Going From 1 Dog To 2?

[PoppyDog]

How did you know it was the right time for YOU to get another dog???

We have a 9 month old CKCS X. I would LOVE a purebred CKCS from a reputable breeder.

I want to experience the puppy thing again without being a crazy women stressing over every move. I know SO much more now and I feel like getting a puppy second time around would be a completely different experience.

We want Poppy to have a little fur sibling to keep her company too. We have looked at Rescue dogs but I am really drawn to another puppy.

But a little part of me says not yet. I worry that Poppy will miss out on love and attention if we get #2. I worry about the costs associated with #2.

So how did you know that the time was right for you? AND if you want to go with a reputable breeder how early do you need to be in contact with breeders? I know some only breed once of twice a year?

[Agility Dogs]

For me - I 'knew' I needed to get another dog when my girl was nine months old - for a whole host of reasons. In hind sight most of those reasons were WRONG.

I have just got my third with both the other dogs being about 4 years old. This is the right time.

The difference is that now both the older dogs are well trained and performing exactly how I want them to in most of the things we do. There are no questions being asked of our pack structure and they acknowledge me as the leader. They are established in their order and understand their place in the world.

When I got our second dog that was not the case. There were questions being asked (I didn't know that at the time), Xena was an awesome little dog, but she was still not where I wanted her to be. The two young dogs had to sort out what their own pack order was - too many niggles etc.

Now with the new dog the two older dogs are helping to train her to live by our rules. There are still no questions in the household and because the older dogs are trained they are not missing out on anything. (They are still training EVERY day, just not with the same intensity needed for a younger dog.)

I can understand you wanting another dog, but personally there will always be at least 3.5 to 4 years between my dogs from now on. I wouldn't get another dog until you current pup is at least 2. At 9 months you still have more fun and games to come and another dog will just make it all the more dificult.

This mightn't be what you want to hear, but it is my experience. Hope it helps.

[LizT]

I've NEVER only had just the one dog so there is often a time when you know that someone needs company because another is getting old and doesn't play with them any more, so you start to think about getting another dog. Thinking about it is the first responsible step to any pet ownership.

PS. Cavaliers love Cavalier company too!

Edited September 1, 2010 by LizT

[dancinbcs]

I try to space mine at about 3-4 year intervals or longer (4-6years) if you only intend to have a maximum of two. This decreases the risk of losing both close together and also spreads the vet bills when they get older. Having several oldies at the same time can be very expensive.

If you want a puppy from a particular breeder, then contacting them about a year in advance is a good idea. It may take more or less than a year for you to get the puppy you want so be flexible with time.

[minxy]

I try to space mine at about 3-4 year intervals or longer (4-6years) if you only intend to have a maximum of two. This decreases the risk of losing both close together and also spreads the vet bills when they get older. Having several oldies at the same time can be very expensive.

If you want a puppy from a particular breeder, then contacting them about a year in advance is a good idea. It may take more or less than a year for you to get the puppy you want so be flexible with time.

I definitely feel the same way. We have always tried to space our pets out a little bit so that we don't have to endure losing two pets so close together. A friend of mine's mother has just had one dog PTS due to really old age, she has one other dog that is very, very old and doesn't seem to have much life left in her, and two 16+ cats, one who is blind. I feel really awful for her kids as they are likely to have to deal with the death of several of their family pets within a short time frame

[wuffles]

We added our puppy when our older dog was 5, it has been a good decision.

In addition to the comments above in relation to having more than one oldie at once, if you like puppies, keep in mind if you only want two dogs, you might not be able to get another for 10 years or more!

The only downside to waiting until our boy was 5 is that he is much less interested in playing than he used to be, so the puppy wears him out and annoys him easily. Not all dogs are like that though, I suspect our girl will be ready for action well into old age

[PoppyDog]

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

I don't think I could wait 4 or 5 years.

Mainly because I feel Poppy NEEDS the company. If I'm honest this is what makes me think of getting number two.

While my OH and a I are home 3 - 4 days a week with Poppy she is happy and content but when I go home and she has been at home for 7 or 8 hours alone she does this crazy excited whining noise while running back and forth and literally trying to cuddle me! She puts her paws on my knees when I sit down then tilts her head to the side and snuggles my arm! She is so obviously saying "OH MY GAWD I MISSED YOU SO MUCH"

Of course we would also love another doggy but one of the main reasons I think about it so often is for Poppy to have someone??

Is that wrong???

[SchnauzerBoy]

Is that wrong???

Not at all.

We got Thomas to go alongside Aubrey when she was 1. Fortunately he was a re-home from the breeder and was also 1, so they were at the same age and fit in to our structure perfectly.

Getting a second dog to keep Aubrey amused whilst we were at work was one of the driving forces behind getting a second dog and whilst she still misses us when we are at work, she has more company to keep her amused (and out of trouble).

