New Home - Thinking of Getting A Couple Of Dogs

Supercell

I'm moving into a place of my own in the country.
Am single so I'm concerned about security of the house while I'm at work.

To this end was thinking of getting a couple of dogs - i.e. one to be company to the other as well as being a knacker deterrent.

They both would have a reasonable area to roam (fenced off) but would this be cruel not to have the "master" home during most of the day? Preferably would have just one dog but know from previous experiece as a kid that dogs are social animals and need company, so hopefully by having two, they become pals and lonelyness doesn't become a factor.

Besides the security aspect I do love animals and know for a fact it would be a joy to have two dogs around the house, am just concerned that it would be cruel to leave them on their own during the day time.

Anyone else in the same situation and have suggestions, are some breeds better for this kind of thing than others etc ?

Hellrazer

Speaking from personal experience here.
We`ve always had dogs and one dog on their own isnt the best to leave around for a full day.You get destructive behaviour from boredom--digging,chewing things etc.

We got a second one and the destructive behaviour stopped and the 2 of them play for most of the day without any signs of boredom.

Id say get 1 male and 1 female (get the female spayed as soon as possible)as there is less tendency to fight with each other than if there were 2 males/2 females.
Ive also found females to be much more protective of property and a lot easier to train.
Hope this helps.
Richie

daiixi

We had a German Shepherd bitch who was left home alone all day. She wasn't destructive to the garden because she was trained not to be. Just make sure that you walk the dog and spend plenty of time with it when you get home from work.

SuzyS1972

I would suggest in your case you adopt 2 adult dogs - There are lots of pairs of dogs needing to be re-homed toghether. As you are out all day 2 puppies left alone will be a disaster.
In fact the rescue I work for will not give 2 puppies together !

They will bond with each other is what I understand and trying to house train lead train and generally train 2 puppies is a full time job :eek:

As long as the dogs are with you at all times other than when you are at work then I don't think it's cruel. Just in general and not aimed at you I have done home checks for people wishing to adopt dogs that work all day and expect the dog to sleep out then I have refused them as realistically the dog is going to be alone for 70% of the time - thats no life for an animal.

SuzyS1972

Hellrazer wrote:

Speaking from personal experience here.
Ive also found females to be much more protective of property and a lot easier to train.
Hope this helps.
Richie

Me too - my 2 bitches are lethal and were soooo much easier to work with than any male I've had

iguana

I would advise, if your garden is fenced and not walled, that you sink 18 inches of mesh wire the whole way around. Dogs are naturally curious and will find it no real difficulty to dig under the fence to get out. If they did this while you are at work they could be miles away before you realise they are gone.

I'd also suggest that you take a week or two off work when you get them and help settle them in.