ok i've been thinking about this for some time , i have a 13 month old bitch and think of getting another dog as company for her? :rolleyes:

just wondering tho if this is a good idea as many have said it is but others have said no ...

any thoughs?????????

on i'm not looking into breeding her in anyway . just got to get that  straight first

Depending on breed I would look at at least a two year age gap, and preferably three years.

How far on is your girls training, as a pup will usually result to some reverting to puppy ways, especially if they are not long out of puppy themselves.

My youngest was 2 in September, and I would only consider her just old enpough to have another pup in the house, but am probably planning on waiting another year before keeping one of her pups.

You really need to have your first dog at the stage where you can fully concentrate of the pup without loosing what progress you have made with the older dog.  Also a well mannered adult sets a good example and is a good ally in bringing up a new puppy.

shes a cross breed (bull mastiff/ bordeaux ) and her training is coming on well

i was looking into getting another big dog

at the moment its just a thought :rolleyes:

Then I would be looking for her to reach full maturity at about 3 years before getting another big dog.  Especialy if it is another bitch as less likely to be clashes over status when the other is grown up too.

i was looking into the rescue centre to get another dog about 6 months old :rolleyes:

but as i said its only a though right now it took me ages to get my dog ... i had to many thing to look into like puppy training , wot size dog i wanted and so on

good luck. i couldnt have another dog because tyson is a handful and another dog would be too much right now, but i love those dog de bourgs they are so cute when they are puppies. you might not get a rescue one though cos they are expensive

i personally dont see why not? i have always had two dogs at one point or another and if you are sure you can cope and have the time for them both then i dont see a problem! if you do get another one,i would suggest splitting them up when you go out as you want to be sure they get along well!

I'd be interested to know whether dogs view companionship in the way us humans do. Because I know a few people who've got second dogs in order to "provide a friend" for their first dog and haven't got quite the gratitude they assumed from the first dog. I also know loads of people who've always had two (or more) dogs and have had the happiest of experiences. The only thing I would guard against is two pups who are often minded to form a gang and compete to be naughtiest!

Hi
Would be interestd to hear more about your comment re people who have got a 2nd dog but haven't quite got the gratitude they assumed from the first dog!  I have a 2 year old entire male GSP and am looking to acquire a 2nd dog imminently...........am intending to go for a GSP bitch puppy in a few months time.  Have you heard of any bad experiences of same breed/opposite sex co-habitations?  Am not intending to breed by the way. (Current incumbent is a complete and utter 'wooz', well socialised and gets on well with and manages most dogs ok.) However...............         

Hi there,

I have 6 dogs - all border collies (talk about a mad house!)
I know people will have a different opinion to myself and some may respond with success stories regarding rescue dogs but my advice - go down the rescue route with caution. My 2nd dog was a rescue dog and is wonderful. He and my 1st dog got on great from day 1.
The 6th dog I have is also a rescue. He is wonderful - but he has many problems making pack life very difficult for him. He was never socialised with humans or dogs until we got him aged 2. He doesn't know how to interact properly with other dogs. This has led to a few major fights with one of my other dogs.
This has led me to now feel that when I am ready to bring another dog into my household, it will be a puppy. I can then ensure the best start in life with regards his socialisation and integration with my pack. I can undo some of the bad work done with my rescues before they came to me - but never it all. I can't claw back those vital 2 years worth of experiences.
Please don't bash me for putting someone off rescue. As I say, my 2nd dog has been a wonderful rescue addition to my household. It's just my opinion based on my own experiences.

Hi
I have already been rejected by my breed rescue as being a single person, so therefore am now going down the puppy route!  Long story....there are some other threads on this forum, but so be it.............cheers 

A very experienced freidn who has always had collies and GSD primarily (always around 10 dogs, most of veteran age) has a lot of trouble because most have been rescue dogs.  the ones she ahs had from pups have never had a problem with the rest of the gang other than with dogs that came in as adolescents or adults after them.

A breeder friend has never had problems with ehr bitches unless it ahs been an incomer or an older returnee, but rarely in ehr over 50 years in the breed (males are another thing altogether).

It can depend a lot of the individual dogs and the breed character also.  Some breeds get onwith their own kind far better than others.  In some breeds it is normal to never leave two of either sex alone unsupervised, whereas I cannot imagine having to split mine up, and they are fine with any visiting dogs of whatever breed.

my schnauzer still hasnt got over the second one arriving! she was 18 months old when i got the 2nd puppy- for companionship- or so i thought. Elly still hates the puppy (now 18 months old) and they still have the odd fight. im sure elly wishes she was still an only dog!!  its so sad, as i would love another dog too!  many of my friends have 3/4 dogs and they all get on ok, i must be unlucky!!

