question on having more than one dog?

jmilton3

So we currently have a 1 year old beagle max who is a handful to say the least! I have thought for a while haveing two dogs would help him and my husband thought I had gone crazy!  But this week we are dog sitting for my inlaws (a small pom mix) Max is very submissive  this other dog is not.  Overall Max has been much better behaved this week.  My husband even noticed it too but feels like getting another dog is taking a huge risk.  I feel if we leave the kids out of the equation and really take or time and research breeds it may work out to our and maxs benefit.  Any thoughts or suggestions?  Any one find owning two is better than one? Thanks!

APendola

There are pros and cons.  Some dogs bring out the best in each other and sometimes they can bring out the worst in each other.  So it's important you find a good match for your dog and that the two dogs meet before you make your final decision.

I love having two of them now  - but it was a lot of work at first to have two.  The main problem I had is I picked a second dog that was much younger and more energetic than my first.  So they weren't a perfect match.  If you take the time to find a dog that is a good match for your dog, maybe it'll be easier.

CapeCodOct05

APendola:

There are pros and cons.  Some dogs bring out the best in each other and sometimes they can bring out the worst in each other.  So it's important you find a good match for your dog and that the two dogs meet before you make your final decision.

I love having two of them now  - but it was a lot of work at first to have two. 

Ditto all of this.

Based on what you have posted (and my personal experience), I would recommend adopting and adult dog. This way you will know the personality of the adult dog and you will be able to see if they are a good match. Getting a puppy would be a crapshoot because you never know what the puppy's final personality will be like. Plus if your dog is crazy energetic, then having a puppy around might make him worse (at least for a while).

We got our second dog (a puppy) when our first was about 1.5 years old. They played well enough together, but it was kind of a pain because instead of picking up "good"behaviors from one another, they both picked up "bad" behaviors from one another.

Caz1221

I love having 2 dogs, but one of the things I was most thankful for was that we made sure our first dog was 1000% solid on all of his training before we even considered adopting a second dog.  Your first dog may regress a bit in behavior/training/etc. when the new dog comes home, and each dog needs individual, one-on-one training (you should not train together until each dog is solid on whatever command/trick/task you are training by himself).  If you are still working through some issues with your current dog, you may want to consider waiting until you've addressed those.  I also highly recommend signing up for a training class (even just basic obedience) with each dog to guarantee one-on-one training time.

It's also important to consider the best match for your dog in terms of temperament, energy level, exercise needs, age, sex, size, etc.  As PPs said, finding a good match can make the transition go much more smoothly.  Additionally, properly introducing the dogs and practicing NILIF (you can Google it or look at the FAQs) were incredibly helpful.

Our transition from one dog to two dogs was very easy, and I credit the items I mentioned above.

jmilton3

Thanks for all the replies.  I  know this is going to be a long process because I want the best match for our family and for Max.  I hate to say but when we first got max it was kind of an oh my he's so cute we have to have him so it has been a long road and a learning process for us.

sandollar1010

We just took in a second dog last week and it has been great so far!  My first dog is just a year and very much a handful.  She is bossy and confident and I was really worried about it being never ending chaos.  The rescue we just took in is her polar opposite, but for some reason it works really well.  He is attached to me, but will play with the first dog for short stints to wear her out.  If she gets to be too much for him, he will put her in her place with a growl and she'll back right off.  He is getting more confident and happy each day.  I agree it's a risk, but take your time and think about an older dog that is trained.  I agree with the other posters in making sure your first dog has her basic manners down well.  Also, you may be able to look at a foster-to-adopt program and if for some reason it didn't work, at least you would be providing a great home for the time being.  Best of luck what ever you decide!

charbakes

It really depends on your dog. My Cricket was acting out while I was at work, peeing and pooping on the floors, scratching the door, chewing on furniture, the whole shebang. I took him with me to the shelter to see how he got along with other dogs. He really liked playing with Bogart, who was just a little puppy at the time, and it's really seemed to help mellow him out. Getting a new dog is always a risk, it just happened to work out for me.

neil007

dogs are the pets which are kept by the persons to protect their house. but now a day's dogs are becoming the member or part of family.