We currently have one dog, a german shepherd mix named Zoe. She’s a good dog, but she craves constant attention. We have to keep her penned up when we’re at work, because she gets destructive when left alone. When we’re home, she gets upset and paces and cries if neither of us is giving her active attention (like if we’re both trying to do housework or something). We give her a lot of attention and excercise, but she gets upset if we try to do something that takes all of our attention for even a few mintues.
We’ve taken her to a vet and a trainer, and done research on our own online and with dog behavior books. We found a lot of advice, a lot of which helped somewhat, but not completely. Most of the stuff we read/people we talked to said that if nothing else works, to consider getting a second dog to help keep her company.
So now we have a baby on the way (due the end of September), and we’re debating getting a second dog.
Pros: Once the baby comes, we will have less time to devote to Zoe. Of course we’re going give her as much attention as we can, but getting used to caring for a baby is going to take a lot of our time. Getting a companion for Zoe will help her with her seperation anxiety while we all adjust. Also, aside from Zoe’s anxiety, we love dogs and like the idea of having another canine companion. The second dog would definitely be a new member of our family, not just a pet for our pet, so to speak.
Con: Getting a second dog is going to add more responsibility and another living being to care for when our lives are about to changed in a good, but major, way.
I thought it might help to get some outside, unbiased opinions. In particular if any of you have dealt with separation anxiety in a dog and got a second dog to try to help, how did it work out for you? Or anyone who had one dog for a while and then got a second one, how much extra responsiblity/effort/etc was involved with two dogs as opposed to just one?
I don’t think having two (adult) dogs is much more work than one. They both get taken for walks at the same time, and are both on a similar schedule for eating, bathroom breaks, etc. One piece of advice I’d give , if you do get the dog, is to look for an adult, who has a similar activity level to the one you already have.
My first dog has separation anxiety, although it seems like your dog is a bit worse, and getting another has helped somewhat. He has someone else to entertain him, but if someone leaves, he panics, and since he’s howling and whining, the younger dog feels that something terrible must be happening, so she joins in. So, things are fine, as long as everyone’s in the same house.
I think a second dog will definitely help with the separation anxiety, but it’s not going to be a cure-all. We’ve now had two rescue dogs with separation anxiety, both of which were second dogs to our very dominant, not-at-all anxious first dog. The one with the more severe anxiety was only slightly helped by the presence of the other dog, our current one is definitely helped much more. I think she’d be a bit of a mess if she was our only dog and we left her alone, having the other one there definitely seems to keep her calm. The first second dog was so freaked out at first by anyone leaving that nothing but time and crate training really helped.
Separation anxiety sucks, so I wish you luck. It will get better in time, especially if you provide consistent, calm leadership and don’t nurture her when she’s anxious.
Dogs like to be around other dogs, so normally this would be an easy ‘yes’. But I don’t know whether it’s a better idea to get the dog before the baby comes, or after. Some dogs can be resentful of new babies and you might not want to double your chances of having a dog that acts out in some way. If the baby was already on the scene that would be less of an issue. Maybe others can opine on their experience mixing babies and dogs.
I’ve never had more than one dog, but getting my cat a cat fixed pretty much all of his problems, and it’s a lot more entertaining. How that led to having three cats, a dog, and a fish, I cannot tell you.
Thanks for the info. It sounds like getting a second dog should at least help somewhat with Zoe’s anxiety. We’re going to start checking out adoption shows at local Petco/Petsmart stores. The nice thing about living in Baltimore is that there are a lot of them, so there are adoption shows pretty much every weekend. That way we can take Zoe with us and she can meet the dogs with us. If we do get another dog, we want to get one sooner rather than later so that we have time to help the dog adjust to us and our home before the baby comes.
We recently got a 2d dog for reasons similar to those you describe, and have been thrilled with the results. It is very little more work than one, tho of course 2x the expense.
But I also agree with those who question getting a 2d dog so soon before your baby. IMO you want to make sure you have the time and energy to train a new dog from the get-go.
If you go to a shelter that has a lot of dogs onsite, the people who work there tend to know them and can suggest one they think will work for you. We did all this research on breeds and such, and then went to the shelter and said “We need a nice laid back dog that won’t eat cats” and didn’t even look at any other than the first one they brought out. He’s the sweetest dog in the world.
You might want to consider fostering a dog instead of committing to taking one on a permanent basis. Some shelters and many breed adoption/rescue groups need foster families. That way you get to ‘try out’ a new dog to see how it blends with the existing dog, and if it it turns out that having two dogs and a baby is too much, you can ask the shelter/group to make other arrangements for the foster.
After my beagle Quincy died my other beagle Nordberg suffered depression. She was so sad it made you feel sorry for her every day. We decided to get a new beagle to bring her around. It worked. She is running around ,playing, losing weight and having fun again.
I would never in my life own just one dog. I’ve always thought of that to be selfish and borderline cruel.
Maybe, if you worked from home or are a stay at home Mom/Dad, then I guess that would be OK but if you’re gone 8 to 10 hrs a day; that’s just mean to the dog.
How about a cat? The dog may be satisfied just seeing the cat, you don’t need them to be best buds. My dog and cat I had just ignored each other but on some level you got the feeling they liked to know the other was around.
I would try to borrow a dog or a cat and see what happens. If you know someone that will let you have their dog for a weekend, you can see how your dog reacts. It’s not exactly the same thing but it may give you a clue.
Not all dogs need constant companionship. Of course I live in a busy city and sometimes I take care of my neighbors dogs and the old dog is thrilled if I let him out all day. He just sits in front of the gate all day and watches the people walk by. He loves it. Of course it’s a busy street, but he just likes to watch the world go by.
That’s a pretty good idea. I should have thought of that, especially since we got Zoe from a foster network. I’ll run the idea by my husband and see what he thinks.
We actually do have a cat, but she’s an old lady (she’s about 15 years old) who spends most of her days dozing on the back of the couch. Most of the time I think Zoe doesn’t even remember she’s there. Which is pretty funny when Callie (the cat) gets up to eat or use the litterbox or something when Zoe’s in the room. Zoe’s all “Holy crap! A cat! Where did that come from!”
Our older german shepherd relaxed and became much happier when we brought her baby brother home. He was a lot less work to train, as well, because she helped! They will entertain each other running around the yard, and playing, but still be plenty happy to come inside and spend time with us. It’s a good balance.
How can anyone foster? If I had a dog to take care of I would want to keep it. I could not just ship it off to someone else. I can not go to the Humane Society or watch their commercials. I want them all.
