Considering a second dog, breed advice

[Holdbacktheriver]

We have a 3 year old border terrier. She is very well trained and I feel I could now cope with another dog. I think she'd really benefit from a canine companion as she often goes weeks not seeing another dog (live in the arse end of nowhere) but when she does I can see how much she loves it.

My question is do I stick with the same breed or go for something different? We have a bit more space now (moved recently) and dh has always fancied a springer or a boxer, but we aren't sure if these are compatible breeds and obviously don't want to upset our existing dog.

Any advice greatly appreciated

[Pollydonia]

Same as you , but I've got a lab cross and am thinking of a second dog. My boy gets to socialise a lot and loves other lab type breeds.
How much excercise does your girl need? We've been advised to go for a breed that needs a similar amount to our boy. We're thinking of going down the rescue route.

[Justmadeperfectflapjacks]

Why not take your ddog with you to a few rescue places and let them choose?
Don't bet your ddog will agree on your theory that they actually want a full time friend.
Years ago my dm got a puppy and ddog bloody hated it til her dying day!!

[Holdbacktheriver]

I would love a rescue but the only ones that will entertain us with young dc are greyhound rescue. Dd and I absolutely love them but DH and the other DC aren't keen.

Exercise wise she'll happily go for a couple of hours walk a day but equally on the rare occasion I've had to just do 30/45 mins she's ok with that. The norm for her is an hour walk in the morning and 10 minutes in the early evening and of course a good play in the garden. This obviously could become an issue though if we went for a breed that needed a lot of exercise as she gets older as it could mean separate walks to meet both dogs needs?

Flapjack you make a very good point with regards to her actually not liking permanent company. We have borrowed a friends dog for the weekend and plan on doing this a few more times before we make a decision. I have never had an only dog before always had two or three at a time so it does feel strange to me that she doesn't have any doggy company.

[CornflakeHomunculus]

Both springers and boxers need a fair amount of exercise so if you're wanting something with similar needs to your BT they may not be the best choice.

If you fancy something a bit different but similar in terms of exercise needs have you considered a whippet or whippet lurcher? The latter especially you can find quite a lot in rescues, there are several lurcher specific rescues that cover most of the UK and will rehome all over the place.

A whippet may not be a popular suggestion if greyhounds didn't go down well but exercise-wise they'd be a great fit and they are absolutely lovely little dogs.

[Justmadeperfectflapjacks]

We have 3 ddogs.
I had a grumpy rotty when I met dh.
He wanted a husky but I wasn't sure how grumpy would adapt.
We got a lurcher puppy a month after the husky and the 3 get on fab and always have. Grumpy can be just that whenever she wants and the other 2 are happy with each other!!
So - consider getting another 2 and it makes for a better set up imo!!

[allfurcoatnoknickers]

How about a foster? That's how we got our second dog. GirlDog hated Foster dog 1, wasn't a good energy level match for foster 2 but it was third time lucky for foster dog 3. Although, I'm pretty sure that she thinks BoyDog is her pet rather than her companion

[LumelaMme]

On the separate walks issue, I walk our younger dog for a long stretch in the morning, and both he and the ancient dog get a fifteen minute trundle in the evening. This can be apart or together, depending on who's home.

[SirVixofVixHall]

Why not another border? The breed clearly suits you, and ime they get on well together. Terriers are very high energy so often pair up well.

[Holdbacktheriver]

Thanks for all the replies

I love whippets but we had contacted a couple of breeders prior to getting our BT but they didn't feel the breed was right for us.

It's good to see that the separate walks issue can be worked around as ddog gets older and less able to keep up.

I think ultimately we will probably end up with another border. I have grown up with them and my aunt was a breeder. I fancied a change as I've had a couple of broke the mould type dogs, however I don't want to bring in the wrong dog.

[Holdbacktheriver]

Just realised I missed the foster suggestion sorry.

I'm not sure we would be able to do that as we have young DC? We are unable to rehome due to this unless we have a grey which isn't a popular choice with the rest of the family

[CornflakeHomunculus]

I love whippets but we had contacted a couple of breeders prior to getting our BT but they didn't feel the breed was right for us.

