2 pups are better than 1?

mikeandnat

Hubby & I have a 6 month old schnauzer girl, and she has totally rocked our worlds! She is just the sweetest, snuggliest little ball of fun. She's about 90% well behaved (slight barking at strangers issue) & 100% potty trained. We have a pretty large apartment with a yard for her to play around in. We take her to the park once or twice a week for her to interact with other dogs & she absolutely loves it. We really would like to get another pup since she was so easy & we definitely have the time & love to give 2 dogs. Every once in a while, babygirl just needs to play & we are both working/studying at home & can't be her playmates. I think it would be so much easier if we had 2 dogs so they could keep each other company & play together. Only problem is I've heard horror stories about dogs who've digressed after a new puppy was added to the family, or that it's just twice the trouble & expenses, etc. I've also heard from a few friends/family that it's better to have 2 dogs who can play together than one lonely one, and that having a dog already makes training the new one a lot easier. Any thoughts? Is there a certain age our dog should be before we decide to bring in a new one? And if we already have a girl, is it better to get another girl or a boy?

 

Thanks!

mikeandnat

And FYI our pup is leash trained & friendly to all people & dogs.

aggiebug

honestly I would wait until she is older. for your sake and the dogs. there is no perfect age but at least over a year would be my suggestion maybe even older. as far as sex as long as both are castrated it shouldn't matter if the are the same or different sex. for those times she wants attention and you dang what about a filled Kong to distract her

GildedIcon

I COMPLETELY know where you are coming from.  When we got our first puppy (my first dog ever) I said, one.

After about 6-7 months I realized she needed a friend.  She loves to play with other dogs, and DH and I are great fun but we can not run fast enough or long enough to keep her entertained.

We too were torn, with the when, how and whys.

We got our second pup when our first girl was 9 months old.  We had the breeder pick out the second pup based on temperament and interaction. 

It was the best move we ever made.  Our 'older' treats the puppy like it is her own.  They are both females.

Dogs a pack animals, I think they like the companionship.  We enjoy two tired pups at the end of the day. 

Good luck! 

 

DanniLynn88

We had our first dog a lab mix and he had a friend when he was younger and then she was gone, we waited til he was 9 months and then adopted a chihuahua, who was also 9 months. The lab is very gentle and calm but I had wanted a smaller dog, he is 80 lbs. It worked for us.