Whilst I understand that at 4-5 years is probably better, you will know when is a good time, but you will need to spend twice as long training the two of them whilst they are both young.

Double the expense is also a bit of a hit, especially when it comes to food and vet bills.

Our two are the best of friends, but they do compete for our attention when we come home!

[W Sibs]

A lot of people get another dog for that reason... Just ask yourself if YOU are ready for another puppy. The house training, the training itself, will you be able to give both dogs their individual attention that they will need..

If Charlie didn't get sick.. I would of waited till he was 2 years old (despite me driving the boyfriend up the wall about puppies and which breed we should get next ). I had huge plans for him, he was going to do obedience, agility and great camping and road trip plans too. It would be so much easier with one dog, and he was happy being the only dog. He did have a very active social life, so his liked his alone time. It helps that he sleeps a lot

[PoppyDog]

Is that wrong???

Not at all.

We got Thomas to go alongside Aubrey when she was 1. Fortunately he was a re-home from the breeder and was also 1, so they were at the same age and fit in to our structure perfectly.

Getting a second dog to keep Aubrey amused whilst we were at work was one of the driving forces behind getting a second dog and whilst she still misses us when we are at work, she has more company to keep her amused (and out of trouble).

Whilst I understand that at 4-5 years is probably better, you will know when is a good time, but you will need to spend twice as long training the two of them whilst they are both young.

Double the expense is also a bit of a hit, especially when it comes to food and vet bills.

Our two are the best of friends, but they do compete for our attention when we come home!

See, this appeals to me too. Getting an older CKCS so that s/he can just slot right in. But then I think about the puppy stage and I really do want to experience that again. Because I feel like I would be so much better at it this time around. I don't even know if that makes sense. But I feel like I would actually ENJOY the puppy stage with dog #2 whereas with Poppy I was one big ball of stress and anxiety just waiting for something bad to happen!

A lot of people get another dog for that reason... Just ask yourself if YOU are ready for another puppy. The house training, the training itself, will you be able to give both dogs their individual attention that they will need..

If Charlie didn't get sick.. I would of waited till he was 2 years old (despite me driving the boyfriend up the wall about puppies and which breed we should get next ). I had huge plans for him, he was going to do obedience, agility and great camping and road trip plans too. It would be so much easier with one dog, and he was happy being the only dog. He did have a very active social life, so his liked his alone time. It helps that he sleeps a lot

See, I read "house training" and think ahhh....that! I don't know if Poppy was hard to train or if we were just crap at it but she took MONTHS to get it completely down pat! I could definately handle the training though! And would love to go to Puppy Preschool again!

Poppy snoozes a lot too! And I wonder if thats what she does when we are away from home. But her little performance she puts on when we get home each day just pulls at my heart strings!

We plan to get married in Aug next year so I think that we would need to commit to a puppy at the end of this year/early next year OR wait until we got back from our honeymoon.

How many people took leave to settle in a new puppy? We didn't with Poppy but I will admit she was a bit of an impulse buy (even though we have been thinking of getting a puppy for AGES) and we didn't know that taking time off was a good idea???

[wuffles]

Is that wrong???

It's definitely not wrong. But just a warning, my girl acts like an absolute idiot when we come home from work too, even though she has our boy as company. Sometimes she wags her bum so hard she falls over She launches herself at the gate, makes noises like she's dying and we joke that she seems like her head is going to explode...

We didn't think our boy needed the company, but thought he would enjoy it. He does, and he loves his little sister, but I think he would have been just as content to lay in the sun all day without being bugged by a puppy

[RallyValley]

Here is how my family did it. We had Lilly first, when Lilly was 6 I finally talked my parents into another dog and we got Jack. I felt this spacing was good as Lilly taught Jack manners and good habits and was (mostly) past her destroying things phase. Sadly when Lilly was 12 and Jack was rising 6 Jack was hit by a car. i had started talking about adding another before Jack was hit and withing 6 months we had Toby. Lilly was like a big granny to Toby in that they cuddled but obviously they didn't play the way Lilly and Jack had.

When Toby was 1 and a half Lincoln came home as an opportunity I couldn't pass up! I think if Toby was a serious competition dog I would be tearing my hair out having two such young dogs but since Lincoln is going to be a competiton dog and Toby dabbles in agility for fun mostly it has worked out ok. However I realise that Toby and Lincoln will age togther and that will be really sad.

I am hoping my next dog won't be until Lincoln is at a maintance level in training and both boys are settled. However sometimes things come up that you can't refuse.

[W Sibs]

How many people took leave to settle in a new puppy? We didn't with Poppy but I will admit she was a bit of an impulse buy (even though we have been thinking of getting a puppy for AGES) and we didn't know that taking time off was a good idea???

I took the first week off. The boyfriend took the second week off.

