Okay, I found a beautiful male american bulldog (7-11 months) male at the local shelter.

I have a 10 year old female heeler/bulldog mix (45 lbs) and a male 20 lbs. mutt. (have no clue what he is).

I have done some research and went to visit him. He has a really good temperament and they found him with another dog.

To answer some questions upfront. I have a fenced yard, my dogs have their own bedroom (4 bd house), and I can afford the extra expense.

It just me in the house, but my gf comes over often. no kids.

I am wondering how this may affect the dynamic. He is much bigger than the other two. (probably 90 lbs. full grown).

The GF is against it, but I did take her and she did find him cute also. (surprising).

Any advice?

Hi there!

I generally think of dogs with a 3 dog limit (though there are exceptions).

In my house I have two "permanent" dogs and an open spot for fosters, so my guys go through getting introduced to new dogs quite frequently.

Does the rescue offer a foster to adopt program or a trial period? The size shouldn't matter since that isn't really what dogs go by - the hardest part is letting them work out their pack order and then sticking to it.

3 dogs are easy to handle (more than that is when it starts getting tricky). I would say to bring your dogs to meet this new one and see how it goes. I think its a great idea.

Heelers FTW~!

This is great advice too - posted on info page for the rescue I work with - the "Two Week Shutdown" - very important when bringing a new animal into the house:

TWO WEEKS - "shut down"
For the first two weeks, (sometimes even longer) a dog takes in the new environment, who is the top person, or animal, who ARE these people!? By pushing a dog too fast, and throwing too much at the dog we look like we are not the leaders,and the dog can feel it MUST defend itself , as the leader is surely no one he has met so far!

We coo , coodle, drag the dog to home to home to person to person, and the dog has NO idea who we are. We correct for things it doesn’t understand, we talk in a new human language using words he does not know.

A key thing to remember is "this is the dating period NOT the honeymoon"
When you first met your "spouse or significant other”, you were on your best behavior, you were not relaxed enough to be all of yourself, were you?
Just think of the things you do physically once you get to KNOW a person,
you wouldn’t run up to a stranger and hug them and squeeze them!
Imagine, if on the first date, this new person, was all over you touching you and having their friends hug you and pat you on the head, and jostle your shoulders, looked in your mouth then he whisked you off to another strangers home and they did the same thing.

Would you think this person normal and SAFE? Wouldn’t you feel invaded and begin to get a bit snarky or defensive yourself? Wouldn’t you think to push these people away for obviously your date is out of their mind, as they aren’t going to save you from these weirdoes!!
Yet we do this very thing to our dogs, and then get upset or worried that they aren’t relaxed and accepting of EVERYTHING instantly!

By shutting down the dog, it gives the dog TIME to see you , meet YOU, hear and take in the new sounds and smells of your home and all the people in it. In the 1st two weeks;
.
Crate the dog in a room by itself if possible.(Believe me, dogs are sensory animals, they know more than you think without seeing it).
Leash the dog (so I don’t have to correct it ..you don’t have that right yet!), give it exercise time in the yard on lunge line or in fenced yard..but other than that.. LEASH , (yes..leash in the house too.)
Do no training at all, just fun exercise and maybe throw some toys for fun, leash the dog if you don’t have a fence outside. But DO NOT leave the yard, AT ALL.

No car rides, no other dogs, (unless crated beside them), no pet stores, no WALKS even, nothing but you and household family, your home, your yard. (Unless of course the dog needs to go to the vetinarian)
Believe me dogs can live two weeks without walks. Walks are stressful for there is so much coming at you and your dog! And the dog has no clue who you are yet. The dog may react to something and we start correcting it with the leash and we just installed a VERY STRESSFUL moment to the dog in what should be a fun and learning walk.

TEACH the dog by doing the shut down, that YOU are the one to look to, that you are now here for the dog! He can trust in you and look to you for guidance. Then you can venture out into new situations one at a time, the dog knows he can trust in his new humans and can relax under the fair guidance of his new leaders!

In the house take the dog out only for about 20-30 minute intervals , post excercise/yard times.,and ALWAYS on a leash when in the house or in an unfenced yard. Exercise is important! Running and free time are stress relievers, but don’t set your dog up for failure, make exercise and yard time fun and relaxing and tiring!

Then PUT THE DOG AWAY. let it absorb and think and relax. Ignore crying or barking, just like a new born baby, he must find security when you are not right there, and if you run to him each time he will think barking and crying will get your attention.

I do not introduce resident dogs for these two weeks, they can be side by side in the crates, (not nose to nose for they can feel defensive) . Some dogs will bond instantly with the other dogs if we don’t bond FIRST with the dog, and this can lead to some other issues, as the dog will look to the other dog(s) for guidance and not YOU!

Literally in two weeks you will see a change in the dog and begin to see its honest and true personality. Just like a house guest.. they are well behaved and literally shut down and “polite” themselves these first few weeks, then post this time, they relax and the true personality begins to shine thru.

So, please,, if nothing else for your new dog, give it the time to LEARN YOU as you are learning who they are! This method works on shy dogs, confident dogs, abuse cases, chained dogs that come in, rowdy dogs, all temperaments!

His dog is actually from the county shelter. No trial period.

I like the idea of the two--week trial and I have three crates so that would not be a problem.

Basically, my heeler runs the little dog. The little dog has so much energy (4 yrs old), but the heeler doesn't really play with him. She more or less tolerates him. I know I cannot get a dog his size, because he will try and dominant another dog his size.

