The Dog Walks Me

Thinking about adding a second dog? Here’s I went through the journey, thoughts and what I learned through the process with my second Vizsla.

Things to Think About

I had been wanting to add a second dog for the longest time, but I really wanted to get it right. First I wanted to wait until Whiskey was fully trained and reliable with other dogs. Once she was 2 years, I really started thinking about a second but it took a couple years to convince my husband! After a couple more years, I realized Whiskey’s breeder wasn’t breeding anymore so I had to start my search for a breeder again.

There were 2 years where I was on the list for another breeder with close lines to Whiskey, but 4 breedings just did not work. A couple didn’t take, there was one litter of 3 boys one girl that was called for (I was set on a girl, here are reasons why), and one litter only had a single. After waiting for awhile I decided to search for another breeder and that journey took another 1 year. At this time Whiskey was 5 years old when I finally met Alpine Vizslas and got on the list for Vixen’s (Bourbon’s mom) last litter.

During this journey of finding the right breeder, I had been pet-sitting as many dogs, especially female Vizsla dogs as I could. I wanted Whiskey to get used to the idea of sharing space and attention with other dogs, and for us to get used to how much work a second dog would be. It’s SO much easier pet-sitting another dog when your first is very reliable. Whiskey could be off leash heeling while I dealt with a second dog off-leash and I could pay 90% of my attention on the second dog while assuming Whiskey would make good decisions.

At home, I knew Whiskey didn’t guard resources like food or people, and that although she didn’t love puppies, she would tolerate them, growling but not biting. Even when pushed Whiskey would growl and growl and eventually give up and let a puppy sit on her or take her toys. The one thing Whiskey did seem to have an issue with, is attention and discipline. She has issues with alpha females taking the attention of her humans, and can also be grumpy if dogs are not following the rules. By the time we introduced Bourbon, we had worked through so many of Whiskey’s emotions that we had a blueprint about what to do in most circumstances.

The Preparation

Once I knew we were getting a puppy, I tried to dog-sit as much as possible readying Whiskey. Also, Covid became a thing, and threw a wrench into plans of visiting the puppies with Whiskey (or at all). There was so much turmoil about how to actually get Bourbon across the border, I wasn’t even sure it would happen at some points.

Knowing that a new puppy would be very exciting, and that Whiskey needed so much attention, we decided that the best thing would be to introduce Bourbon to the house while Thierry was out on a roadtrip with Whiskey. That way I could get Bourbon used to a new house, new yard, new life, and then introduce Whiskey a couple days later.

The Introduction

When Whiskey came back home, we met outside (it’s always better to introduce dogs outside) and I asked Thierry to pick up fast-food. Whiskey LOVES food and doesn’t resource guard the food so I wanted to feed her something extra yummy while Bourbon got to meet Whiskey. It went really well! Whiskey was focused on the food, while Bourbon was focused on Whiskey and we both paid all the attention on Whiskey so she didn’t feel like she was missing out.

After the introduction (about 25mins outside), we went in and Whiskey went around the house sniffing Bourbon everywhere. For the first 2 weeks, Bourbon slept with me in my office, and Whiskey slept with Thierry in our bedroom. This was because I wanted to introduce Bourbon to the crate slowly, and it wasn’t fair to have Whiskey sleep in the crate but not Bourbon.

First months

After a couple years of training Whiskey, I had stopped using treats all the time but with a new puppy, I had to use treats everyday. I found that training the two dogs together built a bond, and a good relationship between the two. Whiskey loves training, and Bourbon would pick up quickly with Whiskey, so they both got treats for being around each other and focusing on me. Whiskey learned there were always treats with Bourbon around, and she got big extra treats for letting Bourbon touch her, or sleep next to her. Whiskey also got lots of praise and rewards for tolerating Bourbon’s antics and playing with her.

Whiskey also got lots of time away from Bourbon. She had separate walks away from the puppy (as much as I could) and I always asked everyone to greet Whiskey before Bourbon. Overall their relationship developed quicker and better than I expected. Whiskey never played with puppies, merely tolerated them but after a week, she was playing with Bourbon and letting her sleep with her.

Bourbon was absolutely in love with Whiskey. Since she was taken from her littermates, Whiskey was the one dog in her presence and because of Covid, we weren’t able to meet too many puppies (and always outside). Apart from the first meeting, Whiskey never growled at Bourbon and was extremely tolerant of her shark teeth.

