You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I was the member of our family who didn't really want to get a dog. We have had our Labradoodle for almost 3 years and we go everywhere together and I wish we'd done it years ago.
My wife and daughter are both home during the day so ours is rarely left alone and even then it's for very short spells but she does sometimes seem to get a bit bored and we're wondering whether getting another one is the answer.
We've talked about getting another but one has come up for rehoming that we're now seriously considering. I've heard people say that two dogs is less trouble than one but don't believe them, so can anyone convince me either way?
Two dogs. How much more work than one?
Anywhere between half and quadruple.
For me it would be less about the practicalities, and more about the vet bills/insurance!
I more or less agree with that assessment. It can work and they can keep each other company, but then they can also get so used to being with each other that they get anxiety when separated, or learn how to distract the humans while one goes off and eats vile things.
That may just be spaniels though.
Anywhere between half and quadruple.
This. Depends very much on the dogs. Two dogs without problems can reinforce each other's behaviour. FOMO is a strong doggy motivator, so if each dog has a 90% recall then if one comes the other is much more likely to follow especially if treats are involved.
The flip side being that dogs can also inspire idiocy in each other.
We did this, went from having a single GWP, second one we've had, then when she was two got a lab puppy as a friend had some. In some respects we found it easier, managing the dogs etc in others much harder... holidays, holiday accommodation, camping etc, leaving dogs with relatives if necessary. Its twice as expensive food wise! Everything smells of dog, labs are smellier by far than pointers and hold significantly more water when wet through!
However they are almost inseparable and really good company for each other and us but it has changed our lifestyle more than having one dog did by quite a bit. They also have to be well trained especially recall and socialisation or it would be nightmare in my opinion. Mine are matched fairly well physically, i would say my lab is very much fitter for being the running pal of a pointer but i did worry about this when she was younger and it does occasionally give me concerns. So i would recommend 2 similar dogs or two very different dogs ie a big one and a small one that you can either exercise together or apart depending on your lifestyle. Or have one trotting next to you while the other heads off for the horizon!
would i do it again... maybe not in hindsight if I'm tired and can't be arsed getting up at 6 every day to walk them but we wouldn't be without them both now so if the GWP does go before the Lab or vice versa then i imagine we'll get another dog. so i guess its kind of committing as a concept.
Also it made me realise that Labs are so so much easier to train compared to GWP's so choose dog 1 or 2 wisely!
I'd also agree with the points made above about behaviour and potential issues there.
It's pot luck, we have had pairs together who have been easier than one, and have introduced one for rehoming who took big chunks out of the existing dog.
I'm always a bit wary when people say things like "we're having some issues with the dog we have, so we're thinking of getting another one"
Do it! They'll wreck your home, but Do It!
we have a Sharpei. its 10yrs old, its very independent and was very happy in its own company. It wasn't fussed on walks, it couldn't be let off the lead on walks and it did not socialise well. (it was my girlfriend's dog for 9yrs before i came along and she treated it like a house princess). it sat on the chair looking out the window all day, or sleeping on top of the bed. if you took it for a walk, it had to be not raining and not mucky. it wouldn't get its feet dirty and was very stubborn. it was very anti social - if my girlfriend was upstairs the dog would come down, and vise versa. it went to bed when it wanted and just left you downstairs. The dog could stay in the house over 24hrs on its own without bother if we had an overnight or something.
the opportunity came up to take a springer off one of her friends. this springer was absolutely brilliantly trained and is an ex gun dog. she was 3yrs old. we jumped at this, as i knew i could give it plenty of exercise on the bike etc.
the springer will ignore the Sharpei, (maybe a gun dog trait), it never plays or interacts with the Sharpei, but the Sharpei loves the company of the springer. It has completely changed the dog. I open the door and both of them are in the van before i even get the words 'walk' out. on a walk the springer will cover every inch of ground and undergrowth. The Sharpei will join in when it wants but spends 90% of the time sticking to hard ground. The Sharpei gets off the lead now, as it copies the recall of the springer. the springer is much fitter, but the Sharpei is an absolute specimen of lean muscle and power (for 10yrs of doing nothing!). the Sharpei now will not leave my side, at home or away, same as the springer.
long story short, 1 dog - Sharpei, integrated into our lives with zero bother. it wasn't interested in walks, it could be left in the house without worry, it really did take very very little to look after.
2 dogs - Sharpei and springer - significant change to our lives, 1 to 2 walks per day.....or a decent cycle with the springer, but wouldn't change it for the world.
IHNFull Member
I’m always a bit wary when people say things like “we’re having some issues with the dog we have, so we’re thinking of getting another one”
Fair enough. we're not having any issues whatsoever with ours.
The dog we're considering is another Labradoodle and if she's half as well behaved as our current one then they wouldn't be a problem. The prospective newcomer is 5 months old so not a puppy but from a household where she still lives with her mum. I gather they're reluctantly letting her go but not sure whether any bad habits will be too embedded at that age.
