Why Getting A Second Dog Is A Good Idea

65 Comments

1. Hi Alan,

   I felt ready for a second dog when Linus was about 2 years old. At 2 years old Linus did great adjusting to life with a new puppy. Getting a second dog is a big decision. It’s up to you to decide whether you and your current dog are ready to bring in another dog into the household. All I can say is I really enjoy having multiple dogs at my house.

   Good luck with your decision.

   Take care,
   Colby

2. Hi Colby and Doggies,
   What you explained here was rather interesting for me, especially now that I am considering getting a second dog, a female Mini Schnauzer puppy that is. My biggest concern relies on our current dog, 7-month-old briskful Mini Schnauzer: he is beyond stable, obedient, doesn´t bark, doesn´t chew/bite things that aren´t his, always goes potty outside (apartment life here – in Madrid, Spain) since his first week of training. In sum, with my 24/7 training/educating and his noble innate characteristics, Nano has been a dream dog so far. So, what is your opinion regarding my scenario? Awaiting your reply, I greet you all guys. Hugs, Alan.

3. I loved that book too! I still kind of wish I picked up Linus and his sister that day at the animal shelter. I’m sure the first few nights would have been a little easier. I’m guessing not as much whining and crying. However, I’m pretty sure Linus would have bonded very closely with his sister and would have had separation anxiety from his sibling.

   Thanks for stopping by!

4. I loved reading that book when I was younger! I have two dogs, both a year apart in age, both different breeds. We didn’t get the second until our golden was almost three, and it has worked out great for us.

5. Thanks! I’m glad the article was helpful. It’s always a good idea to think things through before getting your first, second, third, or more dogs.

6. Thank you for posting this really helpful article – especially the video. We currently have two Rhodesian Ridgebacks and In the process of thinking of a third and can certainly relate to a lot in this post 🙂

7. Hi Colby!

   Thanks for your response. I just want you to know that I am taking my advocacy for animal rights seriously. As a matter of fact, I’ve written a guest post article in Petsblog.com that is dedicated for them can I share the link so your readers can be inspired too?

   http://petsblogs.com/2012/08/why-you%E2%80%99ll-love-artificial-turfs-for-your-pets/

   By the way, thanks for giving me a space in your column. More power to you!

8. Thanks! Checking it out now!

9. Good point! I just spoke with my co-workers wife tonight and she expressed interest in getting two puppies at the same time. She sounds like she’s very prepared to raise a puppy which is great, but I also talked to her about why getting two pups at the same time can be more difficult. I think as long as you know what you’re getting into by raising two pups at the same time things will be okay with extra effort. I worry about those who don’t know what they’re getting themselves into.

10. Thank you! We love working with the puppies and sharing our experiences with our readers.

11. That’s a tough decision. Ultimately you need to decide what is best for the whole family before deciding to get a second dog.

12. We have a little something on our blog for you – stop by when you get the chance: http://bit.ly/OZxqKL 🙂

13. The first time I had a dog ( my own dog with all the responsibilities that come with it), I was overwhelmed… especially with the vet bills and the vaccinations. It really took a chunk out of my salary… but then it became easier and my sister had a couple of dogs. Unfortunately, since I had thought that he would be in better hands than mine, I left him with her and he wasn’t taught proper socialization skills and such.

    Now I am reunited with him, I had to start from scratch with a tiny aggressive dog. So I guess it just shows that no matter how prepared we can be, there will always be problems that may come our way which is why it is important to start from 1 and assess yourself as a pet owner.

    Huggies and Cheese,

    Haopee

14. Hi Colby,

    I really do admire your concern and love for dogs and animal welfare. Doing something like adopting two dogs is really something strange knowing that it will not came across the mind of a self made man like you. However, just always know that in every good things you do, the karma will always be all for the best. Just continue in your hobby and we’ll just be here “your readers” to support you all the way!

15. My dog lost his best mate after 14 years, and been thinking in getting a new dog, still don’t know if it will be a good idea, even though my dog now does some of the things that my other one used to do… he is more playful then before or probably i think he is because now he turns to me when it is to play, instead to Meg…. The video lol is hilarious!

16. Thanks for the reply and great advice!

17. Hi Marilyn,

    In my experience I have seen puppies who have bonded very closely with each other and some that have not. Two Huskies in our puppy kindergarten class couldn’t even be separated by 10 feet when working on their training without the other one whining. I think it a lot of this depends on the individual pups.

