two dogs or one dog?

[Gemmy4ever]

Hi...I'm just wondering if I should get one dog or two dogs. I've heard that if you get one dog it is really fun because you share a wonderful bond with them like never before and you can spend all of your attention and training to him/her. But, with two dogs, they can play together when you are gone. Oh, yeah, and its Australian Shepherds that I'm going to get. (yes, this is a BC site)Also, the good thing about getting two dogs is...I like two different patterns(blue merle and black tri) and if I had to get one dog, its very difficult to chose!! Also, it is very fun getting two dogs. But, its very fun with one dog. Please help me out with your opinions! One dog or Two dogs? Thanks, I really appreciate it!

 

(Note: I'm not going to get a dog(dogs) right away, but I'm deciding this for the future)

[berocca]

Not sure why you made this post twice but anyway.

 

I usually prefer to have more than 1 dog. I don't like leaving a dog alone in the yard while Im at work and dogs are able to play with each other in a way that we can never do.

 

However, I dont think I would ever consider getting 2 puppies at the same time. So much training, socialisation etc needs to go into puppies and I couldn't imagine having to do it for 2 dogs at once. What are you looking to do with the pups? If you want to get into dog sports I would suggest waiting a little while between dogs. I waited until Cody was 2 before I got Delta as he had finally reached advanced levels of agility and obedience and I could start dedicating some training time to another dog. He was hit by a car a few weeks later and I was left with one dog again. By the time she was 6 months old I wanted to get another dog for her company (and for me). Delta still had so much further to go in her training and I knew it wouldn't be fair to her to get another puppy so I looked into rescue. Thats how Charlie came into my life.

 

It is still really hard trying to train both of them at dog sports as they are at about the same level. However, at least Charlie was already socialised and housetrained, all I have to worry about is the actual sport training. With another puppy I would have been in for a lot more work and it just wouldn't have been fair to Delta.

 

I suggest getting one now and another one in a year or so if you want puppies. Or consider getting an adult dog through a rescue. You could also contact a few aussie people and may find a well bred dog who just didn't work out in the new home and was returned to the breeder.

[PSmitty]

After having an only dog for two years, and seeing the difference between that and having two (or three), I'll never have a singleton again. But if you're considering getting two puppies at the same time, I vote no to that. I would not be up for the challenge.

[Greylite]

Speaking as someone who has had two puppies at once I can say it is not a good idea. Two dogs are great. Two puppies not so much. I'd stick with just getting one then later see if you are up for another dog.

[Ruger's Dad]

I am indifferent on this point. Casey our Springer was 7 years old when we got Ruger. Even though Casey was still young at heart, she tolerates Ruger and that is about it. The two of them rarely play together if you can even call it that. If you do Casey wrong she will not forget it. She can hold a grudge for years.

 

I will say this, Casey is getting more and more arthritic. She was my walking companion. If I didn't have Ruger, I would be up a creek. I don't take Casey if I go for much more than a couple of miles.

 

The next dog is going to be another Border though. His name will be Black Jack unless I go the rescue route.

[Root Beer]

Three is my number.

 

Two boys and a girl. And I like the two boys to be Border Collies and the girl to be a mutt.

 

Of course, that's just me!

[Oz Girls]

Having two adults dogs is great.

 

Raising two puppies together is not the best way to get there.

 

Having done it once, I would not chose to do it again unless there were extenuating circumstances.

[juliepoudrier]

Does having nine count as some sort of answer to the question?

 

J.

[Bo Peep]

never two puppies at once. I love one adolescent dog and an older rescue. Suits me just fine. They keep each other busy and really seem to enjoy each other, however, you have to take them out one at a time for training, but can take them out both at once for exercise.

[berocca]

On another note. I don't know how I would have coped with Cody's death if I didn't have Delta. I will always have at least 2 so that if, god forbid, something were to happen to one, the other one would get me through the tough times.

