Two dog or not two dog?

[Lewie'sMom]

I’ve always been a dog freak and have been wanting a 2nd dog, partly as a canine companion for Lewie and partly as a 2nd dog for me. I found an absolutely lovely young, male golden Retriever at one of the local rescue groups. I set up an appointment to take Lewie to the shelter where the golden is house so they could meet. The rescue volunteer and I took the dogs, leashed, outside to interact. The golden was ready to play, happyhappyhappy to be out of the crate and trying to get Lewie to play. Well, Lewie would have none of it, didn’t want to play and even snarked at the golden. I told the rescue volunteer thanks but no thanks, I don’t want to bring home somebody Lewie doesn’t approve of from the get-go, as I don’t want to ruin his I’m-happy-to-be-alive-and-a-clown personality.

 

Lewie attends doggie day-care 3 days a week and loves going. He’s never, that I’m aware, had any altercations with any of the other dogs and his favorite playmate is a female boxer. In light of that, I was quite surprised when some of the board members shared that their BCs don’t like breeds with a boxer-like appearance. Granted, Beene (the female boxer) is much smaller than normal and the two dogs have played together since Lewie was 8 weeks old and Beene 12 weeks.

 

I guess I’m looking for opinions on what to do about getting or not getting another dog. Do you think I should be satisfied with what I have or should I continue looking for another dog, assuming that Lewie will adjust? Suffice it to say that Lewie, the cat and I are pretty cohesive and happy with status quo.

 

Thanks.

[Jedismom]

I’ve always been a dog freak and have been wanting a 2nd dog, partly as a canine companion for Lewie and partly as a 2nd dog for me. I found an absolutely lovely young, male golden Retriever at one of the local rescue groups. I set up an appointment to take Lewie to the shelter where the golden is house so they could meet. The rescue volunteer and I took the dogs, leashed, outside to interact. The golden was ready to play, happyhappyhappy to be out of the crate and trying to get Lewie to play. Well, Lewie would have none of it, didn’t want to play and even snarked at the golden. I told the rescue volunteer thanks but no thanks, I don’t want to bring home somebody Lewie doesn’t approve of from the get-go, as I don’t want to ruin his I’m-happy-to-be-alive-and-a-clown personality.

 

Lewie attends doggie day-care 3 days a week and loves going. He’s never, that I’m aware, had any altercations with any of the other dogs and his favorite playmate is a female boxer. In light of that, I was quite surprised when some of the board members shared that their BCs don’t like breeds with a boxer-like appearance. Granted, Beene (the female boxer) is much smaller than normal and the two dogs have played together since Lewie was 8 weeks old and Beene 12 weeks.

 

I guess I’m looking for opinions on what to do about getting or not getting another dog. Do you think I should be satisfied with what I have or should I continue looking for another dog, assuming that Lewie will adjust? Suffice it to say that Lewie, the cat and I are pretty cohesive and happy with status quo.

 

Thanks.

 

 

My first dog Cadi is a spaniel/golden mix. Intelligent, affectionate, energetic and an alpha female. She's 20 mo. old. About 2 mo. ago I decided she needed a companion to share her life with besides me so I adopted Jedi my BC who is a year younger,

intelligent, affectionate, energetic and a submissive male. They got along ok at the meet and greet but once we got home Cadi proceeded to make sure she let him know everything was hers. So it was a little rough going in the beginning and it took

some work and some time before Cadi started getting used to him and feeling comfortable enough to share. She will still occasionally hoard some toys which is annoying but I just make sure Jedi gets one too. They can be fed in the same room, at the same time, with their own bowls but that also took work. I don't think it would have worked if Jedi was not submissive and of the opposite sex.

 

Walking two dogs when one pulls and the other doesn't was a lesson in coordination and is still a work in progress. They have a tendency to pick up on each others habits. Some bad. Jedi never barked at the door when we first got hi,m now he does because sister Cadi is a maniac about it. This is also a work in progress.

 

I think if you're getting the 2nd dog to be a playmate, their energy levels should match. They play wonderfully together but Cadi peters out way before Jedi is done even though she is close in age and high energy herself. He is always the only dog at the dog park or doggie day care who is never breathing hard. Another BC would probably be a better match for him energy wise.

