Is a second dog twice as much work?

[WarningOfGails]

For some reason I’ve been thinking about having another dog… currently have a lab/pointer who is 5 years old.

I really didn’t enjoy having a puppy, I found it quite stressful, and I work more than I did when our current dog was a puppy… on the other hand the children are older. I guess the practical reason for another dog would be to keep current dog company. But am I being daft? Would it be twice as much work or does it just slot in? We look after friend’s dog sometimes & it makes no difference, just taking 2 dogs on a walk/letting them out for a goodnight wee instead of one…

I’ve always had multiple dogs and never had an issue. They have always slept and played together, perhaps I’ve always been lucky.

@4LittlePaws I had 3 a few years ago and remember it was a lot. I’m actually thinking about a third again though as my older two are retiring from sports and I fancy another to take over. Remind me about the bad bits…

Do you have the money to fund two dogs… not asking you to answer just something to consider.

I would get a rescue, the same age or thereabouts otherwise you have different energy levels as one is vastly older. You might be ok now, but in a few years you’ll have a young dog and a much older one.

It really depends on the temperament of both dogs. We've never walked the puppy separately from the older dog. I think people in here can really make things a lot more difficult than they need to be. The puppy has always caught on to good behaviour from the older dog. But, I've been incredibly careful with which puppy we've gotten from a very good breeder. I always choose a middle of the road puppy in terms of temperament.

We have 2 labs, 4 years between them. Our older lab adores puppies and pals though which is why we decided to get another one. From the day we picked the puppy up they’ve adored each other, they sleep together play together and aren’t possessive with each others toys or food. One thing we did do was take them out separately so there was no separation anxiety. The youngest was a really quick learner and I do think he learned from our older lab. It’s lovely seeing them have so much fun together.

We have 2 labs -male who we got as a puppy, and female who we rehomed at just over a year. 4 years between them. We had the chance to introduce them and test the water. Lab boy loves company and was pretty accepting from day 1, although he quickly established that he was in charge. Lab girl had a rocky start in life and it showed, but he is her rock and from day 1 they played together. They don’t often sleep cuddled up, but they share toys, treats , etc and never had a cross word. But we were lucky and when lab boy has to leave us, we won’t add another. We will just spoil our girl.

I’ve not had a puppy for years, they’re not for me (although v cute!). We seem to take on dogs between one and three years old. If your dog is five I’d look for something two or three. I think having two dogs is great. They’re company for each other if you’re out. They play together. I’d never have a single dog personally.

It’s partly luck and partly just individual dogs.

Mine are fine together, they’re happy to see each other if they’ve been somewhere separate and will play... but they’re just fine, not best pals or anything.

It’s not an issue, but if we’d got the second mainly for company for the first dog it could be - but we didn’t, we just wanted him, so getting along just fine is perfectly ok.

Some dogs will be delighted to have another dog, some won’t be that fussed either way and some will have issues - it’s worth thinking about what happens if you end up with anything less than delighted if the first dog is a driving factor in getting a second.

My issue with 3 is there never seems to be any downtime.

Though that may be because I got a puppy when my older 2 were over 4/5.

Soneone always seems to need something as soon as I sit down.
It's difficult to walk all 3 by myself.
The poo picking up is crazy.

The hair.

I love them to bits but it's just alot of work.

Plus my kids are all older but we can't go anywhere /so anything as it's impossible to find a sitter for 3 dogs.

I think a lot of it depends on personality and a good dose of luck. It also depends on the size of your house and how much space they have away from each other, I think.

I only have one dog but I'm also a dog walker/pet-sitter and have quite a few multi-dog households on my books. I'd say it's about 50/50 as to whether a second dog is a challenge or not. In some households, the second dog just slotted in without an issue, but in others, the additional dog did create a lot of extra work and caused quite a bit of tension too.

It's worth thinking about the practicalities if you end up with two dogs who don't particularly like spending time together - will you be able to leave them home alone safely, for example? What if you need to pay for a dog walker or kennels?

Hey I want some advice too. I have a 6 to 7 month spaniel, extremely well behaved he has a few moments when being left as I only leave him at maximum 2 hours, but my partner mat take the manager role so I've been looking for a collie (tend to be calmer than spaniels) and going to see a farm collie but is 4 to 5 months old last in litter as waiting 13 weeks till qas vaccinated and vet checked was a big litter and always get one. I don't know if walks on the lead and stuff, I was just wondering if it's a good idea and how much harder it will be to train? Will it affect my current dog? Idk how much socialising it's had other than the animals on farm and there kids.

Hey I want some advice. I have a 6 to 7 month spaniel, extremely well behaved he has a few moments when being left as I only leave him at maximum 2 hours, but my partner, may take the manager role so I've been looking for a collie (tend to be calmer than spaniels) and going to see a farm collie but is 4 to 5 months old last in litter (owner was waiting 13 weeks till they were all vaccinated) was a big litter and always get one. I don't know if walks on the lead and stuff, I was just wondering if it's a good idea and how much harder it will be to train? Will it affect my current dog? Idk how much socialising it's had other than the animals on farm and there kids. My spaniel is super social and my mum and siblings come around alot and partners family all have dogs and things and there are lots of dog parks near by.

