erinonthefarm Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 My family and I have recently became the slaves to a dobermann puppy who is now 4 months old. Sniper seems at this point to be more on the dominant side with other dogs, very well socialised and has been submissive for adult dogs when they are dominant types but isn't at all shy when meeting new dogs. We crate him and he is an inside dog, and we plan to try showing and tracking with him. I am currently at home full time as we have a remote posting for my husbands work. This will be for another 12 months at least, but I'm wondering if I should get another dog now while I am at home to raise another puppy to keep Sniper company for when I go back to work maybe next year. I am not sure whether 2 will be better than 1 as far as avoiding nuissance barking ect. If I were to do this, any suggestions for a) Adult or puppy (We would probably like another Dobermann and are not sure about rehoming desexed breed stock or rescue dobes as we have children and need a dog that is safe with kids) b)Male or female (can be desexed, but Sniper may not be at least until 2yo) c) Is it actually any better having 2 dogs together than 1? OH is great when at home but I do most of the training/ feeding/ loving on! I would love to hear from anyone who has raised two puppies together (How bad can it be ) or advice from Dobe owners as to best combination for a pair. Or just anyone who wants to tell me I'm crazy for even considering it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Miss Emma Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 My somewhat random thoughts on this... Two puppies = twice as much trouble to be gotten in to!! Getting a pup when you have an older dog gives them someone to learn from. Is the 2nd dog/pup for you or the other puppy? If it's for the puppy then don't get it, if it's for you then just work out the timing that would work for you. I still think I would love to have another pup (my young girl is 15 months), but then I look at the work I have with her and know that I don't have the time to give to 2 young dogs so I need to wait until she's a bit more grown up and then I can do justice to them both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erinonthefarm Posted January 23, 2011 Author Share Posted January 23, 2011 My somewhat random thoughts on this...Two puppies = twice as much trouble to be gotten in to!! Getting a pup when you have an older dog gives them someone to learn from. Is the 2nd dog/pup for you or the other puppy? If it's for the puppy then don't get it, if it's for you then just work out the timing that would work for you. I still think I would love to have another pup (my young girl is 15 months), but then I look at the work I have with her and know that I don't have the time to give to 2 young dogs so I need to wait until she's a bit more grown up and then I can do justice to them both. I agree, only that my time to be a stay at home puppy mum is running out, and would one dog be bored on his own when I have to return to work? What do you do to keep your dog occupied while you are away from home? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Miss Emma Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Well if pup is used to being on it's own then it will probably be fine. For starters I'd be making sure thhat even though you're at home now don't let him be completely reliant on you. Let him learn to be on his own and enjoy his own company. So let him spend time on his own in the yard/crate/where ever so that he knows he can be on his own. If you do this to start with when he's worn out he'll just fall asleep (so after lots of play time or a walk, etc). Also things to keep him busy!!! My girls like the interactive food toys (buster cube, kong, bobalot, tugajug) and these keep them busy for a bit (not very long, but long enough to be a distraction to the fact that they've been left alone). What you will find is that when you aren't there he will probably just sleep. Dogs spend a lot of their time sleeping!! So if you can give him some exercise before you leave, and maybe leave him with his breakfast, then he will probably just go to sleep after a little bit. I do have 2 dogs but they are not there as company for each other (although they do provide compant for each other. But 1 is 12YO the other is 15MO, so their play needs are quite different and they don't really play together). I got Emma because she is perfect!!! Well, really she's a rescue and there was no way I was leaving a 9YO beautiful girl in a shelter. I got Kenzie because I wanted a dog that I could work with (Em is starting to get a bit old for some of this). Emma spent almost 3 weeks being at the vet all day every day just recently and I was worried how Kenzie would cope as she was used to being part of a pair. She coped with being a single dog fine. She got a longer walk in the morning, breakfast as I walked out the door. I came home during the day to check on her a couple of times (I was worried she'd be fretting and driving the neighbours crazy!!), she was fast asleep and hadn't even heard the car pull in the driveway!!! At night she got a long walk to tire her out again. So they do cope fine. I just know how much work Kenzie is giving me as a 15MO and I thought about getting another one a few months ago (not at all practical with where I live anyway), and there is just no way I could manage it and do both of them justice. But again, people have done it and made it work!! This is just how it would be for me. Hopefully someone who has done this might add to the thread to give you what their actual experience was!