It can be fun at the start but in the end it gets messy
My wife in just ending 10 years of dog minding and dog walking.
My gut instinct is that if you are in all day there isn’t much to gain. It’s a really big role of the dice. Labradoodle’s in particular are a lottery. So so I’d say a good chance of making it worse, a reasonable chance of no change and minimal chance of things being better. Dogs entertaining each other involve running around etc. They aren’t just going to agree to binge watch Netflix
But if you just fancy 2 dogs crack on.
We have three which is quite a bit more work. Two is fine. Whether it’s worth it might depend on if they enjoy spending time together- which isn’t a given.
It does make it more difficult to go and stay places (with friends, family, airbnb etc)
Practically, they do kind of look after themselves a bit exercise wise. They play a lot so don't need quite as much walking.
Costs of keeping them doubled, food, insurance, grooming, training, etc. Cleaning up after them is a constant task, we strip them weekly but there's still dog hair everywhere!
Holidays are a little more difficult, they're big dogs, a lot of accommodation will only allow two small dogs.
There's less room on the sofa, they're literally 40kg lapdogs.
Fabulous dogs there but they really shouldn't be on that sofa although appreciate they'll take up a lot less room compared to the floor!
I never realized n+1 also applied to dogs...
they really shouldn’t be on that sofa
You'd be supprised how hard wearing a proper chesterfield is, not to be confused with cheap immitations. That said, yes I'd still put a throw on the sofa!
As said above, it depends on the dogs. We have two Border Collies and it just works. Very different characters but they’ve made a team. I think we were extremely lucky. In summary, it’ll either work or it won’t. Life’s a gamble though, eh?
Harder to keep an eye for them rolling in foxpoo with more than 1!
Harder to keep an eye on them rolling on fox poo with more than 1!
Double the grooming bills.
They do keep each other company. The younger 5 year old white one misses the 10 year old one when she gets left behind for bothy trips.
Harder to go on holiday anywherethat doesn't take dogs. Asking family to look after two big dogs is more of an ask. That apart, if the expense is not an issue it's mostly positive.
Vet bills. One will be cheap, the other will be constantly trying to kill itself and buy the vet several Santa Cruz's to put in their Tesla...
Or they'll sit in the Bay Window, barking at anything that has the temerity to walk past.
Wouldn't change them for the world.
We’ve had 2 dogs for 30+ years - they do keep each company when you’re out plus an older dog will help a younger dog get to know the ways of the ‘pack’. With a single dog, they’re very much reliant on the human to provide ‘entertainment’ particularly on a walk, otherwise they may wander. I would say a second dog results in about 50% more work than a first dog, but obviously double the cost in terms of food and vet bills. We find with 2 dogs with a slight difference in age makes it easier when one passes - you can keep going whereas coming home to a dog-less home would be more difficult. We had three until a week ago - looking after an older, short-term foster dog whose owner had died and has since been rehomed. Three dogs was impractical, our car wasn’t really big enough and it made things like ferry trips tricky.
Purely personal experience, BUT:
We had 2 dogs, a rescue (4yr old) DDB and then a Frenchie as a pup, they were amazing together.
When we lost the DDB, the Frenchie became very withdrawn, so we decided to get another (cross-breed this time because we've had bad luck and expensive vet bills with pure breeds).
This turned into getting 2 dogs from the same litter (boy & girl), the first year was fantastic, but then something switched in the youngest boy's brain, and he now cannot be either of the dogs in the house, so we now have to keep the Frenchie and girl (who get on great) separated from the other as I've literally spent a fortune on Vet bills, behaviourists and now ongoing anti-psychotic medication this past 12 months.
Having them separate means that at least 1 of them is missing out on enrichment throughout the day.
It's hard work, and unfortunately I don't find that the good times outweigh the bad any more, however, rehoming is a conversation that my wife just isn't willing to have.
Perhaps I'm just really unlucky, but I'm not sure if I'd risk owning 2 dogs at the same time again 🙁
We have two dogs. They get on fine. We were able to give the second one a trial run of two weeks. I'd say that was 100% necessary, as they might not have got on fine.
Would do it again? not sure.
Food, kennels, food, vet bills, food, all get more expensive.
Oh, and hair. The hair. Everywhere.
All I will say is double the food bill, but triple the picking up after
We ended up with a brother and sister from the same litter. As they are only shi-poos food cost wise it's not a massive difference but Vet bills obviously are.
They have terrible FOMO so it was harder to train them as they both wanted treats at the same time.
We used to be able to get someone to look after our old Westy but no-one wants to look after two lunatics.
They do play a lot together so don't need as much walking to tire them out though.
"Fabulous dogs there but they really shouldn’t be on that sofa although appreciate they’ll take up a lot less room compared to the floor!"
