I have only ever had 1 dog at a time but now feel that we have room, love and need for another, hubby is not quite convinced as he feels that tess will not want to be with us as much if we another puppy (tess is 2) and we adore her as much as she adores us. can you tell me the pro's and con's of having 2 dogs. thanks you.

I think 2 dogs are good company for each other and once you have one 2 are not much more hard work. Obviously you have   to be able to share your time between the 2 and this is something you need to consider carefully.

Now, what you would have to consider is whether to go for a dog or bitch. Often you can get issues with 2 in tact bitches at season time and a bitch fight can be terrible, believe me! If you are prepared to have a dog I would be prepared to have one neutered or spayed (or both) and then you wont have any of those issues.
In my experience I have found bitches more dominent and the dogs more laid back, but that may just be my breed.

Hope this helps

Nicky

As your bitch is two I would advise having her spayed between seasons and get her a male companion as opposite sex pairs work the best, as it is extremely rare for them to fall out.

Another bitch pup would be OK in a breed where it is usual for dogs to get on with their own kind well, as there would be a decent age gap.

For me having them have another outlet for play and affection, of their own species is only an advantage.  It is just fabulous watching their interactions, and of course they always have company any time you cannot give them time.

Hi tessisbest,

like the others I would recommend having two :)  TBH I would not by choice ever go back to being a single dog household as IME the dogs really prefer having other in house canine company and it's peace of mind for us when they are being left home alone.

I love watching them play together and observing their quirks and traits - it give a whole new insight into dog behaviour and body language, far better than can ever be read up on or researched :)

As Brainless recommended I'd also advise that you have a male as your new addition - on the proviso of course that you sort out the worries of future seasons (IMO it is better to have the bitch neutered rather than male castrated).

Assuming accidental litters are prevented, the other possible 'con' is how it may affect your finances - double vet fees, insurance premiums, food costs, kennel costs if you need to use them or alternatively if you have family/friends who currently dog sit for you would they be as willing with an extra one.  These issues aside, I'd definitely say go for it - it's all 'pros' for the dogs :)

HTH,
best wishes, Teri

tess has been spayed, she is such a loving gentle dog and im sure she would be a proper little mommy to a pup,, i really would prefer to have another bitch and would also have the pup spayed when the time is right, surley same sex dogs must get on but i understand that there is more of a chance of them having a go at each other.

> tess has been spayed

Well that's certainly one less concern :)  Even hormones when living with another bitch can cause problems.

I can understand that you may prefer another bitch since Tess sounds such a sweety and you probably think another one just like her will be great - if only it were that simple ;)  I'm on my sixth of my breed so far and no two have been remotely similar in temperament or trainability etc - and that's among a few that are close relations LOL.  There's no guarantee that your second dog, regardless of gender, will be anything like Tess so just keep that in mind when making a decision. 

I'd still recommend you go for a male as the chances of them falling out at a later date are considerably smaller than with two bitches but it is of course personal choice :)

Whatever you decide I'm sure Tess is going to be a very happy bunny!
best wishes,
Teri

We have 2 boys: one neutered many x crossed and one entire pedigree that we show.  The eldest was 4 when the pup arrived - we felt that he was old enough to be sensible and remember his training but young enough to still enjoy a puppy.  He was also confident enough in his relationship with us that he didn't feel threatened in any way by the new arrival.  He isn't very territorial and had always welcomed other dogs to the house.  The 'pup' is now 14 months old.

Both boys sleep in crates, doors are shut at night.  The puppy would really have liked to snuggle with the older one but he prefers to sleep alone and I've always thought it was safer that way.  We also have dog beds in the hall and due to a bed buying frenzy in the early days we also have 1 in the kids tv room and another in the living room.  I do ask the dogs to respect each others crates (diff sizes) but they happily swap all the other beds dependant on how they feel!  I still use two baby gates.  The one on the stairs (I didn't want the pup to gallop up and down and injure or strain himself) is still there to make sure the pup doesn't steal anything from the kids rooms when they forget to close doors.  I use one into the living room to help separation when they get a bit daft or to give my older dog a bit of peace and quiet; it's also useful to ensure both dogs get some one to one time with each of us.  I could really just close the door but I prefer to see through the baby gate and we are so used to it I forget it's there.

Training was a bit of an extra effort.  As the pup was learning things my older one would 'forget' them.  When I have both dogs on a walk the older one will still not recall as close as he used to - he got bored of the pup trampling over him and bumping him out of the way.  He's fine on his own and he's still close enough to treat or put the lead on so I just accept the change.  Training does require me to walk the dogs separately from time to time, particularly in the early days, but it's also another opportunity for some one to one time and to appreciate the differences between breeds and personality.  It also means I have a free hand for waving at people in the village or gesticulating at speeding tractors!

There was a thread on here recently about multiple dog households; we are delighted we got another dog but I think two is enough for me.  I only have two arms after all and with 2 adults and 2 children in the house it works perfectly!!  My 12 yr old son was initially very worried that in order to love the puppy he'd have to stop loving our other dog; now he understands that your heart just makes room so he is currently trying to persuade us to 'grow' the family :)

Edited to say:  we think the older dog spent the first 6 months waiting for pup to go home "it's been lovely meeting you but don't you have somewhere to be?!".  Puppies are just so tiring - we were all sleep deprived... :)

I'm very jealous, I'd love to have another dog but we simply don't have the space at the moment but I really hope when we move out of the city & into the countryside & start a family we can make a canine addition too!

Sorry I don't know what breed tess is? Will you be getting the same breed?

Good luck, you're going to have so much fun with 2 dogs but I don't envy you puppy training again!! he he!

tess is a staffi, and yes we would probally go for the same breed. Tess was 4 months old when she came to us and ive had no problems with her (except a few health issues) which we have sorted out,

My brother's got a little black staffi called Taz & he's lovely natured! Loves to play fight with Mol, she's so soft although double his size she lets him win!!!

how lovely, is Mol a staff too?

No she's a choc lab!!

i am so sad that we cannot afford a 2nd dog at the moment, i can tell tio misses living with other dogs (though he has his new girlfriend downstairs lol)

its great having 2, you see a whole different side. i'd suggest a boy as well, your pretty much certain that they will get on and the boys do tend to be the more submissive of them (at least in our breed)

I always have 2 dogs, its nice for them to have a mate to play with, company for each other and they seem to learn things quicker (doggy see, doggy do). 

There are a few things to bear in mind:

Cost - food bills, innocs, neutering, insurance etc.

Practicalities: walking 2 dogs together, extra dog poo to carry, twice the grooming,

The pluses outweigh the minuses in my book :-)

> There are a few things to bear in mind:

Less room on the sofa!!!!

And twice the training. :-)

> tess is a staffi

In view of the breed I would definitely choose a boy for Tessies companion.

Agree with Brainless, my 2nd Stafford I got was/is male, my first a bitch.
You do realise of course that there comes a point where even 2 doesn't feel right, and 3 would be so much better!! lol :-D
I can't wait to get more land and have another Stafford!!!!