Pros & cons of getting a second dog

Faith

I could use some advice as my head is wrecked!

Background: We have one dog (14 months old) and two cats. Our dog is super friendly, enthusiastic, energetic, needy. She loves people and anything with 4 legs. We live in a park, but have easy access to quiet beaches and forests for off-lead walks.

Totally out of the blue, an opportunity has presented itself to rehome another dog. It’s the same breed as our dog, it’s a very well-trained adult and would probably be a fantastic companion for our dog. The owners have very valid reasons to rehome and are keen to choose the right fit in terms of a new family.

My heart wants to take the dog in. I think he could be a great influence on our existing dog and a great companion. But my head worries about the increased costs and practicalities like trying to manage two big dogs during on-lead walks.

Can anyone speak from experience about the pros and cons of having two dogs? 

put_the_kettle_on

Pros ; I think if you are used to dog ownership then another dog can fit into your routine just fine. One dog is great company, two is even more fun. What sort of dogs are they ?

Cons ; Is your current dog spayed/neutered ? Is the new dog also " done " otherwise you may have issues there.

If they are both big dogs, you may have to factor in cost of feed.

The only other con I'd say is mess. I have three dogs and the mess they can create with muddy paws, moulting, shredding paper etc can honestly be mind boggling at times.

tk123

I have 2 retrievers and am small but manage them fine 😅 - both are well trained to walk on lead both separately and together.

Cost wise yes - obviously your bills will double for food, routine vet stuff, insurance etc etc but for me it’s worth the cost - just for the companionship they have together. You’re also skipping the mad puppy phase as well so that will be less stressful for all.

Why don’t you take him for a weekend and see how you get on? Set up a separate area to feed them just so there’s no confusion/conflict.

Faith

They're both golden retrievers, male/female combo. The current owner definitely wants to do a trial period, but before I'd even agree to that, I'd need to feel confident that we could keep him!

Buddy Bubs

The immediate concern there is that the new dog will tolerate the cats. Many retrievers don't, mine is definitely one of them.

Retrievers will generally be fine with each other and with people, no issues there really. And they'll be good company for each other, only thing is they can be much more active with another dog there and relaxed snoozy time could be replaced by chasing around the house etc and that's up.to you to accept if you want that or not.

Walking should be OK but one may pick up on the others bad habits if they have any like recall etc

Give it a trial and see, treat it as babysitting for a while in the expectation the dog will be given back

Terrier2023

Pros:Two dogs much batter they amuse each other and look out for each other and can be left alone for a few hours together with out the need to do mischief once they are friends they are in separable and its a lovely dynamic

only con the newbie might chase the cats!

HazeDoll

I used to have terrible guilt when I had just one dog if I ever had to leave him on his own, even for short stretches. Two or more dogs are company for each other and amuse each other.

I found that two dogs are not any more inconvenient than one dog in terms of time and effort. It takes just as long to walk one dog as two.

If you're on a tight budget you might need to consider expenses but I dealt with that by just never thinking about it. So far it has worked out fine.

Faith

Hahaha @HazeDoll, I like your strategy!

We've decided to proceed with a trial period anyway, and see how we get on :)

tk123

YES!!! 🤗🤗🤗🤗

HazeDoll

The thing is, owning an anonymous theoretical dog is a massive inconvenience and a pointless drain on all your resources. It's one more bloody thing to consider whenever there's any change to your routine. And a lot of the time they don't smell so great. Nobody in their right mind would ever deliberately get a dog.

Still, somehow the dog you end up getting is magically worth it, every single time.

Funny, that.

Tavrin Callas

Pros: Dogs are great!! The more the better!!! (Obvs: if you can afford and have room for them)

Cons: none, do it!! Grow the family.

Faith

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone! I will report back once he joins us :)

tk123

The biggest thing you’ll find is how different (yet the same!) each individual dog is lol

Fian

Maybe too late to pitch in but just in case it is helpful:

We have two labradors, got the second one when the first was about the same age as yours - 14 months.

We regret not waiting another year, rather than the first one training up the second one the second one was dominant, even from the point of arrival as a small pup, and caused the older one to regress. even started having accidents at night again having previously been housetrained.

the new one is bold as brass and we found it difficult to discipline her because whenever we gave out to her she would be defiant/loving the attention, whereas the older one, who had done nothing wrong, would have her tail between her legs and looking incredibly guilty. Still the same pattern persisting now years later - if we give out to the bold one it doesn't knock a feather off her, the older one on the other hand looks consumed with guilt.

When i say bold - the younger one will steal any food she gets an opportunity for or will steal clothes/shoes etc., so it is not like she is being agressive or anything.

They are great company for each other though and the older one has definitely benefitted from having a companion on the days I am in the office.

alexago

The pros include potential companionship and positive influence on your current dog.

The cons: increased costs, management during walks, and potential conflicts.

We had this dilemma and ended up getting the second Boxer. They became friends pretty fast, but it turned out that the second dog has allergies. Except for using apoquel for dogs and taking him to the vet more often than usual, we have to feed the dogs separately and monitor what he eats or chews all the time, and it is more difficult when you have another dog.

I recommend ensuring you have enough time, resources, and space to handle multiple dogs before making a decision.