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Original poster

When to get a second dog?

19 replies

VasterThanEmpires · 09/02/2021 14:17

I think I might know the answer to this but it's a bit of a dilemma. We have a beautiful GR puppy - 5 months old. He is a beautiful gorgeous amazing boy and we are all head over heels with him. We definitely would like another dog to complete our dog family and have always planned to wait until our boy was more than a year old before getting another puppy, possibly from the breeder we used this time who was excellent.

However a friend told me this morning that her mother plans to breed her beautiful GR bitch this year - probably very soon and that one of the pups could be ours if we wanted it. We know them and they are fantastic people who have bred their dogs before and done everything absolutely by the book with regards to proper health testing etc so I am confident that the dog would be properly bred, tested, checked etc.

This is causing me a real dilemma. I would love to take one of these dogs - it is exactly what we want, ddog#1 is a gorgeous beast with a fantastic temperament, we have time to devote to both dogs and the closeness in age would be helpful when it comes to length of walks etc. But is this just a no no in terms of ddog#1 still being adolescent when ddog#2 would be arriving? Or is it doable but potentially difficult?

OP posts:
Santaiscovidfree · 09/02/2021 14:19

Ddog was 5 when we got another.. And a month later another 1!! The 2 dpuppies learnt a lot from ddog 1...
You would be training 2 from scratch together. Personally I wouldn't have done that!!
Those 2 were 7 before we got another dpuppy! 2 was hard work together!!

blowinahoolie · 09/02/2021 14:20

We were recommended to wait until pup is 18months to 2 years old before getting another by our breeder. We have a Saint though, maybe different from other breeds.

CMOTDibbler · 09/02/2021 14:27

18m to 2 years minimum. You really can't train two puppies properly, and yours could just be really getting into the worst of the teenage phase when a new puppy joined you for added horror

NoSquirrels · 09/02/2021 14:29

How old would your pup be when a new puppy arrived? Between 9-12 months I'd assume? Is this the last litter your friend's mum's dog would have?

I think most advice is wait till the worst of terrible teens are over, so after 18 months. Golden Retrievers have a fairly long puppy-adolescence, don't they? I'd wait til 2+ years probably as this seems optimum in terms of older dog being well trained, and also (sorry to be a downer) but at the other end of their lifetimes, not facing both dogs dying in very quick succession (hopefully).

We're a one-dog household though so I am probably not too much help!

QueenOfLabradors · 09/02/2021 14:29

Hiya, I work professionally as a dog carer/walker. In the eighteen years I've been doing this we've had five situations where the two dogs were less than two years apart in age. One set were brother and sister from the same litter, they were far more important to each other than their owner was and their recall was atrocious. They were eventually separated due to their owner's sudden death and they went to two different relatives, I gather they were much better behaved after that. Another set were eighteen months apart, the older dog became very protective of the younger one, which meant they had to be walked separately. Their owner, the behaviourist and I are still working hard, we think we may have cracked it. The other three sets simply didn't work, and one of the two dogs had to be rehomed in every case.

AnnieSnap · 09/02/2021 14:30

We were also recommended that approximately a two year gap is best. It’s worth bearing in mind that, at about 9/10 months a ‘coming along nicely’, more or less house trained puppy goes into adolescence (yes, dogs have that too) and seem to forget all they have learned. Another puppy at that time could be a bit of a nightmare. I’d stick with your original plan. Contact the breeder of your current pup, discuss future litters and plan for the future.

QueenOfLabradors · 09/02/2021 14:34

By 'simply didn't work' I mean the dogs were fighting, not just the play wrestling that is part of normal dog behaviour, but full-on vet treatment required for wounds level Sad

Original poster
VasterThanEmpires · 09/02/2021 14:35

@NoSquirrels

How old would your pup be when a new puppy arrived? Between 9-12 months I'd assume? Is this the last litter your friend's mum's dog would have?

I think most advice is wait till the worst of terrible teens are over, so after 18 months. Golden Retrievers have a fairly long puppy-adolescence, don't they? I'd wait til 2+ years probably as this seems optimum in terms of older dog being well trained, and also (sorry to be a downer) but at the other end of their lifetimes, not facing both dogs dying in very quick succession (hopefully).

We're a one-dog household though so I am probably not too much help!

Yes he is going to be 1 in early September and new pup would be coming home around July I think.

I think I know the timing isn't ideal but I was really hoping it wasn't insurmountable. It sounds as though it is though Sad.

I think dfriend's mum finds it hard to say goodbye to puppies (I know I would) so yes I think this is the last litter.