    Also, another thing to keep in mind is even if you get your second puppy several years after the first they still may form a stronger bond with each other then with you. I have a friend who got puppies 5 years apart. The older dog does just fine, but when the younger dog who is now 5 years old is separated from the older dog he whines and barks.

    Bringing home two puppies at the same time is not necessarily a bad thing as long as you know the potential pitfalls and work hard on their individual training.

    Another option you might consider is adopting an older dog that is already house trained or perhaps fostering dogs.

    Take care,
    Colby

18. Thanks for your kind response Colby!

19. It’s interesting what you say about getting two puppies at once — that they will bond with each other more than they will bond with you. This was also a reason why we got our puppy, Snowie, alone. But then, speaking to people who did get two puppies at once, they all said their dogs are wonderful and connect with them. And I must say, having Snowie all alone is a lot of hard work — keeping him entertained and ensuring he doesn’t chew what he shouldn’t chew. It would be so much easier if he had a playmate, and I think he’d be a lot happier being at home with a playmate. When I take him to the dog park (every day), he is the happiest dog in the world. We are intending to get a second dog, but the thought of going through the potty training, getting up in the middle of the night, the puppy training … it would’ve been easier (I think!) if we’d gotten it all over and done with in one go!

20. Good job! That’s a lot of adopting over a short period of time. So you went above and beyond and instead of adding just one new pet you added 4 (3 cats and a dog). And I’m so happy you adopted them all from the animal rescue.

21. Mom sounds like a smart cookie. Thanks! We liked to 2 headed monster too.

22. Well, since I’m a cat person I’ll tell you what happened to us. My 1st cat Mochi slept all day so I adopted Ninja to keep him company (11 months old). Mochi did not like Ninja at all …I felt bad for Ninja so when I was at Petsmart I was going to adopt 1 more cat for Ninja to play with. I liked this one cat (about 8 months old) but when I told the volunteer I was thinking about taking this cat she said “Oh, you have to adopt his brother too …he’ll be so lonely”. I’m so glad I took both of them because the other brother was so frightened and a little more ferrel than the one I was going to adopt. He’s a very sweet cat but getting to know him took a long time. So we ended up with 4 cats! We also adopted a dog. It was easy adopting 2 cats at the same time, but I don’t think adopting 2 “puppies” is a good idea. The dog we adopted was already crate trained and older.

23. Hey Linus, Hey Stetson, Jet here. Hi Mr. Colby.

    Mr. Colby, you are so wise. Mom adopts older K9s, however, one at a time so far a few years apart.

    We LOVED your golden 2 headed monster pic… super cool!

24. I think Lulu would like to have a doggy friend. Maybe you could try fostering until you find a dog that Lulu gets along with. I bet she’d like hanging with Linus again if he stayed at your house for a longer period of time…like a month or more.

25. Hi Dorothy,

    Great point! My dogs are great stress relievers after a hard days work!

    Thanks for stopping by!
    Colby

26. It’s hard to think about getting two dogs when I don’t even have one yet. Although, sometimes I think my cat Lulu would appreciate having a dog companion since she doesn’t like other cats. She used to love playing with Linus when they were young, but now she’s turning into an only child. Maybe this is reason to get a dog, but I think if I got two, Lulu would leave me!

27. Having a second dog is a good idea as once you started having pets you would enjoy adding more and more as you would them. Having a dog is one way to release stress like many people say.

    Dorothy Miles
    Pet animals

28. I agree. I could easily have more too. It does take some restraint plus their are limits in our county. I like where we’re at right now with two dogs that are my own plus always fostering or raising guide dog pups.

29. How does she react when you have other dogs over (that are her size)? Does she get jealous, nervous, playful, dominant?

30. I have 2 dogs…3 years apart, but I could easily have many more. I have to restrain myself! I know my older dog helped train my younger dog when he came home. The second was much easier.

31. I think our dog needs a buddy to play with as she constantly wants our attention. However, I think she would be so jealous if we brought another puppy home.

32. Getting two pups can be a lot to handle. I’m glad big sister was able to take in your sister.

33. I never really looked into getting coonhounds I was just interested in getting a brother and sister when I was a kid.

