Getting a 2nd Dog? Pros vs. Cons?

trio

Hiya, we've had our terrier for almost a year. He's about 2 years old.

He's very personable and endearing with humans, even strangers, and seems fascinated (in a good way) with other dogs.

He's been in kennels and enjoyed himself thoroughly and had no questionable behaviour.

However he's VERY imprinted on us - neither of us work and whilst he's grand if you leave the house for an hour - he's not that neurotic - I worry that when we're in the house he's demanding of attention all the time.

He gets 2 big walks a day, and snoozes for hours afterwards, but in between he relies on us for all his entertainment. Which can be exhausting, especially if we're trying to do housework or make dinner. He's high energy and needs a lot of stimulation. Which we try to give, as we adore him. But I won't lie, sometimes you would be worn out.

I suspect that if he had a wee friend it'd be someone else to play with and he'd become less focused exclusively on us. We'd go rescue (he's a rescue himself) and we wouldn't be getting a puppy so we'd hopefully get to pick a dog that seemed playful rather than lethargic.

However my partner has grave misgivings that the 2nd dog would just mean 2 dogs that were constantly looking to us for diversion i.e. that they wouldn't play with each other that much really. And it'd just be twice the headache.

What do others think?

Cherry Blossom

I think you should work on your relationship with this dog a little bit first and then get a second, he is going to be extremely put out by the arrival of another dog if he is as focused on you as you say. He should be able to manage a few hours on his own and entertain himself for at least a little while. Get him used to being left alone for short periods of time to start with and try leaving him with a kong or something to work on. Definately another dog would be great for him but terriers should be fairly independant and it would help with the settling in a new dog if you can work on this a bit first.

trio

Well as I said, we can leave him alone for an hour or two if we go into town. There's no destruction when we get back. If it's post-walk he just sleeps most of the time.

We've also gone out to dinner at night several times and he's been grand. He's actually not bad that way, really. Not much seperation anxiety.

It's just if we're in the house that he's at us the whole time whilst he's awake.

I know there'd be adjustments - I'd be happy to feed him first, greet him first, let him do everything before the 2nd dog. And we'd let him "choose" the 2nd dog to a certain extent.

I just have no experience of 2 dogs in a family and was wondering if it has helped people with their first dogs to introduce a 2nd?

But also - has anyone regretted introducing a 2nd dog? Where it just made things worse?

barbiegirl

We intriduced Fargo, a jack russ x king charles, about six weeks ago to Sindy our nearly 2 year old retriever spaniel x and it's been work. Now it's worth it, don't get me wrong, but Sindy really had to adjust. We wanted the second dog as Sindy seemed depressed and lonely for other dogs especially in the winter when we didn't run into so many dogs. It was also affecting her behaviour making her over exuberent in her play. Fargo has sorted all of that she is generally happier, she plays really well gain with other dogs and shecjyst seems happier.
The work bit was dealing with two dogs on the lead, dealing with the odd fight without playing favourites, letting them find their place. Now things are generally better they are both asleep here beside me and i love them to bits :-) life in never boring.
If you are getting a second just be prepared for the upheavel for a few weeks. Then it wil all settle down.

Whispered

Hey OP, we had an "only dog" too, and like yours he was the centre of our home. We're on the couch, so is he, we're having dinner, he's sitting there under the table chewing a bone, we're planning a weekend away, have to go somewhere dog friendly etc.

We decided when we fostered that we didn't want to change that. Phoenix arrived, and to be honest we are lucky that both boys are so laid back, they accepted each other from the get go.

Introductions were up in our local kennels. I went up with Phoenix (new dog), and Harley, Phoe, kennel man and I went for a walk. I brought Phoenix home with me and I left Harley in the kennels over night. This gave us time to settle the new guy. (I only did this because Harley loves the kennels)

We made some allowances for Harley, for example, Phoenix is of course allowed in the sitting room with us, but before bed Harley always gets a while in there on his own.