OP posts:
Original poster
VasterThanEmpires · 09/02/2021 14:36

@QueenOfLabradors

Hiya, I work professionally as a dog carer/walker. In the eighteen years I've been doing this we've had five situations where the two dogs were less than two years apart in age. One set were brother and sister from the same litter, they were far more important to each other than their owner was and their recall was atrocious. They were eventually separated due to their owner's sudden death and they went to two different relatives, I gather they were much better behaved after that. Another set were eighteen months apart, the older dog became very protective of the younger one, which meant they had to be walked separately. Their owner, the behaviourist and I are still working hard, we think we may have cracked it. The other three sets simply didn't work, and one of the two dogs had to be rehomed in every case.
So sad. Sad
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QueenOfLabradors · 09/02/2021 14:40

Looking ahead, I think the ideal time to introduce a pup is when older dog is between three and six, old enough to have the patience to deal with a bumptious new member of the household, young enough to have the energy to keep up and enjoy the fun. A fair number of my clients tend to get a new dog approximately every four to five years, so they will sometimes have three in the household.

QueenOfLabradors · 09/02/2021 14:43

xposted - yes, but I did keep in touch with all the households who had to go the rehoming route, and the important thing was all six dogs involved were so much happier - the four I still see regularly still are Smile

hedgehoglurker · 09/02/2021 15:41

Not an expert, but we actually have a positive experience. We recently adopted a male puppy at 9m from a local, well regarded rescue. They knew we wanted 2 eventually, and had originally hoped to rehome him with an existing dog as he is very sociable.

When he was almost 11m, they called us as a 4m girl was available who might get on with our boy. (She was surrendered to them due to a skin condition that the owners couldn't afford to treat.) We were concerned about potential behaviour issues, but as they are opposite sexes and 6m apart, the rescue thought it was possible and the puppies had a couple of successful introduction sessions.

They are both JRT crosses, now 12m(M) and 6m(F) and the best of friends with no behaviour issues. Training is still ongoing with both Grin, but we don't have any concerning issues. (Oh, and the skin condition was simply Demodex Mange and responded immediately to the flea treatment provided by the rescue!)

PollyRoulson · 09/02/2021 15:48

It depends on what you do with the rest of your time. If your life is dogs dogs and just dogs and you are happy to spend all your time on dogs then go for it.

If you work, have a partner you like to spend time with, do other things apart from dogs have a social life(do any of us now!) enjoy doing other things apart from dogs, training, walking dogs separately then I would probably wait until your first dog is at least 18 monhs old.

Original poster
VasterThanEmpires · 09/02/2021 17:44

@PollyRoulson

It depends on what you do with the rest of your time. If your life is dogs dogs and just dogs and you are happy to spend all your time on dogs then go for it.

If you work, have a partner you like to spend time with, do other things apart from dogs have a social life(do any of us now!) enjoy doing other things apart from dogs, training, walking dogs separately then I would probably wait until your first dog is at least 18 monhs old.

Grin difficult to know right now! At the moment it's 'walk child, walk dog, walk other child who has been doing online learning, walk dog, walk husband so he doesn't go cross eyed on zoom meetings, walk kids, go for a run' but I live in hope that life might contain more things!

And that is a lovely story hedgehoglurker. Thanks to everyone for their stories!

OP posts:
Leonberger · 09/02/2021 17:46

I always wait until the youngest is 18 months or so. My younger dogs are 3yo and a 1yo which works well. The 3yo is sensible enough to behave when the younger one is not however is still young enough to play. They also get along very well and the older dog is a good role model for the younger one because she was already pretty well trained when he arrived.

I find they reach adolescence between 9-12 months and need a lot of training and repeating everything they have learned and chosen to forget. I would not want two puppies at this stage!

Original poster
VasterThanEmpires · 09/02/2021 20:58

I think the verdict is in!

Sad I love my boy so much! I just want loads of them Blush But I will wait because he deserves that. He is such a beautiful doggie Smile

OP posts:
Cheesecakeandwine · 10/02/2021 17:36

We got a second dog when our first was 10 months old, both girls. They love each other and I could (and do) spend hours watching them play together. My older girl just instantly knew to be gentle when the little one came home at 8 weeks.
So for us it has been a positive

Darklane · 10/02/2021 20:11

I’ve often kept two out of a litter & they’ve been fine . Also had ones that are less than a year between them.
I do spend all the time with my dogs though.

Original poster
VasterThanEmpires · 11/02/2021 14:46

Oh goodness! I am a SAHM so I am here all the time and dh works from home so time is not the issue...

Maybe I will see how Ddog is doing in a couple of months. Litter hasn't even been conceived yet so possibly no rush at the moment.

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