Does Clifford want a doodle friend?

[Clifford, Cloud, Jake..and Kim]

We have been wrestling with the thought of a doodle friend for some time. It would, of course, be so much easier if Clifford could talk but since he is keeping silent we are forced to make the decision for him. There happens to be an awesome doodle in foster right now so decision time is at hand. How did anyone else decide two doodles were better than one? (Can you tell we only have one child too?)

[Kathie and the gang]

Well two dogs is good and then came Bella two weeks ago, so I would have TO say two doodles plus a Rottie is fun. Bella is 18 months and a love. She is a large medium.

[Jennifer Tramell]

I've had 1 dog, 2 dogs, 3 dogs, 1 dog, and now back to 2 dogs. To be honest, there is something to be said for just having 1 dog. It is much easier to do things with your dog when you only have 1 dog. We did everything with our first dog, Cody (adopted from the local animal control), he even went to Niagara Falls with us! When we ended up with Dixie (found as a pup in the middle of the road) we had to adjust how the dogs were involved in our lives. It's just harder taking 2 dogs, especially 2 big dogs. Webster came along because I didn't want to pass up a chocolate goldendoodle and we knew that Cody and Dixie were in poor health so we had 3 dogs for about 6 months. That was a handful!

We've had Webster by himself for almost a year and I've really enjoyed just having one dog. Once again, our dog was doing everything with us. We now have our 2nd goldendoodle and we probably won't be able to do as much with 2 dogs as we did with 1 dog. Webster, however, seems very happy to have a little friend who adores him. I struggled with getting the 2nd dog because I enjoyed having an "only dog" however, sometimes doodle puppy fever is hard to beat :-)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

There is always a concern when you get a second dog - or have a second child. For the most part, everything settles down. The concern I would have is whether this particular rescue would work. Adult dogs sometimes have more adjustments to make than adult to puppy. I am an advocate of multiple dogs, and while you do have enough love to share, they won't get as much attention from you and, if you take your dog everywhere, two is harder.
I will tell you that in my opinion four dogs is really, really hard if you take them places. To us, two is a snap. We took only Ned on a long weekend and had the best time with him. It kind of made me long for one dog.

[F, Calla & Luca]

One dog is easier to take places. Two dogs exercise themselves and I think they appreciate having a canine companion. They really are not much more work except for grooming, which I do myself. Definitely more expensive. I love having two but I was anxious about it beforehand.

[Valarie]

We have also be struggling with this. I have been wanting a friend for Sophie. I think she needs a playmate but she is absolutely the best dog and I too am afraid we will upset the "applecart". I dream of getting another dog but am afraid he/she will have bad habits, be difficult to manage, not get along with Sophie, make it more difficult to travel, etc, etc, etc. . . .. It's just not an easy decision.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

The 8 ball says :   yes

[Adrianne Matzkin]

I never even thought of ever having 2 at the same time. Just never crossed my mind.

THEN my friend asked if I could foster this little boy, from Almost Heaven Puppy Mill, 4.5 months old, sick with everything imaginable a puppy could have, underweight, never touched grass, had no clue what a toy was or love or food whenever he wanted it. Bringing in a foster was a no brainer - it was temporary and we had to save his life!!! How could I say no to that scared, skinny, sick boy and live with myself?? So July 3, 2009 my daughter, Suzanne and I went to pick Mickey up from thehell hole of a shelter.

Mickey lived with us and got stronger, healthier and happier for 6 weeks. About a week before he was set to go to his forever home, with my daughter, Marissa, who lives 6 hours away, Mark and I realized that we had to have 2 doodles in our home. We loved Samantha like no other and seeing show Mickey that life can be wonderful was truly amazing. We saw Samantha in a new light - she would have made the most wonderful Momma Doodle. She is nuturing and showed Mickey the ropes - how to walk on that very scary grass, the when the wind blew and tress moved with it she showed him that it wouldn't 'get' him, she even got him to play tug. The humans in this house didn't do it - it was Samantha!

