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Old 11-06-2013, 06:58 AM
 
Location: New England
398 posts, read 695,937 times
Reputation: 583

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My husband and I just adopted a rescue puppy who we love very much. She is just very.. um.. needy and loveslovesloves to play. She is very, very sad when we leave for work. Hubby & I try to switch off, so she is never alone more than 6 hours at a time (she is 5 months old). Hubby is now considering working full-time now so he can finish up his schooling faster, and poor doggy would be home 8 hours/day on a regular basis.

So...we are considering getting another dog to help her out, to give her someone else to play with and be with. She is thus far just jealous of other dogs in that when neighbor's dog plays in our yard, very protective of her toys and of affection given to other dog. But otherwise, she goes regularly to dog park and has a doggy friend come over every weekend too, and she is really pretty social.

I understand if "this is not a reason to get another dog" etc. but we love dogs so a second dog might make his/her way into own home eventually anyway. Now might even be the best time in pup's life to add the new dog. Any suggestions?
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Old 11-06-2013, 07:15 AM
 
Location: Simmering in DFW
6,952 posts, read 22,618,924 times
Reputation: 7295
I recommend you enroll your puppy in doggie day care 2-3 times a week. This will help get her socialized to other dogs, get her the exercise she needs, and will be cheaper than a second dog. You shouldn't leave young dogs uncrated while you are at work because if they eat the couch or chew up electrical cords they can get very sick. So if you have 2 dogs in crates, now will that help anything? And if you keep them in a gated area together, what happens of they get into a dogfight and no one is home?
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Old 11-06-2013, 07:48 AM
 
Location: New England
398 posts, read 695,937 times
Reputation: 583
Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirl View Post
I recommend you enroll your puppy in doggie day care 2-3 times a week. This will help get her socialized to other dogs, get her the exercise she needs, and will be cheaper than a second dog. You shouldn't leave young dogs uncrated while you are at work because if they eat the couch or chew up electrical cords they can get very sick. So if you have 2 dogs in crates, now will that help anything? And if you keep them in a gated area together, what happens of they get into a dogfight and no one is home?
That was another worry of mine, because my dog little as she is, is quite aggressive and I'm not sure she would even unintentionally hurt another dog while we're not in. Thanks for talking sense. We'll check out getting someone to watch her a few hours, that's a great idea.
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Old 11-06-2013, 12:38 PM
 
Location: NY, NY
1,219 posts, read 1,748,411 times
Reputation: 1225
I am in a similar situation Novila. I have an older dog, he is 18 months old. He gets along very well with pretty much all dogs. He doesnt like overly aggressive dogs, those he will usually not play with and stay away from.

Ive been thinking about getting Jax (my guy) a friend but I had decided the best time would be next summer. Well, my partner got a call from his cousin. She got a puppy about a month ago without the consent of the rest of her family (I DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS) and her husband happens to be allregic. Needless to say, she asked if we would consider taking in the puppy, who is now about 4 months old. I am all for this since the dog is still young enough where we can train him and he can hopefully be a great addition to our family.

Here is the problem. I wanted to introduce the dogs at my house this Saturday. She informed us that her family is going on vacation for 8 days and she is going to board the dogs (I DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS). Im now considering offering to watch the puppy while she is on vacation but I have two concerns. One, I have a pretty heavy travel schedule next week. Its not far travel, but I will be out of the house for about 6 hours everyday but Friday. If my father in law can watch them Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, then that alleviates this problem. Two, Im worried that if the dogs dont get along its going to be a week of hell. This doesnt really worry me since Jax has never had a problem with another dog for any reason but I also dont want to be so arrogant as to not even consider this problem.

Sorry to completely hijack your thread but my point is, I have a very well behaved dog who is still young but has been trained. I also have a pretty ideal situation with a puppy from a woman who, while I may not agree with very much, is still a pretty responsible person who grew up with dogs her whole life and knew to give the dog up after making a mistake and admitting that she never should have brought a puppy home without the consent of her family. I would wait till your puppy is at least a year old before you consider a new dog. Its very tough training a puppy so I would think your focus should be on that dog until its trained to a proper point, then introduce a new dog. And also, make sure it is the right time for your whole family, including yourself!