We allow things like taking toys from each other, and bed shoving, funnily Phoenix is half Harleys size and seems to be in charge. We keep an eye on it, but don't make an issue of anything. We stay as relaxed as possible around it all and the two boys are relaxed.

For the first while they were in crates in the same room, but pretty much separate. Harley is out, phoenix is in and visa versa, when they were both out it was for walks and games. Over time we increased it and they now spend 90% of their day together, but I still don't leave them unsupervised. They are a pair of rough players and I'd be worried about unintentional damage.

We are lucky that they are both so laid back about it all. I would have expected Harley to be much more neurotic about it. But he's done wonderfully and Phoenix is a little gem.

I'd suggest a foster dog if you can, that way you can see how well your pet takes to another dog in the house. For us it worked and I know Harley will miss Phoenix when he's rehomed.

For me I found that if I stay relaxed the dogs will take their cue from me and stay relaxed too.

ashblag

hi op...I got a 2nd dog shortly after getting my puppy. And it was hard work..like you th pup was with us 24/7 I wanted some other K9 company for him.
My two are JRT crosses and both nuts!!! the older one started getting some of the puppy traits from the young one and the young one learned how to dig the garden from the older one:D...fun times!!!!

But after a few weeks they were inseperable they sleep in the same bed and they love each other,well most of the time.

You'll just need paitence!!

It's worth it though, I love watching them play in the garden,it's so funny better than any TV:)

kiersm

Hi there, bout 2 yrs ago i got a Cavalier puppy and he was the pet and after a while we felt that it would be good for him to have some company because when ever we were out with him he'd be mad to say hello to other dogs and want to play the whole time etc & like you op he wanted all our attention.

Like you i wasn't very sure bout it but it was a good decision and the two of them are sooo happy together.

We got a yorkie cav cross nearly a yr ago and since we got him we haven't looked back. It is more work BUT i have to say the two of them will not be parted.

Its great for them, they play together and sleep together. They can be a bit rough but I would say that getting second dog was a good thing for us.

We didn't rescue either of our dogs so I don't know the scenario there with bringing a second dog in because my first dog was just over the yr when we got the 2nd fella who was only a puppy at the time.

zoby

I have two since they were both pups, they do play together and are very close but one of them sounds very like your guy She sleeps happily when im out but just likes to be as close as possible to me when im home :rolleyes:

It may just be a breed thing some dogs are more people centred than others (my girls a Bichon which are known as velcro dogs ) My other dog is a Cavalier and while still loving some lap time is a much more independent dog.

My two cents is that having two dogs is a joy. But you may find that your dog although he will have a playmate will still want to spend all his time with you.

sotisme

I'm in a similar situation to you. I've a 4 year old C.K.C.S and I'm thinking of getting another dog. I follow the "a dogs life" on facebook and seeing all the pleas for homes for dogs in the pounds and when we could offer another dog a home makes me so tempeted to get another.

The only problem is our dog. He is a little nervous of other dogs (he has been attacked on a few occasions). But when we went on holidays the people who minded him had another dog. The two dogs got along great

Sorry for the useless post :P I'll be following this thread

ThatGuyHughesy

We had our labrador for 6 years before with got our jack russell terrier. Its great because they keep each other company.

And although the jack russell is very hyperactive and giddy still the labrador keeps him in order and stops him from getting out of control.

The jack russell also keeps the labrador active and everything. So it's a mutually beneficial relationship.

So I personally think its great. But it can be a lot of work walking them and everything but worth it!

trio

Thanks everyone who responded. I'm glad people have gotten 2nd dogs for similar reasons to us (Velcro Dogs!!), and I'm thinking that it may be the way to go. But my partner insists that we're over the year mark with our 1st before getting a 2nd, and that's probably common sense, so it looks like it'll be during the summer.