[silhouettestable]

How about 7? I can't even remember what it was like to have only one dog. I think the last time I was in that situation would have been living at home at my parents house back in ummm....1986 or '87. In '88 I got 2 collie pups and have never gone back to just one dog. I've raised 2 same age puppies together 4 times over now, plus one of those times we got our collie Noah at 8 weeks of age when our 2 great danes were only 6 months. Talk about TROUBLE! Never mind double trouble, we're talking triple trouble. The ripupyourhouse, eatyourdoorknobs, peeldoorwaytrim, peelakesonthefloor, ripoutyourscreens, eatyourbarbecueknobs kind of trouble. The danes outgrew the crates I had borrowed for them and we would shut all 3 dogs in the hallway when we had to leave the house. Once we singled out the instigator though, we took down our spare bed, hubby built a custom dane-sized crate and the spare room was converted to the dogs room. End of problem. The other 2 dogs could be left loose in the house without wrecking it, and eventually the other guy could too, when he was a little older. The danes are no longer with us, but now that I've got 7 dogs I couldn't imagine going back to just one.

[Kenbo]

If you have the room, two would be fine. I don't mean room for two crates in the bedroom or anywhere in the house. They will get along fine, but they need to burn engery. The puppy's will bond fine as they grow and get along well when they get older. Some times when you introduce then as adults, it might upset the apple-cart. Where some people run into trouble is that they don't have the time or space to do it right. If you do, it will work just fine. Good Luck

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Does having nine count as some sort of answer to the question?

 

Hee! Or ten?

 

How about, get a rescue, give it about two months to make sure you are settled in and all the monkeys have fallen out of the curtains with regards to health and temperament. Then go puppy hunting (if that is your intention). The older dog knows the drill and the puppy will play follow-my-leader (especially if you start with an adult female and add a baby male).

 

Even better, add a second rescue four to six months down the road, after rescue #1 has completed a training course of some kind with you.

[mbc1963]

I often wonder about this, too. My dog is a rescue, who came home very fearful and reactive at 18 months. He's come a long way since then, and has dog friends, but meeting is never easy for him, and frequently leads to snarling sessions. In order to make the meeting thing work, I have to introduce Buddy very slowly: ideally, a long leisurely walk off leash. After a few minutes, if the chemistry is right, Buddy will invite play. Having anyone (human or dog) into our house requires, again, slow introductions before Buddy can settle.

 

So... my question is... would a second dog likely help Buddy's reactivity and dog issues? Or would I just be asking for trouble? Sometimes I think Buddy would benefit greatly, but other times I think I'd be setting him up for regression and deepening of his fear!

 

Mary

[stockdogtta]

I got nine (8Aussies-1BC) right now. Having multiple pups at the same time, I've done and would do again. But having more than one pup at the same time isnt for everyone---just as having more than one dog isnt for everyone.

[Mojo]

So... my question is... would a second dog likely help Buddy's reactivity and dog issues? Or would I just be asking for trouble? Sometimes I think Buddy would benefit greatly, but other times I think I'd be setting him up for regression and deepening of his fear!

 

So far, Wolfee (calm, temperamentally stable foster) has been here a few weeks, and he has improved Mojo's overall tolerance of dogs in his space when off-leash quite dramatically; however, Mojo has always been 100% trustworthy (i.e., has never bitten nor is ever likely to bite) another dog while off-leash, and in fact he is always eager to meet/sniff new dogs when off-leash, and will even rarely play with another strange dog--he just sometimes gets uncomfortable when certain strange dogs that rub him the wrong way get too close to him or get too close to me (he will growl and walk away or get between them and me, but he doesn't even snap at them, as he has truly excellent bite inhibition). Notably, Mojo is not fearful--he is insecure and intolerant and overprotective. He had little to no problem with Godiva, ever, likely because he found her to be non-threatening (old, female, smaller than him, dead calm), but when Wolfee came (young, male, playful, significantly larger than him), Mojo was quite defensive and grumpy at first, but Mojo never did anything beyond complain vocally about it (growling, howling, barking--he has never laid his teeth on Wolfee once). After weeks of effort, I can now pet/play with Wolfee, and Wolfee can even jump up on me, without Mojo trying to intervene. Further, Wolfee can bodily crash into Mojo while playing, sit on Mojo's tail, play tug with him, etc., and Mojo doesn't seem to mind anymore, but he is not exactly happy about it, either. Same goes for strange dogs at the dog park since Wolfee's arrival--again, Mojo used to feel the need to "protect" me when a strange dog came barreling out of nowhere and planted its paws on my chest, but now, he kind of just tentatively watches to see what my reaction is. If he really thinks I am in trouble, he will still come to my "rescue" (barks, growls, and physically steps between the other dog and me), but otherwise, he leaves the other dog alone.

