Question for multiple dog owners - better to have more than one dog?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Disappearing OP - here it is:

We currently have a 9 month old shepherd-mix puppy, and we are considering getting a second dog. Partly because we enjoy dogs, and also so they can be companions for each other while we are at work all day. We would prefer to adopt a young adult dog, rather than go through the whole puppy phase again right now. Does anyone have any advice on caring for more than one dog? How different is it from having one dog? Sometimes I think it would be much more work / expense, but I also think they could play together and keep each other company. Our dog (Rory) loves to play with other dogs in the neighborhood, and was socialized young in puppy class, but does tend to be pushy with dogs much smaller than her, (so we think a dog a little bigger / older than her would be best?)

Advice on introducing a new dog to the house is also welcome, as well as recommendations on male / female combos. (Rory is a fixed female.) I have never owned more than one pet at a time before and just want some advice from you all with more experience.

2

Yup, the more the merrier, I say… (I’ve got a Choc Lab and Shepherd/Lab mix)…

3

Sorry, my flippant comment was based on the subject line with no content.

One thing to be aware of, if Rory is starting to show dominant tendencies, be careful of a young adult dog, as it may already be a dominant type, which can cause some nasty fighting. From my experience, one dog gets to be dominant because the other(s) let it. And this can be regardless of size.

As for multiple dogs, just multiply everything. Vet bills (although you can usually get a family discount if you bring them in at the same time), land mines in the yard, food, toys, and depending on some jurisdictions and the types of dogs, increase in insurance rates. FWIW, it seems to be worth the extra cost and effort.

4

We have 3 dogs. They are all males, and all neutered, but they still have spats. We have to feed them all separate, and can’t give them treats like rawhides or anything that takes a long time to consume. We give treats they can eat immediately, so arguing over whose rawhide it is doesn’t become an issue.

Fights are very rare, and have only resulted in a vet visit twice, but dog fights freak me out like you would not believe. There will be some adjusting of the pecking order if you get another dog, but hopefully once it is set, it will be peaceful.
Other than that; more food, more poop to pick up, less room on the furniture (if you allow it, we don’t cause all 3 of our dogs are over 70 lbs. there wouldn’t be room for us), but I think it is good from the companionship angle. I think my dogs enjoy their little pack.

5

My family has two Golden Retrievers, Joe, male, 3 y/o, fixed, Roxy, female, 4 y/o, whole (because the breeder only let us have her on condition that she could get one more litter from her; as soon as she’s had that litter, we’ll get her fixed).

We got our boy as a puppy, and Roxy came along about two years later, when she was already 3y/o. Joe didn’t like having her in the house at all for the first few weeks, and he’s still not entirely happy about it - he’s gone from being a spoilt “only dog” to one of a pair. After a bit of time settling in, she is now very definitely the alpha dog. We feed them at the same time, but watch to make sure that both are getting their fair share. They “play fight” quite a lot, but have only ever been seriously aggro with each other once, and it was all over very quickly, noone hurt. My biggest piece of advice to you, Velma, is to make sure that Rory gets plenty of attention and treats and snuggles after the new dog comes home, so that he doesn’t get jealous.

In terms of extra trouble, well, obviously the expense is greater, and there’s twice as much poop to scoop. But apart from that, having two is an absolute joy. Walking two is no more trouble than walking one, once you get used to it (just be sure to carry extra yellow baggies!). They have very different personalities, Joe is very independent (and, truth be told, a bit naughty), while Roxy is a goody-two-shoes, and the snuggliest pooch you ever saw. We adore them both and can’t imagine being without either of them.

6

I grew up having two dogs in the house (mother/daughter) and now have two dogs of my own (brother/sister). I would suggest getting a dog of similar size and life expectancy. They will get attatched to one another and it’s hard on the one when the other dies. I remember when the mother died, the daughter passed away within 3 months afterwards. That and you don’t want a small dog getting batted around during play.

I love having two dogs. If you get busy they keep each other entertained. That and it’s fun to watch them play fight. I’ve never had a problem with real fights, but they’ve also been together since they were puppies.

7

I, too, was leery of getting a second dog. But, now I’m glad I did.

Both my girls are outside dogs; my main purpose for the first dog was so that she could be a “warning” dog (she’s not big enough to be a bodyguard lol). This year we added a puppy, who is just about the same size. Hannah has really enjoyed Marli’s company; she has gotten more fit (from running and playing) and, I think, more healthy mentally.

Plus they will keep each other warm in the dog house this winter.

