Hi,
This is my first post, so please be gentle :-)
I've read a few topics similar to this, but there were a few specific things I was hoping for some advice on...
I have an 18 month old female dobermann. She is extremely energetic (very high drive) and also loves to be around humans and other dogs. Since I the day she come home with me I've been predominantly working out of my home office. So she's always had me around for most of the day and it seems like we've established a pretty strong bond.
However, my work arrangements have recently changed. I'm now working 9am to 6pm from an office away from home. I still make the time to walk/exercise with her at least once a day (usually twice a day), as well as some mental stimluation to keep her happy. But she seems to not be quite as happy as she was when I was around all the time. I'm pretty sure she just spends most of the day chilling out in her doggie bed. I've also been told by my housemates and neighbors that she has not been crying at all during the day, but when I pull into the driveway she's usually having a decent cry until I let her inside (only once she's settled - as not to reward the crying).
In another topic, there were a number of posts by people who only had one dog. Many of these seemed to by by people whose circumstances prevented having multiple dogs, or their dogs didn't get along with others. My dog loves the company of other dogs, and has never paid any attention to me petting and/or playing with other dogs, so I doubt there would be any major issues.
So that's a summary of my situation, and my questions are:
Is there a real benefit to her general happiness if a k9 friend was to join the family? (ie. Should I get another dog?)
Or, would it be better for her not having to share the shorter amount of time we have together?
Or am I just being paranoid? And she is probably just as happy as she's always been.
Thanks for taking the time to read, and I look forward to some different points of view :-)
