Can I afford another dog?

[Tordub]

Hi,

I’m looking for advice from people who’ve got multiple dogs. We have a female staffie already and recently came across a beautiful male dog from a Greek shelter who we would love to adopt. Not sure of the breed but looks like a husky/ collie cross or even a husky/ st Bernard cross (I’ll post a picture).

Thing is, I’ve never owned multiple dogs and I’ve got no idea how my current dog will react, she’s also a rescue and is quite dominant and house guards, she can play quite roughly but I am strict with her.
Does anyone have experience of introducing new dogs? Assuming it’s best for them to meet in a neutral setting first?

Realistically how much extra will food cost? he’s apparently 40kg. I’m guessing about £50-70 month total for two dogs

Also I’d need to get insurance, we currently spend £30 per month, does anyone know of cheap insurance for multiple dogs?

I guess dog walking and dog sitting will also be more expensive when we need it so am factoring that in. I normally work from home but there will be times I’ll need to go into the office, can you leave two dogs alone together or is it best to have them in separate rooms? I’d be worried that they’d end up fighting if unsupervised.

Photo attached

Can you not just adopt a UK dog?

Surely you just roughly double the cost of one dog? Only you know if you can afford that.

Agree you absolutely must introduce/have a trial period first.

I've only ever taken on additional dogs that were significantly younger than resident dogs so new dogs tend to have been mothered by older female dogs or largely ignored by older males. That's always gone well.

Yes I would just double the cost really. You may get some small discount from insurance, dog sitters for two dogs but I imagine it would be negligible really.

It’s also double flea, worming, vaccinations. I’d quite like a second dog but have to pay for weekly day care twice a week so the cost are already high enough!

Lovely looking dog by the way!

Agree with Snarky - insurance discounts are negligible. If you're only paying £30 pcm now there won't be scope for much discount anyway.

Most vets do a plan for routine stuff like annual vaccinations, flea, worming. We pay around £20 pcm for each of those (on top of monthly insurance premiums of about £50/£60.)

Also consider what limits your insurance policy has and whether you want to pay more for a more comprehensive one or whether you can afford to pay for anything your insurance doesn't. For example we passed a £6k maximum claim for a particular ailment with one dog. And operations can be very expensive (think £3-4K for a cruciate). And teeth tend only to be covered for trauma rather than neglect.

Not trying to put you off but it astounds me how expensive dog owning is!

We've 4 dogs 😅😅 it's not a massive additional expense really, Once you can afford the extra food and insurance. We also have a good bit of savings for the vets as well , the more dogs you have the bigger chance of one of them needing care.

Yeah I guess it’s a matter of doubling the costs really with some discounts possible for insurance or the vet, I will do some research. I guess one major problem is going away, it might be hard to get someone to take two dogs on, I’d likely have to book two separate sitters.

I really want this dog, he looks so docile (which would be very different to my current dog). Another thing I worry about is my current dog has bad separation anxiety, would this rub off in a new dog?

@romdowa can you recommend any insurance for multiples or do you put money aside into savings instead? Also what do you do for dog sitting or if you need to leave the house for a few hours? Do you leave them alone in the same room?

My sister has 6 dogs. It's expensive!

I really want this dog, he looks so docile

It was a genuine question I raised about re homing a dog from the UK. What happens when this dog comes over from Greece, isn't docile and doesn't fit your current situation?

Youd need to factor in additional grooming costs looking at the coat and presumably bigger than a staffy so will eat more. Plus you dont know the background so may get to the point of needing a trainer as well at some point.

Yeah definitely would get a trainer, the rescue looks quite good as give you access to a free behaviourist for one month- better than our last rescue who did nothing to help with our dogs behaviour. She was lunatic when we first got her.

I think if you have to question whether you can afford another dog then sadly, you probably can't without stretching your budget

Also, I'd be very wary about introducing a new dog into your home with your current dog given what you've said. If your current dog has separation anxiety and guarding issues, a second dog is likely to heighten these problems

Introducing a new dog really does depend on the personalities of both dogs

For example, I rescued a lovely boy last year. He's 8 years old and my current dog is 12.

Existing dog can be a bit curmudgeonly and isn't a huge fan of other dogs, especially if they are boisterous or don't give him space

We met new dog for a walk a few times and watched how they interacted with each other. After a few initial greeting sniffs they largely ignored each other and got on with the walk.

When new boy came to stay for a trial, that behaviour continued, he has the same personality as existing dog - laid back, likes his own space, chilled etc

For this reason, both dogs get on well. They coexist peacefully, share food etc and are both relaxed and happy

Do you know how big the dog is and do you have the space?

Also would you be able to keep it mentally stimulated? Collies are (normally) very clever dogs who want to work.

If it is crossed with a sledge dog, the recall is likely to be poor (as a sledge dog that keeps coming back to you isn't very good for pulling sledges).

If it is crossed with a Saint Bernard, are you able to look after a large tank that wants to keep rounding things up?