Expenses ~ yep, double 'em. However ~ twice the dogs, twice the love ya get. And you can’t buy that !:wink:

8

My contribution: a while back we were looking to adopt a dog. We went to a local shelter, and there was a cage with two dogs in it (two brothers/littermates). You had to take them both! The man at the shelter explained that one dog was adopted, and the other dog was so upset he refused to eat! They had to ask the new owner to return the dog (or adopt the other one as well!)
Pretty amazing! Dogs can be just like people.

9

I only have one dog now, but used to have two. If your current dog is a female, getting a male would be best. My first dog was an extremely alpha female, and the next dog introduced was a quite submissive male. Dominant female dogs are the hardest to deal with in terms of their relations with other dogs, and their relations with other female dogs are the most fraught with conflict. So I’d go with a younger dog, but a larger breed.

:Shameless plug for LindyHopper’s favorite breed follows:

Get a 6-month-old male Golden Retriever.

Seriously. Goldens are perfect for a household that already has one dog, even if it’s a herder/watchdog/shepherd kind of dog (which are often quite difficult to match with other dogs).

I had a Border Collie/Australian Shepherd/Blue Heeler cross (adopted at 9 months), and she (Katie) was pretty much a holy terror until I adopted a Golden cross (not sure with what; maybe Chow, maybe Samoyed) at 5 months when Katie was about a year and a half old. They got along famously, and Katie’s destructiveness and excess energy went down considerably. It was a good thing.

Shepherds and retrievers get along really well, especially when the shepherd is a female and the retriever is a male. I say go for it!

Just my two cents, of course. :slight_smile:

10

I tend to agree with LindyHopper about dominant females.

We have two dogs, both English Mastiffs, a male and a female. (Fixed.)
We purposely got a female when our male was about 4. I am not saying that owning the same gender dog never works, but we just wanted to avoid any possible conflict. I agree with everyone else that it is a bit of a tradeoff having two, it can be more work at times, and definitely more expense, but they love each other and keep each other happy.
However, I do dread when beloved our male passes on–likely we will eventually get another puppy. Once you’ve had have a pair, it doesn’t feel right to go back to just one.

11

I took a class in animal behaviour and the Social order of Dogs.

She also gave combos of dogs more likely to get into a fight. The first on the list? Two spayed females. Also included on that list were dogs still maturing socially (ages 1-3). This is not to discourage you from getting a second dog, just something to think about.

12

Another vote here for mixing the genders. Two females together tend to get…well…bitchy!

13

I have 5 dogs–4 females and 1 male, all fixed. We started with 2 females, a golden retriever and a black lab. They were raised together. As a rule, golden retrievers are pretty submissive, so they never had any dominance issues.

Maverick, the male, came next. Our neighbors left him behind when they moved. He was rather aggressive until he was neutered. The girls automatically accepted his alpha status and there were no arguments. We fostered a male shitz-tzu for a while that had a serious alpha complex. Maverick and he fought like crazy to establish dominance so we had to find another foster home for the shitz-tzu.

Our husky, Noelani, came next. She is an altered female, but was an alpha dog, so she and Maverick, the male, had “issues” to resolve. For the most part, we let them have at it. As long as there wasn’t blood drawn, we did not interfere and she eventually accepted her Beta status. Some females will challenge the male, but it isn’t that common.

Our latest is a little Border Terrier that came to us pregnant. She has not elicited so much as a snarl from any of the dogs because she just doesn’t challenge them for position.

I think you can have any combination of dogs as long as they are all altered and as long as you respect the pack order they set for themselves. Do not try to “help” one dog raise himself in the order or you will cause the alpha dog to continually try to get it to submit. I think 2 females work well or 1 male and 1 female, but I know you can raise 2 males together if one will submit.

Introduce a new dog slowly, on lead, and do not feed them together until pack order is established. And do not leave them alone together, either, until pack order is established. If you get a female who is used to being submissive, your alpha female may accept her right off. Sihce you say she is somewhat dominant, I think you will have more problems with a male because he will automatically expect to be the alpha and your female will challenge him.

If you want to avoid “puppy” issues, get a dog at least 2 years old.

14

Up until last week, we had 2 females - the Dalmatian was definitely the alpha, and the border collie mutt didn’t seem to mind. But with the disappearance, and likely death, of the Dalmatian, the collie has apparently taken to her role as sole dog of the household. And so she shall remain.

