You thoughts

sillysmiles

Next year we are thinking of getting a second dog.

Our dog is 4-5 yr old lab.

My b-i-l has two dogs and he adores playing with one of them. He plays with some of the dogs on my brothers farm when we visit.

One of the criteria for the second dog is one that current dog gets on with/can play with them.*

So....with that in mind I think it might be a good idea to see what other kinds of dogs he likes and what "personalities" of dogs he clicks with.

So .... are there play dates for grown (potentially under-socialised) dogs? I say potentially under-socialised as we live in a very rural area and he doesn't see other dogs on our walks.

I feel I may start over thinking getting a second dog.

*There are other criteria too, this is just one of them

DBB

Jayney... To be honest, it's hard to come up with a type of dog that another dog will get on with
I really think it's a case of try it and see! This is assuming you're thinking of getting a young adult as opposed to a pup?
You'll know within minutes really if you've got good early chemistry going on between him and a potential new dog.
I would suggest however that you're more likely to succeed with a dog of the opposite sex, and probably younger than your own fella. If your fella is playful and wrestly with the other dogs, I'd also be looking at a similarly-sized dog.
In the vast majority of cases, even under-socialised dogs end up becoming pals with a new dog in the home. The getting-to-know-you phase can be a bit stressful, but once you get past the first few days and they're peaceful towards one another, chances are it's all going to work out fine
I love having two dogs

What DBB said!
Also I got a second dog recently. Got him through a rescue and they encouraged me to bring my dog to meet him first before we decided on anything. Because they weren't a local rescue I only did this once but it was enough to know they'd get on fine. As far as I know most rescues allow/encourage you to do at least one meet and greet to see how they match up together! So if you're interested in going down the rescue route that should be helpful to you.

jimf

my neighbour just had such an experience as builebeag posted above and they are getting on brilliantly

I think you will just know yourself if they click or not

male and female as a rule tend to hit it off better for some reason

that's not saying same sex dogs don't or wont

sillysmiles

He is a medium sized heavy set lab, so second dog will be of similar size but younger, 2-3yrs old hopefully. His play style tends towards more chasing than wrestling.

I know of a rescue that does adoption days so in the new year we plan to start visiting them and talking to them about options and he would be introduced to any other dog before making a decision.

I suppose I was just wondering if there was anything else reasonable we should do?

Or may I kinda just wanted to talk out loud about getting a second dog because my husband is so gun ho about, I'm the one stalling and being the voice of reason so I need somewhere to be excited about it! :-)

DBB

Any rescue worth dealing with will give you as many opportunities as you need to let your dog meet other potential dogs... It's a no-brainer, because it hugely decreases the chances of the rescue dog being returned due to it not working out between the pooches, something that rescues really strive to avoid.
That said, when I let any dog go to a home with a resident dog, it's done on a fostering basis... It's semantics really, but it does give the adopter a feeling that there's a safety net there should things go wrong. But once you've allowed the dogs meet, and liked what you saw, the chances of it not working out are pretty small. There are dogs out there that just get on with everyone and everything, I'm fostering one (gsd) at the moment who could be placed into any home, with any dog. There are lots of dogs just like her out there!
I think you're being very sensible to slow the process down so that you're more sure of what you're doing, but yeah... Exciting times

aonb

I work with a rescue, and we are dying for foster homes - Im sure its the same with all other resuces too. So as DBB said, foster something, and if it works its a win/win.
Labs are very social dogs. I would agree that younger/same size/opposite sex is usually a good mix.
Where are you based? If you want to get your dog more socialized, and want to see what hes like with lots of other dogs, our rescue runs a monthly "dog walk" where people bring their dogs to a location where they mix/mingle and walk together. You can also bring one of our shelter dogs on the walk. Usually total chaos but great fun, and the dogs seem to get a great kick out of all the mingling etc. PM me if you want more info.
I also agree that having two dogs is great - NOT twice the work at all! Lovely to have something like a new dog to look forward to - someone new to love and great fun for your current dog
Let us know how you get on

sillysmiles

aonb, I'm based in Kildare.
Can you pm me details when you get a chance please.

tk123

I love having two dogs! I can't imagine only have one at this stage! My two are definitely buddies and will play and chase each other etc but at the same time Bailey likes his space so they don't really cuddle up together etc - back to back or paw on paw is as close at it gets lol. It took Lucy a while to learn manners around him (we got her as a puppy) and while he was/is very patient with her he wanted nothing to do with her for a few weeks and would tell her to get lost any time she got too close which worked out well because she learned to be polite towards other dogs and not race up to them etc etc - he's a good teacher

sillysmiles

He is currently trying to get the cat to play chase with him and runs at her to get her to chase him. She is having none of it! But it's funny to watch.

SAMTALK

We had one dog for a year and always felt bad when we left him alone for a few hours. We got a second dog and it was the best thing we ever did. They bonded straight away and our first loved having company.
We then got a third!!
will we ever learn

Latatian

You could contact people you know nearby who have dogs, see if they'll help? Sounds like a great idea. I'd add, in my limited experience labs seem to like playing with other labs, so that might be something to consider as you find out more about his social behaviour?

Were my girl a bit younger and less arthritic I'd bring her over to you, this would have been right up her alley. She loved other dogs but was happy to 'stop' or stop playing or whatever when they were being a bit too much.

Sure look, it's much better to over-think it now than to under-think it and discover these things after the fact.

sillysmiles

I know that it won't suit us to get a second dog until Mar/April next year between house renovations and work commitments, it simply wouldn't be fair on either resident dog or new dog.