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Are 2 Dogs Better Then 1


Guest donatella
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Guest donatella

Yes but GG there are 2 of you so technically you are allowed 4 dogs max if you work it out per person :rofl:

I'm still a single entity. Now who's going to want me with 2 Poms? LOL

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Oh go on...you know you want to ;)

Just like you I am pondering another puppy, but this will make it four. I already have two big dogs and one small. I find the small one wants to play but the big dogs are way too rough. I know Mojo would love a little friend to play with. But for me the breed I love most is pretty hard to find (Chinese Crested).

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Yes but GG there are 2 of you so technically you are allowed 4 dogs max if you work it out per person :rofl:

I'm still a single entity. Now who's going to want me with 2 Poms? LOL

Yeah I wondered who would want a crazy dog lady too...then decided to give ideal introductions a call...specified I needed a dog person lol...voila!

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I'm no help at all - six dogs here!!

Two dogs are twice the grooming, twice the feeding, twice the vet bills and twice the poo.

But I think they are twice the fun. Watching your dogs play is one of the world's greatest time wasters.

However, I'd honestly suggest you wait a while if you can. Two young dogs is a lot of fun. Two very old dogs can be a lot of heartbreak. Spacing out the ages helps a lot IMO.

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Yes but GG there are 2 of you so technically you are allowed 4 dogs max if you work it out per person :rofl:

I'm still a single entity. Now who's going to want me with 2 Poms? LOL

Yeah I wondered who would want a crazy dog lady too...then decided to give ideal introductions a call...specified I needed a dog person lol...voila!

I managed to find the poor sap even with my two rather spoiled cats, beats being clucky in that creepy way! Talking about your dogs or cats on a date must go down MILES better than some women who talk about how badly they want a baby! Puppy on!

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You need to think very hard about what you like about your dog, and whether this will be affected if you get a second one.

Do you like that she is closely bonded to you? Potentially she could bond to the other dog more. Do you like spending time with her? That time will decrease. Have you trained her to the point where you are happy with her level of training and living with her? She could learn bad habits, or you might not have the time to train her further. Are you happy with how easy it is to live with her? If she and the new puppy don't get along, managing two dogs and maintaining separate routines can be very difficult and frustrating.

Are you financially able to support two dogs? Do you have time to spend with them separately?

Why do you actually want two dogs? Is it really for her companionship? Or is it because you want another puppy? If for companionship, how disappointed would you be if they didn't like one another?

I'm not trying to criticize, simply trying to provide the other side of the argument. I'm also not expecting a reply. I'd rather you took some time and thought carefully about your answers.

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I like two dogs. I hate only having one. I feel so guilty all the time now about Kaos, i work long hours and while she is very happy, i worry she isnt getting enough attention. At least when Atlas was here she had a friend.

I have been offered 2 puppies... and honestly think i will be saying no, right now with a baby on the way i think it will be too much work, and ive only got till Jan, if not earlier, then i will be home all the time anyways.

Maybe end of next year i will get a second again

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If you want another one, get another one :D It's really only a PITA if they don't get along and in my experience the tinies are much more likely to get along fine and if they aren't they are heaps easier to manage if they need to be separated. Yours was already fine with the foster so it's highly likely she'll be fine with another one.

I think you are much more likely to regret not getting him than vice versa (that's what I'm like anyway) :)

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Not necessarily better - but different.

I got my second dog for me and me only and I know my first dog would actually prefer it if she buggered off and never came back :laugh: (though he does have his moments of liking her) they get along and don't need to be separated but aren't best friends and it's something to think about. I felt better leaving one dog while I worked full time than I did leaving two dogs, because the second one has separation issues, whereas the first one doesn't.

Cons:

Harder to manage if you get visitors and they are crazy

Much noisier from play noise, also one barking can set the other off, etc

Have to make more effort to train them - harder to wrangle two if they both want in on the treats

Can have resource guarding issues which can mean if they are barking or being destructive it's harder to leave things like kongs out to entertain them

Harder to find a house to rent

Second dog can become too dependant / bonded with the first dog

Pros:

Different personalities can be good for different things / situations

And all the other mushy stuff others said

So would I go back to one dog - no way - but that is because my second dog is my "special" dog, I train agility so more than one dog is better for that and the first dog isn't as suitable for it as the second. BUT if my second dog was as independent, aloof and crazy as my first dog - then I would probably be thinking I should've stuck with one!

