Second dog stories?

[welshdaisy]

Just that really. We are thinking about a second dog for our home. Wanted to know peoples stories and whether it's a good or bad idea. Positive experiences? I work from home which is permanent, have more time and think my current dog would love the company.

We had a 6 year old Staffy-Cross rescue dog when we introduced our Jack-a-poo puppy a few years ago. They were really great together, cuddled up on their beds together, never had any unpleasantness at all. Fast forward and 2 years on from losing our rescue, we introduced a (roughly) 11 month old Whipper-Lurcher cross, and honestly it was a mistake. Our now adult Jack-a-poo really can't be bothered with her, they occasionally play if she's in the mood, she has a real snarly go at her every now and again (never any bites or injuries thankfully). This has been the situation for a couple of years now, it isn't going to improve, and I have to accept that despite introducing them 3 times before we brought our Lurcher-X home, they will never really get on that well and it was a mistake. I've wondered if it is because we introduced a (young) adult to the home rather then a puppy, we'll never know and it could just be a bad fit I suppose.
Not a great response for you to read I realise, so apologies for that OP.

We rehomed a female lab to join our male a few years ago. There’s about 4 years between their ages - he is older.
We had a chance to walk them together and have her at ours first. It wasn’t instant love between them but he tolerated her. Now they are great together - they play , chase each other on walks , compete for the ball etc.
She has been good for him , energy wise, and we just adore her.

we left getting a family dog too long! we have our labrador who is coming up to 18 months but we would love a second dog too

not a puppy though. But is it a myth that dogs like a 'friend' is that more a human thing? I dont know. I like the idea of a rescue, maybe an older dog but rescues dont really like the fact there would be a few hours a week leaving the dogs alone

We have a 4-y-o spaniel, she's always been quite fussy about what other dogs she likes. We rehomed a 2-y-o rescue mongrel 2 weeks ago and they are actually brilliant together - lots of playing, chasing and cuddles. Wish we'd done it sooner but also feel we've struck really lucky as there was no guarantee they would 'click'. But we're delighted so far!

It depends so much on the dogs' personalities. Our first dog almost entirely ignored the arrival of the next puppy. He did much the same to the puppy after him (though he was less grumpy about it - he did play with her, and still will at times).

But that third puppy, as a mature dog, instantly (within 10 minutes) decided she was the foster-mother of the most recent puppy, and they have slept together since the first night. They play loads, cuddle up, and have bonded brilliantly.

But is it a myth that dogs like a 'friend' is that more a human thing?
Some dogs absolutely love having a friend. Others just do not care.

We have a 3 year old male neutered french bulldog, we got a female french bulldog aged 8 weeks old at the beginning of the year. First day he hated her, growled at her and I was worried he was going to attack her. Next day and now they adore each other, they play together, cuddle up and are such good company for each other.
I will always have 2 dogs now.

I have always found 2 better than one if you find dogs of a similar personality and activity level.
I’ve also found having breeds with a similar play style get on better, for example my GSD is rough and boisterous and plays best with other dogs the same. She hasn’t a clue what to do with a spaniel zipping about and would go into herding mode with a dog running around like a whippet.

As it stands I’ve had up to 4 at one time all of my adult life and never had any issues.

I find there’s always someone to play with, another dog there if we go out, walks are more fun if there’s someone to play with on the way, if I am short of time i chuck them in the garden together for a run around. I also think dogs who live in groups are better socially as seeing another dog on a walk is just a non event when you live with other dogs.

Bad things would be any behaviour your dog already has was likely be picked up by the second dog so training is so important. I also train them all separately and do separate walks at times. Also double the cost, mud and hair! It’s also stopped me doing things like ball games as it can cause tension between mine but I really don’t mind about that!

I've never had two at a time, but a FM's experience:

DDog 1, aged 5, and a petted darling Only Dog for five years., was Very Unimpressed by the arrival of DPuppy/DDog 2, and never wanted anything to do with her. No aggression, but definitely unhappy, and they had to sleep in separate rooms to stop DDog 2 pestering DDog 1.

DDog 1 having sadly died young of cancer two years later, DDog 3 arrived, also as DPuppy. DDog 2, who had visibly mourned DDog 1 despite the latter's unkeenness on her, immediately took to DDog 3, shared toys and slept with her at once, and was really motherly. They've been BFFs ever since.