Again, sorry to hijack your thread, this just happened a few hours ago so its still dominating all my thoughts
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Old 11-06-2013, 01:51 PM
 
Location: Santa Barbara CA
5,093 posts, read 12,546,131 times
Reputation: 10193
I have two dogs and at times have had 3. If I have a puppy I will not get another dog until that puppy is about 2 and well trained. I have a male and a female as it lessens the chance of fights. I have also found it wise for me to bring in a new dog when I know the time with one of the others is limited, Example being when Dash's nasal cancer started causing a visual swelling on his face I knew he would not be with me a lot longer so I got Dazzle. That way Dash got to help train Dazzle and Jazz got use to Dazzle before Dash died.Poor old Dash LOVED having a job and that job was being the babysitter for Dazzle and I think it kept him going for the next 6 months.

I work 3,12 hr night shifts/week and do not want my dog to be alone for that long so having 2 dogs prevents that. I also find some comfort in knowing that my current dogs knew and learned things from a previous dog. Dash loved Dazzle ( Jazz just ignored him until after Dash died ) and at times Dazzle does things that Dash did and I love seeing that it is as if a piece of Dash lives on in him! And yes Jazz became more interested in Dazzle after her best bud in life, Dash died.

While two or more dogs are great it is twice the expense and twice the work and if the two have issues..it can make your home anything but relaxing but when they get and are best buds it makes it much easier to go places without the dogs knowing they have each other and are not alone.
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Old 11-06-2013, 07:48 PM
 
4,231 posts, read 15,379,155 times
Reputation: 4098
Do not introduce them at your house or in your yard, introduce them in a neutral place, on leashes, given yours sounds alpha and may be a bit territorial given her age and maturity, yours might feel a bit competitive w/ a strange new pup. Crating them separately might be the answer, not for hours on end but to give each a break from the other, your FIL would prob. appreciate it too (2 rambunctious puppies can be a handful).

Boarding a puppy isnt the worst thing in the world but there's all sorts of boarding situations, some where the pup has a certain amount of freedom and others where the pup is stuck in a cage 24/7, your partner's cousin needs to research this, also she needs to be aware that not a lot of boarding facilities take young puppies (what was she thinking?!), personally I'd prefer someone to watch my pup in their home IF it's totally puppy proofed and if they're dog savvy. Make sure the pup is wearing current ID tags and while it's young for it to be microchipped, it might not be a bad idea (first decide where he's going to live so you have the correct info on the chip).

We've had multiple puppies before and it's worked out fine but we've never had 2 very young puppies together (although I did foster a sibling pair as young puppies and it worked out fine but we had a fenced-in yard and it wasnt for a great length of time). It def. can be done if you prepare, it's kind of a bummer w/ your traveling schedule but maybe it would work out w/ your FIL if he's OK w/ the idea and dog savvy, would def. go the crate route and get baby gates to keep them in the kitchen or invest in an exercise pen (ex-pen, you can google it) to give him a break. Anyway, just some thoughts - good luck and keep us posted -

Quote:
Originally Posted by PatDJohns View Post
I am in a similar situation Novila. I have an older dog, he is 18 months old. He gets along very well with pretty much all dogs. He doesnt like overly aggressive dogs, those he will usually not play with and stay away from.

Ive been thinking about getting Jax (my guy) a friend but I had decided the best time would be next summer. Well, my partner got a call from his cousin. She got a puppy about a month ago without the consent of the rest of her family (I DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS) and her husband happens to be allregic. Needless to say, she asked if we would consider taking in the puppy, who is now about 4 months old. I am all for this since the dog is still young enough where we can train him and he can hopefully be a great addition to our family.

Here is the problem. I wanted to introduce the dogs at my house this Saturday. She informed us that her family is going on vacation for 8 days and she is going to board the dogs (I DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS). Im now considering offering to watch the puppy while she is on vacation but I have two concerns. One, I have a pretty heavy travel schedule next week. Its not far travel, but I will be out of the house for about 6 hours everyday but Friday. If my father in law can watch them Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, then that alleviates this problem. Two, Im worried that if the dogs dont get along its going to be a week of hell. This doesnt really worry me since Jax has never had a problem with another dog for any reason but I also dont want to be so arrogant as to not even consider this problem.

