One Dog or Two? Advice Please

As you all know i have a GSD bitch called Keira She is now two and a half She is a really good girl except for being highly exciteable A few of you have met her so you know what i mean She is very loving and hasnt got a mean bone in her body she just loves everyone and everything She is great in the house doesnt chew any furniture and stays off the settees except her own one in the conservatory She is even ok to leave for quite a long time alone without destroying anything not that we do this but when i was working sometimes it couldnt be avoided Anyway our intention was to get a second gsd sometime in the future As im not working at the moment we thought now would be the perfect time If i do decide to go back to work it will only be part time I would really like some honest advice off you guys about getting another dog Dont be shy say what you really think i wont be offended I asked Mo and my present dog trainer what they thought and they both asked me why i wanted another dog and advised against it The reason for wanting another dog is that we both think Keira would be happier having a playmate she is easily bored and is constantly trying to lure either myself or the cat into playing Infact she is like a leech with me i cant even get up to go to the loo without her following me She will only go in the garden if i go aswell If we do decide to get one we want a male because i know sometimes same sex dogs fight Keira is spayed so i wouldnt have to worry about pups I would love a rescue but again this is something that i am not sure about because i dont want to put Mojo at risk so i think i would need to be a puppy i went for We have the room and can afford another dog and it would definately be well loved I think another dog might just calm Keira down a bit If she is burning off energy playing with the other dog during the day she might not be hyper when she goes for her walks What are your dogs like together do they play in the garden etc I would love Keira to just have a dog to play with When she is with my brothers dog which isnt very often she has a great time running round and play fighting My OH is pissed off that i cant decide either way I just want to make sure i make the right decision Mo said i should get a puppy but not until Keira quietens down a bit as she might teach the pup how not to behave She advised against getting a grown dog saying she thought Keira would really mother a puppy Both trainers also said that Keiras attention would switch from me to the new dog would i like this? also it may cause a distraction with training But my thought on that one might be to train both in the garden together I know many of you have atleast two dogs so im hoping you will give me some good advice btw i am prepared to go thru the puppy stage again with pee puddles and chewed stuff ive even still got some puppy pee pads from when keira was little

You've seen my older two together, theyre not perfect but pretty well behaved and now we have Stan and we manage ok. We do have both of us here most of the time but also have Joe and hes worse than all three dogs lol.

I think, as long as you're prepared for alot of extra effort and two dogs charging around the house, you will be fine. It does take up alot more time having two than just one dog. I think its more than double the effort you would expect.

Your girl is lovely and I agree, she would love a friend to play with and you can train them and spend time with them seperately as well as together to keep up your bond with her, and with your new dog. I think you will manage perfectly well if you are prepared to spend time on them both together and seperately :love:

if your reason is so kiera has a mate i would say no hun dont want to sound harsh lol but that imo is the wrong reason as the pup and kiera can over bond teach each other bad habbits and end up not veiwing you as anything they need
kiera doesnt need a pal hun she just need to learn not to be too clingy and if you get a pup whilst she is you will have her taching the pup this also i would advance her taining ect first if i was you i only ever bring a dog into my pack every few yrs so the pther dogs are old enough fully trained and stable minded but also over bonded with me and not each other

my pack dont run around with each other at home they sleep lol as thats what they have to do wen out they play with me im their world not each other that is the key hun yes they all adore each other but i have their un devided attention always ....

but if you choose to get another dog i would get him to bond with you first i train my pups one on one i do use my older more highly trained dogs too its hard to write really lol
but you have to be the leader not keira hun xxxx

This hasnt really helped has it? :2445: :2445:

I agree, you do need to be the leader, I'm just looking at it from my point of view and mine know their place already. I'm rubbish at seeing through others eyes.

Also, I was silly enough to have young dogs together but lucky enough to manage, not all puppies will be as easy as mine.

It is alot of work but I wouldnt change it now, I'm glad they are all here.

Thanks Paula thats how i am thinking As you have met Keira you saw how happy she was playing with other dogs Have any of yours been exciteable at all when they were younger? when i met Mimi and Maggie they were very well behaved just wondered if the introduction of a 2nd dog made much difference temperament wise We are prepared for more time and work to be spent with 2 dogs Keira is not allowed upstairs so the dogs would have the run of downstairs We have a conservatory off the lounge which Keira uses with her own settee This was another point that Mo brought up saying would i want the dogs play fighting every night in the lounge well i have that already with the cat and dog so it wouldnt bother me What might bother me is having 2 leeches instead of 1 :san22: camped outside the loo or in the middle of the kitchen while im trying to cook

Thanks for being honest fazza thats what i need Yes i can see where you are coming from regards bonding and i think all the trainers have said the same thing I think i know you are right really but still feel Keira is somehow missing out

We are quite strict. If I tried to type everything we do here, it would all sound robotic and Hitlerish :2445:



In our house, we dont have charging about, too much excitement and all the dogs are crate trained. Although only Stan has a crate now, I took the others down. Fun and playing is in the yard or on the park. We do have quiet playing in the house though, but if anyone gets overexcited, it gets stopped.



