What is it REALLY like having 2 dogs??

[cansleepanywhere]

Our lab bitch is 9 months now and we'd love another. We were thinking of next Jan when my youngest is at nursery weekday mornings so I can do the 'big walk' without the pushchair/backpack. I can handle 1 dog and a pushchair but not 2!

She'd be nearly 2 then....is that a good age?? Bit like having kids in that I don't want to leave too long between them as I'd like them to play together.

If you have 2 dogs, do yours tend to sleep together or will I have to get separate beds? Would I HAVE to do separate walks with a new pup?? I'm happy to take new pup training separately and do little sessions alone in the garden but not sure I can do long walks for current dog and then more for pup....how do you find the time? I was planning on taking pup along and then carrying her/him.

Also is it a bit like having more than 1 kid in that the workload doesn't just double, it goes up tenfold??

Would a smaller dog (i'm thinking cocker/springer) work well? Whatever we get would need to keep up with lab length walks when it's ready. I'd love another lab but not sure we have the space. This morning there were 2 kids, 2 adults and 1 dog on my bed!!! Also would it be better to get a male? Would this increase the chances of them getting along?

Am I mad to want another??

[lucyjack]

I've got 2 dogs. I took on my female dog after a family member decided she no longer wanted her, and got my male dog as a puppy after my old dog died. My dogs are now aged 11 and 6 and just adore each other...though the female IS the boss!

I wouldn't change a thing. It's lovely for the dogs, and they are perfectly manageable. A lead in each hand and away you go!

[moosemama]

I have had between 1 and 3 dogs over the years and currently have 2.

In my experience, most dogs - but not all - benefit greatly from having a canine companion. I am probably a little bit too emotional about it, but I tend to think how I would feel living in a world full of strange creatures that didn't understand my language or habits or I theirs. I just think it's nice for them to have someone they can feel comfortable with, can talk to in their own language and who can keep up with them when they are playing/free-running.

I have only ever had one dog that I felt would genuinely have been happier as an only. She was very much a princess - not of our making, I hasten to add, she just came into the world believing she was royalty and we failed to persuade her otherwise, despite treating her exactly the same as all our other dogs.

We always thought our first dog - a 7 year old rescue GSD bitch, was perfectly happy as an only dog with us, but when we took on a rescue pup a couple of years later it was the absolute making of her.

We currently have an 8 year old Lurcher and a 7 month old Lurcher pup. The elder one does a good impression of being a grumpy old man and not liking the pup much in the house - but absolutely adores him as soon as they get outside and have some room to chase and play and surreptitiously shows signs of genuine affection if he thinks no-one's looking. They have separate beds - the pup is crated and the older one has his own safe-place in a bed under a table - but tend to sleep curled up together on the living room rug of an evening.

[chocolatelime]

We have 2 lab bitches with a 7 year age gap. They get on fine, but it took a while to establish that good relationship. You definitely need 2 beds, obviously your food bill will double & I have got them both insured which is expensive (especially as they get older).

I have put alot of work into training them to walk well on the lead side by side so I can take them anywhere.

Before you take on a second dog, you need to ensure that your first dog is very well trained & will reliably follow your commands. Otherwise, when you get the new addition you will find walking them both together very hard work. Knowing my older girl would listen to me, on or off lead, meant that I could concentrate on the younger dog when out and about.

Definitely my dogs enjoy each other's company, but I wouldn't say that they wear each other out and sometimes I do take the younger dog out separately.

The other thing to consider if you would like a second dog, would be to maybe rehome a slightly older rescue dog? I think that 2 labs with only a 2 year age gap could prove to be quite a handful!

[cansleepanywhere]

Thank you everyone, food for thought indeed!!! It's lovely to hear everyone's responses

This will be happening next January so I've plenty of time to prepare. Just wanted your views. I'm almost persuaded to take on an older dog, bypass the biting/chewing phase but due to the age of my DC's it would have to be the RIGHT dog rather than bringing up a pup the way we want it to be.

We holiday with family in Europe so not a problem re holiday cottages etc. I have to hoover and mop every evening to combat dog hair so not bothered about the extra workload.