 

That said, Mojo's leash reactivity, which is his main problem, is NOT AT ALL touched by Wolfee's calm presence. In fact, once Mojo starts to lunge/bark at another dog on-leash, Wolfee will now start to bark too, but in a different way--he is mainly whining/yipping because he wants to play with the other dog, while Mojo is yelling at the top of his lungs, "Get the heck away from me!" Notably, if I take Wolfee out alone, he never, ever, EVER barks or whines at another dog, and greets people, kids, and dogs alike with calm, happy, total friendliness, just like Godiva. Similarly, Wolfee does NOT bark at people/dogs passing by the house when in the yard alone, but when Mojo is out and starts to bark at passersby, Wolfee seems to think that he must sound the alarm now, too (although it does, comically, seem as if he doesn't know what he is barking at). Since I don't want to ruin the fantastically stable temperament of my new foster, I no longer walk Mojo and Wolfee together if it is during the day (when Mojo is most prone to reactivity, as there are lots of dogs/people out) in our neighborhood, but I do walk them together at night (less crowded) and out of our neighborhood and have not had incidents, but Mojo walks well on leash (does not react) in these situations normally, anyway (he is now only very reactive on the sidewalks around our house if there are too many people/dogs out, after the year's worth of training I put into him).

 

So, I would say if you are tempted to get another dog to fix your current dog's reactivity, it really depends on how your dog feels about other dogs when off-leash. If he is fearful of other dogs off-leash and has never played with other dogs off-leash (and Mojo always could), and if your dog has bad bite inhibition, then DON'T get a second dog.....having another dog constantly in your house, on his turf, where it is difficult for him to get away (as he could if he were in a dog park) could really create a lot of stress for your current dog if he had to live in constant fear. You could also end up making the second dog reactive, as well, and one or both dogs could get injured. I think Godiva is just so totally unreactive that she was never tempted to bark when Mojo was lunging and barking next to her on a leash (usually, she wouldn't even look UP), but she is really not a typical dog (she is kind of oblivious to everything and waddles along in her own little world), while Wolfee IS perhaps one of the most normal dogs on the planet (interested in people, other dogs, smelling things, etc.) Mojo treats Godiva like a pillow and recognizes her as part of the family, but he has never really treated her like another dog, and she seems completely unaware of his neuroses, which is why I think they have gotten along so well--I was exceedingly lucky. Thus, I think it is possible that if you found the right second dog you could make it work, but there is no guarantee that will IMPROVE your first dog's behavior--it is certainly just as possible that the behavior will be the same or worse, and then you will be stuck with the second dog for the rest of its life, too. I hope that helps...

 

I have to say, in answer to the OP's question, if it were up to me, I would only have ONE dog. I like being able to focus all of my time and energy on just one and make that dog a really, really, super dog, but that is just me. I DO think, however, that if I have to leave the house, Mojo and Godiva take comfort in one another's presence while I am gone (they often snuggle together), and Mojo's arrival made Godiva's little old life much more exciting than it was previously, which was just wonderful for her....but I certainly had not planned, wanted, or was looking for a second dog--it kind of just happened, and I made the best of it! In all honesty, I think Wolfee, as the third dog, has now made the house a complete zoo, so I am glad that, as delightful as he is, that he is not going to be a permanent addition. Three is definitely too many for me!!! I think I do plan to foster again after Wolfee, but both Mojo and I will need a good long break after this!

