Your thoughts on only having 1 dog

[Fran101]

Well, what do you think?

for example..those who only have one dogs, what are the perks? would you like to eventually get another dog? do you feel like your dog is missing out on something? whats your favorite part of only having one dog? do you prefer only having one?

those with more than one dog.. how were things like when you only had one? have you noticed positive/negative differences?

have you noticed a stronger bond with having one dog?

just speak your mind I saw this mentioned on another forum and was curious as to what chazzers thought

 

[Zoom]

It's easier to go places with just one dog, either because people don't mind you bringing them along or it's cheaper overall to board them/leave them with friends. There is more one-on-one interaction with them as well.

I really miss having two dogs though and I think Sawyer does too.

 

[FoxyWench]

well growing up we had 1 dog for a short period of time...she was a great dog, and it was definatly easier to board should he need to, but she slept most of the time, and i always wondered if she was bored...

when ruby lived as an only dog (for a period of mabe a month lol) she whent form being the nuzzly snuggly and playfull girl to a dog who just lay in her bed all day, she loved to go for a walk, but other than that...(shes also a dog that has very little interest in playing with toys)
once jasper came along...sure sometimes she seems a little annoyed with him (and i try and give them both lots of one on one time and space) but she has definatly perked up more, she actually plays inside now again and out in th eyard she runs aroun d like a loon with him...

 

[Laurelin]

I did about a year recently with one dog. It worked well minus Summer's SA which does do better with another dog around. It's MUCH easier to go places and such with just one. I do feel like the dynamic was different. Summer was my world and now Summer and Mia are my world, lol. It's not better or worse, just different. Summer does occasionally play with Mia, which is nice but other times I think the age gap (5 years) is a bit much. Summer doesn't alway love Mia as much as Mia loves Summer, haha. But overall I prefer having multiples. 5 is nice because usually if one wants to play at least SOMEONE else will play with them, lol. Rose and Summer are kind of fuddy duddies but the boys and Mia play 24/7.

You don't keep just one papillon very long, I've found out. xD

 

[bubbatd]

I always had more than one until I lost my Bubba and only had Chip . Now there's only Ollie , but at my age and lifestyle it's the best for me . The only thing wrong is the sadness when you go through being alone again when the one goes on .

 

[babymomma]

It sucks having one, IMO.. Keely loves other dogs, I love lots a dogs. But I have to be very bery grateful that I have 1 ... 15 years of literal begging got me keely...

I think keely would benefit from another dog. we have a huge yard and she doesnt use it because, theres nothing to do. But when kacee comes up she runs around like crazy.

I think when I get another dog, whenever that may be, Im going to have a special thing with each of them. Like keely will be allowed to sleep with me and the others wont kinda thing..

Sure it will be harder to go places with more dogs (And larger dogs at that) but i think it will be worth it.

 

[SmexyPibble]

I have only one dog right now, I had 4 at one point, and I had 6 at one point (most of them fosters) last year. The perks are you don't have to feel guilty when you take only one dog somewhere and leave the others behind, you don't have to wipe off as many muddy feet (4 feet instead of 24 feet), you can focus on building a bond with just one dog. I would love to eventually get another dog, and possibly get a foster as well. Yes, I think my dog is missing out on something, AND missing having other dogs around! I think she gets pretty lonely, and I think it is better for there to be at least one other dog, in most cases. I do NOT perfer only having one dog, we have 4 people in the family, and I hate having to "share" the dog, I'd much perfer to have my OWN dog, and I love having more than one dog to hike with and take swimming, too! I have noticed negative differences since Georgia has been the only dog in the house. She has developed anxiety, and anytime we leave her inside she eats the blinds, breaks through the window, eats the screen, and runs next door to play with the neighbors dogs.

 

[mjb]

We've only had one at a time. It does make things much easier and cheaper with boarding, taking them with you on trips, etc.

With our last dog, the kids were young, and he ran in the yard with the kids, he had a neighborhood dog friend that would come play, and he was a less active breed anyway, Pug.

With this one, a mutt with terrier in him, he wants to play, and many times no one is around to play with him or can't stop to play. He sleeps more than he probably would with another dog around.

On the other hand, when we've had a dog stay with us for a week, the other dog bossed Spanky around a little. They got along pretty well, and Spanky seemed to enjoy it, but he seemed almost relieved when she left. He also tried his best to engage her in play, and she was a dog, and a JRT at that, that didn't want to play.

I'm sure he would get along with a dog and enjoy having a playmate, but I do worry about things not working out and having to rehome one.

I guess I take the easy way out and just keep Spanky as a loner, plus 2 cats.