Current dog is a work in progress but we've been to training classes every week since she was 12 weeks and will continue going. I enjoy it. The 'problems' she has are due to her age (I think) i.e. wanting to play with every dog we see. She doesn't jump anymore, her recall is great, she walks well on the lead until we see another dog, hasn't chewed anything in months despite not using a crate and is truly gentle with my DCs.

Ooooooh, roll on January!!

[mistlethrush]

If you might be tempted by 'the right' older dog, how about contacting 'appropriate' rescues that have dogs in foster homes (you can be more certain of how its going to get on if its already in a home). Something like a whippet might be ideal - Scruples are a whippet rescue who will rehome (the right dog) with (the right) family. I'm sure there are similar for other breeds. I do a lot with a lurcher rescue which similarly will rehome to families.

[NuttyMuttie]

Technically dogs are NOT pack animals. They are social animals so enjoy company but it does not have to be of their own type.

Pack is used as a term to say that dogs are happy with company and will live together but they do not work as a pack in the traditional sense.

So you do not need to get another dog to keep your dog happy - your dog needs company but human company is better for the dog than having another dog to play with.

[TheKitchenWitch]

I don't think human company is better than dog company, Nutty, they are different and most dogs I think enjoy and get something out of both.

Our 8yo PRT bitch was perfectly happy being an "only", and wasn't at all interested in meeting new dogs, she had a few old friends she knew and was happy to see them but that was about it.
Then in July we got another terrier, a 7mo bitch from a rescue in Spain.

The two of them are fabulous! It's like ddog1 finally has a proper playmate, someone who will do that play-fighting and licking thing with her, run around like mad and then collapse on the sofa and sleep together for an hour. They have a different relationship with each other than they do with me.

To answer the OP's questions: I don't think it's more work, but ddog1 was trained well and ddog2 has picked up everything from her, so training has been quite easy. I walk them together most of the time, then do about 1 walk a week with each on their own, for extra training or play time eg I do agility with ddog1.
More mess, more hair/fur, you need more food (obviously!) and vets bills are double.
But I don't find it more work actually, and the joy in seeing them play together is absolutely worth it. In a way I wish we'd got a second dog a long time ago, but in another way I think we've now got the perfect addition to our family so perhaps we were supposed to wait for her :)

[Bowlersarm]

I think the human company v dog company depends on the dog.

Ddog1 really has no interest in other dogs at all. He isn't interested in meeting new dogs, he tolerates ddog2 but can take or leave her. He adores all humans, would spend his day being cuddled by anyone who would oblige.

Ddog2 dotes on ddog1, and other dogs, quite likes her humans but doesn't like other humans.

[NuttyMuttie]

Human company is way better than dogs for a dog.

Humans throw balls, give treats, feed them, groom them, stroke them, play chase with them, cuddle them, praise them, train them, maybe does agility or dog sports with them, takes them on walks the list goes on.......

Another dog will maybe chase them in play or sniff them gets boring after a while

Not to say that is not a reason to have multiple dogs just that your dog does not "need" a doggy friend

[chocolatelime]

I think that mistlethrush makes a good point about obtaining a rescue dog that has been in a foster home. That allows them to be fully assessed & when they are rehomed to their forever home, they will integrate far more easily. Particularly important if you have young children.

There are so many amazing dogs in rescue. January is always a busy time for most rescues, so please consider it when the time comes.

[cinnamongreyhound]

I've never had two dogs before now but mine greet each other every morning, they curl up together, run together, nibble each other under their chins, play together and I believe genuinely enjoy each other's company. I can't speak for doggy kind but my two are as pleased to see each other if they've been apart as they are to see us if we've been out. I think they get different things from each other than they do from us but benefit from both relationships.

[NumptyNameChange]

OP if you were serious about taking an older dog it might be worth us having a chat. feel free to pm.

[cansleepanywhere]

numpty I can't get another until next Jan when funds and time allow, although I would love one now - we're not ready yet.

[TheKitchenWitch]

Sorry, but I really don't think you can make a blanket statement like that, Nutty as if it's an undisputed fact.
Dogs can have relationships with both humans and other dogs; each relationship will be different and yes, some dogs may prefer one over the other.