When we first got her, we took care to introduce her to the Dalmatian, and we let them set their own pecking order, tho I was most definitely the alpha to both of them. They were a year apart in age, the Dalmatian being older, and they got along just fine for the last 6 years. I’m surprised that the collie doesn’t seem to miss her “sister” but she does seem to get lonely while I’m at work - oh the reception I get when I return!!

But to answer the original question, if I was to continue to have dogs, I’d always have 2, but since we’d already decided that we’re going dog-free in our next home, Bernie shall be solo till she goes to her reward.

15

Interesting. We seem to have broken all the rules! We have two female springers – sisters 2 years apart (same parents, obviously different litters). We brought Dottie home in April at 8 weeks when Phyllis was just over 2. They are both spayed and best friends. Lots of play fighting and wrestling, but so far never anything for real. We have never seen any genuine snarling or anything like that. They will lick a plate together with their faces touching and no growling or anything.

The first day we brought Dottie home, Phyllis just ignored her. By the second day, we think she realized that this pup was going to stay and be her playmate. She loved playing with her (closely supervised, of course) from that day on, and was always obviously gentle and careful – not stepping on her, letting Dottie play-attack her, etc. Now that they’re about the same size, I find it hard to say who’s alpha. I haven’t really observed one bossing the other one around more than vice versa.

I feel a lot better about leaving the two in their pen together when we go out for the day or overnight.

16

Thanks for the help. I’m still unsure what we will do at this point, but if we do get another dog, I think we will look for a male, maybe a retriever / mix or another shepherd / mix. Many of the shelters near us have foster programs for dogs waiting to be adopted, so I could look for one who has experience living with other dogs and talk to the foster “parent” about his behavior prior to adopting. Maybe I could even ask to foster a dog myself (although I get attached too easily, I would have a hard time giving up a dog), but then I could see how Rory reacts, too. I am thinking maybe we will wait a little until she gets a little more mature, also. I thought at first it was better to introduce dogs young, before she gets too set about being the only dog, but many of you are telling me otherwise.

Hmmm. Lots to think about.

17

I have three dogs. Two males (neutered) and one female (not spayed)

I started with one male, Rusty, a Chow/Samoyed mix rescued from the county animal shelter in 1992. He is now 14 yrs old. About six yrs ago he developed a chronic licking syndrome. He licked his forelegs and paws until they bled. The vet said he was lonely, so I adopted a dog to keep him company and he stopped licking. About three yrs ago Bootsie, the adopted dog, died. Within a few days of her death Rusty started licking again, so I got Greta, a female mini dachshund pup. Again, within days of Greta’s arrival, Rusty stopped licking. A year ago June, one of the guys in my office was going to get rid of his dog, Bobo, a yr old male mini dachshund. Needless to say, I adopted Bobo. They all get along and keep each other company. Greta and Bobo play together constantly. Old Rusty is content to watch most of the time, but does play occasionally.

18

My suggestion is you get the second dog while the first one is still a puppy. Puppies are very trainable and can get used to almost anything. She probably isn’t even old enough yet to care much about pecking order (and doesn’t as an only dog right now), so introducing a new one will probably not be that difficult. I don’t think the mix of male/female, breeds or ages matter all that much – especially while at least one is a pup still and therefore, moldable and adaptable.

I’ll share my story – warning this will be long – and I’ll try to toss some advice in at the end.

I’m the proud owner of two Boston Terrors (and two cats who, oddly, don’t seem to factor in to this at all besides the fact that the cats are used to dogzillas and they all get along well).

I got Tipzy at 7 mos. old about 6.5 years ago. She turns 7 in a couple weeks. Spayed female – she has lived with a cat or cats her whole life until about two months ago. Very social, very well adjusted and not really in need of additional companionship. (Who would, with two cats and a human in the house?)

Then I met poor widdle Hurshell. He’s a 5 year old male, freshly neutered. He was rescued from a puppy mill, where he was used as breeding stock. Poor dog lived in a cage his whole life, no human interaction, no squeaky toys, no belly rubs, no peanut butter treats, nuthin’. Hurshell is a train wreck of a dog, but he’s so darn cute, my heart went immediately out to him. I just had to save this little fella from the evil, filthy puppy mill. He’d had mange and heartworms when he was rescued, but the rescue org. fattened him up and nursed him back to health. And he’s a tough little guy because he survived the heartworm treatment.