Sorry to completely hijack your thread but my point is, I have a very well behaved dog who is still young but has been trained. I also have a pretty ideal situation with a puppy from a woman who, while I may not agree with very much, is still a pretty responsible person who grew up with dogs her whole life and knew to give the dog up after making a mistake and admitting that she never should have brought a puppy home without the consent of her family. I would wait till your puppy is at least a year old before you consider a new dog. Its very tough training a puppy so I would think your focus should be on that dog until its trained to a proper point, then introduce a new dog. And also, make sure it is the right time for your whole family, including yourself!

Again, sorry to hijack your thread, this just happened a few hours ago so its still dominating all my thoughts
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Old 11-06-2013, 08:00 PM
 
857 posts, read 2,209,766 times
Reputation: 1121
I can only add that there is no reason for a dog to be left 8hrs,since in my neighborhood at least,people who work such hours have a dog walker come in at lunch time and walk their dog/dogs.

Well worth the money and no more expensive than adding a 2nd dog factoring in Vet bills.


Good Luck.
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Old 11-07-2013, 07:03 AM
 
5,323 posts, read 18,212,661 times
Reputation: 3850
By nature dogs are social critters, pack animals. Your girl sounds like a perfect one for doggy daycare. She would get the stimulation of others, both human and canine, exercise and be familiar with the facility in the event you needed to ever board her.
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Old 11-07-2013, 08:56 AM
 
Location: NY, NY
1,219 posts, read 1,748,411 times
Reputation: 1225
Quote:
Originally Posted by Honeycrisp View Post
Do not introduce them at your house or in your yard, introduce them in a neutral place, on leashes, given yours sounds alpha and may be a bit territorial given her age and maturity, yours might feel a bit competitive w/ a strange new pup. Crating them separately might be the answer, not for hours on end but to give each a break from the other, your FIL would prob. appreciate it too (2 rambunctious puppies can be a handful).

Boarding a puppy isnt the worst thing in the world but there's all sorts of boarding situations, some where the pup has a certain amount of freedom and others where the pup is stuck in a cage 24/7, your partner's cousin needs to research this, also she needs to be aware that not a lot of boarding facilities take young puppies (what was she thinking?!), personally I'd prefer someone to watch my pup in their home IF it's totally puppy proofed and if they're dog savvy. Make sure the pup is wearing current ID tags and while it's young for it to be microchipped, it might not be a bad idea (first decide where he's going to live so you have the correct info on the chip).

We've had multiple puppies before and it's worked out fine but we've never had 2 very young puppies together (although I did foster a sibling pair as young puppies and it worked out fine but we had a fenced-in yard and it wasnt for a great length of time). It def. can be done if you prepare, it's kind of a bummer w/ your traveling schedule but maybe it would work out w/ your FIL if he's OK w/ the idea and dog savvy, would def. go the crate route and get baby gates to keep them in the kitchen or invest in an exercise pen (ex-pen, you can google it) to give him a break. Anyway, just some thoughts - good luck and keep us posted -
Well here is the updated. My partner is actually home all day Monday and Wednesday, my FIL can take the dogs Wednesday and my meeting was cut to 4 hours on Thursday. So needless to say, we told my cousin we would watch her puppy for the week as a trial run with Jax. I made sure she understood that if they dont mesh well, we are not going to be able to take her dog in. Not sure what I just signed my family up for but at least we'll have plenty of help.

Also, I found out the vacation is actually 10 days long, not 7 as I first thought. Again, I have no idea what my cousin was thinking in getting a puppy! I mean, who puts a 4 month old dog in a boarding home for 10 days!!!! UGH! Sometimes very smart people can make really, really dumb choices.
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Old 11-07-2013, 10:36 AM
 
Location: Pixburgh
1,214 posts, read 1,450,276 times
Reputation: 1380
i think anyone with a dog, who actually likes their dog, should get a second dog.

pack animals, much much happier with other dog around usually.
the biggest step is the first one so its not really that much different getting a second. they need a brother/sister..

as far as age, animals growing up together is the best. even cats if you ge a dog and cat both young they normally will grow up to be great friends(not that i suggest a nasty feline over a beautiful dog)
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