Getting a second doodle.

[Carolyn Wilkinson]

We just got a second doodle. Sophie is 11 months old and we got her sister (same mom & dad) who is 10 wks and her name is Daisy. I have noticed that most doodle owners have more than one. I assume, like us, the first one is so great, get a friend. They are doing really good together, even sharing food and water bowls at times. They play non stop when they are out together. Daisy is much more active than Sophie was and I kind of think it could be because she has another to play with where Sophie didn't. The Vet said I should not have gotten 2 females because of dominance issues. Sohie is not a dominant dog, she has gone to doggie play days often and gets along with all sizes of dogs and I am the Alpha at home. Any advice on raising 2 in harmony and your thoughts on 2 females.

[Adina P]

I think the typical advice is to get one of each gender, BUT there are plenty who have multiple females and do great! One may indeed take over as the boss of the other, but as long as you are the leader of ALL...again you should be fine. It's also a bit different when you get a pair of littermates at the same time vs. bond with one dog before you bring in a second (the first option sometimes being more problematic).

In any case congratulations on your second doodle!!! We of course, need to see some photos =) Overall, I think as long as you really work hard in training each one to obey voice commands...you'll do great!

[Joy Williams]

Congratulations!! You will not regret it, trust me! We have 2 females and they are inseparable. They were littermates, so I don't know if that makes a difference or not, but they have always gotten along fine. Maddie is definitely the dominant one of the 2, but it does not seem to be an issue with them. Morgan just lets her go first! Its so much fun to watch them play with each other and it makes it nice that they can "entertain" each other and you don't have to constantly find something for them to do. Be sure and check out the Multiple Doodles Group. There's a lot of good info in there that should be helpful to you.
Have fun!!

[Karen & Lucy]

Can not give advice on having 2 females or 2 doodles either :-( Would love to have 2, but in any case CONGRATULATIONS and enjoy them both !!!

[Dan, Judi, & Timbow]

Jane, do you like having two males? We're wanting to add another dood to our family and we are leaning towards another male rather than getting a female. Timbow is so easy going, I really don't think he would care either way, he'll just be happy to have a playmate. :)

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Yes, I agree about certain breeds, especially terriers. My parents had an older male cairn terrier...they got a female cairn puppy before he died. Those two were best friends....
Two females would have been a nightmare with that breed. Lucy (family cairn) can get really nasty with Peri. I am glad Peri just submits or runs away. She won't get ugly with the crazy terrier.
Goldendoodles are a different story in my opinion. Most have such a sweet disposition, I would not worry about it!!! Please post photos Carolyn!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

We have 2 litermate sisters and we were told the same thing after we got ours. We had always heard it was better if you were going to get 2 to get them at the same time, however, no one ever mentioned getting litermates, or getting 2 females was a problem. I think as long as (like Adina says) you are the leader it will be fine. Ours can play pretty hard, and Sophie is definitely the "dog" boss, but Lucy doesn't really seem to care. Every now and then she will have enough and she will just let Sophie have it but that is very unusual. In hind site, if I were going to do it over I might just do it the same way. I'm guessing there is probably an up side and a down side to whatever way it is done! Just enjoy and congrats. Let's see pics.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Funny, I was read and told that you should get them separately because if you get 2 together they will bond to each other and not you. At any rate, I have a male and female 10 months apart. They get along very well and dominance goes back and forth.

[Kathie and the gang]

I have had two pairs of females at the same time over the years, all Springers. The first pair was 2 years apart and were really good friends. The second pair was not as great together. Whitney was the senior dog (she had been part of a two gender pair) and she was alpha. We got Stella after Willy died; she was 4 years younger than Whitney and definitely not an alpha. Whitney was a great dog, good with kids and other dogs, but there were times when she just went after Stella. I’m now back to one of each and things are fine. I loved my "girls", but I think that going forward I will always have one of each gender. I think it is just easier, but it doesn't mean there can't be problems. For 40 years we have been a 2-dog family, and now that it is just me, I still can't imagine not having 2 dogs. Have fun.

[Steve Drury]

Your situation is so similar to ours. Our girls are 9 months apart in age--now 16 months and 7 months. They have the same medium white poodle dad but different English Cream Retriever mothers. I wish you the best of luck. OUR lives have turned up-side-down since we brought Maggie home in June. You might think there would be some efficiencies that might make two doodles less than twice as much work as one. Our experience has been that our two have been 10 times as much work as one. Don't get the wrong idea......we wouldn't give Maggie back for anything. But the experience has been like none we've ever had with multiple dogs. In fact I just posted a discussion in the Multiple Doodles group about dominance issues. Neither will yield to the other.
Our girls have been together since the first week of June. The rough-housing continues for most waking hours. Running, jumping, tackling, pouncing, stalking, chasing, wrestling, pinning, body slamming,

ambushing, slobbering on each other, pulling each others ears and tails...........it feels like it will never stop. Much of the time it is very entertaining-----but not when the mood strikes just as we're going to bed. Good luck !

[Ginny Nightingale]

I have two females 16 months apart. The female /male thing doesn't seem to matter. The younger female, Lyric is definitely the bossy one and has been since the minute she entered the house. If my other female, Mattie, gets the chance, like when i am holding Lyric still, she will try to mount her. People say that this is Mattie trying to be dominant, but she isn't succeeding! Otherwise, she doesn't care if Lyric takes her toys and pushes her around. She is very accommodating. I think that has been a blessing when I look at what Steve has been going through. They do love to play, but also can just sleep when in the same room. I don't like it when Lyric really growls at Mattie over a toy. I make Lyric leave the toy and I give it back to her later on.

[Ginny Nightingale]

One other comment--Am I understanding this right? The mom of you two dogs had puppies twice within 8 months? Yikes!!

[2SCdoodles]

We have two doodles who are half brothers just 6 months a part. One is clearly the dominate dog. Capp and Joe have a relationship just like human siblings. They rough house with one another until one gets upset (usually Capp). They take each other's toys, and they fuss a bit. They are affectionate with each other, too. The worst experience we have had was when Capp and Joe were playing rough; Capp got tired of it, and bit Joe on the snout. I think Capp's tooth went into Joe's nostril. Oh, my, what crying from Joe. There was a lot of blood, too. I think it was a superficial scratch inside his nostril, but it really bled a lot. That was the only time I was really upset with the dominance issues.