Should we get a second dog?

[Rock'n Robin]

Our golden died of cancer last fall. I still miss him terribly, although we have a 7 month old black lab/ ? mix we named Clancy. Clancy is a little wild but I think he is trainable; I just have to figure out which day is good for obedience after I get the kids' schedules for fall.
On petfinder, there is a full blooded golden up for adoption from a place in Huron, Ohio, which is about 90 minutes away. It is a year old golden named Beau. His owners are adopting him out through this organization because they work too many hours. DH and I both work, but someone is always home by 3 and I have weekends, vacations, summer off. The fee for this dog with papers is only $50! Iam so tempted to fill out an application.
I think a playmate would do Clancy a world of good, and boy do I love goldens. But I'm worried because we've never had 2 dogs at one time. Any sage words of wisdom?
Robin M.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I adopted 2 puppies from Rescue. What are your worries?

It is "double trouble" so to speak at that age. You do have to keep an eye because if one pup is going to bark, chew, dig, whatever, the other one joins in and they can make quick work of something.

Also more expensive. I guess I didn't realize how much it adds to the cost of things.

 

[Aimeedyan]

I am glad we got a second dog, but would not have done it if Harley hadn't been trained pretty well already. Will you still be able to train Clancy along with the new one? That would be a lot of work! Just one is wearing me out... Winston is challenging! Our only hope is that Harley is trained and a "good" puppy now so we know Winston will get there!

That's my only thought, really. Good luck!

 

[chrissyk]

I think that sometimes 2 pets are easier than 1 when they are young. They can annoy each other One thing that I would do is to insure both of them with pet health insurance, though. They're both very young dogs, and they'd both be insurable at this age. Vet bills could be quite expensive if you have 2 young dogs getting into trouble. Insurance would be peace-of-mind. I bought it through VPI for my sister's puppy, and she's kept up the policy ever since. I wish that I'd done it for my cat when he was a kitten...they won't insure him now

 

[mrsstats]

Two dogs are a good idea. They keep each other company. I have 2 right now and am thinking of adding a 3rd.

 

[Val]

We have always had two dogs that are staggered in age. We just lost our dear Merri Puppy- our 10 year old black lab. We also have a 4 year old rescue coon hound, Lilly, and this summer we brought in a new golden puppy, Seamus (now 5 months). Losing Merri has been easier on Lilly because she has Seamus to play with....and in a way it helps our 4 kids understand that although one pet leaves our family and goes to the Rainbow Bridge, there are others that can provide love to us as well. Lilly and Seamus rough house together and generally hang together. We like having the two because they keep eachother company while we are gone during the day. Yes, its double trouble, but its also double the fun and double the love. There are days when I wish I had no dogs (or horses or cats or guinea pigs or birds or kids or husband), but all in all everyone gets along. And, its NEVER boring at our house!!!!!!

 

[jlbower79]

About 3 years ago my husband got me a golden retevier from the pound and she is the BEST dog ever! Her name is December (dont ask) and we actually just shaved her completely because it's sooooo hot here and she loves it. A year ago we moved into an apartment (because we got married) and she has to stay inside ALL day, alone and we noticed how "depressed" she was getting, it was bringing me to tears... I decided she needed someone, so 3 months ago we adopted a chocolate lab and he is well, he is very bad, but he is a puppy and he has his moments, but he (Sydney, Syd for short) is Decembers best friend and I love that they have each other. They are actually in the other room fighting (playing of course). They are my babies. We are in the process of trying to buy a home and I can't wait till they have a yard to go out and play in all day.

I've never owed two dogs before but I love them so much and if I had to adopt again I would probably get another golden, as I think they are the besttttttt dogs in the world!

Jaime

December Syd

 

[JKLLady]

We've had two dogs at a time for the last 23 years & I can't imagine just having one anymore. We lost our 15 year old female Chow in July 2004 to cancer, and added a Bichon puppy to our home last August. It's been a Chow household for 24 years, and we love the breed, but DS, 8 wanted a "small dog, with floppy ears, who likes to play alot", so a Bichon it was. Our male Chow is 9 & the Bichon is now 15 months and it works out fine.

I say go for the new guy................it's twice the fun & twice the love!!!!

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