Second Dog?

moomin5

I started as a first time dog owner adopting a pair of brothers, but when we lost one of our lads this year i didn't really notice much difference in workload as for most tasks your already doing it for one, though its a bit easier to take 1 dog places than 2 when large. Initially while a new dog settles in & perhaps needs some extra training it may feel harder but that stage should pass.

I much prefer having 2 as enjoy watching them play & interact and their different personalities. I recently adopted a 3yr girl grey as friend to our 5yr old lad, he was a bit sulky first few days but then accepted her. We had introduced them a couple of times before bringing her home and looked for a personality which balanced his as well as suiting us.

hethmar

We have always had 2 or 3 together. When we lost our last girl on her 16th birthday we planned to "never again" go through that but Ralph, disabled pup turned up 6 weeks later and then of course, we had to adopt another rescue to keep him company Its great if you have a pair that get on - they dont have to be terrific joined by the hip mates - in our case the disabled boy is top dog and keeps the playful diggs in his place but they obviously have a great bond. Strangely enough, we took Ralph for his booster yesterday (diggs isnt due for two more months) and after the vet gave him the jab and then a general check out, he spent a long time listening to his heart (and we panicked). He then said he was interested in the fact that he noted two or more dogs living together tend to end up with the same heart beat! He then tested diggs and said, yes, it was just the same I spose they just tune into each others personality and become settled.

SO, after all that wandering - yes, get yourself another dog but make sure they are suited first The rescue will let you meet up several times with the dogs to ensure this. It is fascinating to watch how they interplay and it must give them a lot more interest in their lives to have a mate around the place.

Humphrey10

Two are no more trouble than one - apart from when they are both on leads and decide to get all tangled up together! When we had two, it was lovely to see them playing together.

orlao

Slightly different but when I lost my middle aged (13) JRT earlier this year I put the word out to a local rescue that I was looking for another dog - the catch was that it would have to get on with a frail 20 year old JRT female and also be able to cope with a male 7 yo bouncy rott (don't ask for much do I?:rotfl:) While there was no great urgency, I was very aware that the old girl can't go on forever and that the rott had never been on his own and that it might be easier to have a companion for him in place in advance.

Well, a couple of days later I got a call to say that an 8 yo JRT had just been handed in and would I like to bring mine to meet him. All good at the rescue, studious ignoring all round. So I brought him home on trial/foster and then the fun started. He's a typical male terror, full of attitude and noise! He's settled in very well, taken a few months tbh. The very first day, he was put on his back by the old dog when he tried to hump her and he tormented the rott (who is a very good natured dog!) by stealing every toy from his mouth. Now they are very good friends who play tug of war - JRT always wins - and chase. He sleeps curled up with the old girl. We are working on the training, he is nervous aggressive on a lead and can be a bit OTT with strange dogs, the yapping at everything is MUCH improved. Upsides were that he has been spotless in the house, no chewing except of toys,is very good with people and loves kids and is very gentle with them.

It has to be said that my dogs were always very used to visiting dogs though as I used to foster for a rescue so I've never been too worried about bringing another dog into the house...

pulliptears

My Westie Bob was 3 when we bought our Scottie, Jack. They got on fine from the start, Bob was a fairly laid back dog anyway and wasn't phased at all by Jack's appearance. We did all the usual 'pet bob first' 'feed bob first' to try and reinforce his position as pack leader, only Bob really couldn't be bothered and was happy for Jack to take that role.

Jack is bigger than Bob, and though he is the younger dog he is Bob's protector. They go everywhere together and cry for each other when apart. I don't think 2 are much harder work than 1, though walking them can be fun as Jack likes to be there tomorrow and Bob is happy to dawdle along lol

GemBlueTopaz1984

Hi,

We weren't sure about a second one, we were worried Molly our 18 month old black lab would be jealous. But she is so much happier with him, he is her friend that doesn't go out to work that she can play tuggy with and when tired can cuddle up to below is my fav pic of them both.

chookmom

I convinced myself 2 wouldn't be any more trouble than 1.
I have no regrets but you can't get away from the fact that there's twice as much dog hair everywhere and twice as many muddy paws to clean and after a muddy winter walk cleaning and drying them seems to take as much time as the walk itself!

Greyhorse

I have two and I would say that yes 2 can be harder than 1 definatley.


I am a vet nurse and have an older german shepherd whom is 8 this year. I then fell in love with a little collie who was due to be pts at work and ended up 'fostering' him out of the pound.
My tolerate eachother although I have to be careful to keep both in line or they play too rough and older boy gets grumpy. I have also found things like training harder as dog number 1 gets upset if I spend time with 2 and vice versa. I also cant throw a ball as they fight over who got there first.
Obviously if you got two closer in age then maybe this could be avoided but a clash of personalities is something to concider.
Also there is cost (my rescue had never been in a home and ate everything I owned, plus ate a stone and had to have it removed!) and time to concider.

Good points however is that they do keep eachother entertained when I am busy and they do protect eachother when we are out! It has also been very rewarding taking on a rescue and little dog has brought a whole new lease of life to my old boy who now jumps about like a pup again

scheming_gypsy

needing-help wrote: »

. I have a neutered male already so I'm not sure whether it would be best to get a female.

Females like to be the dominant one; and that's where my problems started!!
There's food aggression which resulted in fights and blood and two separate cages to feed them in. Domination that's lead to a few fights and trashed sofa's as one's a lot smaller than the other so he jumps on the sofa when they play. If he's on the sofa he's the same height

Even though they've had their moments and problems i wouldn't swap them for all the tea in Tescos. They get on great and play with each other till they collapse and fall asleep.

needing-help

Thank you all for the positives and negitives. It all really helped.

Fire Fox fostering is a great idea, I will look into it.

GemBlue That picture is so nice, they look so cute. Maybe I could just have them;)

Thanks all and I will let you know:D