On another note - the spacing is probably worth thinking about too so that you don't wind up with two elderly dogs at the same time.

Good post :thumbsup:

Im clearly not the one to talk you out of it after going from no dogs to 3 dogs in 2.5 years :laugh:

I found going from one to two pretty easy, I don't think it's twice the work, at least with small dogs. I was lucky at mine got along fine but if Lucy tends to get along with other dogs and wasn't bothered having your little Chi visitor then hopefully she would welcome a puppy too. I wouldn't expect her not to be protective of her food just because he's a puppy though, she probably still would be so you'd have to watch that.

You've been thinking about it for a while and are clearly not acting on impulse so if I were you I'd go with your gut and not stress out about the problems if you decide to go ahead - expect it to work well then manage any issues that arise.

I do think that after getting the second one I went from a "person with a dog" to a "(crazy) dog person". My life is very centered on the dogs now and all the things people said about not being able to go away and the costs involved are very true but for me it's worth it for the benefits they bring me.

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Go for it I say if its what you want. We are thinking about getting another when our son and his GF leave taking their 11mth old Lab with them ( hes been here since 8 wks). He and our 3 yr old ESS get on very well its great watching them play tug, bitey face ect, only thing is sometimes he gets a bit rough with her as size wise there is a diff ( about 16kgs) but she pulls him into line and is the boss and he knows when she has had enough. My trouble is deciding what breed to get, as she is a working line so is a very 'busy bee'. Good luck and yep loads of pictures Pom puppies are pretty darn cute :D

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Our girl loves having her daughter around, she used to hate being home alone and we were lucky enough that the neighbours would come and say hi to her over the fence during the day if she was looking lonely. In saying that you need to put a lot of time into training seperately, spending time with them individually etc. so that they are both bonded to you, not each other. They play together all the time, they sleep together and because we've spent time training them individually we've found having two not too much of an issue really, having big active dogs it means that the food costs are double but we can afford it so that's ok. They are both very much happy with each other and we are happy that we have a great relationship with each dog as well. Ours are mother and daughter so we never had an issue with accepting each other.

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I haven't read all the other posts. But last year I went from being a 2 dog house to a 1 dog house and I thought I'd give it a go for a while (in all honesty it's only 5 years ago that I was a no dog house, then spent 2 years as a 1 dog house before realising getting another would be ace for me!). Kenzie wanted another dog probably by about December last year. She was really missing the company, even though she was coming to work with me a few times a week and having play dates every week. But I wasn't ready. Then I started thinking maybe I might be ready to be a 2 dog house again, I just suddenly realised that even though there was one dog in the house it sort of seemed like it was missing something (this is a pitfall once you go to having multiple dogs, as soon as there are not multiples you start to notice it a lot!!!!!).. And along came Hamish in June and all I can say is thank goodness because the house feels the way it is supposed to again!

In the few posts I read there was a lot of good advice in terms of reasons why/why not to get a second. I do have a friend that got a 2nd and he and her first dog do not get along at all and have previous fought in a very intense manner. They now need to manage their dogs so that they are not in contact (basically), as she has decided that she is not prepared to give up either dog (for a wide variety of reasons). this has meant altering their backyard, coming up with strict arrangements for house time, carefully managing all food/walking/play. She and her husband are committed to making this work (her first dog is very elderly and will have limited time around, second is young). But it is something that needs to be thought about, what happens if they don't get along?

But yeah, 2 is great!!! Ideally I'd love 3, but for at least the next few years I'm just going to stick with my 2!!!!

ETA

I meant to also say, the other thing I love about having 2 is that I can do different things with them. Kenz is my working/performance dog. Hamish is just my pretty boy who is making me experiment with showing, and even if he does no good he's still going to be my pretty boy!!!! But I really enjoy being able to do different things with each of my dogs, doing things with them together and also letting them enjoy each other!

Edited by Pretty Miss Emma
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Guest donatella
I'm still a single entity. Now who's going to want me with 2 Poms? LOL
But you can't be a crazy dog lady with only one dog.

You can be if you post lots on FB and constantly talk dog :rofl:

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I'd never go back to a 1 dog house.

I currently have 5, two being 4 month old litter mates and it's a lot easier then I had thought it would be.

Granted going on holidays is harder and more expensive because I have to worry about boarding so many large dogs but the joy they bring me is worth every penny.

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Guest donatella

Ok, breeder wants to use pup as stud if i buy is this a normal occurrence?

I don't mind, I just wondered if this was normal?

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