 

A second dog means double the food bill, vet bill, daycare bill, less room in the car, more vacuuming, etc. oh yeah and let's not forget poop scooping.

 

I'm not trying to talk you out of anything. I'm glad I have the 2 of them, they make my life more interesting. Just trying to share some of the realities.

 

Good luck,

 

Georgia

[MaggieDog]

Honestly it's not uncommon for BCs not to like "floppy yellow dogs" - Labs and Goldens are often the rudest dogs around and think nothing of charging straight on into another dog, something herding breeds are often not too keen on. That factor may have been at play in the meeting.

 

I just added my second 7 months ago and am loving it, but somethings do double as Georgia said above and things do change - Maggie has a great playmate, but she also doesn't get as much one on one time as she used to and she pouted about that for a bit. Financial needs are pretty high on my list of things to consider when adding an animal, so be sure you can afford to care for two as well as just one.

[Lewie'sMom]

Thanks, Georgia. I've definately considered the additional cost and work (can you say pooper-scooper?) involved with having multiple dogs. That is the biggest reason I haven't been more aggresive in finding a 2nd dog. I've had two dogs before (retriever mixes) so I'm kind of aware about the mutiple dog cost/work. I just was really floored with Lewie's non-interested attitude when meeting the golden.

 

Honestly it's not uncommon for BCs not to like "floppy yellow dogs" - Labs and Goldens are often the rudest dogs around and think nothing of charging straight on into another dog, something herding breeds are often not too keen on. That factor may have been at play in the meeting.

 

THAT explains alot to me! In fact, it pretty much hits the nail on the head, I just didn't get it till you said it. Thank you!!! I'm used to the personalities of the "floppy yellow dogs" (love that explaination!) and think nothing of it. Lewie, obviously, is not. When I think about his interaction with the other day-care dogs he does tend to hang with the lower-keyed kids, not the really slam-bam-wham dogs.

 

Thanks for responding and helping me understand where Lewie's coming from.

 

I love this forum!

 

BC Boards rocks!

[painted_ponies]

My two girls definitely prefer other herding breeds. In fact, Violet refuses to play with anyone who's not a border collie. Faith is a little less prejudiced - her best friend in puppy class was a corgi. Although we're not sure exactly what Scot here is,

other than Faith's BFFF (big fluffy friend forever).

 

Anyway, why yes, silly, of course you need more than one BC. I happen to think the more you have, the less trouble they are, because they'll entertain each other. Or at least harass one another and leave you alone for awhile.

[ShoresDog]

I recently fostered a young dog (Molly) I didn't mean it as an experiment, but it kind of was and it showed that having two dogs was really nice! Daisy got over her Queen Bee snarkiness quite quickly, and it turned out to be nice to have company for her. You could explore it that way, too.

[mbc1963]

My dog is the snarky one at the local walking spot. Early a.m., with 3 or so dogs he knows and trusts, I'll let Buddy off-leash. A new lady joined the group about a year ago, with a floppy yellow 11-month old golden named Max. Buddy "disciplined" him twice (and got mouthfuls of golden butt fur), and from then on, Max gave us wide berth.

 

More curious was that the OTHER dogs didn't like Max and his exuberance, either. There was a mature collie/aussie mix who actually started refusing to go through the park gates if he smelled or saw Max in there!

 

So... inappropriately rude young 'uns of the golden persuasion apparently tick off other breeds, as well.

 

Mary

[theshine]

My dogs are friendly, but prefer other herders as well, particularly my more assertive dog. We had a terrier here temporarily on two occasions and it didn't go over well, Ripley was snarky, Frosty was scared, but when we added our BC they all got along right away and we've had no troubles in three months.

 

I love having more than one dog, if you really want to add another I would try meeting with a few different dogs and see if you find one he prefers.

[john landry]

I’ve always been a dog freak and have been wanting a 2nd dog, partly as a canine companion for Lewie and partly as a 2nd dog for me. I found an absolutely lovely young, male golden Retriever at one of the local rescue groups. I set up an appointment to take Lewie to the shelter where the golden is house so they could meet. The rescue volunteer and I took the dogs, leashed, outside to interact. The golden was ready to play, happyhappyhappy to be out of the crate and trying to get Lewie to play. Well, Lewie would have none of it, didn’t want to play and even snarked at the golden. I told the rescue volunteer thanks but no thanks, I don’t want to bring home somebody Lewie doesn’t approve of from the get-go, as I don’t want to ruin his I’m-happy-to-be-alive-and-a-clown personality.