    It’s a lot of work especially if you decide to foster puppies. It’s just me when I was taking care of Linus, fostering puppies, and raising guide dogs. It’s definitely tough and takes up a lot of time. It would be a lot easier with someone else to help with all the dogs.

    You might start talking to your local rescues. They’ve asked me to do some short term fosters for only about 2 weeks which might be up your ally.

34. I was rescued by my boy. My sister was rescued with me. We soon became to much for mom to handel so big sister took my sister in.

35. That sounds like it was at the perfect plan for having a multi-dog household!

36. I couldn’t imagine your blog without Leroy! It sounds like your house is full. I’m not sure how you were able to do it with 2 small kids, 2 dogs and then adding another. I can’t wait to hear about your next addition…a friend for the guinea pig 🙂

37. Every time I bring home a puppy I wonder if I’m going to survive puppyhood. My first goal is getting them to sleep through the night which is sometimes very challenging.

38. Hi Scrappy,

    You already have lil humans to compete with for attention in your house? I think Linus doesn’t like the new pups at first, but he likes to tell them who’s boss and I also think he likes showing all the youngsters who’s the king of the house.

    Thanks for stopping by!
    Colby

39. Maybe your parents should try fostering a dog to see if Yuki likes sharing the house and attention with a little friend.

40. Hi Emma,

    I agree with the getting back to just your own family. After raising Dublin then Apache for the last 2+ years and then another month of puppy sitting it’s finally back to just me and my two boys: Stetson and Linus. We’re going to take a little break for now.

    Thanks for stopping by,
    Colby

41. Hi Alfie,

    You may be “hard work”, but I bet you’re loads of fun! Raising a second puppy definitely is a lot of work. The guide dog school keeps calling me asking me if I’m ready to raise another puppy, but I keep telling them I need a little bit longer break just like your parents. I’m sure they’ll get you a little friend to play with someday.

    Take care,
    Colby

42. I love having two dogs. When I have three it got a bit difficult because it takes forever to take all 3 dogs out on a walk. I’d love to get a bigger place too so my boys could run around and play, but for now we’re in a small condo so we just go on several long walks every day.

43. That’s awesome that they came housebroken. I wish I got that every time I started raising a puppy. Perfect that one bonded with you and the other with your husband. One of my friends dogs bonded really closely with the other dog and unfortunately any time their separated one dog doesn’t care, but the other one cries.

    Thanks for stopping by!
    Colby

44. Hi Snoopy,

    I’m glad Stetson and Linus haven’t pee’d over any of the little pups potty messes. I think you should lobby for a kitty or puppy. Just tell your Mum that it will make for some great Snoopy plus puppy mischief stories and would be perfect for your book!

    Take care,
    Colby

45. Are you sure Hawk? You might enjoy having another buddy around to romp and play with. Maybe you should try fostering to see how you like having a live in playmate!

46. That’s great that Torrey and Roxy get along so well. Stetson and Linus used to play together in their younger days, but now that their older they kind of do their own things…I do think they would miss each other though.

47. Hi Daisy,

    We really enjoy having two dogs at home, but you’re right, if you can’t handle the extra work and expenses then it’s not a good idea. One thing you could try if you were interested is helping your local rescue by fostering. We did this way back when we only had Linus. Depending on the dog it could be a lot or very little work. We actually raised several litters of puppies which was a lot, lot, lot of work, but the rescue paid all the expenses (vaccinations, vet checks, spay/neuter, etc).

    Thanks for stopping by!
    Colby

48. Hi Petara,

    Its nice to adopt or foster puppies, but it can definitely be a lot of work.

    Take care,
    Colby

49. Hi Bella,

    I’m glad you have a couple rabbits to talk to when you’re bored. Yes, two pups make lots of mischief and I’m sure you would have caused some real trouble together.

    Thanks for stopping by!
    Colby

50. Where The Red Fern Grows was one of my favorite movies as a kid. I too, always wanted two dogs. But thankfully I never got two puppies together. Years ago, our Belgian Shepherd was 6 when we got our first Basset Hound puppy and Freddie was 1 when we adopted Gloria last year. She was 5. It has worked out great giving Fred someone to play with. They have bonded beautifully. 🙂

51. I remember reading “Where the Red Fern Grows” What a great book!

    3 dogs and a guinea pig are my limit, well maybe a friend for the guinea pig is in the future:)
    I remember when my husband said he wanted another Newf. I already had one Newf and a Beagle and 2 small kids. I didn’t want another dogs, my hands were full and I knew it. But I’m a pushover and we got Leroy:) who has proven to be a bigger handful than the other 2 dogs combined, but……I couldn’t imagine my life without him now!