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Honestly? About six years apart!! Two young dogs means two old dogs - losing two dogs in quick succession is not fun. However I'd space them out an a MINIMUM of 18 months apart and get a dog of the other gender to yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Mine are 5 years apart and to be honest, I'd probably leave less time than that if I had the choice again - 3 or 4 years. The puppy's energy level was just a bit too much for my older boy even though he was really good with her. I don't think I could do two puppies - put my girl with another dog her age and with a similar play style and she wouldn't stop all day. Not good for joints and bones, and probably noisy and destructive as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W Sibs Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Do you have time for another dog? Especially when you go back to work, will you committed on fulfilling 2 dogs individual needs and wants separately? Double the training. Double the $$. Do you want to go through their "teenage" phase together (if you get another puppy)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I think the perfect time for a 2nd dog is when the first dog is trained to your standards. I got Kaos when Atlas was 18 months (ish) he was in the top class at obedience, good with other dogs, not jumping all over people anymore, so i was happy to get a second dog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bundyburger Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Honestly? About six years apart!! Two young dogs means two old dogs - losing two dogs in quick succession is not fun. However I'd space them out an a MINIMUM of 18 months apart and get a dog of the other gender to yours. Yep.. and some breeders won't sell you a dog if you already have a young puppy.. as sometimes people don't manage their time, then oh whooops what'd we do getting a second one, back to the breeder it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 (edited) We have one dog who is 11 months and one who is 7 months. We made the decision to go for two pups this close together because it fit in well with time commitments, a suitable second puppy came along when we were still able to put in sufficient puppy prep-time. I wouldn't get a puppy to keep the first one company, it's a definite benefit but the main thing is whether you want a second dog and if you have the time and energy to give it equal time. We found puppyhood pretty exhausting … Because our dogs are of a similar age and breed, they have SUCH a great time playing with each other. They run around like total idiots and then will snooze for hours on end. We were very conscious that they could wind each other up and become more attached to each other than to us so we have worked quite hard at making sure that we do work "alone" with each pup, that they come when called even if they're playing with each other and that they get training separately as well as together. We watched them carefully when they didn't know to see how they played together – to make sure they didn't play like crazy all the time etc and when we were satisfied with that, we let them be them alone together. If they were too wound up, we probably would have segregated them when we weren't around. They seem to have pretty similar biorhythms so it's pretty funny to watch one of them go and nudge the other to initiate play. Hoover is definitely the pesky younger brother but Elbie loves having him around. Elbie's not yet fully trained in a formal obedience sense but he is fully trained from a house manners point of view so Hoover learned very quickly from him about where to go, when to go etc. We had minor slippage when we first got Hoover because Elbie didn't want to toilet when Hoover was around but he got over that really quickly and now they both go out there and toilet on command. For obedience class, OH will be Elbie's handler and I'll be Hoover's handler although when it comes to 'at home practice', we alternate so that we are both training each dog equally and there is consistency. In getting our second puppy, we also spent a lot of time talking to the breeder about the puppy with a right personality to fit in with Elbie. Hoover likes to play and leap like a crazy puppy but in general he is a lot more chilled and laid back than Elbie so they mesh together very well. We know that having two dogs of similar age means that we're likely to have two old dogs at the same time and probably two losses at around the same age but … in life there are no certainties and guarantees and our two certainly have such great times together and we haven't regretted getting Hoover for a second. It's definitely something you have to think long and hard about. One thing we were shocked about when we got Hoover was how long ago Elbie's puppy hood seemed – there we were back to taking the dogs out every 2 hours for toileting … Fortunately that's all behind us and they both sleep through the night, don't jump on furniture, don’t chew anything they're supposed to and are house-trained. With Hoover, we were able to do a few things right that we should have done with Elbie but didn't do because we were just so new to the dog ownership thing Good luck whatever you decide! :p Edited January 25, 2011 by koalathebear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adza Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I am waiting till Tahli is 2 y/o I just couldn't do it yet, she is 7 months and she's still a handful. My focus is on her training and socialisation. I couldn't do it properly with another pup around as much as I want it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erinonthefarm Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 (edited) Thanks everyone, I probably should have worded it differently, I do want another dog for me too! My OH better look out when we stop moving around because then I won't have any restrictions ;) just kidding though, I do find Sniper a lot of work, we are doing 4.30am wake ups atm and that x 2 doesn't sound fun. My sensible side knows it's better to succeed at keeping one dog happy than failing with two, but It's so hard to stop at one........ I have spoken to OH and as his work is quite flexible with times, we could do alternate shifts so Sniper isn't home alone as much if we move. CW EW - I definately do NOT want to go through the teenage phase with 2 I still remember from my last Dobe's teenage years! Koalathebear - I have read other posts about your dogs, and I do like the idea of 2 dogs being playmates for each other, I never thought about how they might develop a preference for the other dog over the humans. I think I will think on this further, see what our plans are next year.. Oh and I'm on a rapid learning curve with dog ownership, so don't want to overdo it right! Thanks again everyone Edited January 24, 2011 by erinonthefarm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I do find Sniper a lot of work, we are doing 4.30am wake ups atm and that x 2 doesn't sound fun. My sensible side knows it's better to succeed at keeping one dog happy than failing with two, but It's so hard to stop at one........ I know exactly what you mean. I don't think I could handle more than two dogs in our house, two is a perfect number for us. Initially it IS a lot of extra work but pretty quickly, it isn't that much extra work once the dogs get settled. We were taking Hoover out for regular night time toilet stops for a few weeks but he was able to hold it through the night quite quickly and both of them are very happy to 'sleep in' these days so there are no more early morning wake-up calls because of the dogs. My OH was probably cursing my desire to get a second puppy when he was standing out in Poo Corner at 3am in the midst of a loud pouring thunder storm … Also, two dogs equals twice the poo so clean-up can be quite hard work ;) I never thought about how they might develop a preference for the other dog over the humans. It's a real possibility especially if the second dog is a young puppy. For that reason we make sure the dogs do have lots of 'apart' time. We might take one out for a drive and leave the other one at home, they have separate training sessions as well as joint training sessions. Sometimes I take one out for a walk while the other is playing in the backyard with OH. We've made a real effort to do training 'near' each other so that when we start at obedience class, the dogs aren't distracted during class if they catch a glimpse of the other dog – you can see some 'siblings' lunging at one another instead of concentrating on class. The other thing about training is that OH and I split dog duties 50/50 – that goes for home duties and also obedience classes. Some people are amazing and are able to take one dog to one class and the other dog to another class on another day or even do all their dogs at one class but I couldn't do that so I'm lucky that OH takes one dog and I take the other for the classes. In any case, photos of your current puppy would be most welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erinonthefarm Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 I do find Sniper a lot of work, we are doing 4.30am wake ups atm and that x 2 doesn't sound fun. My sensible side knows it's better to succeed at keeping one dog happy than failing with two, but It's so hard to stop at one........ I know exactly what you mean. I don't think I could handle more than two dogs in our house, two is a perfect number for us. Initially it IS a lot of extra work but pretty quickly, it isn't that much extra work once the dogs get settled. We were taking Hoover out for regular night time toilet stops for a few weeks but he was able to hold it through the night quite quickly and both of them are very happy to 'sleep in' these days so there are no more early morning wake-up calls because of the dogs. My OH was probably cursing my desire to get a second puppy when he was standing out in Poo Corner at 3am in the midst of a loud pouring thunder storm … Also, two dogs equals twice the poo so clean-up can be quite hard work I never thought about how they might develop a preference for the other dog over the humans. It's a real possibility especially if the second dog is a young puppy. For that reason we make sure the dogs do have lots of 'apart' time. We might take one out for a drive and leave the other one at home, they have separate training sessions as well as joint training sessions. Sometimes I take one out for a walk while the other is playing in the backyard with OH. We've made a real effort to do training 'near' each other so that when we start at obedience class, the dogs aren't distracted during class if they catch a glimpse of the other dog – you can see some 'siblings' lunging at one another instead of concentrating on class. The other thing about training is that OH and I split dog duties 50/50 – that goes for home duties and also obedience classes. Some people are amazing and are able to take one dog to one class and the other dog to another class on another day or even do all their dogs at one class but I couldn't do that