Wondering About Adding Another Doodle to the Family

[Michele, Biscuit & Mo]

From time to time, Hubby and I talk about adding another Goldendoodle to our happy family. Penny just turned four and has been such a joy. Since my husband is retired and I work from home, Penny was raised with at least one of us around pretty much most of the time. Sometimes, though, I think that it might be nice for her to have a playmate.

Just wondering -- have you guys added a new pup into the mix with an adult doodle, and how well did it work? Penny gets a lot of attention and I'm wondering about the jealousy factor.

If we were to do it, I think I'd add another female - is that a good idea? Did you find your new pup trained faster because of having an adult dog around to show it "the way?" In the end, did you find it to be a good decision to add a pup, or do you wish you'd never done it?

I'd love to hear all stories you guys might have - good, bad, horrific, etc. :-)

[Michele, Biscuit & Mo]

Thanks, Tamara! We'll see what happens. If it works like it did the first time around, it will be my husband who sees the "right" puppy and decides he just has to have her. That's how it happened with our Penny - it was hubby, not me! :-) I'll keep you posted!

[Kathy (Ellie & Oliver)]

Hi Michele and Penny the Wonderdog!
Every situation and dog is different. Your Penny sounds like a well rounded doodle that probably would do well with either a brother or sister!

We added a second doodle when our Ellie was 4 years old. Ellie is sweet, a bit dominant, independent, and is totally in LOVE with my husband! I took early retirement from teaching and then decided I wanted to do therapy dog work. We knew Ellie would not be comfortable around wheelchairs, etc. so we decided to add a second doodle-Oliver. Oliver is a people pleasing pooch, a cuddler, wonderful at therapy dog work, likes to play fetch, and follows me around! (I love that!) He also loves my husband and likes to sit on his lap. The breeder suggested a male because usually males are easy going, loves everyone, and they go with the flow! I would get another male in a heartbeat!!! Oliver is everything she said he would be and more!!!!!! I'm sure that some females are also like that. Each of our doodles has endearing qualities that make him or her special!!!!!!!!!

When we brought Oliver home, Ellie ignored him. She would sniff and be curious but then would walk out of the room. As time went on Ellie stayed in the room but was always on alert if Oliver came too close. My husband and I would laugh because some times she would look at the puppy and shake her head as if to say, "What a nut!" Time has passed and now Ellie is 5 1/2 and Oliver is 1 1/2 years old. Ellie likes it when Oliver chases her, they stay in the same room now, they sleep on the same sofa (on opposite ends), Ellie doesn't like to play with toys when Oliver is around (he tries to take them away), and Ellie doesn't like it when my husband takes Oliver outside. She is jealous! We have noticed that they do look for each other if one just gets home from training lessons. As Oliver gets older and starts to mellow out, hopefully, things will improve even more. It probably would of been better if we would of added a second dog when Ellie was younger.
It just wasn't an option for us at the time. We wanted to have time to spend with our pets. That is our situation! We love having two doodles!

If you want a second doodle, GO FOR IT!

[Michele, Biscuit & Mo]

Wow - thanks, Kathy! What a great story and I really appreciate all your detail. Ellie and Oliver sound like quite a pair. If nothing else, I've certainly learned that it's going to depend on the dog whether or not they "fall in love" with each other or simply tolerate each other. I think with both my husband and I around all the time, there would be plenty of love to go around. We'll see what happens... I'll let you know if we go for it!

Cheers,
Michele