I have already mentioned this on another thread but aware that I didn't want to hyjack someone elses topic so repeating here.

I already have 21 mth dog and I am tenatatively considering another dog for next year.  Are two better than one?  How does it change the behaviour of the older dog, assuming that it does?  What are the pros and cons please?

Only considering at this point as only mentioned in passing to the family and they thought it would mean that our dog would become second best and pushed out.  I can't imagine that for one second, mind you this was coming from the two youngest kids so perhaps they think they are speaking from experience  :)

At 21 mths normally most people will think about getting a second dog when their dog is that age.  We have 4 dogs, my grandparents have 6 (when you get passed two every one you add doesn't make a difference except more money and more time!) 

I personally don't have faviourites to such an extent that one get's pushed out.  When you get a puppy naturally more time is needed training etc the new puppy (as would a 2nd child!) but aslong as you make sure the older dog gets their own one to one attention there shouldn't be a problem! 

How well trained is your dog at the moment?  is she trained and most of the time behaves herself? 

When you think, even if you start looking for a 2nd dog now then your current dog will be over two when you get the puppy! :)

The idea on the other thread is having two puppies together.  not two dogs of different ages!  I'm sure you remember how hard toilet training etc was...you can't do it as easy with two pups because half the time you don't know who wee'd where and when if you are not wathing 24/7! :)

Hi, Chez swa.

To me it has always been a given that two dogs are the minimum. 

From the dogs' point of view (and assuming they are compatible) they have someone to communicate with who really speaks their language, they have companionship when I'm out and they seem to refine their manners and become better socialised and more confident generally. 

From my point of view, I just love watching them. The fun my current two have together plus their bickerings and general interactions is better than any wild life programme because I'm actually there. And they've taught me so much about myself as well as themselves.  

This is not to make any judgement about having a singleton dog.  People's circumstances are individual to them and they know best what they can and can't cope with financially, practically and emotionally. But for me?  At least two every time - and more if you can manage it!

Best wishes, Linda

I dont think two is a problem to be honest (so long as the first is trained as already mentioned)
I now have three and find that much harder

Training is still ongoing, will it ever stop? assume not entirely. She is quite good.  In the house she is excellent not had any problems at all, no destructiveness of furniture, very obedient generally, does all the usual obedience stuff and quick to pick up new tricks.  Outside not too bad, pulls like a train on the lead and tried all sorts and now trying stopping and telling her to get back which is having more success than other methods.  Off lead she is not too bad, she runs in and out of undergrowth like a lunatic but is always checking to see if we are still behind her (we tend to hide sometimes and you can hear her galloping to find us).  The only thing that worries me is that she can be a bit funny about dogs that run towards her or try to sniff her out.  She will bark or have a go or just leg it trying to get away.   I have mentioned this on here before.  I wonder if it is a confidence thing. Generally she doesn't approach other dogs but if she does I can recall her easily.  I still take her to training classes because she socialises well there, the activities are varied and we both enjoy it.  I did think that perhaps another dog would be good company for her as well as being nice to have anyway.  So does anything here raise any questions?

As she lacks confidence and isn't very good wiht other dogs I would make sure that the new pups socialisation with other dogs is not influenced by her negative outlook.  This would mean get plenty of dog to dog socialisation done before you take them out together.

That's a really good point and one that I was hoping would come up.  I can easily understand that a new puppy would mimic behaviours of the older dog.  The training club I go to now I like very much and wish I had known about it from the beginning.  Do you think by socialising a puppy this way would not only be beneficial to the puppy but eventually to the older dog?

Yes once the young one is confident then hopefuly it wohn't take on the older dogs bad habits,a dn the4 older one may get braver5 realising they are missing out.

My freinds Golden Retriever was terrible with other dogs, but after first learning to be good with mine and seeing how they were she gradually got better and better even though she was fully mature at about 4 years old.

Chez, can I just ask what breed you have, and what breed you might be thinking of getting?  It's just that, for some of the larger and/or more active breeds, you might want to wait a bit longer than 21 months - that's not yet 2 yrs old and some breeds are still just puppies at that age.  You might want to think about age 3/4 yrs for your first before you get another....