so I'm lucky that OH takes one dog and I take the other for the classes. In any case, photos of your current puppy would be most welcome He's smiling! I am going to get my OH to read your post about poo corner, maybe they can start a support network ;) . I think even if I wait until next year, it takes that long to find a good puppy sometimes, and see what my circumstances are then. I will just have to be content with browsing and one clever, beautiful puppy for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMAK Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I got my second dog when my first dog was two years old, at this age the older dog was matured for her breed and trained and very obedient, enough to guide my puppy and to teach him how it all works i must say my younger dog is more well behaved the the older girl heheh only because i knew what not to do becasue of what i learn't of my first dog. they are now 5 and 3 abouts and work very well together. being the same breed it worked very well for me as they were very similar in temp and behaviour so they bonded very well. you still have a few years to learn the ins and outs of your first dog enjoy that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flux Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Well, mine bark more now I have two. Mine are brattier now I have two. - I thought getting a second dog would mean they would play together. Not really for me, they both get bored and act like naughty kids picking fights (not literally) with one another or both deciding to attack outside furniture when they are "bored". Jazz was 15 months old when we got Riley. In hindsight I would have waited a lot longer, perhaps nearer to two years old before getting the second pup. Poor jazz was not old enough to "cope" with the pup,and when she did learn to be alright with him (this involved A LOT of effort, supervision, correction, encouragment) she pretty much regressed to puppy again. We always say she decided that if Riley could jump up, then so could she - after being taught patiently that jumping up was a no. Now Riley is 6 months and the playing field is equalizing again, both dogs seem to "flow"more with their interactive behaviour. It really does seem to be true that it's "twice the trouble" I thought they would equal each other out, but they don't, they just double everything. I honestly have not seen a difference in being more "tired out" with them playing all day together, walks are still eagerly anticipated (I know that nothing substitutes a walk or two, I literally mean there is no less enthusiam, they don't seem more tired after a day together). I could not judge really if they are "happier" with each others company while us humans are out, first dog is still just as pleased to see us as she was when she was on her own. I believe that they are company for one another. But a good question is - Jazz on her own with her un-interuppted bone chewing, puzzle toy playing and peaceful snoozing - is this better or worse than Jazz now with puppy friend who keeps her busy in one sense, but we can't leave two bones alone with them, or food puzzle toys. Even a game of ball has altered to incorporate two dogs - is the competition more stress or more activity? So in short, no short answer! Benefits to both senarios, I thought someone summed it up nicely (sorry I don't remember your name!) with the comment that definately get the second dog for yourself, not for the benefit of the other dog/pup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltoid Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 (edited) sorry, wrong thread Edited January 28, 2011 by deltoid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonJosie Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Ah crap, sorry all, didn't see this thread when I started my new one under General Discussion. The thing with my partner and I is we're considering doing it arse backwards. We (well, I) want to get a rescue dog, so I'm thinking it may be a couple of years old (I always feel that puppies are so popular, so I wouldn't mind re-homing an adult dog). So we're wondering when would be an appropriate time to think about bringing an older dog to live with us and our puppy. Or is that just freaking crazy talk? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 (edited) Ah crap, sorry all, didn't see this thread when I started my new one under General Discussion. The thing with my partner and I is we're considering doing it arse backwards. We (well, I) want to get a rescue dog, so I'm thinking it may be a couple of years old (I always feel that puppies are so popular, so I wouldn't mind re-homing an adult dog). So we're wondering when would be an appropriate time to think about bringing an older dog to live with us and our puppy. Or is that just freaking crazy talk? Don't worry, there are heaps and heaps of threads about similar topics around here - most people aren't fussed About your particular scenario - alas, I can't help you there because I haven't experienced it. I'm sure someone more experienced will come along and share their views. I'm sure they'll talk about temperament-testing, safety, how trained the second dog is, how pack hierarchy will pan out given that the first dog is younger and smaller and the second dog is likely to be older and larger etc etc Good luck! Edited January 29, 2011 by koalathebear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonJosie Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Thanks koala. PS: Hoover's ears! Argh! So cute! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now