More than one dog

[heartsinvisiblefury]

What is it like to introduce a 2nd dog to a family? Do they get on or is it chaos?

We have the space, money and time for a second dog before that is questioned (as I know these issues need to be taken into consideration) with any new animal.

Rather than introduce a new dog into the old dog's territory, it's best to let them meet up on neutral ground and play together. The old dog then thinks he's taking his new best friend home!

I’ve just done this and it was a slog but worth it. You have to manage the introductions very carefully - one walk together on neutral ground does not mean they will be best friends. Feed them separately, do not leave high value treats or toys lying about etc. You’ll be walking them separately for a bit if you get a puppy as they’ll have very different needs for a while.
Mine now have a nice relationship but there are things original dog gets pissed off with new dog about and you really do need to keep an eye so things don’t escalate.
I love having two but it’s more work, I don’t care what other people say, and a lot more expensive (but I do buy them very high quality food). It’s also harder to find people to look after them as walking two dogs is more of an ask.

One last thing to set it up for success I really do thing you have to put in effort to match the temperaments of the dogs and don’t get a puppy if you have an old dog - it’s really not fair.

Echo Sapin, if your current dog is elderly don’t do it. They will likely find it very stressful.
Take your time, make sure older dog has a space (ie crate/bed/whole room whatever it is) that they can go that the puppy is not allowed to follow them. Also if there is anything really high value to your dog toy wise don’t let puppy take it off them!

I find it easier than one for some reason, but yes it is expensive having two, again I feed high quality food, I wouldn’t have two if it meant they were being fed bakers!

It really depends a lot on your existing dog, age, how dog social it is, how happy you are with the stage of training it’s at.