What sort of dog would work well with our dog?

[maristella]

We have a 1 year old black lab. He's great
We are thinking of getting another dog so he has company and a playmate when we're out.

Should I be looking at a female or male?
Should I be looking for a similar or varied age?
How much of an issue is the breed? Would love a smallish spaniel.

[ApplesAndBears]

I would say get a female puppy. We did this for our 1 yr old lab and it's worked out very well, he 'mothered' her at first which helped them to bond. Spaniels have a lot of energy from what I understand...

[ginauk84]

Usually best to have one of each gender so a female would probably work better. Re: ages just be aware that if you have 2 a similar age then you could end up losing two dogs at the same time so I like a 3/4 year age gap. I don't think breed would be an issue really.

[maristella]

Thank you. That is a good point about the age gaps. This is my first ever dog and I honestly didn't expect to love him as much as I do, and in all truth a small factor in wanting another is that I know one day I'll lose him

[OrangeFireandGoldashes]

I would go for a female, whatever breed you like, but I would wait for at least another year; partly to give yourself more of a gap as mentioned but also because it's not uncommon for Labs to go through a proper testing-the-boundaries 'Kevin' phase during their second year which can last a few months, so you might want to wait until he's beyond that stage and all his training etc is 100% established before you start to go through it all again with a new puppy.

[VeganCow]

Go for a small breed female, something like a cocker spaniel would be nice, and get from a puppy :)

[ipswitch]

I have an 8 year old black lab boy and when he was one we added a westie girl to our family.

Best decision we ever made. They love each other so much and are inseperable. Westie thinks shes a lab too and is a grubby little monster. She is very doggy and funny where as he is half human and very sensitive and wants to please us.

Two dogs are 100% better than one. Our westie probably manages longer walks than our lab now as he has an arthritic elbow.

[SilverSky]

I would wait until your current dog is at least 2.5-3yrs old as he is till maturing and pretty much an adolescent until then.

[fengirl1]

I'm going against the grain here, but would say get a male. If it's young enough, the older dog would 'mother' it anyway (unless it's a naturally aggressive dog). A spaniel would work very well with a lab.