when to get a second dog?

We brought Layla home on Feb 10, 2006. She was such a joy that we decided to add Bits, who came home on Apr 1, 2006. Bear the Big Red Dog played a lot with Layla when she arrived, but less with Bits; I think two little stinkers made him roll hos eyes, but he did love them. DS was home all the time then, so they were constantly supervised, which made their training less problematic -- still, she said raising two puppies was a LOT of work. Annie Laurie came on Feb 1, 2008 and was no problem at all. And Beckon was easy because the girls trained him! :biggrin2:

My vote: keep adding Shelties whenever you and your pocketbook are ready!
 
If it wasn't for the fact that we already have two old lady cats whose world has been turned upside down by Megan, I would probably get another dog or older puppy now! Our two cats do not tolerate Megan AT ALL, well one does, the other is afraid of her, so I think I have to wait :cry:.
 
I added Justice when Jazz was almost 10yrs old. Jazz was an only dog for 8 yrs so she really did not like the addition of a wriggly puppy. It took her about 4 months to accept him but after that they were good friends.

I got Ember when Justice was 3 years old and he was trained all the way though utility(all exercises) so I really wasn't teaching him many new things. I got also got Diva when Ember was 3yrs and finished with the same level of obedience training as Justice was. That system worked for me because the initial obedience training for competation obedience can be very time intense. A puppy can take away from that training time.:smile2:

If clients ask, I usually recommend adding a second dog after the first is potty trained,has basic obedience skills and is past the major chew stage. For most dogs that is around 10-1yr atleast.
 
Well I never knew it really mattered honestly. We have 3 puppies (The oldest is 8mo, the second is 6mo, and the third is 3 mo). We really didnt plan on having 3 but it happened that way.

The house is very enjoyable, but it does take A LOT of time, patience, and training. The first thing we taught our dogs was there name (not to come when you say any name either, I mean genuinely there name). We are at the point now where we can line them up and tell Kiko to sit (she sits the others stay standing), Roxy to lay down (Kiko stays sitting, roxy lays down, lilly keeps standing) and then lilly to come (the other 2 stay in their positions while lilly comeS). That kind of training is ESSENTIAL to having more than 1 puppy. I cant stress enough how much that has helped us.

Pros: The puppies have a STRONG bond and they can play by themselves when you need a break. You can def see the pack they have formed when you take them to meet other dogs (the dont leave each others side unless they see a kitty. Dont know how to fix that one yet. They love to play with kitties more than anything :confused2:). But if we take them to my fiances parents house where they have a huge 5 acre lot with 4 dogs they stick together. My fiances parents have one really mean ****zu* that tried attacking Roxy our youngest pup. Kiko our sheltie thought it was playtime but the dachshund actually yapped back at the much older ****zu*. This isnt the ideal behavior I want them to have, but if some big dog every comes trying to hurt them at least i know they will try and protect each other. They also know the 2 humans in the house hold mean business when we get our mean voices. Ears back and tails down and sitting when we get mad (its kind of funny actually)

Cons: I am actually about to make a post on jealousy in here (or dachshund is being wierd). It is VERY hard to walk all 3 dogs at the same time. We have resorted to taking 2 at a time and the taking out the last one. We alternate every walk who is the loner (the loner gets to play an extra game of fetch though). Another trend I am seeing is they like to walk the SAME patch in the backyard. So I have a dead trail of grass zigzagging my backyard because 3 puppies wont leave it lol
 
labgirl said:
Yep, I agree with that too. I think some breeds are more interested in having a playmate as well, collies for instance tend to be very people orientated dogs, but labs love to have another dog to play with!

I think two things to consider before getting a second dog are
1) is my current dog at a stage where I am happy with his training/behaviour etc?

The reason for this is a new puppy will most likely copy the older dog, if your dog has a habit you seriously dislike then its best to fix that before introducing a puppy which is liable to pick up the habit (they always seem to mimic the bad habits!). It is also said that dogs can revert backwards when a puppy comes to the house and may even 'lose' some of the training they previously knew.

2) is my dog ready for a companion?

That is a simpler question, some dogs mature faster than others. Some dogs when young would be too rough for a younger puppy, some need a bit of time to 'grow up' mentally. There could be other things too, like a nervous dog may need time to grow in confidence, or a dog with socialisation issues may need this worked on first.

Finally, a person needs to decide on the 'age gap' they prefer, and this is very much a personal choice. I have made the decision to wait until Cadbury is about 3, as this gives a nice gap and means when he is old the other dog won't be. Despite this, at times I think it would be nice to have a pup sooner as I can see Cadbury losing some of his 'puppyness' and he isn't so mad keen to play the silly pup games. Having two pupsters together is very tempting :wink2:

And then of course even when you have made the decision you might have to wait quite a while before the ideal pup comes your way.

Each to his own, I say.
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I think this is well said It does depend on the individual dog and your individual circumstances.

In my case, when Bacca was 9 months old, I decided it was time for a second dog. I was satisfied with his training and satisfied with how he interacted with other dogs. He was still in his playful teenage phase and I was pretty sure that he would take well to having a playmate - not yet set in his ways, and wanting to play, play, play!

I opted not for a puppy, but decided on a older dog (between 1-3 years).

I ended up with Indy when both of them were 10 months old. It's been perfect! The next one, however, will be a puppy. :wink2:
 
I agree with the others. I think it depends on your dog, your time and your financial situation.

Bailey is 8.5 months. I would love another puppy, but I don't think we are ready. Bailey is a very active and attention seeking sheltie. I don't have time to train her and take care of a new puppy. I don't want her training to be put on the back burner because I want another dog.
Depending on my job situation and if Bailey matures, I'm going to get on some breeder's waiting lists and look into rescues when she is a year and a half or 2 years old.
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Ooh, that would be exciting!

We live in a condo and I wouldn't want more than 1 dog in this space. However, if we were ever in a house with a backyard I could see getting another Sheltie. I think that would be some time away, though.
 
I decided to wait till Romeo was more mature and stable before I started planning to get another pup. It also gave me time to figure out and iron out most of his problems!! But I also didn't want to wait too long (he's coming to 2 yrs) coz I want him to enjoy playing with his new sister too and not lie there and swat her away coz he finds her puppyness annoying! :lol:
 
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