We are thinking about getting another dog. Do you think our dog can have a relationship with another or is it too late for him? Should we just not get a puppy?

Question

I need your help in making the right decision. We have a large bullmastiff that is a 4 year old male. When we brought him into our family we had a male black lab who was 9 years and a female golden retriever who was 7. They adjusted to the bullmastiff just fine. The male black lab was the dominant dog and there was never any trouble with fighting. In fact, the bullmastiff would pretty much bow down to the lab. He played regularly with the golden. Last November we had to put the black lab down because of old age and health problems, and just recently last month we also had to put down the golden retriever. They were 13 and 11. The bullmastiff would always cuddle the golden when they slept. They all slept together in the basement. They got along very well. The bullmastiff acts still like a puppy and requires a lot of love and companionship. 

    On two occasions neighbors dogs have entered our yard and inside our garage. On both occasions the bullmastiff attacked the intruding dogs to the point where it was almost impossible to control him. When dogs are outside our fence he shows a lot of aggression. After the lab was put down, the golden went to the fence to bark at a dog on the other side of the fence and the bullmastiff attacked our golden and drew blood.  It was as though he was stopping her from barking near the fence--that was his job. But it was very ugly. It hurt to see him attack his own sister. Also, when the golden got shaved once and was brought home he almost attacked her because he didn't recognize her. Luckily my husband intervened. She was drastically shaved and had a handkerchief around her neck which she had never had before. 

    Now that the other dogs are gone we feel he needs company, however, I am so afraid that he will hurt a puppy. He is very large. And I don't know if I could ever trust him with another dog. Do you think he can have a relationship with another dog or is it too late for him. Would it be better to error on the safe side and not get a puppy? We've been told if we do we need to get a female. But he did attack his own sister that one time and I just don't know. Do you have any advise for us?

Accepted Answer

It’s a misconception that dogs need other dogs for company, if they are getting their needs met by their owners.

If you do choose to try adding a puppy to your household, the first thing to do is make sure you have good pack structure in place LONG BEFORE you complicate things by adding another dog.

Start with our groundwork program and this video Pack Structure for the Family Pet.

I ‘d recommend this video too, so you have a way to deal with him if he does show aggressive behavior. Dealing with Dominant & Aggressive Dogs

I would only suggest a female pup, as same sex pairs are much more likely to fight.

From your email, I am doubtful that your bullmastiff every really looked at the humans in your house as his leaders. It sounds like you let the dogs live in a pack type situation with very little intervention on their interactions with each other. This sets up dogs to behave in a way that may not be what is best for them, they need rules and structure from the humans in the house.

If you do weigh the pros and cons of adding a new pup and decide to do so, read the article Ed wrote on how to properly introduce dogs.

We also have a number of free eBooks that may interest you.

I’d also direct you to the search function in the upper left corner of the website. It will find posts, articles and Q & A’s that deal with your search terms.

I hope this helps.
Cindy