How old was your dog when you added another?

I agree with you, shelties are like chips, you ca not have just one...
but as above posters mentioned everyone has different situation... my friend who has 3 shelties 15, 12 and 5 says at least 2 years, because you want to give your pup all your attention and training you could and it is MUCH harder with 2 dogs, even if you are experienced trainer... but again if you planning on having 2 couch potatoes it might not be a problem...
I have a " perfect set up" when my BIL has sheltie of same age/ 3 days difference/ and they are perfect playpals, spend a lot of time with each other but at the end of the day I still have only one dog...
I still think about adding another one, but presently we are heavily into agility and possibly will try few other sports so I feel it would not be fair to Che if I get another dog now....does not stop me from checking rescues and breeders sites every day LOL...
 
Fergus was 2 years when Baxter came to live here. Baxter was not a pup but was six years old and adopted from rescue. It's worked out very well, they get along great but I think it depends on the dogs involved and you're family situation.
 
take4roll10 said:
Remember a puppy will pick up on all your current dog's bad habits, so you want to make sure your current dog will be a great example for the new puppy. Also, if one dog catches a virus, most likely the other dog will get it too. So, you need to make sure you enough money for double the vet bills, double the food, etc.
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Definately agree with that - take any bad habit and amplify it by 3 with young dogs. I was told having 2 puppies is more like having 3 - thats each individually and then both together, and they need to be handled and trained that way.

Mine are only a couple of months apart in age - I dont recommend that. By about 9mths a dog seems to develop a better sense of others so will be more aware of being gentle with a pup and sharing. I noticed this with my dogs and also the young dogs they play with. Although at 9mths they will also be in the midst of adolescence and some dogs can be a bit difficult to manage through adolescence. Waiting until they are 1yr old seems to be the accepted rule with vets and trainers.
 
Megan is 10 1/2 months old and IF we do decide to add another dog, it won't be until she's completely trained or at least at stage where I could handle both her and another! :wink2:
 
DON'T DO WHAT I DID!

My oldest is 6 years.

The next two are only six months apart. I got one in April, the other in September of the same year. They are both 4 years old now.

THEN I got a 13 week old puppy the day before my first litter was due, and of course I kept one from that litter. So the two youngest are 13 weeks apart (born in May and August).

I will have an entire house full of old dogs all at the same time.
 
ClantyreSheltie said:
DON'T DO WHAT I DID!

My oldest is 6 years.

The next two are only six months apart. I got one in April, the other in September of the same year. They are both 4 years old now.

THEN I got a 13 week old puppy the day before my first litter was due, and of course I kept one from that litter. So the two youngest are 13 weeks apart (born in May and August).

I will have an entire house full of old dogs all at the same time.
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Rachael brings up a great point. I had two shelties from the same litter and a Golden Retriever of the same age. 3 senior dogs = huge vet bills. Fergus and Baxter are 3 years apart in age for that reason. I did it once and vowed never to do it again. I realize 3 years doesn't guarantee they won't have senior issues at the same time but it does make the odds better than if they were the same age at least I hope so.
 
Justice was 3yrs when I got Ember and Ember was 3.5yrs when I got Diva. I personally like 3yrs, both Justice and Ember were trained though Utility in obedience and well into their agility training and all I had to do was practice behaviors. But they are still close enough in age that they are good playmates.
 
You know, we try not to think about that around here. We have 1, 2, and 3 year-olds right now. Ask me how that's going in 10 years. After talking about it some, the tentative plan is to get another pup as they start to slow down. Early enough so they don't feel replaced, but late enough that all our attention goes into their activities while they still can. I'm sure it will be a heartbreaking decision to come to terms with their mortality. In 10 years, though, we hope to have a different house and a decently sized yard. And that is a tentative plan. Something tells me that I will be in denial for Duncan's aging until the last day and that it will take serious consideration before moving on.

I recently met a lady who is in greyhound rescue and she ooohed and aahed over Abbie and how beautiful she was. She had 14 wonderful years with an oversized tri (think 40 lbs). It took 3 greyhounds to fill the space in her heart.
 
Indy was 9 when we got puppy Emma. That worked out well for a while, the Emma was too rowdy and kept pinching and pulling at Indy's tail trying to get him to run with her...she pulled the fur off his tail and butt!!! So we got puppy Figaro when Emma was 3 and a week later also rescued 13 month old Sasha. Two new non-housebroken shelties within a week was a bit much.....but well worth the effort. Angus was born here when Emma was 4.5 years old; and Newton joined the herd at 15 months old when Angus was 8 months old.
 
I got Bacca when he was 8 weeks old. I put up with another 8 months of him chewing and nipping at me until I decided that he needed a friend. I was tired of being herded everywhere I went. I thought he needed another outlet. He was 10 months old.

I didn't want to go through another puppy ordeal (because it was winter as well), so I opted for an older pup. After some trial and error, Indy came home to us. He's exactly the same age as Bacca (1 week difference).

It worked out terrific. Yes, we had some male testosorene issues going for a while, until I got the boys fixed a couple of months later.

They mostly have a love/hate relationship. They are jealous of each other, but they love to play together. Sometimes the play turns nasty, but mostly its all good. What I love is when they decide to chill, and because they both want to be close to Mom, they end up sleeping on top of each other.

The only thing they won't share is food!
 
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