Tipzy, the alpha female, accepted Hurshell right away. Immediately started telling him what to do (as females sometimes do). Since his life has been so dysfunctional (from a dog’s perspective) he’s been happy to accept being the lower dog in pecking order and I think he even looks up to Tip for how to act, what to do, when to bark or not… etc. She seems to be teaching him everything. . . including her bad habits. Incidentally, she hasn’t had a single housebreaking accident since Hurshell moved in.

My troubles with Hurshell are all about him growing up in the puppy mill, and not about being introduced to a housefull of animals: he’s being very difficult to housebreak (and this is NOT the type of dog you can leave outside in the yard all day) and crate training is the best way to housebreak (at least for Bostons). He’s suffering from severe separation anxiety while he’s crated (every time I leave the house): He poops & pees in the crate, howls, barks and cries all day, pants, hyperventilates, drools all over. He. Hates. The. Crate. Bigtime. (And wouldn’t you, if you’d spent your entire five years of life in a cage? I don’t blame him one bit.)

We’ve been to the vet and had a visit from a dog behaviorist. Widdle Hurshell (you must say his name with a lisp) will be starting on “dog-zac” within the next week or so (Clomipromine or Clomi-calm, if you happen to have an anxious or depressed dog), and I am going to dedicate the next 2-4 months of my life training him with a behavioral modification program, which should help him learn to relax while I’m gone, and hopefully, he’ll learn to better cope and eventually realize that I will always come home for him (them). The drugs will help take the edge off so he can focus on his training.

That said, my advice is to be very careful about where/how you obtain this new dog. I fully support your reasoning: I think it does help both dogs when you have two in terms of keeping each other company, having a playmate and so forth. The extra expense & work: Eh… no big deal. Once you get a routine down, you won’t remember what your life was like when you were a one-dog family.

Please. Please. Please. Adopt a dog from a shelter or a reputable breeder. Do not, under any circumstances, buy a dog from a pet store like Petland (pet stores in malls, generally) – those places keep the puppy mills in business. PetSmart will only adopt dogs out from local shelters or from rescue organizations. While Hurshell is a sweet, sweet little boy who loves everybody (at least everybody who’s willing to scratch his booty), and he has been very rewarding: he’s a very affectionate, loving little guy… he’s going to be very very difficult to teach him how to be a normal house dog. If you’re interested in rescued dogs, kudos to you, but know what you’re getting into and be committed to rehabilitating the dog if you do get into that situation.

I am now a staunch anti-puppy mill advocate. Go figure.

Sorry this was so long – I’m hopping off my soap box in a second. Last thing I wanted to mention: do some google searches on introducing new dogs. There’s tons of web sites out there with loads of professional advice on how to go about this, and how to learn to think with dog-pack logic. I’d list some, but I think I’ve taken enough bandwidth for now. I’m going to wear out the hamsters just getting this posted!

E-mail me for more information, love letters, advice or flaming!

19

I have three dogs. Tera is the oldest. She just turned 15 in October. I picked Bandi up in a Kroger parking lot with the intention of finding a home for her. Same with Lucky. He followed us home one day and the resti is history. They get along wonderfully. Tera is the dominant one I guess. She gets her way most of the time. They have never fought. They have growled and sniped at one another over a bone, but this is very rare.

I am dealing with some pretty serious drug costs. As you dogs age, the vet costs get more expensive. During the past year I have spent over $600 in vet bills with just Tera. But, she is 15 years old.

I have to buy more treats, food, and Heart Guard. Plus Frontline. I think it is best to have two dogs. They can pal around together.

20

Don’t worry, Dogzilla, we know better than to buy from a pet store or backyard breeder. We got Rory from a rescue organization I found on Petfinder.com, and I would look for another dog the same way. I would not get a dog from any place I thought was irresponsible, and I know the risks of adopting a dog.

I shop at PetSmart for most of her supplies because I want to support them and the way they help animals find homes. And Rory loves to go to PetSmart!

jacksen9, man, do I know about expensive vet bills. Rory was in and out of the vet so many times in her first six months I think she could have driven herself! She unfortunately had many problems with parasites, one after the other, (another risk of getting a dog from a shelter, they catch everything from each other) and doggie prescriptions are expensive! Plus special food, and all the normal shots puppies need in their first year. She’s pulled through great, though, and is fine, healthy and happy now. But because of her history, she has to be on Interceptor year round, and Frontline too, which aren’t cheap either.

I think I’ll start keeping my eyes open, and just wait and see if that right dog comes along. I’m not in a hurry, so I’m going to wait until I find one that will be a good fit, if not, that’s ok too.