Dogs

4971 readers

53 users here now

A community about dogs.

Breeds, tips and tricks about training and behaviour, news affecting dog owners, canine photography, dog-related art and any questions related to dog ownership.

Rules

Posts must be related to dogs or dog ownership and must not be void of content.
This is a neutral space. No bigotry or personal attacks. Criticism should be polite and constructive.
No automated content. This includes AI generated imagery, post body, articles, comments or automated accounts.
No advertising or self-promotion.
Illegal or unethical practices are frowned upon, and any comments or posts suggesting them will be removed. This includes, but is not limited to, backyard breeding, ear and tail cropping, fake service animals, negative reinforcement, alpha/pack/dominance theory, and eugenics.
No judging or attacking community members who care for dogs with cropped ears, docked tails, or those from puppy mills or questionable sources. While we discourage these practices (per Rule 5), all dogs deserve loving homes and compassionate care regardless of their background or physical alterations.
No breed discrimination, all breeds welcome. Our stance matches the ASPCA's official stance and is not up for debate.
Citing your sources when making a claim is encouraged. Misinformation will be removed.

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

Behavior - Getting a second dog (lemm.ee)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

6 comments fedilink hide all child comments

About a year ago, I adopted a 2nd dog. For the most part they get along pretty well. They like to play together and for the most part they play well together.

After a few months, they would cuddle up together, but I noticed my first dog started sleeping in a really tight ball. To the point his head is almost facing behind him.

I googled it. It seems that position is defensive. He never slept like that before. I can tell he does it now when he is upset about something.

He doesn’t seem to like to sleep near the 2nd dog. He will go into a room and sleep alone. Of course, the 2nd dog wants to sleep with him so he follows and and curls up next to him. He doesn’t get mad when this happens but I can tell he doesn’t like it.

They still play together pretty well. He even initiates play time with the 2nd dog. He does those big goofy hops when he is trying to get 2nd dog to play with him. It’s cute.

TLDR: how can I help my 1st dog feel more comfortable around my 2nd dog outside of play time?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

My two boys were like that in the beginning too. What seemed to help was two of the same dog beds next to each other. Each has his own "space," not necessarily defined, they both sleep in whichever bed interchangeably, but it makes them feel like they have their own space. My dog beds also have a raised pillow section so it feels a little more separate.