Had to supervise the playing.

Get her in a routine.

Do some bonding time with her and just get to know her and for her to get to know us.

Plus we were bored of work and just wanted to have time off... having a new puppy made an awesome excuse

We lucked out that Emmy settled into our family straight away. We can't imagine our lives without her anymore

[minxy]

How many people took leave to settle in a new puppy? We didn't with Poppy but I will admit she was a bit of an impulse buy (even though we have been thinking of getting a puppy for AGES) and we didn't know that taking time off was a good idea???

I don't think I will take any time off (well maybe two or so days depending on what mine and OH's schedule is at the time) but with his shift work, and the fact that I will be finished with uni for the year by the time we get the pup, and I only work casually, it should be fine. We'll see though. OH might be able to take a couple of days off too. By the time we get a puppy (if we are lucky enough to get one out of this litter) it will be the end of November/Early December. Which should be fantastic timing for us. Next year is a bit harder to predict. I have a month of field experience in May, and then we are getting married the end of May and then having a honeymoon etc, so if we don't get a puppy by the end of this year, we will have to wait until after our honeymoon. Not to mention, there are only 2 registered breeders in QLD, so it could be quite hard for us to get a puppy at a suitable time.

Fingers crossed we will get a puppy out of the November litter while I will be at home a lot so that I can give the puppy lots of attention and training etc.

[Fleuri]

Is that wrong???

It's definitely not wrong. But just a warning, my girl acts like an absolute idiot when we come home from work too, even though she has our boy as company. Sometimes she wags her bum so hard she falls over She launches herself at the gate, makes noises like she's dying and we joke that she seems like her head is going to explode...

[becandcharch]

We waited until Charche was 2 before we got our second.

We got Asha over the Christmas period so we had a couple of weeks off before we left them at home alone together.

Not that we had anything to worry about. They get on like a house on fire. Best thing we ever did

I love knowing that they have each other during the day.

[PoppyDog]

Is that wrong???

It's definitely not wrong. But just a warning, my girl acts like an absolute idiot when we come home from work too, even though she has our boy as company. Sometimes she wags her bum so hard she falls over She launches herself at the gate, makes noises like she's dying and we joke that she seems like her head is going to explode...

We didn't think our boy needed the company, but thought he would enjoy it. He does, and he loves his little sister, but I think he would have been just as content to lay in the sun all day without being bugged by a puppy

You just described Poppy! She DOES fall over her wiggly bum! It's crazy but oh so cute! I know I was definately missed by her!

[CaseyKay]

I like to have 2 or 3 dogs. My 2 boys died within 6 months of each other aged 17 and 13 and that was really hard. I had a "dog break" and got Maddie 2 years after they died. I had never had a singleton dog before (grew up on a sheepfarm with a big pack of dogs) and found her really hard going and despite not wanted to get 2 close in age, got KC 18 months later. Now Maddie is 10 and KC is 8 and we have just got a puppy. We compete in dog sports and ideally I will wait to get another puppy until Gael is 4 years old as I think that is a good gap, unless by some tragedy we end up losing both the older two. With 2 very settled, very well-behaved older sisters Gael has been a breeze to raise. I would never get a puppy until the older dog/s were trained the way I wanted them and we had no issues. That way the older dog can help the puppy learn the rules while not teaching it any bad habits!

[mona]

Like others have posted , we waited until our first girl was 6 before we introuduced our 2nd girl.

We did not want to have to face losing 2 dogs so quickly together if they were similar in age.

Our first girl passed away last year and our other girl is now 7 , and we are now contemplating a new girl to enter our lives.

i dont think there is any right or wrong - there are things to weight up and ultimately , you will know the right time for you, your family and your first pup

[Sunnyflower]

We are getting another dog and despite our best efforts to find the perfect 'rescue' dog, we found one and they backed out, then we found the perfect one via a rescue group in NSW and the person I was dealing with was completely slack in responding despite my best efforts so we gave up, I have been asked by a great breeder to go down tomorrow to check out a 20 month old dog and they have seemed to fall off the face of the earth so we have decided it's clearly too hard to get an older dog so are going to spoil ourselves with a Wei puppy.

I have just sent out my email to a fantastic breeder and anxiously waiting.

However Oscar turned 2 in July and I am definitely glad I waited till he was two (Cavalier) I too wrote on here when he was roughly 9 months wanting another dog and you get your thumbs up and thumbs down but if you wait a little while longer you will be 100% sure you want another dog and it wont be such an impulse thing because Poppy is growing out of her puppy stage. And believe me at 9 months even being a little breed she is going to change SO much before your eyes. I was told by a good breeder that Cavalier fully mature in terms of body and coat between 2 - 3 years of age and they were right.

Do what is right for you though but when the next pup is 9 months old you are only going to want another puppy.