The two were never left alone without supervision (or without Bourbon in a crate) and play was always closely watched. Because Bourbon could be a little devil, we would remove her from Whiskey if she was too much, and give Bourbon time outs. Whiskey was always quite happy when we put Bourbon in the crate for time outs giving me kisses!

One of the biggest recommendations I got from others about introducing a second dog, was to make sure we spent lots of time with the first dog one on one. Because Bourbon was too young to hike, Whiskey got lots of hikes with me, without Bourbon, and once Bourbon was old enough, she went to daycare to meet other dogs and on pack hikes.

A Year after

I feel like each dog has their own personalities but both my girls find comfort in each other now. Whiskey has a small amount of separation anxiety that Bourbon doesn’t have, and Bourbon is timid with challenges and new dogs. They each help the other deal with their own anxieties and become more confident. This could definitely go either way (they could pick up each other’s anxieties instead), but through a mixtures of luck and training, they’ve helped each other become better dogs.

I try and use the dog that doesn’t have anxiety to help the other through something difficult. Whiskey will wait on a bridge and cross it over and over again, while Bourbon will slowly work up her courage to try for it. Bourbon will keep Whiskey company when she could be lonely waiting for us to return.

Adding a Third Dog?

Everyone keeps asking when the third will come! For now I will happily pet-sit all the dogs but for many reasons 2 is where we are at. Financially, it’s not currently possible, and then only 2 dogs fit into my sleeping bag, and barely that! I also only have 2 arms for 2 leashes and I’m not confident yet with Bourbon’s recall and reliability. We recently got to look after Merlin, the wirehaired Vizsla puppy and I absolutely loved it. The girls were great and everyone got along so well, however, I got absolutely no work done, and the amount of time and training a new dog takes is quite literally another job. For now, two!

Goldmint Trailhead to Mint Hut

Deep in the Talkeetna Mountains in Alaska, a local favorite trail Hatcher Pass became world famous. Within the area, there are loads of options for hiking and exploration, but we only had a couple days, and very few days without an abundance of rain. My friend Kristina and our dogs Whiskey, Bourbon, and Cooper set out on a backcountry adventure exploring several huts and passes in the backcountry. As with most backcountry adventures in Alaska, our hike did not go according to plan.

First off was the 8 mile (13km) hike on the Gold Mint Trail to Mint Hut, where we planned to stay the first evening. The weather was beautiful and sunny (the only day it was!) and the hike in was the easiest part of the entire trip. We still did manage to get lost close to the hut, but we spent that time eating berries off the ground and taking photos so nothing very problematic. Because there had been so much rain, much of the trail was extremely muddy (re: a pond) so poles and waterproof boots were really helpful.

When we finally found the hut, we spent the evening taking photos and enjoying the views. The clouds were coming in thicker so we were glad to have a hut to sleep in. Unfortunately the hut was also pretty damp and moldy smelling and all the pots and cups were pretty covered in black muck, so if you’re using anything stored inside, clean it well first. Also frustrating was the amount of dog poop left all around the hut. I’ve never experienced such poor management of dog feces on any trail or hut before (and that’s saying alot!) so PLEASE PLEASE pick up after your dog should you come here.

Mint and Bomber huts are maintained by the MCA (Mountaineering Club of Alaska) so make sure you pay your yearly $20 fee online before you go. Because the weather had not been great, and we were at the end of the season (end of August), we were excited to try out the huts. Any of the huts along the route can be very busy so we brought an extra tent just in case, but luckily, there was only one other couple that ended up there that evening. With dogs, you must climb up a vertical ladder, or let them sleep on the ground. Our dogs are all smaller and hairless (and sleep inside our sleeping bags) so we had them up with us.

Mint Hut to Bomber Hut Via The Backdoor Gap (6.5km)

This was so much fun! After Mint Hut, there are no more trails and you must be able to make your own way. You start heading up the steep scree boulder field heading towards the Backdoor Gap. The boulder field can be quite tough on dogs that are not used to climbing scree and rock. The rocks can rub paws raw, and the steep terrain can be dangerous if not navigated properly. Again, we didn’t take the most direct route, but we eventually did find the gap with extra scrambling and climbing and had quite a bit of fun doing so.