When I watched my friend's lab, they all got along fine. The lab was a 100 lbs. puppy and would take the little ones toy. Basically, the little one would then play tug of war and didn't want to share. But it was all good manner fun. (This just made me remember that weekend and it wasn't that bad. they all got along fine).

I am going there sunday (adoption fee 1/2 off) and I am taking my other two dogs with me. See how they interact, that is a determining factor. My female I know really could care less as she is the alpha and knows she runs things. The little one should be okay because the bulldog is bigger.

Quote from nappyloxs : My female I know really could care less as she is the alpha and knows she runs things. The little one should be okay because the bulldog is bigger.

This is where you need to be careful - because if the new dog is more dominant you will have trouble introducing him to your female - though at least he is a boy. 2 females are the hardest to convince to get along.

Dogs don't go by size - more than one house I've seen the little dog is the alpha - and they can tend to turn nippier faster with a big dog because they feel threatened. (Napoleon Complex and all that) Just make sure you don't assume they will get along because he is smaller.

I wish you the best of luck, I always love to see more dogs go home from shelters!

Thanks.

Yes my alpha female will try and dominant at first. Its why i am not looking at another female. Yes, my little has that complex but he is good with bigger dogs. Initially I expect there will be some struggle as they get use to each other. I am not worried about aggression because at the end of the day my dogs know i am the boss.

More worried about the extra burden. Is there a major jump from 2 to 3 dogs? Or is it about the same.

a major factor will be how he gets along with them. i expect my dogs to be fine with him.

I've had 1 dog, 2, and 3. 1 is easy, 2 takes some work, but 3 wasn't any harder than 2.

Quote from nappyloxs : Okay, I found a beautiful male american bulldog (7-11 months) male at the local shelter. I have a 10 year old female heeler/bulldog mix (45 lbs) and a male 20 lbs. mutt. (have no clue what he is). I have done some research and went to visit him. He has a really good temperament and they found him with another dog. To answer some questions upfront. I have a fenced yard, my dogs have their own bedroom (4 bd house), and I can afford the extra expense. It just me in the house, but my gf comes over often. no kids. I am wondering how this may affect the dynamic. He is much bigger than the other two. (probably 90 lbs. full grown). The GF is against it, but I did take her and she did find him cute also. (surprising). Any advice?

How if affects the dynamic depends on the 3 dogs involved. Have them meet, see how they get along, interact, and so forth. I have 5 dogs and the dynamic does change depending on which dogs are roaming the house (vs sleeping) or which dogs I have out with me. For example, my 4 y/o GSD is very serious. If I have her out alone, she is all business. If I add in my 1 y/o GSD or my GSD-Lab, she becomes a little more playful. The GSD-Lab is always playful, but if you put him with the 1 y/o, he bounces off the walls. If you then add in my GSD-Pit, it can become a bit of a circus because like most Pits, he is very affectionate and VERY high energy. My other female GSD is somewhat high energy as well.

For what it's worth, I am a dog trainer, which for some reason, makes most people say "Ah hah! That's how he can handle 5 dogs." The truth, however, is that any knowledgeable, experienced dog handler is capable of handling multiple dogs, provided that the dogs all interact well together. However, I will say that I only walk 3 at a time. Again, see if your dogs can meet him. The shelter should have no problem with you bringing your dogs down to meet him and in fact, should even encourage it. Do it outside though, out of the shelter environment. Keep in mind what LittleLostPup said as well about the first couple weeks.

I have had a bad experience introducing a new dog to our home.

We brought in a female stray puppy with our grown female. Things were fine at first until the puppy got older and decided she wanted to be alpha female. They fought all the time. The "puppy" got pretty big (around 80lbs) and things got scary in the house. We finally put her down since she was the aggressor and our other dog was there first. It was a very hard time for our family as we loved her very much. If it were me I would be happy with two dogs, but if you decide to get a third, best of luck!

Thanks. I am still up in the area about it. We are taking my dogs tomorrow for a "meet and greet"

my heeler is a sleeper. It the bulldog has as much energy as my mutt (he is like a mini boxer) that would be a handful.

I am not the best dog handler, but my dogs listen to me and know my rules. So I think l can handle a 3rd from that standpoint. but I will get some lessons. I may get in home ones to help the other two out.

My heeler has to be the alpha female. I guess 1) she thinks is (she is 10), 2) I have seen her and other females get into before (rarely has she started. last to times was some young female and the other she was protecting the mutt). 3) I wouldnt put her in that situation. Only boys while she is here.

If you don't already have one of these, get one:

I have a female American Bulldog, she is 6 and has never gotten along with other dogs since she was a puppy. Instant dog fight no matter what. She loves to bark too, and eat her own poop. Just kill me...

Quote from nappyloxs : Thanks. I am still up in the area about it. We are taking my dogs tomorrow for a "meet and greet" my heeler is a sleeper. It the bulldog has as much energy as my mutt (he is like a mini boxer) that would be a handful. I am not the best dog handler, but my dogs listen to me and know my rules. So I think l can handle a 3rd from that standpoint. but I will get some lessons. I may get in home ones to help the other two out. My heeler has to be the alpha female. I guess 1) she thinks is (she is 10), 2) I have seen her and other females get into before (rarely has she started. last to times was some young female and the other she was protecting the mutt). 3) I wouldnt put her in that situation. Only boys while she is here.

Bulldogs are notoriously lazy. I highly doubt he'll have nearly as much energy. Also because of his physique (for lack of a better term) he naturally won't be able to jump as high, or even onto somethings like your bed if it is higher and will tire more easily on walks and such.