit to figure out how to play gently with Jorah and Thea. The only "problem" we had was Malka hoarding all the toys. We have some really funny pictures of her! :) Good luck! You're in for some fun times!
 
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WeHeartClaire

New member
Thank you, 5PotatoChips! We have not been telling many people about our newest addition yet, as we have already been met with "Are you crazy??" comments :)

We might just be crazy... but we have always wanted 2 dogs in our home and we love our Newfie, Claire, and think another Newfie girl is just what she needs! A playmate! :)

Thank you so much for offering your experience... it helps me feel a bit more confident that this is the best thing for all of us!
 
5

5PotatoChips

New member
I won't lie, we did have some stressful times, especially when the "teenage" stage hit. Lol! But I wouldn't trade it for anything now, especially since we lost Thea and Jorah very suddenly this year within months of each other. Enjoy your puppies and hug them everyday, even when they're driving you crazy! My username came from a comment a former Newfie owner had made. She said, "Newfies are like potato chips, you can't ever just have one." :)
 
W

WeHeartClaire

New member
LOL! I love that!

I have heard quite a bit of the "teenager" issues and I am slightly nervous about having 2 that will be very close in age, going through that at the same time... but hopefully with 3-4 more months before we get there, they can help each other through it? Here's hoping!

The biggest issue we have had with Claire (besides the puppy nipping and trying to "rescue" our 6-year old daughter all of the time) is her running from us when she knows she did something wrong. She doesn't like our disappointed voices!

We are excited but, as I said, also slightly nervous!
 
Angela

Angela

Super Moderator
Hey, my puppy Splash came from Ohio! Wouldn't be related though as this was the breeders first litter.
Ask the U.S people here about what insurance is good down there.
 
shellyk

shellyk

New member
We have 3 dogs too. A Lab then a Newf and then another Newf. The two Newfs play almost exclusively with each other leaving the 7 year old Lab as the left out dog. We just give him a little more attention. You might find the same with your German Shepard. It's the same out in public too. The bigger Newf gets the most attention, then the other Newf and the Lab has to whine to get people to pet him. I would definitely recommend pet insurance for the 2 Newfs. We did after learning the lesson of two major surgeries on the Lab without insurance.
 
R Taft

R Taft

Active member
I had six until recently and now have five.....Urshie is only just over one year old. And Harry the next youngest is three. I just let them get on. I allow the older dogs to tell the puppies off, as puppies are often rude and it makes for really polite newfies. Everyone is always amazed at how polite Urhies is. It is because she lives with three old bitches and they told her off early in life. I supervise all play and keep it quiet as she was only a puppy. It is only just now that she is allowed to do zoomies with Harry and they love it.

I think the main thing is training, training and more training from day one. which will give you dogs that are great to live with and you are able to enjoy. Also loose leash walking is the most important plus recalls and I work on those all the time. I believe in only positive reinforcement training and have proofed with my dogs from puppy and rescues that it works. Even on the worst mature rescues......Enjoy your puppy. I love puppies, they are like sponges. they just soak everything up, that also means bad stuff.

I train my dogs from the day they come to me at whatever age and forever...........
 
BoundlessNewfs

BoundlessNewfs

New member
We had an elderly lab/dob mix, and a 6-1/2 month old newf (Maggie), when we brought home Maggie's half sister, Lucy. We were concerned about how the two pups would get along, too.

Before we agreed to bring Lucy home, we told the breeder that we needed to bring Maggie to meet the pup. Maggie took one look at Lucy and fell in love with her. That sealed the deal.

There are many stories posted here about how bonded and wonderful those two were together. (The older dog was just grumpy enough that they didn't bother her). Maggie and Lucy were almost always touching, and Lucy could do no wrong, in Maggie's eyes....right up until Lucy passed.

Is it possible for your older pup to meet the younger one, to see if they click? Maybe ask your breeder.
 
victoria1140

victoria1140

Active member
We have 2 hellraisers from the same litter.never had any issues introducing them to our others but ours arent laid back newfs.in fact hyper is definetly the word for our two though they are adorable.

After some big vets bills l second insurance definetly
 
Brandie&Maggie

Brandie&Maggie

New member
No advice on introducing the 2, but on insurance....

We had PetPlan with our previous dog and were happy at first - until the rates rose a huge amount. We started off paying around $600/yr and it was $1200+/yr 4 years later. They did probably still lose money on us though....They reimbursed quickly and without hassle.

PetPlan has a "per condition" deductible. So for each thing that happened, we paid $100, then got 80% back after that. (You can choose other rates).

We are now with Healthy Paws. It's now rated #1 in the US. It has an annual deductible (we chose $250) rather than a per condition deductible. We just renewed it for our 2nd year and the rate went up by about $1/month. So not bad at all.
 
NinaA

NinaA

New member
I have had two girl Newfs at once along with five other Labs and a mutt. No problems. It sometimes gets a little crowded, but my girls have always all loved each other. The Newfs do mourn more than any other dog I have ever seen when one crosses the bridge. When we brought the second puppy (15 weeks) home to our older Newf (approx. 3 years) she gave my husband a look of total disgust and then wrapped her paws around the pup and that was that.
 
D

Darwinsnewfie@1855

New member
I also use Healthy Paws and love it! They are a non-profit organization and I only pay 75.00 a month for 90% coverage and I choose the lowest deductible. There are no pay out caps either which is great if your pup has a lot of health issues. Ella gets ear infections and Healthy Paws pays for all her ear medication and ear cleaners. They even send the reimbursement check within a week. The only thing I don't like about Healthy Paws is that hip displaysia is not covered until you have had coverage for 12 months. I recently hit the year mark and feel great knowing that everything that could go wrong is covered.
 
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