[NuttyMuttie]

The Kitchen Witch Tis a scientific fact read coppinger papers for evidence if you need it.

Not saying it need make any difference to the decision to get another dog but just to say that dogs do not need other dog relationships - no biggy

[HotPanda]

I'm the lone voice I think.

We had a 5 year old male dally and earlier this year got a puppy bitch weimeraner.
My poor dally has been plagued by the pup, and so our time is spent refereeing to make sure he gets a break. The pup is 9 months old now and utterly adores our older boy, but he really isn't keen on her.
He loved playing with other dogs, which is why we thought he would like a pup but we were wrong.

I feel terribly, horribly guilty all the time.

Plus, it is so much harder. I found training the dally to be a dream, but with the pup if I take her out to the garden or in another room to do training the dally gets upset that he's been left out yet it is impossible to work on her training when he is there as he will do everything I ask and then mug for treats like a performing monkey.

As someone else said, twice as many bad habits, they don't have the same bad habits as each other.

I don't regret getting the pup as such, she is such an adorable baggage but I do feel bad about the stress it has placed on our older boy. We are having regular meetings with a behaviourist to help manage the situation.

[TheKitchenWitch]

I can't find anything about Coppinger papers, though there are numerous books on amazon by a Raymond Coppinger - is that what you mean?

[HotPanda]

dally = Dalmatian.
I was being lazy. :-)

[TheKitchenWitch]

Yy to noisy, and if we have people round who aren't used to dogs they do sometimes look aghast :o

[cathpip]

I used to have 2 black labs (litter brothers)' they were fab. When I lost one of the labs we got a cocker and again it was fab, we lost our last lab a couple of years ago and got another cocker (both are working) and yet again they are fab! I am pregnant with no 3, both dogs are superb with the children and walking next to a buggy, they are very much my dogs not my dh's (apart from when there is a vets bill). The cost is doubled with two and they do have separate beds but prefer to share. Not all working strain cockers are high maintenance by the way :)

[Noodles123]

I'm also going to go slightly against the majority and agree that actually I much prefer having one dog. I had my original dog, a rottie, for 9 years one on one and he was my best friend and companion. He liked other dogs, most of the time, but certainly wasn't ever desperate for their company. He had his 'quirks' (I didn't have him from 12 weeks so a few less than ideal habits were ingrained already!) and was a b*gger for begging for food and also not good on a short lead - pulled all the time. He was diagnosed with cancer last December (2012) and given a life expectancy of 3-5 months so we started the process of selecting our next breed and tracking down a litter etc, and as we were going for something a little out of the ordinary it did take us 4 months, so we eventually got our puppy in April, not expecting that the old boy would be with us by then but he was. And he actually lived right through 2013 til we lost him on Christmas Day. Having the two of them was hard, I found. The pup bothered the old boy a bit to start with, not maliciously just wanting to play, but to be fair he soon put him in his place. The mess was definately significantly increased, was also expensive to feed two, but I admit I do buy top end dog food so probably could have cut that cost if I really needed too. The main thing was managing when walking to a) hold them both (although I learnt from old boy and pup is exceptional on lead, we insisted on that from day 1) b) training pup without older boy trying to get involved! And c) just physically keeping an eye on them both all the time!!

Having lost the old boy, much as I miss him, it is easier with just one. Although - I think part of that was the fact I learnt from mistakes and the youngster doesn't pull on lead, wander off in the park or beg when we are eating, so admittedly is an easier dog all round. He's also much more focused on us - he's of a working breed and is totally human-oriented, he is perfectly polite when meets other dogs and will greet them but then straight away defers back to me. It might be that we are just fortunate in that or it might be his breed, I don't know, but it does make for easy relaxing walks and also means he can literally go almost anywhere with me, nipping to the shops, lunch out, friends houses, anywhere, as he's so easy.
Anyway, that's us far longer than needed, sorry Op. I would just say, if you do get another, be 110% happy with every aspect of current dog's behaviour before you do, and then be warned that you may get one with more irritating/difficult to train temperament next time round - that's why I am sticking with one for now, couldn't be this lucky twice I don't think!!