Is two as easy as one?

[Arabellasmella]

Hi all just wondered what people think about having two dogs? We have a collie terrier cross who will be one in august, he was a rescue dog and we've had him since march. We love him lots and he has fitted in beautifully. The thing is he loves other dogs and I can't stop thinking about getting another one as a doggy friend for him. Just wondering what the reality of this is like? Will we be making life harder for ourselves or will it be like babies and two being as easy as one??? Love to hear your thoughts ta!

We find two very easy. But they are mum and baby boy and are very close to each other. Eat from the same bowl, sleep together, play together.

It is more work than having one dog, though. Have to make sure each gets enough attention. Vet visits are more frequent as well. Plus food definitely costs twice as much. But other than that, a real pleasure

We found going from one to two very easy, slightly harder going from two to three Obviously you need to consider the financial aspect - there'll be the aspects of insurance, kennel costs when you go on holiday, and of course food. It also depends on whether or not you regularly use a dog walker (so extra costs) and of course the size of your existing car. Having said that we used to have a lovely friend who squeezed two greyhounds into a Ford Ka - never quite sure how that happened!

In terms of walking and social side, it was a breeze - we did the same amount of walking (just with more poo bags!) and they loved spending time with each other. I think what made it easy is that they were both adult dogs with similar requirements (both greyhounds) so easy to fit in together. I think it might be more of a challenge when dogs are different breeds/big age gap/one is a pup etc.

Also it depends on your set up in terms of looking after when you have occasional days out - it is definitely harder to find people willing to dog sit three (or even two) dogs as opposed to one, and your options are more restricted when looking for things like holiday cottages.

Due to bereavement, we've recently gone down from three to two, and it feels ridicolously easy, and we are already considering options for a third dog e.g. foster etc..

Fostering is actually a nice way of dipping your toe in the water. You can try it, you know you are helping a dog into a forever home, and you are not saddled with a permanent extra dog if it is not for you. Also the rescue will cover food and vets bills - might be worth thinking about?

We have two. It is better for them in some ways, as they have each other for company when we are out. But, one is very jealous, and gets upset if we give the other one attention.

I would always have two together now though; I do think it is better for the dogs to have company.

I have two, it's fine they love one another!! Reasonable age gap though, no way I'd have two babies dog!!

We have two and in some ways they are easier than with just one. We adopted the first (a whippet) when he was a year old and got the second (a greyhound x whippet) a year later. The rescue estimated the second at 6 years old, so obviously they were both adult dogs by the time we got number 2. As both are similar breeds, they are quite similar in terms of needs and temperament which I think helps.

We walk both at the same time, so we don't need to do twice as many walks or anything like that and whippetty is much happier being left now than he was.

I would say though, you haven't had the first for very long yet and being only 1 he still has to finish going through adolescence. I would therefore suggest waiting for a little bit yet and look at getting another in a year's time or so.

For the first few days it felt about 10x as hard as one! To start with I couldn't walk them both together on my own as new dog had clearly not been walked much on the lead and needed some training, had to figure out a system for feeding them without one trying to grab the other's food, had to be careful with toys etc in case of a fight, and there was a bit of conflict until they got used to each other so had to be in separate rooms if we were not supervising.

Once we all got used to the situation though, things settled down and it's not really much more difficult than one. They seem to enjoy each other's company and it's lovely to see them interact. It is definitely more expensive though.

(do you really think two babies are as easy as one??)

Many Tears seem to have lots of dogs that need a dog companion in their new home. If it were me, I would definintely be investigating that. Scuttlebutters idea of fostering is great!

In some ways it's ok as they keep each other company when were out but in other ways it's harder.
We took some wrong advice and got a male when we had a female and he's quite dominating in that he'll push her out of the way if she's eating and gets protective over her on walks. She's quite a sociable dog and will happily mix with other digs, he on the other hand wants it on his terms.
I think it's the luck if the draw on the temperament if the dogs and if it will be easy or not. We've spent a fortune on training and are very strict with him but he makes being a dog owner a nightmare tbh.

I should say he's very soft with the children and outs up with a lot, I do always remove the 2 and 6 ye old from his bed and from his neck but he never growls at them and licks them! Yuck!

Thanks all, some real food for thought there. You have egged me on nicely!! Just hoping we can get one with as lovely a personality as our Edward. I like the idea of fostering, will get in touch with the rescue place we got him from and start from there.

I've never had just one dog & would say that they are no different to people in that some get on together, some don't so well. It's all down to individual personality.
They mostly get on fine. I have five all living together at present very happily, and they're terriers!
But if you do get two that take a dislike to each other, especially with two bitches, it can be very hard to get them to accept each other, even then when you think it's settled down, you often get fights erupting now & again. I lost the tip of a finger breaking up one such fight years ago!

I think most rescue centres let you take a dog on trial & that would be a good idea to see if your dog will get on with that particular new one.

I got a 2nd dog partly because I thought that my first would enjoy having another dog in the house, I imagined them curled up together and such like...

Well that certainly didn't happen! I think she thought I'd got her a new squeaky toy! She told him very clearly that there would be no snuggling or sharing, if he picked up a toy she'd take it off him, but she did enjoy chasing him round the garden. She didn't hate him at all but made it clear she was top dog (bitch) so it wasn't quite as I envisioned it.

I would say the moral of this tale is get another dog if you want one but accept the fact that it's a bit of a lottery whether your dog will actually thank you for the new family member.

We are now home to 3 dogs. Two are getting on a bit, so we thought we'd get a 3rd. All it means really is that we have more dogs to love and look after. Although they're all the same sort of breed, they all have their little habits/training/behavioural issues which have to be sorted out individually. Our house is very muddy and hairy most of the time and it's harder to go away with such a troupe.

Easy, that's a very good point about the house. Multiple dogs means being quite, um, committed when it comes to housework. And we have three supposedly non shedders....

In this weather especially, it feels like painting the Forth bridge at times..

Ah, so you 'do' housework, Scuttlebutter?! I am the proud owner of a steam cleaner which works brilliantly for excess hair and mud. I am not beholden to my hoover though. It makes such a horrible noise! Our 3 moult for Britain.

Often think it would be easier to just Hoover the dogs.

isn't there a dog-brushing attachment you can attach to a vac hose?