[Greylite]

If you have the room, two would be fine. I don't mean room for two crates in the bedroom or anywhere in the house. They will get along fine, but they need to burn engery. The puppy's will bond fine as they grow and get along well when they get older. Some times when you introduce then as adults, it might upset the apple-cart. Where some people run into trouble is that they don't have the time or space to do it right. If you do, it will work just fine. Good Luck

 

Not always true. My two are litter mates and do not get along most of the time. Can never leave them alone together. Three seconds in a room alone and they are full on fighting. Outside of the house they are the best of friends. Inside no way. My case may be special but my boys don't like each other. Their personalities don't mesh. That's been my biggest problem.

[bcnewe2]

Does having nine count as some sort of answer to the question?

 

Yes but what that anwser is would be subject to who's giving it!!

 

I currently have 4 bc's one is young. The others have come either as adults or raised as puppies with the older ones. I have 2 lgd's and I don't count them in the mix becuase my DH would say I have to many then. They are strictly outside dogs so to me they don't count!

 

I would always have more than 1 but agree with the others that getting 2 puppies unless your are extremely experienced with raising puppies is not a good idea, and I think that counts for dogs under 1 1/2 to 2 years old.

 

I think if my dogs are all getting along, the number of them does not matter to me. If I get one that doesn't gel with the pack it can seem like way to many and a hard issue to remedy. I like the idea of getting 1 rescue keeping it alone with you to bond with then adding maybe a younger one at about the 6 month mark. I like the 2nd one to be the younger one. Usually fits in easier that way

 

Kristen

[SalemsMom]

I love having 2 dogs, but I don't think I could handle 2 puppies. I had Salem as an only dog for 3 1/2 years before I brought Cheza in (who is about 4 months now). I'm glad I waited until Salem was trained, because it has made it a bit easier with Cheza. She has learned a lot of commands really easily just by watching her brother.

 

Over the weekend I had the dogs at the dog park. There was a man there with 2 aussie pups. One was 5 months the other was 4 months. The guy brought one home and it was easy for the first month so he decided to bring in another as a playmate. Now he is pulling his hair out, lol.

 

off topic, but Cheza had so much fun with those puppies. The 3 of them were hard to keep track of they were running so fast. Normally there aren't many dogs there that play the same way as she does.

[ClickMeBC]

To the OP, I'd stick to the general advice: one pup is the best way to go. After having raised my two Italian Greyhounds together from the age of twelve weeks, I can say in all truthfullness that never, ever will I EVER do such a thing as bring home two puppies - much less littermates - at the same time again(unless in order to foster puppies in dire need). Think of it in these terms: By bringing home two puppies to raise simultaneously, not only are you placing upon yourself the enourmous, time-consuming responsibilities of one puppy times two, you are also going to be preventing and facing the behavioral problems that are induced by raising two puppies - especially littermates - at a time. Everything tends to increase in difficulty, from housetraining, to obedience training, to teaching them to sit politely for guests. They tend to follow each other's lead, and you'll find yourself having to correct two pups at once and unsure as to how to go about such a task. You'll have to give individual training sessions and find a second handler when you enroll them in puppy or obedience classes(assuming you do so). Training attention in building a relationship with either or both is more difficult, as they often find each other more fun than you are.

 

I've had as many as four dogs at a time, and have three at the moment. Though I'll probably never have a solitary dog again, I highly reccomend you begin with one pup, and when you have a balanced, well-behaved dog or puppy that can set an example for future dogs/puppies, then you're ready for a second, provided you have the time and capacity to care for, train, and love a second.

 

I'm wishing you the best of luck. Having multiple dogs can be a great joy, as long as you approach it properly.

[theshine]

I'll always have more than one. Two or three or four for me. I have three right now. Two of them I raised together as puppies, not litter mates though. I have no regrets about that so far, they are 14 months now. Training has probably taken longer, I can't say for sure because I've never raised a single puppy, all my previous dogs were aquired as adults. I can't say yet if I'd ever do it again either, they're still very young.....my biggest concern is one that has already been raised, the probability of loosing them all very close together. My third dog, the bc, was an impulse adoption...I got him as an adult, but he also happens to be just three months younger than my other two. For that reason I'm forcing myself to space out the next one. Number four has to be at least 5 years younger than than the ones I have now, and I'm sticking to that.