Gundogs in the boot room; terriers by the fire!
Double the grooming bills.
The what?
It’s hard work, and unfortunately I don’t find that the good times outweigh the bad any more, however, rehoming is a conversation that my wife just isn’t willing to have.
You need to watch Dogs Behaving Very Badly. He solved this problem in minutes*
* yes i know it's not as easy as that in reality, but there is always a way (and imho I'd be surprised if anti psychotics are the answer)
About 5 years ago we got a collie mix for company with our then 3 year old black German Shepherd. They get on together so well and as the GS ages, the younger collie keeps her more active as the GS has a lazy disposition.
We were told the GS will only live to about 10 years of age and not only will we be devastated when she dies but the collie will be lost without her.
We have tried to introduce a third dog so when the GS passes away the collie will have company but the two b1tches won't accept another dog. We've fostered a few young pups, male and female but none are accepted.
In answer to your question, would I do it again? Yes but as others have mentioned bills, mess and going away on holidays requires extra money and effort.
I have four dogs (three spaniels and a terrier). They all get along just fine, but i also don't think any of them would mind being a solo dog.
I love having multiple dogs, but life these days is pretty much geared around the dogs.
As mentioned earlier, getting someone to pet sit a solo dog is much easier than someone being willing to sit multiple dogs.
I'd say test it by borrowing a second that your dog is ok with. My dog sometimes seems like she's 'bored' but then you bring a friend round and after 10 minutes play she just goes back to her usual mode of sleeping or scavenging.
It's good to keep her socialised, but I don't think she 'needs' a second dog. It'd also have to be carefully chosen as she resources guards food unless the dog it totally accepted (a rare few for her).
So it can completely depend on the dog.
I have friends with 2, at least one of them regrets that decision to some extent, but she had a reactive rescue, got a second, found it had defective hips and then got divorced so now she has 2 dogs to deal with solo pretty much all the time.
Also
owning 2 dogs
from the same litter is quite risky particularly if they are of opposing sexes, I do know of 2 sets of brothers locally both about 2 years old who are ok together though.
You need to watch Dogs Behaving Very Badly. He solved this problem in minutes*
* yes i know it’s not as easy as that in reality, but there is always a way (and imho I’d be surprised if anti psychotics are the answer)
Or watch someone like Danny MacAskill backwards wheelie down a hill and think you can learn it in 5 minutes? Or realise there isn't a 'doggy template' and that just because it worked in whatever time span for two dogs down the road doesnt mean it will work the same for the next two, if at all!
If you decide to get two dogs, come to peace with the fact that you will always be a two dog household because there aren't enough hours in the day for most people to spend time with the dogs together and separate to ensure that you bond with both equally. A lot of time 'should' be spent giving each dog individually the confidence that it's okay that they're alone. As everyone else has then said double the costs, double the towels needed, double the training and possibly different approaches to training both. There are some positives but the cost and time alone to do it properly means I'm a one dog household and happy to provide my dog with a tonne of entertainment on his walks to keep his focus on me. (I'm one of those lunatics you see actually enjoying walking their dog and not having my head in my phone!)
Just my view... as the owner of one dog for 16 years, then two dogs for 13 years...
I would go back to one dog, I feel that I can't quite give either of mine the attention that they (or I) would like.
BUT I have two very active dogs, it worked really well for the first 7 or 8 years. They kept each other company, and looking after two well matched dogs is very similar to having one. Then sadly one was diagnosed with quite serious ligament issues aged 8, and has been relatively limited in her activity since. So with even the best plans to match your dogs up... I feel that both of mine have lived a slightly 'compromised' life in the last 5 years, as I try to accommodate their very different needs.
Just keep this possibility in mind, things don't always go to plan and are you able to cater for two very different dogs? (this can happen even when you don't intend it to).
Its getting easier again now as they are both aging.
We have two GWP x LAB. Both from same parents, different litters.
They spend almost all of their time together.
It's all pretty good except for having two 35kg dogs take over the bed every night.... they weren't there when I went to sleep.
Get a cat instead. They just keep to themselves, much less hassle.
It’s all pretty good except for having two 35kg dogs take over the bed every night…. they weren’t there when I went to sleep.
Blimey. Have you tried shutting the door? Our boy is trained to not even come upstairs!
Dont do it.
My Dad had one dog. It was nice, well behaved, quiet.
They sometime later, for a reason I cannot fathom, got another, a half sibling of the first. Dog two was a dick.
Dog two being a dick, also made Dog one a complete dick aswell. Terrible decision.
Yep
Black dog was #2, and she and white dog were best buddies.
White dog passed a few weeks ago and trying to get used to it. He's left a real hole. Black dog becoming a bit more independent as no pal to rely on.
Still thinking we'll have another partner in crime at some point to keep her compqny