Temperament, Mimi is the same as she always has been and Maggie is the same since we have had Stanley.



Its hard to explain but its all about attitude and making sure everyone knows whats allowed, including the kids and dogs so its a fulltime job.



If Keira follows you around like a leach, you could get a dog that does the same eventually if you allow her to carry on. All the things she does that you dont like, another dog will probably copy her as its all taught by you and your household so you will probably inadvertantly teach a puppy the same. Also, the puppy will have its own personality and could be extremely high energy which in turn could cause problems in itself and also teach Keira how to be naughty, undoing all your training.



Worst case scenario, Keira's training is undone and she gets naughty like a puppy, plus another naughty puppy running about with her like a tag team.



Best case, Keira teaches a pup to be how she is now.



How would that work in your household?



Hope this makes sense and no offence intended either :2431:

Just read your reply to Faz, shes not missing out being an only dog. Lots of dogs live happily on their own, I dont think dogs need other dogs, its just nice to play with them sometimes, which she gets when you take her out anyway. On her own, she gets lots more attention, time, money etc than she would with a friend.

BrenA wrote:

Thanks for being honest fazza thats what i need Yes i can see where you are coming from regards bonding and i think all the trainers have said the same thing I think i know you are right really but still feel Keira is somehow missing out

Bren I feelexactly the same as you do with Marley, people have asked why i want another dog when Marley is happy, has loads of attention and is spoilt rotten!! Like you I think Marley misses out and thought a companion would be good for him but Marley gets to play with other dogs almost every day when he is out on his walk, I dont know if Im thinking of getting another for the right reasons to be honest!

I wasnt going to have any more dogs while we had Mimi, she was fine on her own. Then we ended up with these two too which I dont regret at all but I know Mimi wouldnt have bothered being an only dog.

Do any of you want another dog for yourselves or just for your dogs?

I have always said I would like 2 dogs, a Shepherd and a retriever so yes I would love a retriever for me not just as a companion for Marley.

Dont worry im not offended im glad im getting some honest answers thats exactly what i need Yes in my head i do think Keira needs to be better trained before getting another dog that is the reason i havent got one yet I just wanted feedback from you guys about what its like getting a second dog and whether it might calm her down regarding the exciteability around other dogs What is the reason anyone gets more than one dog? What can i say i love animals and one isnt enough its like having kids i always regretted only having one and if i could turn the clock back would have had another Its hard work but worth the effort in the end I definately wont get another dog until i feel the time and circumstances are right I think i need to keep the training up and maybe stop treating her like a spoilt child :2431:

Yes Jude i think if i walked Keira every day with another dog i might feel differently I just feel as tho she is missing out on alot of fun Does Marley seem happier when he plays with other dogs or just you?

I doubt it would calm her down with other dogs. Look at Maggie, she isnt interested in other dogs at all but loves to play with these two at home. I dont think they see things like we do.



I'm only going on my own experiences Bren, I cant talk for other people. I wish others would come and add stuff too cos this is a good thread, I like it. Wheres Faz gone anyway?



Awww I know you love Retrievers Jude, silly me :2431:



Pretty much, its bloody hard work and you need to take the worst case scenario and ask yourself if you could cope, I reckon.



Let us know how she goes Bren :love:

for a long time now i have always had 2 dogs
i had roxy then we got saffie, thats when i thought that
2 dogs are better than 1, when saffie died i got tilly,
roxie showed tilly lots of bad habits. when roxie died
a couple of months later tilly had her pups and as you know we kept bailey
tilly has passed a few bad habits she got from roxie on to bailey, but he is my
shadow very clingy wont even let anyone hold him on a walk, hates it if i sit on a bench or anything constantly pushes tilly out of the way if i got to stroke her.
now we have shady he is the same with her, pushes her out of the way, not aggresive or anything, none of them are aggressive to eachothe at home but i've seen tilly and bailey have a full on fight with eachother on several occassions.
i know this is'nt advice or anything it's just my input of what can happen when owning more than 1 dog.

sorry probably useless information really but i've written it now so i'm gonna darn well post it.
:2431:
good luck Bren whatever you decide hun :love: :love:

I reckon all experience is good Karen, good or bad. Doesnt hurt to know what other people do/have done :love:

BrenA wrote:

Yes Jude i think if i walked Keira every day with another dog i might feel differently I just feel as tho she is missing out on alot of fun Does Marley seem happier when he plays with other dogs or just you?