52. Well, with four we’re at our limit, and I’m happy with that. It means that we can take two out with us and nobody is left at home alone. I still have days when I wonder if we’ll survive Kuster’s puppyhood! lol

53. oh oh,

    i could not share my main peep. it is hard enough when she holds lil humans in her arms. another dog would have to be the other peeps in the house!

    my pal Rocky was raised with another pup and just like you said, they bonded well to each other…

54. My parents’ dog definitely needs a friend, although she’s been spoiled as an “only child” and I’m not sure how well she would respond to something else in the house getting more attention than her. I do think it would help her to have someone to play with whenever she wanted…rather than trying to play with my parents. I think they should get another dog!

55. Mom so loves pets – we are 2 dogs and 2 cats. She would love more but she wants to make sure she can give us the best life possible and vet bills can add up so she is holding steady with 2 and 2. We dog sit a lot for others which gives her the 3rd dog for free. We love it but we are also happy when we are back to just our family. Emma 🙂

56. Rooo I would love to have a little puppy around to play with, but I think my humans need another couple of years rest before getting a second puppy. Apparently I’m ‘hard work’ – no idea why they say that *waggy tail*

57. That’s funny! I loved that book always dreamed of having two coonhounds. Fortunately, I did some research on the breed and realized they probably would not be happy living in a residential neighborhood. But they are beautiful dogs!

    I still just have Blueberry. Still haven’t pulled the trigger on fostering a dog yet. I used to have two dogs – but it was a lot of work for just me. Although I did enjoy it when they would play together and I could chill out and just watch them play. I don’t know – it has its pros and cons like anything else.

58. Your babies are beautiful. Our babies came as a set. Aussie mixes, they were rescues, brother/sister litter mates. I love that they were already housebroken when they came to us. Sure, they love each other very much, but the male bonded with me and the female bonded with my husband. Having two dogs is definitely better than having one, just like having two ducks is better than just one. 🙂

59. Hi Y’all!

    Just hoppin’ by to say “hi”.

    Hey, don’t give my Human ideas! I used to live in a huge family and like be the one and only!

    Y’all come by now,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

60. Getting Torrey was a huge decision, we thought about it a lot. At first Roxy, who was 7, was not thrilled. Now they play together, and are great buddies. I think Roxy would miss her, and I know for sure Torrey would miss Roxy.

61. We actually do plan on getting a second dog, and I always ask people with two dogs for advice and what they think about having two dogs. One woman told me it was the best decision she ever made and will never go back to having just one dog. We just need a bigger place first. 🙂

62. We’re always tempted to adopt a second puppy, but I know it would be too much extra work and expense. Since I work from home, Daisy’s not left alone every day, but I’d still love for her to have a full-time playmate. Ah well, maybe if we win the lottery! 🙂

63. Hi Colby,

    You’re right, I say the more puppies and Mischief the better!! Tee Hee 🙂

    When my Mum was getting a Golden years ago she was going to get 2 puppies at the same time and like you decided it was best to get one and then get the second one a year later.

    Just after she got the second one she broke her leg and was on crutches for 3 months.

    She clearly remembers all the Mischief of the little pup and 1 year old pup, as she was trying to avoid her crutches sliding on the tiles when she was potty training the second one and the first thought it would be fun Mischief to pee over it (despite previously being potty trained!)

    I would love to have a Cat or Dog to play with, but Mum says it’s too much and so I play with Cosmo next door 🙂

    Big Wags to all,

    Your pal Snoopy 🙂

64. On seeing the same breed every living being will feel better,It would be so nice to play,eat,and share other feel together.Having more puppies will make our home so beautiful.But managing all these is little bit difficult.

65. I wish one of my brothers or sisters could have come home with me, we’d be able to make LOTS of mischief together. My humans told me, that if I’m a good girl and everything is ‘just right’ then I’ll be allowed to have some pups one day. I’m only a pup myself, so it’s a long way off but my human said I’d get to keep one when I do. ONLY if I’m a good girl and teach it ALL the rules. I’ve got two rabbits though, so I talk to them when I’m bored.

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