What's it like going from one dog to two?

IsoChick

POSSETTE wrote: »

..yes agree with spoil them equally,BUT you should always have a Top dog,the more dominant,usually older dog, and you should reinforce this by giving Top dog his dinner bowl first then few seconds later the other dog.They would feed like that if in wild. Same with putting leads onTD first.Our TD gets his biscuit first when they are sat down too. Each one knows his place and they get on fine now.Its actually our youngest who is TD now,my [strike]baby[/strike]sorry,older boy is just too wimpy to fight!:rolleyes:

Our boys get fed etc at the same time, leads and collars go on whoever is nearest first. They have no dominance or aggression issues. In a way, I'm the top dog, as I control the food etc (although I'm not, because I'm a human not a dog).

hethmar

Well you are what Caesar would call the Pack Leader Iso

allIcouldwishfor

kr15snw wrote: »

We got 2 springer puppies together .....

:eek: :eek: :eek:

IsoChick

hethmar wrote: »

Well you are what Caesar would call the Pack Leader Iso

I suppose, but I'm not a dog, so I'm not their pack leader!!

Also, I let them go out a door before me, get on the sofa etc, which apparantly CM doesn't approve of!!

hethmar

One thing that dog "experts" usually advise is not to get two pups from the same litter as there will be competition from the start.

MRSCARNEY

We've got 3 Springers, one who is nearly 5 and two sisters who are 17 months (although we got them 6 months apart but that's a long story)

Things to consider - extra cost, more room needed for their beds and bowls (or in our case a bigger human bed as they all sleep on there).

Ours all get on fine now. We had a bit of sulking from our older one when we got the first of the sisters but then she had just lost her mum 2 days earlier and she was very much out of sorts as were we. It took a couple of weeks before she would lie on the same settee as the new dog but we had no such problems when we introduced the 3rd dog.

1sue23

I have always had 2 or more dogs ,2 springers and a german shepherd I am also fostering a border collie at this time the farmer was going to shoot her, no chance she came home with me and she is so gentle and loving she gets on very well with my springers and cats I just need to persuade Megan my very elderly german shepherd to accept her .
It is very hard work but I do not work and so I have plenty of time for walking them and training them ,I do not have the mess in the house as they are all outdoor dogs but the kennel area needs cleaning out daily and the grooming takes up a lot of my time ,I have always been dog mad so the hard work is worth it.

arlybarly

I also started off many years ago with a beautiful doberman called tyson who sadly had a tumour so we new he hadnt got long so we bought our baby boy alsation simba and bot did tyson have fun with him the last few months of his life. Not long after we bought chloe to keep simba company and when simba died 2 years ago she was very upset as she didnt have her friend to play, sleep run with. Then we bought our new alsation scruff and it was like a light go on in chloes head, she adored him and has taught him manners and they had great fun together,

Sadly chloe had to be pts 2 weeks ago at the age of 13 and the new pup has gone really quiet so we are now on the lookout for another dog. I miss having 2 dogs asnd i think you cant beat them for company for each other. It is a lot more expensive with 2 dogs but if u can afford it then go for it, Good luck whatever you decide, x

libbyc3

having read all the postives in this thread thought i would give you the other side!!
we have a beautiful, well behaved laid back labrador aged 4 and 6 months ago decided he needed a friend.:eek:
we now have his friend - the furball of destruction known as a cocker spaniel.
my lab has always loved being sociable with other dogs - we often look after friends or family's while they are away but about a week after the pups arrival he became very depressed - drooling, hiding under our bed and generally moaning. we made a huge fuss over him - loads of walks, hugs, etc but it took him a month to decide to be friends with the pup.
training pup has been extremely hard (could be difference of breed), but i have also found that my lab has decided 'if she can do it i can do it too!!'
much as she is part of the family now and we wouldn't part with her (though if someone had asked this afternoon when i found her on the dining table eating a banana out of the fruit bowl!?!) i'm not sure i would have got another dog.
for me 2 is definatley more than twice the work of one - i am waiting to come out the other end of the puppy stage before i would recommend it.

IsoChick

libbyc3 wrote: »

i am waiting to come out the other end of the puppy stage before i would recommend it.

This is a very important point!! You are often better off waiting until your current dog is through the puppy/adolescent stage before bringing another pup in! You run the risk of your current dog regressing to puppyhood, which sounds fun, but isn't!