Second dog or not?

[MiddleOfThePack]

We have a gorgeous 12 Yr old dog, but recently I've had a yearning to have a second one. Not necessarily the same breed, or age, but just feel I'd like another.

We are a family of 5 adults now as kids are all grown up but still at home.

We all wfh and, for me and DH, wfh looks like it will be a permanent thing if we stay in our current jobs until we retire in a few years time, so there will always be someone at home.

Does it sound like a good idea and if so, what should we consider? Our dog is a very amiable chap with other dogs.

He's a small terrier whose best buddies are 2 rottweilers and a beagle (the rotties belong to 1 friend and the beagle to another). They love playing together and he will fall asleep next to the rotties when they get tired.

If he gets on fine with other dogs and isn’t reactive I don’t see why not. Two dogs is the ideal for me though so I am a bit biased

Twelve is quite old to introduce a puppy and your dog might find it a bit much in terms of the incessant energy. If you do go ahead, he'd probably appreciate some puppy-free time.

Why not if he’s tolerant of pups and you can make a time alone place for both of them.

Is this” succession planning “ . I have had friends who do this successfully but remember older dog is 12. You will have new pup hopefully for at least that long. Is that good for your life plan - not sailing round the world after retirement soon etc ? Also old dog will want less exercise etc as new pup comes into his prime in a few years. Which may or may not be quite an issue.

Helenluvsrob: kind of succession planning. We spoke to an old friend of hubby's at the weekend, who bred our existing dog. She mentioned it would be a nice idea as it can lengthen their lifespan if they have a friend to play with (not sure about that theory, but another friend had 3 dogs, one of whom was already older when the other 2 arrived. She lived to be 17). She also said that from a selfish point of view, we wouldn't be dog-less when dog #1 goes (I don't like talking about him like that - am I being sentimental?!).

If dog #2 lives another 12 years, we'll be nearing 70, so might be less likely to have another dog after that.

Another selfish reason is that I'm a regular runner - dog #1 isn't a runner: being a terrier, I've never run far with him and barely at all now. I run first, then use my dog walk as a cool down. I'd quite like a bigger 'running' dog so I could run with it and then take dog #1 for a short walk as I do now. That way they both get 1 on 1 with me time.

Does that sound like I'm over thinking it now?

Do it - I usually do - the only time I was dogless was when we lost one young and unexpectedly. At that point we were tossing up "rescue or puppy" - so we got both, an old rescue boy of 11 and then a few months later a puppy. I've never had a problem introducing a pup to a nice older dog - quite the opposite, my old rescue terrier (who'd lived happily with my older retriever) discovered his own inner puppy when the new retriever pup arrived.

Just be mindful that you won't be able to run with the new dog for a few years - until its joints are all grown and settled, but a pup has similar walking requirements to an old dog anyway. Gundog breeds from working lines might fit the bill.

catsrus: yes - I'll have to be patient if we get a newbie. We used the old adage that you walk a pup for 5 mins per month old, so 30 mins daily ( ie 2 x 15 mins) for a 6 month old until you get to 90 mins daily (ie 2x 45 mins), when you can start running.

Thanks to other posters too for lots to mull over.

"Gundog breeds from working lines might fit the bill." As it happens, we are considering a labrador from a horsey friend whose labs and cockers are from active hunting/shooting/fishing lines. Her bitch is quite small for a lab, so whilst there will be a size difference, it shouldn't be too bad and by the time it's full grown, any doggy hierarchy should have been sorted out.

@MiddleOfThePack

"Gundog breeds from working lines might fit the bill." As it happens, we are considering a labrador from a horsey friend whose labs and cockers are from active hunting/shooting/fishing lines. Her bitch is quite small for a lab, so whilst there will be a size difference, it shouldn't be too bad and by the time it's full grown, any doggy hierarchy should have been sorted out.

It was funny watching the older terrier handle the retriever puppy getting bigger than him - and as the pup grew she definitely held back from being too full on with him. He's still boss though - and he tells the younger two dogs off if they get boisterous in the house! That lab sounds perfect, hopefully had health checks - esp around joint issues. If you want a dog as a running companion then healthy joints are a must.

Dog 2 certainly helped ease the pain when dog 1 passed. I'm not sure I could have got another if she was not already here. Dog two leads to dig three though and sometimes four

Update - we are going to see some pups later this week. We feel we've sorted the practicalities and what breed we are after but, oh, the ££s! I know it's a sellers' market, but crikey!

Update for you! We now have a 10 week old labrador pup! He is settling well - even if we have had a few sleepless nights, dozing on the sofa. Dog #1 is the boss - after a day or 2 circling each other and sort of sussing each other out, they sleep together during the night and play (gently and dog #1 dictates how rough pup gets) outside.

Word of warning though: the first home we visited, we had to walk away from as something just didn't feel right. We had done lots of research beforehand, but still got some red flags during the visit. If you feel sick when you get home, it's not right. DH and I talked through the visit and didn't go for it as we are convinced it was a front for a puppy farm.

Several ads later, we went back to one that DS3 was pestering us to look at. We spent 45-60 mins on the phone to the breeder, 2 hours in the garden just watching the litter and their mum playing with 2 Jack Russell's and talking dogs. Puppy came home with a beautiful 'puppy pack' full of all the papers you could wish for.

Happy days!