 

Lewie attends doggie day-care 3 days a week and loves going. He’s never, that I’m aware, had any altercations with any of the other dogs and his favorite playmate is a female boxer. In light of that, I was quite surprised when some of the board members shared that their BCs don’t like breeds with a boxer-like appearance. Granted, Beene (the female boxer) is much smaller than normal and the two dogs have played together since Lewie was 8 weeks old and Beene 12 weeks.

 

I guess I’m looking for opinions on what to do about getting or not getting another dog. Do you think I should be satisfied with what I have or should I continue looking for another dog, assuming that Lewie will adjust? Suffice it to say that Lewie, the cat and I are pretty cohesive and happy with status quo.

 

 

 

I rescued a female BC last november. The breeder honestly informed me that I was getting a slightly (?) fear aggressive dog. I trusted myself enough to believe that I could at least manage the circumstances that seem to trigger her fear. To make a long story short, I just love her! She’s dynamite, pure energy – she plays one mean soccer game -and since I have all the time in the world to give her... time just flies by. My other BC, Alice, gets along real well with her – I had brought Alice along with me when I first met Lili. They have their squabbles, but seem to have worked it out perfectly. So, YES, get a second dog! Might be more expensive (food, vets, etc.) but what unadulterated pleasure!

 

John

 

Thanks.

[Clinton]

I love having more than one dog, if you really want to add another I would try meeting with a few different dogs and see if you find one he prefers...theshine

I tend to agree with theshine in the above statement. However, this is not the approach I used in selecting a second dog.

The criteria I used was based mainly on energy level and temperment. I have a three year old male yellow lab that can mountain bike all day, swim all day, hike all day and is a blast to skijor with. Can go home eat dinner, rest for a couple of hours and do it again in the same day. Palmer, the lab, has been through three obedience classes and matured enough for a run at CGC this spring...finally. He's sharp as a whisle and eager to learn and can master anything he is taught. Ask him to "get kong" and in two seconds kong is at your feet. It doesn't matter where it's at in the house.

So when I started thinking about a second dog the BC was first and foremost on my mind because we have run into several during outings and they didn't seem to mind Palmer's abrupt play-in-your-face disposition and if both parties where unleashed a serious game of chase and be chased usally followed. I did my homework and research to apprise myself of what I'd be getting into and what to expect and basically one of the thoughts I recall is that introducing a lab into a BC home would be a difficult task for my skill level. So for nearly 6 months and two inquiries later I wasn't successful at BC rescues because there a just too many behavioral issues with abandoned BC's. This didn't stop me in my quest for a BC however. I have a lovely 17 week old BC named Dot and while incredibly quick at any task asked of her Palmer's greatest asset is his temperment, endurance, willingness and intelligence to go along with anything she throws at him. It's almost like she's the dominant dog and while so very young she's actually working at upping Palmer's intelligence level to hers. Does that make sense?

So I guess what I trying to say here is that it might be difficult introducing a second dog into a BC established home and theshine's take seems reasonable to me based on my limited personal experience.

[NorthfieldNick]

Evidently, I got really lucky when I got Nick. I had him flown across the country, sight unseen, and he hit it right off with my somewhat-snarky, very alpha, I-like-being-an-only-child mutt. Of course, Nick is perfectly happy in his role as annoying younger brother, and having him around actually got the mutt to start playing more.

 

At first, I really did not like having two dogs. I felt like I was always neglecting one, it made it even more crowded in the tiny house... Now, 15 months later, I love it! I don't think I'll ever go back to having just one. It's so much fun watching the dogs have the zoomies outside. They wrestle with each other in a way only two dogs can. Yeah, you can get those things at the dog park, but then you miss the cute moments like when both dogs squash into one crate, or when they lay there snerfling each others' eyes in front of the fire.

 

The one thing that has gotten much tougher with two dogs is finding care for them when I travel. Despite my worries, it's actually the BC who is the easy one, but still, far fewer people are willing to look after multiple dogs than just one.