Honestly, I would wait until your spaniel is fully mature and properly trained, unless you know for sure that you can dedicate the time and headspace to taking them out individually every day for training time, and then after a year or so have the control over them to get one to sit and wait while you focus on the other. We had a few years gap between our last two dogs and it was barely enough, even though the older one had very good recall and general manners.

You also always risk the puppy bonding more to the other dog than to you. Again, there are ways round this if it starts to happen, but it is bloody hard work.

Also, farm collies aren't really pets. Unless you chance on one with exceptionally low drive, it will need an outlet where it can use its brain, or it is not fair to the dog. The only collies I have ever seen who look completely chilled are ones in work. And this is before we get to the issue of whether the one you're looking at is at all socialised or trained or not.

I'm not putting you off having two dogs - we have had two or three dogs for the past 15-odd years, and that's the plan for the future too - but training a young dog is a lot of work and training two at once is even more. This is even more the case with working dogs like farm collies. If your spaniel is working lines too, then double trouble.

He will sit and wait he knows to stay. There are enclosed parks and things. He's fully toilet trained and everything his recall is amazing even with distractions only water have to repeat but never more than three times, would I have to do in separately? I was wondering if they'd both learn off eachother? Or would that backfire? I mean I want a dog that will walk just as much as spaniel and play both off leads ((2-3 hour walks) or two (1 hour walks)) I think he would benefit it depends, how interact when they meet and in the car together I mean all changes when you bring them home. Had two dogs (different breeds) before they were older before puppy but they ended up not getting along I mean not just putting them into place.
So thought would kind of be better now. I wouldn't ever need to separate them. I do use a crate as he has trouble quieting down and never napped as a puppy so I had to shut him in there now goes in when he needs quiet so if he does go in I could help train the collie separately. But do you think a farm collie may not be best idea are they much harder to train?

A working collie from a farm and you think it will be calmer than your spaniel...? If it's a farm bred dog and has remained on the farm for 4 - 5 months it won't make a good family pet. A dog park won't be enough. It will need a working home, or at least an owner who is fully committed to agility or giving it an outlet of that type. A dog from working lines is very different from a pet bred dog.

Taking on a second dog always needs very careful planning. There is no way you would realistically cope with having two high energy breed puppies so close in age, within a home environment, without suffering a lot of disruption to your lives. They wont instantly be friends, they could hate each other and need to be kept in separate rooms. Would you be able to cope with living like that for months on end?

I agree with EdithStourton - having a second dog is fine in theory, but you need to get your first dog through adolescence. We introduced a female puppy when our first boy dog was 4 years old, they got along well and that felt like a good age gap. Our current girl pup is 8 months old and I do want a second dog but there is no way we will realistically consider it until she is at least 2 years old. Because we need to get through adolescence first.

IME yes x2 work

Ideally you want to wait to add a second one until your first is fully adult - fully trained and you know how they’ve turned out.

i have a farm collie, if you want social and calmer then IMO it’s definitely not the way to go.

Collies tend to not be particularly social, they like their people and are often fairly aloof with other people. They’re often not particularly dog social either…and IME not always a great mix with spaniels, different play styles and drives on walks.

They’re clever, so in theory easy to train - but not compared to a spaniel because they’re not as biddable. They’re harder to motivate and less forgiving of training mistakes because they’re about 3 steps ahead of you.

They also have a tendency to be fairly nervy and anxious - which can be an issue if they’ve not been well socialised.

I found my working spaniel easier to train but my nan had a part collie lab spaniel mix, most loving mental thing. But I've never actually had a collie

@Squishyjade you shouldn't even be considering another dog until yours is an adult and fully trained, but a farm collie is possibly one of the worst possible pets you could choose - they are really, really intense and need a lot of input.

I'm always home but once a week I go get shopping I do work but then my partner is home and only gone for 2 hours, so someone always home and my dog is pretty much fully trained gets loads of mental stimulation and gets lots of walks. I wanted something similar with walking as I want a dog that's highly active. I have big 3 bed with garden and idk what would be best breed?

Mine is a working spaniel

If my partner takes the manager job occasionally the dog will be left upto 3 hours if traffic so I thought a puppy might help. He loved when my partners mum dogs stayed for a day and thought it may help

Working spaniels and working collies are two very, very different things. They are both driven by different things and have totally different requirements in terms of the type of exercise they get and what kind of home environment they need.

Okay what dog breed would you suggest?

I have found that two dogs has actually been brilliant. We adopted a 1 year old in May. She is great, but very nervous, and was clearly missing dog company.

We got a puppy 4 weeks ago, and they have been absolutely brilliant together. The older dog has really taken to the puppy, and has already taught her how to go outside for toileting. The older dog is much calmer and happier now, and they play together beautifully, which has given me back a bit of “me” time (before the older dog was very needy and clingy). The younger pup loves having a friend, so isn’t getting separation anxiety, and it has been incredibly positive all round.

I walk about 5 miles in evening and the morning get a run around the dog park playing with other dogs usually there at least an hour also have lots of puzzle games and toys and ball at home in garden get the run of the house. And goes to crate when wants to rest? Is there a dog breed with similar intensity