Marley is great either way Bren, if he is playing with other dogs or with us but I think he may take badly tosharing our affections if a new pup came to stay, he's fine when we make a fuss of other dogs on the beach until he thinks ok thats enough its my turn now and he will chase the dog away not agressive but just put some space between us!! he goes out with my friend Julie and 6 other dogs when Ed is on day shift and Im at work and she says he is as good as gold.

Yes any experience good or bad It all helps :san53: I know i will get a second dog but its when that i have to decide

:san53: i'd have 20 if i could

Me too :2445:

ok as u all no i have 2 dogs bing n blaze n there is a BIG age gap between them blaze is 6 months bings is roughly 9/10 years but they seem to get on fine they do play fight ALOT tho



other than that they r great 2geva tho bings avoids him if he can lol he tells him off when he is doing something naught jumping up at the table for example bing will bark at him the only bad thing bout havin two is that bing has started 2 push his luck by trying to get away with things and walking them can b a nightmare but i think so long as they will b trained they should b fine i think maybe w8 till she is trained first tho b4 getting another 1 as she can help then tell the pup right from wrong etc sorry i cudnt help too much im just goin by what my two are like n only havin blaze for 4 months is abit hard as they r still at their lets say 'honeymoon' period i think

hey bren i wouldnt say it would stop her excitable side towards other dogs only training will do that as this nu dog will form part of her pack so not a new play thing lol like all the others she meets

i have such a large pack as my dogs are working dogs so wen one is coming to a certain age i bring in the nu pup so by the time my old dog retires my young dog is fully trained and ready to work, hence having two retired dogs now lol i also get rescue dogs that are going to be PTS *im a mugg lol*

the fufillment you feel keira gets from other dogs she can quite happily get from you hun that interaction ect, i know i sound harsh lol and dont mean to its cos were talking on a serious subject lol
i have no doughts she would love another dog hun but even with my large pack i still take my dogs out one to one as they want that with me they quite happily leave each other behind

i also do not allow messing around in the house thats just not allowed lol out back yes and on a run, but not wen we are out walking ect either haha
:love:

Well as you know I have three dogs but Todd doesnt really count cos we've had him forever & he is Chloe's dog.

Sly is almost 6 now and Nico is 4 next month. Farah made a very good point; the fact that SHE is the centre of their world & they dont really play with each other. Agree 100% with this.

We had another dog for us and not for Sly. He prefers my OH to Nico anyway.
We had another male because the OH doesnt like bitches. A few people said that was a mistake and if I had the decision to make again I would insist on a bitch because we did go through a phase where they fought quite badly. Sly seems to have conceded defeat to Nico now.

All I would say is dont have another dog for Keira. Have one for yourselves

totally agree bev as much as you loe keira hun SHE doesnt need another dog hun, i never get dogs for my other dogs they are quite happy to sit alone or with me.
ppl may think im a bit OTT as wen i get a young pup i introduce the pup to the pack, but that pup is then made to over bond with me not my pack my pack have little interaction as poss at first they play and do spend time together but not like what a lot of pet owners do with thier dogs.

i always take about a yr in the planning of my new dog anyway deciding the lines, breed and the best pup for me

good luck tho hun either way :love:

I dont let mine sleep together at night either. They are crated seperately. Well, until about 2 weeks ago anyway. Stan still sleeps on his own and each get time with us without the other dogs everyday. I do encourage them to be independant of each other.

Thanks for all your replys I think i need to keep the training up then look at the situation again Fazza do you think a dog like her will eventually calm down with age and training or do you find exciteable dogs tend to always be exciteable You know like hyper active kids never seem to calm down and turn into hyper adults She is such a nice dog but a pain in the ass around other dogs :san22: Im gonna start doing more training in the garden aswell to try and wear her out more im sure she runs on duracell batteries she never seems to stop
I must admit i think we are thinking more about Keira than about having a dog for ourselves I have always been a great animal lover tho and have always had lots of animals but never more than one dog at a time its usually cats i had five at one time and they all lived till they were over 18 Glad i posted this thread as the info im getting is making me think more seriously about the consiquences of having another dog