So I searched on PetFinder and saw this picture and I was hooked - I just HAD to have her

Those were the 3 best decisions I ever made when it came to dogs in our lives and I wouldn't change it for 1 second!
Yes, travelling takes a bit more organizing - we drive to Florida for the winter so we ship some stuff down because there was no room with 2 bigs dogs. Food costs more, I have 2 pet insurance policies to pay for, 2 sets of vaccines and flea and HW preventative - BUT that in NO WAY can compete with what I do get - all that love - you just can't put a price on.

Would I suggest it - YES but it worked for us. Maybe you should 'try' it out like I did - try fostering. No - I am not plugging the DRC (but if you want to foster for the DRC I wouldn't say no - WOL) but that way you could see if having 2 is what works for you and your family in this stage of your life.

Whatever you decide, it will be right for you!

Am I not the luckiest Doodle Mom/GrandMa/Auntie to all these doodles??

[HeatherA]

What a rainbow of gorgeous Doodles!

[Adrianne Matzkin]

the one on the left is Bella and the blonde is Blake - Jacquie's doodles! What a ball they all have running around - though I will admit 5 is too many on a permanent basis - WOL!!

[Camilla and Darwin]

They are all so gorgeous!

[Clifford, Cloud, Jake..and Kim]

Your doodle family looks beautiful,, just need a redhead to round things out! I love fostering and my husband goes along with it although he gets very attached very quickly (he almost didn't let me take Cadi to Ann's house) and is concerned Clifford doesn't understand when they leave. The problem that comes up is if a foster needs someone home during the day we aren't there. We also live in a state that doesn't get too many doodles in the system so even getting one to foster is more difficult. I'm still not ruling fostering out, just need to find a doodle in need.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

This is a very timely discussion as we had been tossing the idea of a second around for months, then decided, we just love our one so much and enjoy every minute with him that we were fine with the one. Plus we have had very costly vet bills with his ear infections, so the added costs played into the mix. We dogsit our daughters 2 1/2 yr old doodle 3 days a week and so we have 2 doodles part time anyway. We also dog sit for a friends doodle(our doodles brother) for a week here and there, so sometimes we have 3 doodles at once. I know I wouldn't want 3 on a permanent basis that's for sure.

However,we watch Murphy with Marley (our daughter's doodle) and they are like brothers. They even lay down near eachother to sleep and have a language all their own. A private understanding that sets them both off into zoomies at the same split second, like they planned it. They push toys into each others faces and then start playing tug or chase like one just said "Hey, come play with me, or "look what I've got, bet you can't get it", or "nah-nah-na-nah-nah...look what I got and you don't".

They do everything together and never seem to tire of eachother. When I say to Murphy..."Wanna go see Marley?" His ears perk up, his head comes up in a jerk and his body is headed for the door to go look for him, When they see eachother after a day off, they act like nothing else in the whole world matters, not even their people, they are together and they are HAPPY!!!!
When one goes off to sleep by himself in a cool spot, I always have one near me to pet or touch or talk to. When i come home from work, they push eachother out of the way to be the first to greet me and one gives doodle hugs and one then runs to go bring me some treasure of his to share with me. They each have thier own unique personalities and at any one time one or the other is doing something that makes us chuckle.

So for those reasons, we want another doodle in our home. So that we can have someone for Murphy and more doodle love in the house for us, because these are just the best dogs ever! Would I want two of another breed? Don't know. Don't care to know. but I know that the up sides of having two seems much more than the down sides and we will be getting our little Bella in 25 days. I have been going through the same questions and issues as everyone else here, but I believe in leap's of faith and good timing and "what the heck- it'll all work out". Plus I have a fantastic breeder that wouldn't even allow me to take another dog home if she didn't think it was the best for that dog or us. So again, a leap of faith and we'll just go with the flow. We can think it through to death, but once you have another one in your home, all those worries won't matter anyway. I haven't met many (or any) people with two dogs, who have said "gee I really wish I only had the one again." But I have met many who have said " I would never only have one again." So take it for what it's worth, but only you can decide what's best for you. If Clifford could talk what do you think he'd say?