He recognises that our one is too clingy, but he's still worried about it all going horribly wrong and having two nutso dogs on our hands who are tearing chunks out of each other and both competing hysterically for our attention. That said, our local rescue is amazing, and do loads of aftercare with you, and also will happily take a dog back if it's not working out. That facility may actually be what reassures him to try it out. There's a good safety net there.

I never thought about fostering, but my only concern would be this: you'd surely get all of the "settling in" period and then they'd be gone again, y'know? You'd have all of the adjustments and stress of those first few weeks, but none of the payoff at the end of that time of a nice complete family?

Don't get me wrong - I really admire people who do it, but I only want to go through those jostling-for-pecking-order times once!

For the first while they were in crates in the same room, but pretty much separate.

That's a really good idea - it never occurred to me but I'm seeing that definately crate is the way to go for the first while. Cos current Dog thinks all the furniture in the kitchen is his to sleep on if he wishes and we don't want WW3 over sleeping arrangements!

OK - just for balance so I don't think it's always happy ever after - anyone have it NOT work out??

Discodog

I have gone from one to two & then three with no problems whatsoever. Two are so much easier than one. Watching my three having an amazing chase on the beach today just reinforces this. The relationship with my existing dogs has not changed one bit after introducing new ones. The key is to forget about human emotion & let the dogs sort things out for themselves. If you treat the arrival as something normal & unworthy of any fuss then your dog will be more chilled.

Eyeore

OK - just for balance so I don't think it's always happy ever after - anyone have it NOT work out??

Yes!!! We had one springer spaniel, a pure pet and very happy, we decided to get another one thinking we'd have two just like that and thats not what happended, getting the second one changed everything. No 1 used to sleep in our room on her bed quite happily, follow us around the house, sleep at our feet and basically fit into our lives very easily...no 2 was introduced and then all those privilages went. They are constantly hyper, hair EVERYWHERE, they wreck EVERYTHING and now that they are both adults they have even started fighting. I love both dogs vey much but it is very hard work having two dogs, they no longer sleep in our room, no longer are allowed on the sofa with us, in fact they now spend more time outside than inside due to the carnage they cause. I would strongly advise you to think very hard about getting a second dog.
I also noticed you saying you would happily allow dog no 1 to eat first, get petted first etc etc...be very careful about this. This may cause competition as it has with ours, I would assess their personalities first before allowing one dog dominate the other.
I do love both our dogs but I must say, with a heavy heart, I do regret getting a second dog as our first has lost a lot her home comforts since we got no 2. I'm sure it has worked for many others but in this case it was a wrong decision.
Good luck, let us know what you decide.

trio

Thanks Eeyore - do you think that the 1st dog became hyper just because of the stimulation of the 2nd? Was the 2nd dog hyper naturally?

Just wondering if there are any pitfalls to avoid when actually choosing the personality of the 2nd dog. I mean, I thought a playful dog might be better - given that I want Dog #1 to have a playmate. But do you think it's better to choose a dog that's very placid?

Eyeore

Hi Trio, the 2nd isnt necessarly hyper, I think Springers are naturally energetic and when we got the second it's hard for them not to become hyper around each other. I'm sure if we had only the second one on her own we'd experience the same relationship we used to have with the first when she was on her own iykwim. They get walked every day, and still have lots of energy to burn but this could be simply because of the breed.
In saying that I would assume, no matter what the breed, a placid dog would be a better choice rather than a "playful" one, they might get on better if the new dog is a bit calmer.

Discodog

Dogs are what you make them. I took in a terrified Greyhound & she is now totally confident - charges into the Vets & puts her paws on the counter for a treat !. Don't fall into a trap of analysing each potential companion. Dogs are incredibly versatile. If you think about it too much you will worry, the dogs will pick up on your concern & react to it.

kiersm

I have to say our Cavalier was always a chilled out dog but had his hyper moments and since we got our 2nd dog when my Cav is hyper he plays with the other dog and when the yorkie is hyper vice versa.

I find it great becasue if for some reason we can't take them for a walk they play with each other and wear themselves out so makes things btr for us