Two dogs?

[patterdaleperson12]

Already have a beautiful red Patterdale boy named Kasper, hence the slightly odd nickname, he is around 2 yrs now and I would really like to get a companion of the same breed. Have heard though that terriers can be difficult to integrate with each other, anyone had the experience of having two terriers, would you recommend it?

thanks a lot

My mum has 2 terriers ( JRTxborders ) , they're brother and sister and generally get on very well . However they have over the tears had some big fall outs which have resulted in vets visits and on one occasion a hospital visit for my sister wo intervened. These incidents are over nothing , one just looks at the other the wrong way IYSWIM. I have a x Patterdale from Battersea who's 2.5 and I'd like a second but he definitely wouldn't. He likes other dogs but not in his house and not all the time.

I have two terriers (sort of!), a staffie x and a JRT x whippet. They are both rescues and I was advised that it had more chance of working out with a male and a female. I did know that my older girl is good with puppies though before we adopted the baby. They are getting along very well a month in, but I did have to carefully manage access to toys and food to begin with, and am still gradually introducing more sharing time. They also have lots of separate time in different parts of the house. I control the amount of play and time spent together to avoid the various issues that you can get in a multidog household, e.g. pup overbonding to adult dog, fighting, guarding.

I was advised that two dogs is more than twice the work and would agree. I am enjoying it but if you want two well adjusted dogs it's essential to continue to walk and train them separately as well as together, especially in the early days.

Thanks for advice, if I do get another, I will definitely get a girl to avoid territorial fighting etc.. In terms of leaving them when you go away, is separation a good policy if you don't want friends to be burdened with a huge workload?

I love having two, my dogs are a border terrier girl and a cocker spaniel boy, I had the border first, I wouldnt get another terrier to be honest, I know of 2 people who have had 2 terriers and it has gone very wrong, mind you they were both males in both cases.

I have six. Four Skye Terriers & two Yorkies who are really toys but think they're terriers
No problems at all with them, probably cos they all agree that the tiniest Yorkie is the boss & all do as she says.

But I did used to have a different mix of Skyes, Cairns & Yorkies, seven altogether, they got on really well except for two of them who fought like demons given half a chance. Twas always the same little madam who kicked it off. I lost the top of a thumb breaking them up once.

wow, still doesn't cover the issue of going away though.. Aquelven where did you leave them when you went away?

Thanks, sorry for persistant q's.. all v.helpful though

They stay at home. My DS comes to look after them.

hmm, great well thanks all for advice, will consider the terrier part of the other dog now..

thanks!

I have 2 JRTs, but they are mother and daughter. They are fine although the daughter who is 1 year old, can be a bit feisty about her squeaky squirrel if her mum dares walk near it! We put them in kennels when we go away, they go in the same one together as they sleep together.

That's encouraging, I seem to have uncovered that terriers are likely to scrap over food and toys etc. So I probably wouldn't go down the rescue root this time. Firstly though, if they do get into some fights over resources, are there ways of minimising the effects of this by feeding them separately, making sure they know that you're the leader..

I seem to be unfortunately keen on the idea of having two little terriers..

Mine aren't that bothered about food so don't fight over it. But they have their own bowls and are fed on other side of the room to each other. If they lick a plate or casserole dish for example before it goes in the dishwasher, then only one can have it or there would be lots of teeth showing going on.

My dogs have different personalities and after their long morning walk, the mum just goes straight upstairs and gets on a bed and sleeps till the school run at 3.15. The pup plays a bit, patrols the windows to bark at people and tries to get on my lap the whole time. I'm hoping she'll get quieter as she matures. Long, long walks across fields with rabbity hedge lines are definitely the answer to terrier harmony I think. Bored , unexercised terriers are a scrap waiting to happen!