The Gap itself is at the top of a glacier. You are climbing a small gap that can be snow-filled depending on the time of the year, or, in our case was currently snowing. Because it was so cold, windy, and snowing, we didn’t take too many photos and concentrated on descending. There were several questionable ropes hanging down that we used, but this section would be very steep for dogs.

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Next, you need to hike from the top of Penny Royal Glacier, all the way down. There were no crevasses we saw, and the glacier was pretty easy although quite slippery and was a nice break from scree climbing all morning. Eventually you drop down to the tundra and keep hiking until you find Bomber Hut. At this point it was starting to rain and we were quite tired from carrying our huge packs over the day.

Bomber Hut was much nicer than Mint (although maybe not so pretty from the outside). It’s newer and with better airflow so it didn’t smell like mold. Again we were the first ones in so we made ourselves at home and started exploring outside between spells of rain.

The view from Bomber Hut were breathtaking. As the rains came and went, we were audience to moody lighting over an arena of mountain passes. Over the afternoon, more people came to join us and we had a lovely crew to chat with for the evening.

Our next day, we had been hoping to hike to Snowbird Hut, however it was pouring rain and snow so we decided it would be nicer to take a day in rather than soaking everything we owned in cold rain for 5 hours without seeing any views.

We spent the laziest day in reading comics that had been left behind and chatting to the huge group of people that wandered through. Somehow Bomber Hut became the meeting place and over the day we had over 10 people max out the sleeping space. There were even several outside in tents in the drenching rain.

Bomber Hut To Reed Lakes Trailhead Via Bomber Pass (10.5km)

Since we changed our plans not to go to Snowbird, we ended up hiking out of Bomber Hut through Bomber Pass on our last day. We woke up to snow. So much snow! The snow turned to rain, but we could see at higher elevations it would be very very white. After a quick breakfast we started to head out and were the first group up the boulder field and onto the Bomber glacier to Bomber Pass.

Bomber Pass is named as such because there is a TB-29 Superfortress Bomber Plane that crashed during a training mission in 1957 killing 6. Because it was snowing so hard, the other group that was heading up had decided to bypass the wreckage (it’s on the other side of the glacier). By the time we had located and explored the wreckage the other group had caught up to us and we were able to head up the pass to drop down onto Upper Reed Lake.

The pass was quite dangerous with a new foot of snow that had fallen over the past day (making it 2 feet of fresh snow). Underneath the snow was pure ice and I hadn’t brought my ice axe so at one point I slipped and slid and slid, thankfully catching my foot on some rocks before I slid down a kilometer down the glacier. The top of the pass was totally covered in snow (snow covered rocks) so it became very very tricky to make our way up. Normally there should be a clearer path with rope but everything was so covered in snow.

Upper and Lower Reed Lake

Unfortunately since it was snowing so hard, we made our way through Upper Reed Lake and down through the boulder field only thinking about survival. Steep fresh snow covered boulders are a minefield and not fun on a sunny day. We were soaked to the bone with huge packs on and dogs to control. The snowy rocks are even more dangerous for dogs, especially inexperienced ones and a dog following us later that day tore a nail or toe and had to be carried the rest of the way. Someone else also injured their leg on the descent so be very methodical and careful.

Once to Upper Reed Lake, the trails started again. I could see that normally these trails would be absolutely beautiful, but snow turned to pounding rain and we were quite tired from the pass so we just put our heads down and hiked out as fast as we could. Everything was so soaked my phone stopped working and our dogs were quite miserable. The trails had turned into muddy river that I fell in (and just laid my head down for a minute). Another area was so flooded with water that it was higher than my knee level when I sloshed through. I think my dog was swimming.

From the parking lot we were able to hitch a ride to Mint Trailhead and were able to change our clothes and dry out finally!

If you wonder why my bag was so heavy, check out here to see what I carry with me for camping. If you’d like to try out tent camping with dogs, here’s how, and if you’re looking for winter dog gear, first aid kits for dogs, or just other adventures, check out the links!

Trying to choose between getting a female or male puppy? Or just wondering if there’s any difference at all really? I’m no expert (ask your breeder to start!) but here’s a couple things I’ve found over the years.

Physical differences

The obvious difference is males tend to be slightly taller and larger and of course have anatomical differences. It’s really important I be able to carry my own dog for long periods of time, so for me a smaller dog is very beneficial, however I don’t know this is a concern for most people.