She's a GSP and the breed is renowned for maturing slower than some others and yes they are very energetic.  They say 2 years for a GSP to start growing up but there has been a very noticible calming down over the last 4 or so months.  She is excellent in the house, never destructive or 'naughty' at all.  She's not perfect but she loves being praised and does her best at getting as much praise as possible.  She is a very happy dog (except when being bathed). Having a second dog was never considered when we got her but now I think that although it would be hard work all over again with the puppy stage, I have learnt so much that a second dog would be good company for the first and more like double the fun rather than double trouble 

I welcome everyone's opinions pos or neg.

Ok, since she's a GSP, I'd definitely suggest waiting a bit longer if you can and avoid those cute puppy eyes.  Why don't you wait till next summer - it's much easier to have a pup in the summer for toilet training and socialising reasons, and your GSP will be closer to 3 by then....

onetwothree, don't forget if chez istarts looking for a puppy now it will be at least 6, more like 12 months before she gets the puppy because we all know chez is responsible and will research the breeders and get on a good breeders waiting list! :)

But a good point to wait until more the 3 mark! :)

I wouldn't have considered one until next year anyway, I have had a really rotten year and I need some 'me' time for a good few weeks.  That 'me' time might even change my mind.  My OH isn't agreeing to another pup at the moment and there is no way I would bring in a pup without him wholeheartedly accepting it anyway, I wouldn't want any resentment, it wouldn't be fair on the puppy.  I never rush into big decisions, I take my time to weigh up good and bad points which is why I asked for other peeps opinions.  I've already decided though that if I did get another pup I would go back to my dog's breeder and ask to have a pick of a litter so I would probably have to wait a while anyway.

Oh yeah, I'm going skiing for the first time in February so I couldn't get a pup before then anyway and I might not be in a fit state to look after one when I get back :D  Middle age not a good time to start to ski but hey, if I don't do it now when will I? :D

I agree, I relaised how much my dog was missing not ahving ehr own kind to be with, and of course it does mean they ahve company if I aaam not able to be around.

I think it is nice to have two dogs. They are company for each other and they can relate to each other. There is 10 months between ours but I do feel sometimes the older one lets the younger one walk all over over but she seems happy enough. When we first had them I found taking two out with their leads a little difficult but now it feels odd if one doesn't want to come. Its as someone else says the only difference it makes is the cost especially if they are the sort that have to be cut every eight weeks or so. This can be expensive. We have two shih-tzus.

Apart from what everyone else has already mentioned, when my first dog (who was a single dog) died, I swore I would never again have just one dog as the pain of seeing the house EMPTY was unbelievable. It's always hard to lose a dog, but if you have none left, it's even worse.

Other than that, I personally think it is lot easier to have two dogs than one (provided the first is well trained or it will be double trouble rather than double fun), I found walks got easier at once as my dog was no longer interested in meeting other dogs as he had his own friend already with him. That was one of my first impressions, many years ago now. These days I have 9. :)

I have always had 2 dogs- usually a younger dog replaces the older one as it goes on to chase rabbits all day(what I was told as a child and what I tell my children- silly really as we all know what has happened) I only had one time when there was only a few months between as a result of the older one getting liver cancer just shortly after we got a puppy. That was hard as the puppy pined for its new friend, but the second puppy and her got on like a house on fire- because my mum was quite strict they seemed to behave quite quickly. Individual choice and as long as you have the time for them both especially in the beginning they  are company for each other when you are out- as long as they have their own space, like humans my bitch can get on my dogs nerves and he just wants five minutes peace!

I have 2 gsp's - well actually 3 now as Molly my bitch has 7 gorgeous puppies so I am keeping 1.  I think all the points everyone has made are valid but in my experience the pro's out weighed the cons for my situation.  They are great company for each other.  Good luck with your descision though! :)

Thanks Lynn, nice to hear from another GSP owner.  My OH always says no to any suggestions that I make that scares the pants off him :D  So I have to be sure that I know myself that I am making right decision before I start working on bringing him round to my ideas.  It was only through my persuasion that we got a dog in the first place.  Our GSP certainly was *challenging* as a puppy and even I thought I'd made a terrible mistake in getting her at one point.  Now she has settled down she is absolutely great and OH loves her too and loves walking so they make a good combination.  I initially thought that a second dog would be good company for the first and this seems to be the general consensus on here.  I will just bide my time now, knowing that part of my persuading will be that people who have more than one dog think the same

They are a super breed I would not be without them!  Admittidley they are a handful but well worth the patience and understanding, most of the gsp crowd are great - I have made some great friends.  You are more than welcome to email me direct (if it is allowed) at lynne.shanks@ntl.com - apologise if it not allowed I am not familar with the rules and regulaitons on this forumn.  I have had so much support from my gsp friends with Mollys puppies (especially Star) - I email her more or less every day asking her anything and everything - she has been great.  Do you show your gsp or is she a much loved pet?

