Going from one dog to two.

[PWCorgi]

I am not even in the apartment yet, but I am constantly battling with myself as to whether I want another dog or not.

So, what factors played into your decision to bring in another dog? How much did it change your daily routine? If you could go back, would you do it again? Etc.

I know exactly what I want (medium size, active, loves fetch, STABLE, etc), it's just the decision to actively pursue the process.

Any input is appreciated

 

[butterflylover]

Hello there,in response to your post,I have 2 dogs,and I tell you Im so glad I got my second dog,there was this women,her dog had a litter of puppies,the ad was in the newspaper.When I saw Ruby I knew that I just had to have her.

 

[Panzerotti]

My first dog that I got when living on my own is Solo, a big nasty mutt that had serious people and dog issues. We have lived in apartments for his whole life. He was actually the reason for me not adding a second dog for a long time because he alone was a lot to deal with, with training away his reactiveness. Plus, I worried that his bad behaviour would influence another dog in a bad way.

I finally added dog number two last year (after having only Solo for 10 years) and now I wish I would have done it sooner. It does add to the work load, especially living in an apartment where you can't just open the door and let the dogs out to pee. But once you're used to the routine with one dog, it's not bad to add the second. And it would be even more enjoyable if both dogs were dog friendly. Right now, Solo pretty much only tolerates Panzer, and I still take them out separately for the most part.

But I think if you find the right dog, it will only add to your doggy enjoyment.

 

[Moth]

I love having more than one dog.

With our current pair we made the decision to get Menchi because Watson needed a companion to allow him to play.

He was 6 moths old when we brought home Menchi (then 9 weeks).

It was not that big an adjustment...some of this of course also depends on the temperaments and needs of the dogs in question. I am a little slower getting out the door with two of them and getting ready takes a bit longer. Feeding times are easy for us as I feed in their crates. There is a little less room on the bed

The biggest change was that I had to make time to figure out how to work effectively with two of them. It is something I still am working on...but I like the experience and seeing the different ways they learn.

I spend a lot of time with them both, so giving each enough attention has not been any trouble.

I would totally do it again...heck, I wish I could convince my BF that we need a third

 

[SaraB]

Depends on the dogs. If they are big players, it's almost less work with two because you don't always have to worry about exercising them, if you miss a walk, it's not as big of a deal. Right now it's more work for me having 2 dogs because I'm working each independetly in the sense that all of our hikes, walks and training sessions are one-on-one. It was so much easier when I could bring both on hikes, but recalls were starting to suffer due to Zuma wanting to herd Classic as he was running to me. So after a bit more work, I'll start walking them off leash together again and it will be easier.

Otherwise, not much changed for me. Still have to feed them, walk them, train them and pay attention to them. A lot of that can be done at the same time for two dogs.

 

[sassafras]

I think the odds are more noticeably more work than the evens. That is, I don't think one to two is that much more work, but two to three was noticeable for me (and obviously none to one is noticeable). Never had more than three so I don't know how true that would hold with more.

Anyway. I just plain like having multiple dogs. I can't imagine having only one ever again. Just more familyish.

 

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

It's hard to say for me.

It's VERY different for me having more than one dog. But I went from having Chloe, who's the perfect dog, well behaved, not too much energy, but enough energy to go for a nice walk, small and portable, etc, to having Violet who's huge (comparatively), tons of energy (actually it's not so bad but definitely MORE energy), etc.

I think it'd have been a LOT easier to add another dog her size. (Even if Chloe was a big dog, it would've been easier to add another dog her size, because they could play together if they were the same size). It's not easy having dogs with such a big size difference. They really can't play at all. They will wrestle around a bit, but I watch them like a hawk, and usually get too nervous to let it go on very long. I wish they each (or at least Violet so she'd leave Chloe alone) had a friend their own size.

However, it's really not THAT big of a deal. Having two is very different, and not as easy, but I wouldn't say it's hard, really. It's very enjoyable, and I love having them both.

 

[Shai]

So, what factors played into your decision to bring in another dog?

I wanted a second dog. We had time for a second dog. Kim liked other dogs so I didn't think she'd have a problem with the idea.

How much did it change your daily routine?

Quite a lot. For one, we lived in a small apartment at the time so every trip outside was more than just opening the back door. Secondly we ended up moving a couple months later which we weren't really expecting but it made finding a new place to live a lot harder. But most of the work increase had to do with the dog himself, not that he was our second. Webby sort of came into our life unexpectedly...I found out he existed and got his (brief) backstory and two days later he was home. Granted I was looking for a second dog but looking and bringing one home in 48 hours aren't really the same thing The local shelter, his next stop, would not have ended well for him. So we were dealing with crate panic, complete lack of understanding of dog-dog behavior, leash manners, etc...very very easily over aroused...no frustration tolerance at all (instantly spazzing and screaming over...everything) and just for fun, food and location resource guarding with teeth. Yippee-skippy

If you could go back, would you do it again? Etc.

Absolutely. Both the second dog thing and Webster in particular. Give a dog a support system and allow him to learn that his actions can directly influence his life for the better and it's amazing what can change . He really is a special boy, and I mean that in a good way.

 

[*blackrose]

I can't really say, as we've always had at least two dogs. I do know that I just like having two dogs (or three) around. I have Cynder with me this weekend (boyfriend's pooch) and it just feels right to have both her and Chloe around. It adds to the workload, yes, but the satisfaction I get out of it is well worth the extra effort. I really think I like the variety and dynamics of having multiple dogs.