Males will tend to mark as well as hump more than females. My Whiskey loves to mark just as much as males, although overall you’ll see this behavior in males more. Humping can also occur in both sexes although it will happen more with male dogs. On the other hand, I know with proper training you can keep dogs from humping, and some unneutered males do not hump or mark.

Another obvious difference is that unspayed female dogs will go into heat once or twice a year and this can be inconvenient, especially if you have a male dog, or your dog goes to daycare. It’s not been a huge issue for me, and there are solutions like an OSS spay that can keep hormones while preventing pregnancy.

Emotional

There’s something I keep hearing about Vizslas “Girls love you, and the boys fall IN love with you”. I can see where this comes from, and the differences overall. You cannot really speak to a specific individual but there’s definitely differences overall, just like humans.

Vizslas will all love their humans. They’re velcro dogs that seek human attention and love and want to touch and be with you all day long. Both my girls (and other Vizslas that come live with me) follow me from room to room, and I’m never alone in the bathroom. They all think they’re lap dogs, and they will love snuggle and cuddle.

However, as much as female Vizslas love to be on your lap and under the desk or behind the chair with you, male Vizslas will love you so hard they’ll be on top of your head. Males will bounce so exuberantly they’ll tackle you with their love, and they’ll want not only to touch you, they want to be part of you. Males are just very enthusiastic and unfiltered and everything is straight from their feelings and into their legs.

Hiking, Working, Dog Sports

Male dogs in general have less caution when it comes to risk taking, or just thinking about consequences. This is a part of why I chose females. Males tend to run and jump without thinking, without looking at what is on the other side. If they see something move, they will be more likely to run and chase rather than sniffing and thinking. This translates to more dangerous on cliffs with birds, more chance of injury on steep drop-offs or technical hikes, and more chances of making bad decisions with bears and porcupine. Overall I’ve seen many more males quilled and with injuries from running into things than females.

Another thing to think about, is females tend more to be thinkers, doing things on their own terms. They can be more emotional, opinionated and manipulative. This can be harder for competitions and training if your dog is more prone to doing things on their own terms, depending on the current alignment of stars. Male dogs and Vizslas are less emotional and less prone to emotional swings. For dog sports, males can be bolder and more aggressive attacking new obstacles or challenges.

Please do keep in mind that these are very generalized statements and each dog is different. While Whiskey is very reliable, fearless, and driven, Bourbon can be quite emotional, tentative and a thinker. However, it can actually be easier to run Bourbon in agility as she’s more accurate about her motions and less aggressive at just attacking whatever she sees in the arena vs actually listening to commands.

Socialization

Depending on what you’re looking for (or not looking for) Male dogs are generally more interested in meeting other dogs, more drawn to roaming in an attempt to find a mate. Although Bourbon roams extremely far, she doesn’t go and greet dogs along the way, however I know many long ranging Vizsla males that will go and say hello to others. I personally really like how my females keep to themselves and for the most part we have no problem with other dogs that want to pick a fight or are reactive or anxious. On the other side, they’re both less playful than males, and more standoffish to others on walks.

Because male dogs are more social, without proper training and socialization they can be more prone to get into fights with strangers. I’ve known too many unneutered male Vizslas that have gotten attacked by neutered male dogs, or just more dominance fights. I feel like this is mainly an issue in North America where most dogs are neutered and many are not socialized properly but it’s definitely a trend.

Females will still fight, but I think there’s less chances of a stranger random off-leash dog attacking a female, than a male. However, two females in a house that are battling for top dog will be much more vicious and fierce. Males posture more, females are serious when they actually do fight.

In Conclusion

Consider your lifestyle and what other dogs you have in your household. What is most important to you? I wanted a dog I could lift, a dog that would ignore others, one that wouldn’t chase chipmunks off a cliff or chase a bear, and one that didn’t mark up my home. Whiskey was an alpha female and I still introduced another female into my home because I was confident that as much as Whiskey was top dog, she would not be aggressive and would be a good leader for a puppy to follow.

Much more important than male or female, get yourself a good breeder that’s breeding good genes, healthy, with no aggression and a lovely temperament. Meet the parents and as many other Vizslas as you can and find and train yourself the perfect companion.