Does your pup have their own life you don’t know much about?

[healthchristian]

Recently we started hiring a regular dog walker because we needed a dog sitter for a trip - and figured regular walks with her first would help him be more comfortable for the week we’d be gone. He likes her so much we’ve been keeping it up. Today I let him choose where to go on a walk and he led me to sequence of random houses he was really excited to see. It was a little unusual to have him so eager to lead a walk for so long and with such focus.

I checked with the sitter and it turns out he took me on a couple mile tour to visit his favorite play buddies. None of whom I knew.

 

[kimbie]

@healthchristian I just love this lol

 

[anonymousduck]

@kimbie Awesome story.

 

[genarro46]

@healthchristian My story isn't nearly this interesting, but... We always have two dogs. It never occurred to me that the dogs would develop their own relationship that's completely independent of us. Sometimes the pair are very connected. In one case, they preferred to share a crate. Often, the relationship changes as the dogs age. The puppy is eager to connect with the other dog only to become much more independent as an adult.

We're currently on our 4th & 5th dogs. We're always just so fascinated observing the relationships unfold.

 

[mapes21]

@genarro46 How much more work is 2 dogs? My wife wants another but then I think of the extra shedding, cost, an extra dog bed taking up space, having to deal with TWO psychos dogs when out in public, etc.

 

[kvasas]

@mapes21 Honestly it's not that much more work. I've had at least 3 dogs for the past 8 years... for a while, we had 4. All Border Collies, too. When the 2 older boys passed, we got a new pup and we're back up to 3.

If everyone is well trained, it works out pretty well. Everyone lines up for meals and we take them out as a group. They've all been trained individually, so we don't have separation issues if we need to only take one somewhere.

My current batch:

Pixel, Border Collie, retired service dog. 9 years old.

Artemis, Border Collie, "didn't quite make it to service dog because children are terrifying". 5 years old.

Cooper, Goldendoodle, service dog in training. 9 months old.

Biggest issues with multiple dogs:

Never-ending inside/outside.

Vet bills

Food costs

 

[ladayer]

@mapes21 So I personally love the feeling of extra dogs on the bed, it’s so cozy.

However, when my partner and I “blended” our canine family, I was not prepared for all the shedding! he has 2 goldens, mine is a rescue mix of breeds that don’t shed, we have to sweep up fur all day long or it gets EVERYWHERE (RIP wearing black).

The biggest thing i would mention besides that is cost. Multiple dogs= lots of food, toys, vet bills, groomer’s appointments, etc., as well as boarding/pet sitting, going to a pet friendly hotel... it adds up (particularly with large breeds).

 

[dezi]

@ladayer We have a lab and a pit, one white, one black. The hair is ASTOUNDING and we vacuum daily.

But, two dogs are great, for the most part.

 

[abcdeg]

@mapes21 Hey there, I just adopted my second dog a few months ago. Ffirst is a german shepherd, second is a belgian mal. the most difficult things I have encountered:

1. adjusting to the new dogs personality was more difficult than I expected, the energy of my home changed completely (for the better, though)
2. Not realizing how much my GSD's personality would change (So much. SO MUCH CHANGE)
3. feeling ganged up on during meals and around walk times haha
4. How often have to sit on the floor now to snuggle them both.

Really though, my GSD was very calm, quiet, shy. He ignored toys, only chewed on bones occasionally, and was scared of other dogs. He didn't even like treats!

Now he picks his favorite toys, we have heard him bark for the first time ever, likes all treats, and he is VERY interested in other dogs. actually that has become an issue, he is now leash reactive where before he didn't care.

I think my GSD was depressed (we knew he was extremely anxious) or something and I thought it was his personality until I adopted my mal.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@mapes21 I have a lab/collie mix, a standard Aussie and mini Aussie. They’re trained well and we can bring them out into stores without worrying about them making a fuss. One is even training to be a therapy dog. Dogs need training and structure and we make them earn their meals and treats by either waiting until we release them or shaking our hand as a thank you. If you can dedicate 15-20 minutes a day to train them, you should be good. We also had a trainer come over and help us out a bunch of times too

 

[joseph3561]

@mapes21 The worst part of having a second dog. It's very easy to get someone to watch one dog when you go away. Watching 2 dogs is a lot harder to convince people to do.

 

[mauricio512]

@mapes21 Ime two dogs is less work than one. They play with each other and keep each other company. Costs don’t seem that much higher, you don’t really need two of everything for most things.

But 3-4 dogs is a ton of work because they start getting pack dynamics.

 

[kmack7]

@mapes21 Your time spent doing dog stuff doesn’t jump up until you have a third, in my opinion. A second was mostly just cost for my wife and I. The third really took a lot of time that was previously spent doing other things.

 

[nuocanhtrongmattoi1]

@mapes21 Depends on space, I have 6 dogs, lol.

 

[lyndam]

@mapes21 Maybe even less work overall, as they keep themselves entertained a lot. (Or mine did, until my senior turned 11 and the puppy hit 2...)

 

[goire]

@mapes21 Two psychos . Hilarious. I have lab puppy and she is definitely a psycho especially in public.

 

[mapes21]

@goire My lab pup is almost a year and a half and I hate taking him in public. I try and try to train it out of him, but it’s difficult to do so when he can get so excessively overwhelmed and crazy that it’s embarrassing to bring him out. =[

 

[honest33script]

@mapes21 It’s not that much work honestly. Yes the food and the occasional vet visits double, but at the end of the day when you take out one you can bring the other one as well.
My only advice would be to have the first dog be well trained because the new dog otherwise will pick up on the bad behaviors.
And that the two dogs don’t have to be much different. As an example, I had a Lab mix and a Zwergpinscher mix at the same time.
The Min Pin would get so bored at the dog park and just wanted to go home, when the Lab could never get tired (it was a working line as well).
So their needs clashed in this sense…

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@genarro46 As someone who wants to do the same (have two dogs at any given time) at what age do you get the second dog and start the cycle so to say?

My dog is a year old and I want her to be over her teenage phase and then some. Maybe we'll get a second dog when she's 5 (she's a GSD) but idk if it's better to get a second dog when she's younger?

 

[mr_loevinger]

@imagebeastmarkbeast I mean, if you plan on always having two dogs, then take the average age of your breed and divide it by two, e.g. a breed with an average lifespan of 14 years, get a new one every seven years, if they generally only live to 10ish, get a new one every 5 years. Otherwise, for a 12 year average age, if you get the second dog when the first dog is 3, the second dog will be 9 ish when you're looking at getting the third (after the first one has passed).