 

[Laurelin]

My daily routine changed quite a bit with Mia. She was a really intense puppy and Summer has always been fairly lazy. With Summer I was walking a lot but with Mia it became apparent she needed off leash time. For the first 1 1/2 years Mia had me outside at the park at least 2 hours a day most days with her running around like a lunatic. She's settled down a lot now so it's easier.

My two get along really well and they're small so it's easy to lug both around. Hardest thing is training classes in my schedule. Twice the money and can't take both. I think I raised them too dependent on each other too, they hate being apart from each other.

 

[SpringerLover]

I wish I only had one. It'd be so much easier with just Bailey, or with two Buzz's.

 

[Locke]

I much prefer having two dogs than just one, but I also enjoy being able to put all my attention, love, energy, etc. into one dog.

When we went from one to two the first time, it was relatively easy. Our first dog was older, well behaved, and not needy. She was the ideal dog to add a puppy to the household and the addition went really smoothly.
However, after she passed, we adopted a 2 year old, unruly, hyperactive, big dog that overwhelmed our other dog. Managing the two of them was A LOT more work than I had expected, but I would never change a thing.

 

[Southpaw]

I haven't found it to be a big deal. We had Molly, and then we got Lucy - it was a pretty easy transition, but they were both easy dogs. The reason we got Lucy is because my mom was apparently open to getting another dog, but she didn't want me to get any more rats... so that was the tradeoff. Really lame reasoning, yes.

It was a little more difficult to go from having just Lucy, to adding Juno... but Juno was not easy and it had nothing to do with Lucy. Juno was just a PITA all on her own, period. Nowadays it's fine, they're both easy dogs that don't demand all of my time. If one of them is gone for the day, it doesn't really feel any different than when they're both around.

Sure I'd do it again. If I could, I'd go out right now and make it 3 dogs.

 

[CharlieDog]

One to two was a bit different, but I'd fostered off and on with Oz, so it was too terrible. Two to three was definitely more work, and I'll let you know how three to four goes here in the next few weeks. Maybe.

 

[JustaLilBitaLuck]

Well, I was crazy and got Missy and Jack within a week of each other - so I've never really only had one.

However, it appears that I'm going to start fostering again soon - so I can help you pursue the process.

 

[Saeleofu]

I got a second dog because I needed one. I also wanted one, but I needed an SD candidate. Gavroche wasn't too thrilled at first, but now him and Logan are inseparable.

At first, my routine changed a lot. Extra training, extra feeding, extra potty times, teaching him not to mark in the house, getting the barking down to a manageable level, making sure the dogs got along well, making sure Logan didn't destroy everything I own, more exercise/walks, etc. But once he was settled in, it became a new routine and it's EASY. They get fed at the same time, go out at the same time, play together - I really prefer two dogs to one. For the most part they operate as a unit, it's just the training that I do separately - and even then often I'll have one dog in a down-stay while I work with the other, other times I have one dog crated while I work with the other - no big deal.

THREE is harder. It seems like a LOT more work to have three dogs compared to two. One to two was easy, two to three was a pain. Now once you get up to 8-9 dogs, adding in another dog or two doesn't really have much of an effect lol.

I would totally do it again, and not just because I have two awesome dogs. Two dogs are just more fun than one and ultimately not much more work - and seems like sometimes less work.

 

[Finkie_Mom]

For me, going from 1 to 2 was really tough, but 2 to 3 was like nothing! I'm assuming 3 to 4 will be rough, too (if I get that far - not sure yet!).

The biggest thing that helped me was scheduling. I have a routine down (well, as much of a routine as I can have considering my jobs are sort of random/not the same from day to day) and that really does help. That way everyone is getting their exercise and training every day, as well as some alone time.

It also helped that all of mine thus far have gotten along famously (though Pentti was a big RGer when we got him, but we've worked on that a lot and he's MUCH better now) so I can have them out to play together to burn off some excess energy. But with each new addition, I had it in the back of my mind that they may not want to be best friends and came up with plans for crate/rotate if I needed to.

 

[Tahla9999]

I've babysat dogs and had as many as three dogs in an apartment and it was really easy to adjust. The one I do babysat, she and Kai just click. She would play with him for half the day. It was fun seeing them running and chasing each other through the hallway. Kai energy was spent on playing so I had less to do in that department. Walking both of them at the same time was pretty fun. I think it depends on both dogs. Do both dogs compliment each other? If they do, it would be twice the work, but pretty easy to get use to compared to two dogs who would rather do everything seperately.

My new addition would be a cat instead of a dog, but that won't be until a few years down the road. This is how I made that decision:

Where would I be in a couple of years? I'm going to be transfering to another state, living in an dorm or renting a place, trying to finish college. It wont be until the end of college when I'll start looking for a breeder or a rescue.

What is my money sitaution? Since my money will be spent on college and living expenses, it would not be good to add another pet.

Would I be able to provide all the things that new pet needs. For me, probably not, since my money would all ready be stretch.

Would I have the time for another pet? No, since college would be stricting my time as it is.

There are people who have pets during college and I would like to take Kai with me if I could find a room to rent that allows dogs. Since my future is so full of what ifs, I'm won't dare add another pet.

 

[*blackrose]

Oh, one thing that does change at first and takes awhile to get used to is the schedule. Course, this is with any new dog addition, no matter the number. I'm used to getting up at certain times, letting the dogs out at certain times, feeding at certain times, playing at certain times...when you add a new dog in to the mix, its schedule may not be the same as yours and trying to figure out how to get everything running smoothly again stresses me out at first. Just little things like how the new dog destroys toys, or doesn't potty when taken outside as quickly as Chloe does, or needs to be crated, or wakes up at 5am, or likes to get up onto the furniture. It's all little things, but those tend to stress me out until the dog is used to the new house rules/schedule.