Bringing in a new puppy

[tysonchow03]

Hi all,

We are looking into bringing a new chow chow puppy into the house, currently we have a 9 year old in-tact boy. He's super friendly and doesn't have a problem getting along with other dogs.

Would you suggest bringing in a girl pup or a boy pup? What would you say the pro and con's are...

Any advice would be appriecated!

Thank you!

[PCC]

we have a 9 year old in-tact boy.

Why have you never neutered him?

[tabate45]

Probably a poor idea. Because he gets along with other dogs, does that also apply to his territory, his personal space. A spayed female might work, but with a puppy, so much could go wrong. Hopefully someone has some advise from experience.

[Blackbear]

We intriduced a male pup to our 11 yr boy and they fine together until the pup reached 6 months then he tried to dominate the older dog. There was fiece fighting and food aggression. After a couple of months things settled down but our older boy was never the same. He died late last year. Not saying this would happen to everyone but it is not something I would do again. A female might be different though.

[tysonchow03]

We rescued Tyson two years ago, and when we brought him to the vet and asked about neuturing and they advised us that it wouldnt benefit him now at his age as well as they are eary about putting chow chow's under for some reason.

When we get a new puppy they will be fixed no, if's or buts.

Thank you for everyone's input.

[Sarahloo]

Rescues are usually great with new additions to the household. They seem to remember that they were once homeless and needed someone to take them in, so they're pretty understanding that other pets might need a home as well. What dogs does he like to meet outside, boys or girls? Just get a dog that's his "type" and you will be fine! Have you already posted pictures of Tyson?

[bellachow]

I would also recommend a female. We had a 12 year old intact male (for similar reasons) when we brought Belle home to keep him company. At first he ran from her but she just kept following him around. Pretty soon they were inseperable. I agree with Saraloo, get a young female from a rescue that is good with other dogs and you shouldnt have any problems.

[Rory's Dad]

Not sure whether i want to discourage you or not...we did have 2 intact males together for quite some time. They tolerated each other to the visible eye, but there was a similar age difference, 6 years in our case. The younger male was definitely stronger, and it seemed to break the older males spirit. The older male, Kodi, co-existed with the younger, Teddee, for about 4 years, but he never had the same 'jump'. Maybe it was age, but i think he totally saw it as losing favor with the alpha (always me).

As a side note to Sarahloo, the vets are worried about sedation because Chows do not handle it well. Many chows never awaken from sedation. Vets that are experienced with Chows seem to do better, but they are wary...thats actually a good sign of a good Chow vet...all vets are not created equal.

I think you need to judge your Chow...at 9 he may be ready to 'adopt' a young friend, or he may be so ingrained into his (and your) life, that he would not accept a change in the family. Being social and friendly with other dogs is a good start, but he probably wont view a permanent roomate in the same manner. Difference being affection from you and his space being invaded. Instead of normal social interactions, see what happens when another dog is brought into his home (very controlled, short term experiment), that may give you a clue.

[Sarahloo]

As a side note to Sarahloo, the vets are worried about sedation because Chows do not handle it well. Many chows never awaken from sedation. Vets that are experienced with Chows seem to do better, but they are wary...thats actually a good sign of a good Chow vet...all vets are not created equal.

Huh? What did I say?

[tysonchow03]

Thanks all!

I do have pictures of Tyson on this site, you might have to dig for it thought it was a little while ago.

Tyson is great with female dogs and male dogs HOWEVER I believe it's because he's intacted... he tends be attracted to other male dog's.. yah know.. privates... He could spend forever down there... ...

That's what I also heard about chows going under, not using it as an excuse not to get him fixed BUT like you Rory's Dad.. it depends on the vet and their experiences with chows. There aren't alot of chows in our area... I could probably count them all on one hand. Next puppy, they're getting fixed though for sure. With Tyson.. we felt like he had a second chance with us, and we rather him just live the rest of his life happy and what ever happens, happens. Don't want to risk anything like him not waking up.

[PCC]

I'd lean towards a female, just to mitigate the chance of any problem of male domination.

[tysonchow03]

Ok! Thank you!

Side note, just posted some pictures of our boy in the gallery. Check it out!

[Rory's Dad]

Sorry Sarah, it was Tyson that noted the vet being wary on Chow sedation, not you...

[tysonchow03]

Thanks everybody for your input! We have decided on bringing home a little black chow girl. She's 4 weeks right now and will be ready June 7th! Such a sweet looking girl, stay tuned for pictures of the new baby!