She is a much loved pet but I have always regretted not getting her into something like trials or showing, although I don't know if she is good enough for show.  They are so intelligent and I try to stimulate her with new tricks but she is so quick to learn I wish I could have done something else with her.  I am working from home at the moment so it would have been difficult this year anyway, that doesn't sound like it makes sense but believe me it does from this end :(

Having been watching this forum it did make me think that if I did get another I would like to have a go at showing but that is pie in the sky at the moment because the final decision is yet to be made and OH has big part to play in that.  Quite fancy a black and white one though but would have to make sure I had a good chance of picking from the litter (of course the breeder would have to help out there).  I am still working on training the one I have and to be honest that has been too little lately but afer the end of this month I will have a lot of free time and am looking forward to getting stuck in.  She won't know what's hit her but I know she will enjoy the attention.  My OH takes her on long walks (3 hrs or so) at weekends and he tends to let her go too far in front and when he recalls her she comes back when she's finished what she's doing.  Wasn't until I went with him that I realised what was going on and why I was starting to have trouble getting her back instantly because she had been so good.  Difficult isn't it, can't criticise him outright just have to point out the negative aspects of what he's letting her do.  Still that's about to change next month and I am really looking foward to it.

Sorry I do splurge on, just whacking down my rambling thoughts.  :)

How many pups did you get? How did you choose which one to keep? I imagine it's not picking that difficult but the thought that you are sort of rejecting the rest.

The breeder of my dog still keeps in touch to see how we are getting on.  It amazes me that when I've phoned her as soon as I say my name she remembers me and the pup as I know she has 3 breeds so must see quite a few pups pass through her hands.

I've made a note of your email - thanks.

I found that Molly needed more than the showing ring so I went to the North West branch of the GSPC's gundog working lessons and she absolutely loved going.  Unfortunately they clashed with some of the champ shows but I hope to resume training next month.

Molly whelped 7 puppies, 2 little girls and 5 chaps.  I think there is still a picture of 2 of them on the litters page on champ dogs.  With regards to choosing, I was lucky enough to have the export opinion of the Stud Dog owner and several other 'breeders', they all came and visited and gave me their opinions.  The one I am keeping is called Snoopy - not that my husband is too chuffed with the thought of shouting Snoopy across the fields!

I think it is lovely that you keep in touch with the breeder, I have asked all my puppy owners to keep in touch - everyone has phoned me up until now (it has only been a week) :)

It has been nice chatting to you.

Hello,

Not sure if this will be read or not, but I found this post on Google.

I have a 2.5 year old Chihuahua (logn coat) bitch called Bambi. We are thinking of getting her a little brother but I'm unsure as to whether or not this is a good idea. We are in a rented property in London and our Landlord has no problems with dogs at all but I'm worried it will be hard to find other rental properties. I'm also more concerned that she wouldn't actually want a baby brother. How do I know I am doing the right thing?

Pros and cons and any advice would be much appreciated.

Many thanks,
x

BambiMum

You've replied to a thread that's a bit old now so your question might not get noticed...

I found it relatively easy to go to to 2 dogs (much easier than when I added a 3rd!).  I didn't have to worry about landlords or raising a pup in an urban environment though so that may affect some answers.

My older dog is a chilled chap who had always shown great tolerance for visitors dogs and was generally quite happy to budge over and give them some room.  I knew he was unlikely to be phased by a puppy, and beyond a quizzical eyebrow that pretty much proved to be the case.  I think he spent the first year waiting for the pup to go home but was long suffering rather than alarmed by the interloper.

The age gap between the dogs will work in your favour but how the new dog integrates will be down to you as much as your existing dog.  Don't forget that the notion of a 'baby brother' is an alien concept to a dog but if she's sociable she'll adapt quite well with care.  You are probably right to look for a boy but it would be sensible to seek some breed specific advice as well.  If you take the time to choose a good breeder they will also stick around to give you advice once you get your new pup home.  Good luck with your decision making 

Thank you so much for your reply. Much appreciated. My little one is a bit nervous of other dogs but is fine after a while with them. Hope it doesn't rub off on the pup!x

Be sure to take any new dog/pup out on it's own until it is confident and behaves as it ought, this way the behaviour of the other is less likely to rub off.