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We became a three dog family when my husband and I joined households. He had a golden mix and I had 2 basenjis. Personally, the only time multiples were harder for us was when we took them to the vet for their annuals. Cost a FORTUNE!!! LOL
We would walk them a couple of times a week and that was sometimes interesting with three of them and two of us. But mostly they played with each other in the house or in our back yard.
I didn't mind having three dogs but there was a difference when one of them passed on. We didn't want to bring a stranger into the mix (all of them were over 10 years old at this point) so we decided to dote on the two that were still with us. When the second one passed on, well...I waited about a month before I had to get another one. I NEEDED that second dog.
We lost our oldest dog about two months ago. And now we're down to one. And he is noticeably different without another dog in the house. My husband doesn't work so he's home pretty much all day with the dog, but the dog is especially bonded to me. I would love to get another dog, but my husband says not now. He's right because we are renting and another dog would cause our rent to go up or make it harder to find another place. And we are trying to move too...so he thinks we should wait. I'm good with that, I guess.
Is Multiple two, or more than two? I do think there is a difference.
We currently have 3.5 (my daughter's dog is there about half the time). Once you go past two, it doesn't seem to matter if there are 3, 4, 5 or even 6. We have a fenced yard, so we just count how many go out and see the same number comes back in!
Four dog household here. Three are rescues, one is a pure bred Belgian Malinois my husband just HAD to have.
Love them all, but the Malinois is the goofiest animal I have ever encountered!
Is Multiple two, or more than two? I do think there is a difference.
We currently have 3.5 (my daughter's dog is there about half the time). Once you go past two, it doesn't seem to matter if there are 3, 4, 5 or even 6. We have a fenced yard, so we just count how many go out and see the same number comes back in!
I've had 3 at my peak and am now down to 2. I think 4 would be my limit. IMO it does matter how many past 2 you go. Vet care, hearworm medication (if you're in the south) and quality food are all expensive. I have health insurance for the two I have now but it doesn't cover everything. I would never want to be in a position that I had to put my dog down because I couldn't afford medical care (I once had a $5,000 vet bill for my corgi that I had no insurance for but it was worth it to me because he recovered and lived another 10 years). If someone can afford 6 dogs, great but IMO no one should have more than they can properly care for.
I've had cats for years and years... in fact I have four cats right now. So, about three years ago, we decided to get a dog. We got a female Shih Tzu at 8 weeks old. For three years, Maggie has been our little darling. She is very obedient, does tricks, sleeps with us, understands what we say and basically fills the empty nest that our children left.
Trouble is, we recently (about two months ago) got another Shih Tzu puppy - a male, also 8 weeks old. Since we brought Blue home, Maggie has wanted very little to do with him. Blue, of course, wants to climb all over Maggie and she won't have any of that.
Our vet suggested having them altered, so we set an appointment for Maggie first. She will be spayed this Friday. I am worried sick about her, but I know she will come through just fine. As soon as Maggie gets over her surgery, we will have Blue neutered as well. I am hoping that this will make a difference in how they respond to each other.
As hindsight is 20:20, I would have had Maggie spayed much earlier. I did entertain the idea of mating her, but she is very, very small - around 5 lbs - and my husband and I decided not to take a chance. Nor did we properly expose Maggie to other dogs when she was a pup, so she is not really comfortable with dogs.
My question is: is there hope for this little Shih Tzu pack? You learn as you go, but I would really love for these two adorable and sweet dogs to be friends forever. Am I expecting too much, after all the mistakes I've made?
I've had cats for years and years... in fact I have four cats right now. So, about three years ago, we decided to get a dog. We got a female Shih Tzu at 8 weeks old. For three years, Maggie has been our little darling. She is very obedient, does tricks, sleeps with us, understands what we say and basically fills the empty nest that our children left.
Trouble is, we recently (about two months ago) got another Shih Tzu puppy - a male, also 8 weeks old. Since we brought Blue home, Maggie has wanted very little to do with him. Blue, of course, wants to climb all over Maggie and she won't have any of that.
Our vet suggested having them altered, so we set an appointment for Maggie first. She will be spayed this Friday. I am worried sick about her, but I know she will come through just fine. As soon as Maggie gets over her surgery, we will have Blue neutered as well. I am hoping that this will make a difference in how they respond to each other.
As hindsight is 20:20, I would have had Maggie spayed much earlier. I did entertain the idea of mating her, but she is very, very small - around 5 lbs - and my husband and I decided not to take a chance. Nor did we properly expose Maggie to other dogs when she was a pup, so she is not really comfortable with dogs.
My question is: is there hope for this little Shih Tzu pack? You learn as you go, but I would really love for these two adorable and sweet dogs to be friends forever. Am I expecting too much, after all the mistakes I've made?
Any (and all) advice will be appreciated.
As long as they're not fighting, I wouldn't worry. Wanting them to be "best friends forever" is something that is important to YOU, not them. Some dogs are just not fans of puppy antics. Some dogs are not a big fan of other dogs regardless of how much socializing you do with them. They may end up bonding when they're older or they may not. Having her fixed sooner (while better for her health) would not necessarily have made her more receptive to the puppy. Again, as long as there are no fights, it's all good IMO. It doesn't sound like you've done badly with them to me.
I'm sure you know this but after surgery, you'll need to keep them separate until she heals from her spay and the same when he's recovering from his neuter. It might be easier to do them both at once that way they will both be gone at the same time, both have hospital smells at the same time and be in recovery at the same time. It will take her much longer to recover from her spay though. In my experience, the boys recover fairly quickly.
Hope the surgeries go smoothly and the healing is quick.
We currently have 3.5 (my daughter's dog is there about half the time). Once you go past two, it doesn't seem to matter if there are 3, 4, 5 or even 6. We have a fenced yard, so we just count how many go out and see the same number comes back in!
LOLOL I pretty much feel the same way. We do the counting thing too...out loud.
I've had up to 6 at one time...but three of them were working Great Pyrenees who lived in the barns and outside with the sheep, horses, goats, etc. and guarded them from predators.
I have two pets: two Great Dane females. My younger, Nilla Wafer, is deaf and is mildly dependent on my older one to do the hearing for her. They are best friends and two years apart in age. My hearing Dane, Infinity is 6.5 years and my deaf Dane is just over 4. I have Nilla spayed very young because deafness is a genetic trait, so it was even more important than in other dogs who are not going to be used for breeding. I had Infinity spayed after Nilla, following the birth of two litters. My older Dane has always been very easygoing, which is a hallmark of the breed. She lets her sister climb all over her, play with her, and sleep on the couch with her. Nilla has been a part of our family since she was a wee pup, and I got Infinity when she was small as well. But different dogs have different relationships with each other. I wouldn't worry about it.
I don't think the neutering will have an effect on the relationship between the two dogs, to be honest. Neutering is more useful in reducing aggressive behavior and wanderlust, but making them BFFs? I don't see gonad removal changing that situation one bit.
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