That's a shame, did they explain why and is it something that might be less of an issue now?

[MikeUniformMike]

How about another border terrier? If she's not been neutered why not let her have a litter and keep a female pup and sell the rest.

[CornflakeHomunculus]

If she's not been neutered why not let her have a litter and keep a female pup and sell the rest.

Having a litter has absolutely no benefits whatsoever for the bitch (only risks) and breeding responsibly takes a huge amount of time, effort and dedication. Not to mention the financial cost, which can mount up very quickly indeed. It's not a quick or easy route to a new puppy.

[MikeUniformMike]

SIL let her dog have one litter and she made a few bob out of it. The puppy they kept is gorgeous. Mum and daughter get on great.

It's not a quick or easy way to a new puppy but they will almost certainly get on, and you know the pup's history.

[CornflakeHomunculus]

SIL let her dog have one litter and she made a few bob out of it.

Then chances are she was either cutting corners somewhere (even if only through naïvety) or there are costs (like loss of earnings from staying at home with the litter or all the extra utilities) she's forgotten to take into consideration when totting up.

It's extremely unusual to breed responsibly and turn any kind of profit.

[Holdbacktheriver]

She has been spayed. We only want our dogs as pets. I know the amount of work involved in breeding and I'm not confident I could do it well. I also think I would have trouble letting go of the pups.

Cornflake they just said we weren't a good fit for the breed. Didn't feel we knew enough about them (even though I had done a lot of research) and couldn't offer their pups a good enough home and didn't feel we would be able to offer adequate exercise(apparently 2-3 hours spare a day wasn't enough) and suggested I look at toy breeds. I think the DC may have played a part with regards to possible noise/taking up my time?

[Holdbacktheriver]

That or they just didn't like me very much

[CornflakeHomunculus]

I was wondering if it was going to be something to do with managing prey drive (which is something you need to take into consideration with whippets, even the show bred ones can be ferocious when it comes to small furries) but I'm surprised at the responses you got.

An hour a day (plus playtime in the garden and an evening potter) would do my three just fine, as long as a good chunk of the hour walk was off lead so they could really stretch their legs. They're really flexible when it comes to exercise, they'll go for hours given the opportunity but are equally happy to settle down after a twenty minute blast over the fields when we're dodging bad weather.

It was one of the major factors in us choosing them as a breed, we specifically didn't want something that needed vast amounts of exercise every day to be content.

[Holdbacktheriver]

They do seem a good fit for us. There were only 2 breeders local to us at the time and both said the same thing. I'm guessing they spoke to each other but still I have always discounted them because of it. We have relocated so I could try contacting new breeders but I do worry that the first two were right and I should leave well alone. Having said that toy breeds I don't feel are right with young DC I'd be worried they'd get stepped on by my clumsy kids!

[CornflakeHomunculus]

The breed clubs are generally a good starting point when you're looking for breeders. As whippets are pretty popular there's the national club as well as several regional clubs. The clubs generally have quite strict codes of ethics which they require members to adhere to when breeding so you've got a better chance of finding someone reputable by going through them.

It's worth going along to some shows or race/lure coursing meets (depending which type you'd be after) as well and chatting to some owners/breeders. I've always found that people are more than happy to have a good natter about their dogs once they've been in the ring

It is worth being prepared to travel to find someone reputable who is producing the type of pups that would be a good fit for you. A good supportive breeder is worth their weight in gold!!

[Holdbacktheriver]

Thank you for the links, I'll take a look

[JazzAnnNonMouse]

We rescued from abroad - we have 3 small children ( 5 3 and 7 months!)
They take each family and situation independently rather than having a blanket no under 8 etc rule which is what quite a few UK rescues I looked into seemed to say.

We now have 2 Romanian dogs from silverpaws rescue charity. They've been great, offer life long support and have behaviourists on hand if needed you can message at any time day or night.
Our 2 have been brilliant.