Oh, and introducing another dog to the 2 cats doesn't thrill me too much either. Spanky's intro took quite a bit of work, and now they exist happily together.

 

[sammgirl]

My mom always had multiple dogs, so I'm used to it.

I know it's cheaper to only have one dog, but I can't wait to get my OWN dog. Abby is Jared's girl through and through, though she does love both of us alot.

 

[Xandra]

As long as they're all mine it's good. But having two different dogs with two different sets of rules living in the same place isn't the greatest.

I think most dogs enjoy having a friend. They are social creatures, after all. I would say the closer they are in age the better. I don't think that your bond suffers if you have two, maybe if they're raised together from pups, but not getting another later on.
My dog likes other dogs except when he's playing fetch, because, you know, God forbid another dog gets the ball before he does. When I'm not doing that they can enertain themselves. Only problem with that is they give each other ideas.

 

[Dekka]

Dekka would love to be an only dog. When we did the movie shoot she was thrilled to have me all to herself (and the 13 guys too)

There are days when I would love for it just to be Dekka, a lot less hassle. But I love the others lots too. Snip and Kaiden don't care if there are other dogs... the whippets enjoy canine company, and Sport-well if it moves it makes him happy.

As for looking after, one or two doesn't seem to make a big difference. Any more than 2 and you start running into more work.

 

[bubbatd]

Ollie loves it when I keep my " grand dogs " ..... the best of both worlds !

 

[AGonzalez]

I'm trying to remember a time where I had only 1 dog...I don't think I ever have. We got Lacey when Smokey got ill and didn't want to play with Lily anymore, so I had 3 dogs then. When I first got Smokey I had 2 basset hounds. One which died of old age (15) and the other belonged to someone else and that became drama so I took him to a rescue since she refused to take care of him.
My family has always had in excess of 5-6 dogs at home, so I have no idea, I just know that my dog food bill is a lot higher with 3 than it was with 2, but Jasper eats a lot, lol.

 

[Lizmo]

I had Lizzie for 4 years before I got another dog. There are positives and negatives to both. With just Lizzie, she would always get walked. Now, I rarely walk either of them, but the reason isn't totally that I have 2 dogs LOL. She never slept in my room, so when Blaze came nothing changed there.

I personally love having two dogs. But when I go to college and it's just Blaze with me, I don't think it will be that bad. I see alot of positives (like walking one day, and not having another one whine because he/she isn't going), but will miss just having the company of two dogs.

On the subject of 'how many dogs are right for me', I don't know yet.

 

[Dakotah]

I personally prefer only one dog.
For alot of the reasons that Zoom named in her first post but also its easier for *me*.

One day I would love to have 2 or 3 dogs at once but thats many many moons down the road.

 

[smkie]

Half the vet bills, have the feed, have the dog hair..half the work. Not a bad thing at all.

 

[Foolds]

I'm trying to decide this right now! Ive got one dog, and Zoom's dog has been over alot. I am strongly considering adopting another one. Ive only ever had one do, baby sat other dogs and my dog and my brothers dog both go to work together.

 

[lizzybeth727]

I've never had more than one dog, and I'm not sure if I ever will. I always feel guilty that I'm not spending enough time with Luna, and I think that if I got another dog it would be even worse. She's not crazy about other dogs, either, and I think she likes being an "only dog." I do foster and dog-sit a lot, and even the easiest of dogs take time and attention away from Luna.

Plus I travel a lot and rarely have to board her because she's so easy to travel with; if I had more than one dog, or larger dogs, that wouldn't be the case. If I can't take her with me, I have tons of friends who volunteer to dog-sit her, and some of them would not do it if she was large, or if there was more than one dog.

I also have a cat, and recently had the opportunity to adopt another cat; which I turned down for basically the same reasons - she would take my time, attention, and resources away from my current cat, and I don't think that would be fair.

 

[yoko]

i like only having 1. yoshi liked lady but lady wasn't a big playing dog. my friends and even my brother will bring around their dogs or puppies. yoshi's interested for maybe a minute or two but then just wants to be around people and completely ignores the other dog.

i always say i would like another dog but i think one dog at a time is good enough for me. i have enough money saved up if yoshi gets sick. but don't think i could save up enough if two dogs bloated at one time *just example since i know the cost*

some people like having more than one dog at a time. and some dogs prob benefit from it. but in my case having more than one is just me being selfish.

 

[Laurelin]

I can't have more than two until I get a yard. For now I have to walk them a LOT to keep them occupied. I have enough trouble with them getting tangled with just two! This summer I did all the work (literally) for all 5 dogs. I can totally see me doing that again once I get a yard if finances are permitting. Apartment + multiple dogs is a lil tough though. I wouldn't trade either of my goobers for the world though. They're great.