So I think individual personality plays a part, and the age differential is also a factor - 2-3 years apart seems to be perfect from what I've seen with friends' multiple DDogs as well.

I agree with PPs, if you are getting another make sure they see the world in the same way as your existing dog, otherwise there will always be problems, same as with human relationships.

PoleDog (Great Pyr) is very suspicious of strangers and other dogs, he is aloof and generally disinterested when meeting them, although has perfect dog manners and is very civil and kind. Those are basic traits of his breed.
PolePup (Miniature Poodle cross) is also completely disinterested in other people and dogs, again so far (he`s still young) has perfect manners and is civil.

We waited for a pup showing the temperament we wanted, (way too many people breeding designer poo crosses which was not what we wanted at all), and although aloofness is a breed trait in both of his parents, we wanted to be absolutely sure we were giving the best chance of Pup and Dog getting on well.

They do, PoleDog has adored PolePup from the start and he can do absolutely no wrong in PoleDogs eyes. That is helped a lot by PoleDogs instincts to guard and protect his "flock" and its most vulnerable members, but it is lovely to see how close they are.

Had we got a pup of a more people loving breed, I highly doubt it would have gone so well, as PoleDog would have become frustrated at Pup bouncing up to strangers rather than calmly watching them. I had the bounciest labrador foster once, and whilst PoleDog was endlessly patient and kind with him, you could not have called them friends.

Most adult dogs cut puppies a lot of slack as they understand that puppies can be irritating little terrors. There are not many adult dogs that would actually harm a puppy, dogs with behavioural/trauma issues aside. That is one of the reasons I wanted a puppy, and not an adult/teenage dog.

All that said, previous PoleDogSr (RIP) and his predecessor PoleDogSrSr (RIP) were both Great Pyrs, very similar temperaments and were never friends.
They were both working dogs, although lived in the house as were also adored pets, and they worked very well as a team, and they would stand up for each other in a heartbeat, but they never close. Around the house they rarely spent time together, and were just not interested in each other.
There was never any aggression, jealousy or resource guarding, and both were extremely closely bonded with me, they were just colleagues rather than friends.

I had 1 pomeranian who did not like other dogs had problems with recourse Guarding and had a broken leg that had fixed back into place on its own he was from a puppy farm (we didn’t know as we got him 17 years ago) when he was around 7 we decided to get another puppy she was meant to be a Pomeranian was actually a German spitz we try took her for a vet check as soon as we got her and our lovely family vet who’s know our first dog all his life said it’s very rare for an older dog to go for a puppy. When we brought her home he ignored her and refused to stay in the same room as her he within a few weeks grew to love her and they used to play fight like mad and look for each other constantly they lived out the rest of there life’s together when we lost him you could see she was heart broken. So a very positive story

If you were to get a second dog you’d need to choose it based on your current dogs personality, so choosing them your first dog a dog as opposed to choosing one for yourself.

Our second day is very passive and sweet natured which works for dog number 1 brilliantly. They love each other, I didn’t expect them to love each other quite so much.

But second dog is a rescue, their personalities are more established and easier to ascertain than a puppy. If you went to one of the larger rescues they’re far more amenable to you saying can I come on Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday to walk dogs together and then take home Thursday.

Thanks for all the replies. You make some really great valid points. I think I'll need to research a bit more, and take on board the advice of trying to ensure current dog will be happy with my choice.

Years ago we has a 6 month old Lhasa Apso.
After a few years we got a 6 year old Rescue Lhasa Apso.
What a mistake the two never got on and just ignored each other.
One dies at 14 and the other at 17 so they lasted well.
We now just have one dog, some dogs are different when kept as pairs

@welshdaisy we added a second dog to the family just over 2 years ago. We had a 5 year old Doberman and got a rescue as a second dog.

We advised the rescue we would need a dog of the opposite sex and younger (so that our Doberman retained her top dog status). They matched us with a little 8 month old mixed breed boy, we took the Doberman to meet him on neutral ground before agreeing to rehome him. Our original dog is fine with him and they do seem to enjoy each other's company . We have had to reinforce that the Doberman is top dog (she always gets treats first and we had to stop the youngster standing over her - dominating behaviour).

One usually goes to do day care (for socialising) and they are full of wags and playing when they are reunited.

Word of warning, it's more difficult to find holiday places with two dogs! And they take up the whole boot, so difficult when you have a child too - my two are so worth it though.