Should i get a 2nd dog for company for my 2yo lurcher cross (think he is greyhound and german shepard) he is home alone for 6hours a day during the week and seems lonely/bored. he has chewed the sofa and carpet in the room we leave him and seems worried when we leave him and very relieved when we get home. we have had him 14 weeks now and think we chave tried everything thing else possible! other than  leaving him he is such a well behaved and happy dog, help please!

im not very experienced ive only been a dog owner myself for 4mths,but if it was me as tempting as it would be i wouldnt get another dog just yet! you already have 1 dog that chews your not guaranteed the new dog would solve this,you could end up with 2 dogs that chew! you could try giving hijm stuffed kongs and loads of toys but only give him these special things wen hes going to be alone. i wouldnt know wat else to do other than crating him as crating the dog wile your out would keep him out of trouble! but with him being 2 already im not sure how you would introduce him to it.but im sure some1 else will be along to help whos more experienced! good luck :)

Hi Guest,

the fact that you have only recently adopted your 2yo dog and are experiencing problems only goes to prove that he needs some more time and affort put into his bonding and training with you ;)    Add another dog to the mix and it will immediately pick up on his bad habit they'll be playing "tuggies" with the carpets, sofa, curtains instead of just quietly chewing :P

Six hours is a long time to be alone - particularly when he possibly hasn't had the opportunity of being gradually trained up towards this length of isolation from puppyhood.  Could you perhaps arrange for someone to drop in and play with him, take him for a short walk etc after 3 hours?  Does he get a good run before you leave him and something stimulating left for him to play with in your absence (apart from furniture etc :rolleyes: )  Why not register and you can ask more questions and answer queries too?   Regards Teri :)

we,ve done lots of training with him including classes and he has lots of toys and treats when we go out including kong style toys with treats. we know he was a stray possibly discarded by travellers, then went to a disabled lady for a few months-she could not give him the execise he needs. then he was in rescue kennels for 2 months before we got him.