Adding to canine family

[Ewokpup]

Originally Posted by Laurief

From what you indicated, I would hold off on another pup for a bit.
First of all, I suspect that a lot of the issues are because you just moved. Bama needs time to feel secure in the new home.
When you say a playdate, do you mean other Havanese or all size dogs?

You might be putting too many things into Bama's life at once. I would let her get used to the new house. And when you walk by the neighbors house, keep your head up, look straight ahead, and keep walking at a great pace. She may be picking up that you might be nervous or apprehensive about the other dogs. If she sees that you are confident, she will pick up on that and maybe not feel the need to bark at the neighbors house.

A puppy or beginner obedience class might help her get more confidence so that she is more comfortable in her own skin.

Once she has begun to be comfortable in her new home, and be ok with the neighbors dogs, and has good manners (which she will teach the new pup), and is fully potty trained, then it might be a better time to bring a new dog home

I dont want you to feel I am discouraging you, but I would hate to see BAma take a HUGE step backwards because you have brought a new dog in, and are spending time with that dog, and she is just not ready.

She has actually improved quite a bit on the barking. I try to be patient and figure out what she is trying to tell me...yes, silly human, I really did push my chew stick under the media stand...yes my ball is under the sofa where I can't reach...please get my toy off the table so I can play with it...UPS is here again, if you got another thing from amazon it better be for me! (okay that last one I over interpreted haha).

As far as neighbor dogs...I don't think I'm apprehensive about it....more like 'oh great, here we go again, the dogs are behind the fence and she will probably start barking'. So more annoyance than nervous. Today the shepherd was barking and she was barking back, so I picked her up, carried her into the bathroom and stood in the tub so she could look out the window and see him. (we did this before with the kitchen window).

As far as playdates...well, havanese would be great because I love them, but any small dog will do.

[Ewokpup]

So wanted to give y'all an update since everyone was so helpful with their replies.

Bama has settled in nicely. As far as the dogs next door, I noticed the other day another small dog being walked down the street and sure enough that small dog and the dogs behind the fence were having a canine conversation. So it's not just Bama. Who knows what they are even barking about, could be as simple as 'hey what's up pup'.