Is your current dog good with large dogs? If she isn't then she definitely wont appreciate one in the house.

Do your carpets match the colour of the potential new dog, as it's likely to SHED and your carpets will change colour and you may need to buy a better vacuum cleaner?

These are all great things to consider. I am hoping to call the rescue tomorrow to find out more about the breed they think he is because I know some breeds are hard work. My current dog has amazing, almost perfect recall so I would find it difficult if the new didn’t. My current dog also needs a lot of stimulation so not worried about that as I’m quite active and enjoy training/ providing dog toys/ hide and seek kind of games, I think the main thing I’m worried about is costs and if I had to ever hire a dog sitter/ walker. I use a dig walker sometimes and also have found BorrowMyDoggy to be useful. I just worry it will difficult to get people to take on two dogs.

My dog is quite hyper at times but mostly when outdoors, indoors she’s very chilled- that might change if indoors with another fig though.

What happens when this dog comes over from Greece, isn't docile and doesn't fit your current situation?

I presumed the dog was already in the country with a rescue that would help settle it in, offer advice and support, and take the dog back if it didn't work out.

I hope that's the case op?

It takes a rescue 3 months to settle into their new environment, so a behaviourist for one month really could be scratching the surface. You don’t know the history of the dog so you could be looking at months of training/behaviourist to help the rescue fog or your existing dog if she doesn’t take well to the new dog.

It might also not be as simple as doubling the costs. How much bigger is the dog you’re looking at than your other dog. If you dog other dog is 20kg and this dog is 40kg, your food bill will likely be 3x higher. You also need to consider if one of the dogs ends up on specialist food due to allergies. Or the new dog you’re looking at might need a large breed food.

I have two dogs - one who is 4 and one who is a puppy (10 months). Both dogs are on the same food but puppy is on the puppy version and he’s going through a lot more food than the older one due to his size and breed. Our food bill went from £35 a month to about £90-100 a month. Insurance - the insurance company to insure the puppy with the same company as the older dog was ridiculously expensive. Our older dog had some ear infections when she was a pup and also had a grass seed in her ear, as a result if we tried to change providers they will exclude all ear conditions from her cover. Speaking to the provider of the puppy’s insurance, they wanted to exclude the older dog for anything to do with ears and all skin conditions (for which she has never been to the vets for). So we have no multi-dog discount for insurance and they’re with two different providers. Puppy’s breed and size means his insurance is more expensive than the older ones to begin with - older ones insurance is £35 and puppy’s is £50 a month. We do get a discount with the dog walker. We paid £12 a walk with one dog and £17 a walk for two dogs but this isn’t enough to cancel the increased costs of puppy food and insurance and doesn’t pull the cost back down to double the amount.

The dog looking docile doesn’t really mean anything. I can show a photo of my puppy looking docile but I can also show you a video of him charging through the house for 5 mins or tell you the times he’s tried to climb the bookshelf. A photo tells you nothing.

I foster dogs and people said “oh you’ll just want to keep them all” but in all honesty there were dogs I’d have paid people to adopt. Perfectly decent dogs that terrorised my poor dog by just standing in a doorway and he was too intimidated to pass. They were all fine dogs but just didn’t fit in with my household or family. So remember, the dog on the first day is a very different beast from the more settled dog, and it’s very hard to tell what will fit in with your lifestyle until you try it.

If you're asking whether you can afford it then you probably can't.

Aren't there an abundance of unwanted dogs in the uk already?

I presumed the dog was already in the country with a rescue that would help settle it in, offer advice and support, and take the dog back if it didn't work out.

That may be the case, it may not. OP has ignored any questions relating to the subject of the dog being a Greek rescue.

My vet told me the unwanted behaviour always spreads to the second dog, never the other way. I stuck with my separation anxiety- riddled GSD. Couldn't possibly have managed two the same!

I’ve been told the dog is very docile, that’s why I said it. He also looks docile so that’s also why I said it. Doesn’t matter anyway as behavioural problems don’t bother me, my current dog was one of those dogs you’d pay for someone to adopt, she was an extremely terrified, bratty, boisterous dog but is now mostly fine and gets on with other dogs most of the time.

I just spoke to the rescue and they said the dog will be in Greece and won’t be coming over until we buy her basically, so that’s something to think about since I won’t get to meet the dog first. They did say that they do lifetime rehoming so will take him back no problem and rehome in the UK if it came to that. They also keep in touch with you to help you with integration, they seem great actually- much more vigilant and personable than my previous rescue centre.

So the dog is not even in the country but you are willing to have it shipped over because it might be 'docile'?

Crazy.

There are dogs already in the UK needing homes.

@covidcloser you clearly have some processing issues, I’ve not actually said I’m willing to take the dog just yet and I’m clearly thinking about my decision carefully hence posting here for advice. You haven’t helped or offered any constructive advice on this thread.

Please go and find a friend or a hobby