New Dog - Need Advice

[TxDog]

I have a 1 year old dog named Shiner.

Excellent dog, very smart and well trained.

He has three other brothers/sisters.

The owner wants to get rid of one of his brothers. His brother has been an outdoor only dog in a backyard of his brother, mother, father and two other dogs.

I would like to adopt this dog but I am unsure due to him being an outdoor pack dog and he will be an indoor only dog now.

[ZenTrainer]

I'm not really sure what your question is. Are you asking would it work to have the 2 dogs together?
Generally speaking, it's not a good idea to have two same sex dogs together. The sibling part makes it worse.
But...I have seen it work time and time again. (I wouldn't do it, life is hard enough as it is, different things work for different people though.)
Do these two dogs like each other?
How to bring an outdoor dog inside? Just treat it as if it were an 8 week old puppy. Keep it in your sight, in a crate or outside at all times.
I don't train outdoor dogs because my methods don't work with them.
My methods involve having a strong relationship with your dog so you have to live with it and be it's pack.
Many people agree to bring their dogs in so that they can work with me. I have them start by just bringing the dog in at night to sleep in a crate in the bedroom.
Sometimes the dogs are wild from just living outside so they are walked in on a leash and crated (with a T Shirt that smells like the owner in the crate and a good bone) and in the am they are walked out on a leash.
Then you just build slowly from there, increasing the amount of time the dog is in the house until it is fully integrated.
I have clients bring the dog in during the evening while they watch TV. The dog can lie next to them and chew a bone.
Each dog is individual so the pace varies.
You didn't say what breed this dog is but oneyear is fairly young when you consider that a small dog like a Bishon is an adult at 1 year. A medium size dog like a Dalmatian or a Pit Bull is an adult at 2 and large dogs like Labs aren't considered adults till they are 3.
So whatever the breed 1 is still pretty early in a dogs life and it should adapt.

[TxDog]

I apoligize. I want to adopt his brother another Min Pin/Chihuahua mix.

We really want to adopt him but are just curious the general consensus is it will be too difficult to train him now that he's been outside and with a pack for so long. Could he have untrainable behavior like inappropriate chewing or being house broke.

[RobDar]

The success or failure of training him will entirely depend on you and your available amount of patience. We have taken Beagles and Coonhounds who have spent the entirety of their life outside as hunting dogs and made them housepets. It can be difficult...some are easier than others (we have had it take as long as a year) but it can be done. If you are not used to managing a dog from this kind of lifestyle and are accustomed to indoor dogs...I will say the dog will offend your sensibilities more than once!
The bigest part of this is that taking in a dog like this one is a big commitment. You should not go about it with a "let's see if this will work" mind set. Re-homing dogs is stressful for the dog. You will not be doing the dog any favors by taking him and "trying"...only to find it does not work out and have to find him yet another home.

[ZenTrainer]

Nah. Those are the same people who told the Orville brothers that their planes would never fly. Possibilities thinkers know it can work. I brought a dog in to live with me that had lived outside for 6 years. Some of the clients I work with bring in 8 and 10 year old dogs.

You just really have to start as if it were a puppy and housetrain it that way.
If you see it pee on the floor or chew something it shouldn't, interrupt it with an "oops!" and then take it outside to pee or give it something it can chew.

If it pees or chews and you don't see it, smack yourself on the head a few times for forgetting to keep the dog in your sight at all times! "What in the heck was I thinking?" "Am I nuts or what?" "I wasn't even paying attention to my dog!"

It might take a bit longer than with a puppy because you are not starting with a blank slate but on the plus side you have a dog with a fully developed bladder who is a bit more mature. Just be patient.

My concern would not be bringing the dog inside, IMO, that's the easy part. My concern would be two males dogs together. I would make sure they really like each other. Meaning that within 10 minutes of meeting they are rumpusing and playing. That you can feed them a biscuit when they are side by side without anyone getting grumpy. That in tight spaces like doorways they are still nice to each other.
Good luck!

[AustinDogs]

My concern would not be bringing the dog inside, IMO, that's the easy part. My concern would be two males dogs together. I would make sure they really like each other. Meaning that within 10 minutes of meeting they are rumpusing and playing. That you can feed them a biscuit when they are side by side without anyone getting grumpy. That in tight spaces like doorways they are still nice to each other.
Good luck!

That's great advice! In general, two siblings would do worse together as well, but since these ones have been separated for awhile and weren't raised together, they may do alright. I'd try to make the introductions off territory for both dogs. So, have the current owner meet you at a park somewhere (not a dog park with too many other dogs to get in the way) so neither dog is on their own territory. My two male dogs have always done better with having a new dog (male or female) into our home if I introduce them outside before bringing them all inside together.

If you need directions on crate training the new one, I have them posted on my website here: http://www.austinpetsitter.citymax.com/CrateTraining.html

Cara