Tell me what you would do?

[EyelinerQueen]

We have an 8 month old labradoodle bitch and she's amazing. She's our first family dog and it feels like we've had her forever. She's fully trained and very obedient and just a darling.

DP had a text from the breeder this morning to say that she's had an unexpected change to her work situation and will be working 5 x 12 hour shifts a week at night from now on and as such can't keep her dogs (She has our pup's mum, our pup's sister and a male doodle). Her Mum is going to take the older two dogs but she has offered us first refusal on our puppy's sister before she advertises her for rehoming .

I am 7 months pregnant. My brain says no. But part of me is tempted.

Would it be crazy to go from one dog to two dogs in such a short space of time? Especially with a baby on the way?

We have the space and the money for all the expenses etc. I keep thinking about our pup and her having company and how happy she'd be.

WWYD dog people?

No ,no and no again !

Thanks nomad - care to elaborate??

I think you're probably right

Don't do it. No matter how well behaved your dog is now, in a few months she's likely to hit the rebellious teenage phase and will develop selective deafness to most commands. Will seem to forget all her training, start pulling on the lead etc. This is why rescues are full of dogs around 1yr of age.
Having 2 dogs going through this stage would be a nightmare, you'd have to walk and train them separately.

If you weren't pregnant I would say go for it, I have 2 dogs 6months apart from the same breeder. It's hard work at times and the dog hairs and dirty paws drive me mental but they are great company for each.

Does your DH take care of walks? I know when I got to 8months pregnant the walks became another chore I couldn't be bothered with.....it's ok after the birth as I enjoy the long walks with the buggy in all weathers but the last few months were a nightmare.

ender that's a good point about the teenage phase. Hmm.

WeeClype we share the walks (I'm a SAHM so have more time) but lately DP has been doing them more and more as I get more and more waddle-y.

He's happy to continue doing all the walks. He's really keen to say yes. Gah!

Could you take her for a weekend? It might put you off totally when the jumping around play fights begin lol

My mum has a brother and sister from the same litter ,they are JRTx borders ,we are lucky they are small because they're a complete pain . Individually they are both lovely ,together they're a nightmare . She had 2 dogs before ,both from Battersea as pups with a 2 week age gap and they were lovely so we think its a sibling thing that makes these so bad. Do you have any children at present or is this baby a first ?

We have a DD who is 5.

We left our pup with the breeder for a week a few weeks ago so we could go visit my family and she had an absolute ball with her sister and her mum. We stayed for a few hours and got to see them running around crazy and playing together.

Then the breeder sent us photos everyday. The two girls slept in the the crate cuddled up together every night!

I don't want to make a rash decision that I'll regret later. I am usually a sensible logical person.

We'd already been talking about getting another dog in the future but that was waaay down the line.

I wouldn't have two dogs about to hit the teenage stage at the same time as a new baby, an adult one and a teenage one maybe, but not two teenagers.

We have no experience of the teenage phase Tabulah - is it really awful?

Generally speaking they develop selective hearing and recall goes out the window.

I personally would not have two dogs from the same litter, particularly bitches, and most reputable breeders would not even suggest it. You will most likey get one of two scenarios a) once they get a bit older they will fight constantly or b)currently they will be so bonded to each other it will be very hard to build individual bonds with them.
Much better to get a second dog of a different age, sex and size later down the line.

Sometimes it's awful, sometimes it's not too bad...but you're doubling your chances of it being awful.

No, I wouldn't do it. The older dog has to be at least 12mo if not 18mo so that you really know what you've got in terms of training and weak areas and having two young dogs and a baby is not the best timing. You'll be really tired and may find that you get fed up with the dogs a lot easier than before.

Two bitches is also the worse sex combination. A bitch and a dog is the most likely to work, two dogs second best, and two bitches may fight a lot when they mature.

One of my bitches is with me for the reasons music posy stated.
Her she was living with nan, mum and sister, was fine until they hit first season - now they can't be in the same room together without knocking lumps out of each other (or wanting to). All of their puppy pictures are of them together, they were inseparable.
We've got them to the stage where they can be worked together and we can visit (as long as both owners are there - get them competing for any resource like attention & it would be a death match) but that's it.

Admittedly it's the most extreme case I've ever seen but not isolated by any means. I don't know about labradoodles but bear in mind they may be sisters but the new one will be an interloper.
It does seem like the worst time - settling in period after rehoming, teens x 2, then the upheaval for both of them of a baby while you are trying to look after a newborn and get your dd settled with the baby too.

It's considering if you can do the best for everyone with one pair of hands.

Just say no
And yes Labrador poodle mongrels, two working intelligent breeds x 2 teenager phase
No thanks
Never mind the baby bit
And I am an experienced owner

I

Thanks all.

You've confirmed (along with some googling) what I think I knew deep down already. It's just not the right time or situation. It would be madness to say yes.