Hi Dedlin
Ellie is obviously female;  what is the sex of your other dog and is he/she also a Schnauzer or another breed?

yes they are both girls and both schnauzers

thank you for all your comments  i'm looking into getting a dog not a bitch , but he will have his bits done first :rolleyes:

and only reason i'm looking into getting a 6month old bordeaux is because my girl is on the large size and i wouldnt want her to hurt him when playing ,plus i will only take one on if he gets on with my girl.

Most of the "ingratitude" I know about from the experience of friends has come from dogs of the same sex, Gunner. Breed doesn't seem to be as important although I'm sure there are breeds which have known incompatibilities with certain other breeds. But certainly all the happier canine partnerships have been with dogs of the opposite sex. Again, this is only from my experience rather than any scientific knowledge though!

Roz what you've said makes perfect sense :) I've always had 2 or more dogs,and now that i think about it there has always been more 'gratitude' shown when the newcomer has been a member of the opposite sex,and resentment when the same sex has been introduced!
The main reason i never stick with just one dog is because i do feel sorry for them,and i feel they need company of their own species,no matter how hard we try we just can not stimulate, and interact with them the same as another dog can. Right now i have 2 girls and a boy,the girls interact civily,but the boy and girl get on best and seem to be partners :)

well i now have 2 dogs i always had only one but i know have a red cattle (breeding) and a ckcs(non breeding will be desexed) and they adore each other she came into my home about 3 weeks ago and they now spend every waking moment togeather. I was suprised my bitch acted that way when i brought the ckcs home i think she views the ckcs as her pup (she had 9 pups 6 weeks ago tommorow) either way i havent had one prob with them since actually one prob i do have is my red cattle gets so upset when i take the ckcs to puppy classes she cries and is still crying by the time i get home. She has really come to depend on her company

Slee how does the cav get on with your pups? Does mum let her near them? :)

yep they all get on great, at first she was a little scared (the cav) of the pups because of all the rough housing but now she gets in on it and mum just sits by and watches . Pups get their first vac tommorow so they will be outside in a couple of days for the first time.

When I had 1 Munster - many moons ago - I had been chatting to my vet about buying another and he said it was the best thing I could do for my dog, to give him some companionship.    Asti duly arrived after a 3 year wait on a puppy list!   Now  I have 3, Miranda (Daughter of Addison & Asti) and Miranda's daughter, Mia & son, Curtis.   I would never go back to a lone dog.  Even when I have my sister's CKCS for the weekend, she seems to relish the 'pack atmosphere'.

Much as I love him I don't think getting a second dog was my best idea.  He's got his good points but he's SO clingy with the older dog, it's like having siamese twins ! Sometimes I feel really sorry for the older one, he had such a great life before but now hardly gets a minute's peace - he often gives me that woeful look that says 'what on earth possessed you ?....' :)

:) Sorry to laugh. tyby but this reminds me so much of my pup's older half brother! Only my breeder kept Nipper's sister and "dog sits" his very bumptious brother. Every time I go round poor Jake gives me a look that clearly says "Will somebody please take these b****y puppies AWAY!"

I have 2 danes. Willis is 3.5 and Phoebe is nearly 3. I have no problems at all... but when they play fight its like the clash of the titans and its not good when you find them playing tug of war with your best rug that all your furniture is usually stood on

Hmmm my BT was 2.5 years old when I got my other dog and now they completed dote on each other.

IMHO it was just about the right age difference - they play together and sleep together and are very rarely separated and I'm not sure what other think but because of the age gap there was never any temptation for them to bond with each other rather than me (although I do spend one to one with them just in case!).

They love to play with each other and I can definately say that my older dog seems not to mind me going to work anymore!!!  (although I only work 3 hours a day!!!) LOL

I would say I have been very lucky though as they have never had any niggles with each other and just got on so well from the very first day.

so is it best to wait a bit longer before i got another dog ? or will my bitch be ok bringing another dog into the home when shes only 13 months?

I would wait until your dog is fully mature before bringing another one into the equation that way, you will have trained her to a sufficient standard so that you can focus on the puppy who will learn good manners from your elder dog rather than bad manners from one that is perhaps not fully formed..................