Double the doodles, double the fun?

[cocoincanada]

 

*Originally posted this in the main discussion forum, but then I found this group, which may be more appropriate. Sorry for anyone who has read it twice as a result *

 

Hi all, 

 

We are thrilled to be in the process of adopting our 2nd doodle. We currently have a 3.5 year old Goldendoodle, and our new pup will be a young Labradoodle.

For those of you who have two dogs, just looking to hear some feedback on the following:

• How did your 1st doodle react when you brought home the 2nd, and he realized he was there to stay?
• Did you have jealousy issues? Did you simply deal with it by giving the dogs equal attention?
• What did your 1st do if the young pup peed or pooped on the floor, while working on being  housebroken?
• Did it take a while for the two of them to get along?
• To establish who the alpha was?
• Did they become best buddies in a short period of time?
• What about crate training when the 1st dog is no longer crated?
• Toy hogging?
• Car anxiety

I presume that these are all normal concerns for someone who is adding a second dog to the mix?

 

Sunny is not an aggressive dog, but he definitely tries to be the alpha when he's around other dogs. We think he will definitely be telling the new pup who's boss, right off the bat, but I'm hoping that after a few weeks (once Sunny has gotten used to the idea), they will become the best of friends.

 

Sunny is no longer crated. He was for the first 1.5 years of his life, but since then, he's been roaming free. He's very laid back and doesn't get into any trouble while we're out of the house. The occasional sock if we leave laundry around...at most. The new pup is apparently not good in a crate at all. He gets very anxious. I would still like to expose him to a crate, and make it a positive experience for him, to help get him over his anxiety. But I'm not sure how to do that when we have an un-crated dog roaming around.

 

Same for sleeping at night. Our bedroom is the only room in the house that has carpet. Sunny sleeps in our bedroom on the floor, in a giant dog bed. With the new pup not being fully housebroken yet, I don't mind him sleeping on his own bed in the bedroom, but I fear I will end up with quite a few messes to clean up. When Sunny was young, he was crated in our bedroom, so we could hear him whine if he needed to pee in the middle of the night. But, I don't see it going well if we crate the new pup while Sunny has freedom to sleep on his bed.  I can only assume that the pup would squeal to be out and with Sunny.

 

Also, Sunny is a bit of a toy hog. When he plays with another dog and that dog has a toy, well he instantly wants THAT toy. The other dog will give up, and go find another toy. And voila -- suddenly, Sunny now wants THAT toy. He plays this game and we are constantly taking toys away from him and giving them back to the other dogs. Then we give him his own toy to play with. But...you get the picture -- he always is more interested in what the other dog has. I'm wondering how this will pan out with a new pup. I don't want the poor pup to never have anything to play with because Greedy Sunny is busy stealing his toys and eating his bones all day. And we want to teach Sunny to share. Just not sure how. Wondering if any of you have similar experiences with this, and if so...how you dealt with it?

 

The new pup is also apparently very anxious in the car. The foster mom has been working with him, and he is getting better, but he doesn't want to go in the car at all. Seems to be scared of it and puts the brakes on. I am hoping that seeing Sunny in the car will alleviate some of his fears and he'll have a "monkey see, monkey do" attitude, but I'm also expecting that this may not happen and that we may end up with one dog (Sunny) who loves the car, and another (new pup) who hates it. Have any of you encountered this when a new dog was added to your family?

 

We are VERY excited to add a second dog to our family, especially another doodle! We hope to have him home this weekend.

 

Thank you all in advance for reading my LONG post, and hearing my concerns. Looking forward to reading any feedback you might have to offer me on any of the above.

[Jersey, Jasmine, Jypsy and Diane]

Mostly all of my married life I have had multiple dogs. I had a lab, Jessie when I brought my first golden doodle, Jersey home. My German shorthaired pointer, Casey had just died. Jessie was depressed and was acting older than her 10 years. Jessie was the alpha dog and didn't care for dogs that were not family dogs, who she knew as puppies. Jersey was sweet and very wise for an 8 week old pup. She has old Jessie wrapped around her paw in no time. They met in the back yard and Jersey followed Jessie around like she was a her mother. Jersey was easy to housebreak and was in a crate for a very short time, she never did any damage to anything. Just the perfect dog. Things were so good, that for our 40th anniversary, we decided to get another golden doodle from the same breeder. Jasmine was introduced in the back yard. Jersey, at first pretty much ignored her and Jessie again took on the "mother" role at 12 yrs old. There was never a problem with sharing toys, they all played well together. Jersey is obsessed with a ball, as was Jessie. Jasmine prefers stuffed animals that squeak. They would all lie together wherever I was during the day. At night, all had beds in our bedroom. When Jasmine was in the crate before being housebroken, the other two would lie next to her crate to keep her company, which I thought was very sweet.

Almost a year after we got Jasmine, old Jessie's arthritis got real bad, she was losing weight and having trouble breathing. All of a sudden, she lost control of her legs, and had to be carried out of the house to do her business. The day before Mother's Day we  let Jessie go. It broke my heart but she had given so much love to all of us and I didn't want her to suffer just to keep her with us longer. We are just down to Jersey and Jasmine now and they are joined at the hip. Couldn't ask to two more compatable dogs. 

Jersey, Jasmine and their black lab buddy, Justice. The "J" Girls The first photo is of Jersey and Jessie about two weeks after Jersey's arrival.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Please read this discussion that Jane posted recently...my response answers a lot of your questions:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/multipledoodlesordogs/forum/topic...

 

I have a chihuahua and doodle, so it's not double doods, but I will never have one dog again. I love having the two of them. They are best friends. Even for my spoiled rotten, feisty chihuahua, he warmed up to Peri very quickly.  They LOVE each other now. 

I think you will find that the toy sharing will just work out.  Don't over analyze this.

For crate training the new puppy - work on crate games - put high-value treats in them and see how that goes.  If he will not take the crate, then block off an area (kitchen for example) where he can play and not get into things.  A lot of fosters have issues with crating, especially because we do not know their history.

Also, it is TOTALLY FINE for the two doodles to have different privileges.  Taquito has always slept under the covers with us.  Peri slept in her crate, now on her bed in our room on the floor.  It is OK.   They have different needs/temperaments. 

If you have one specific issue, like the car ride or crate training, try looking in Puppy Madness also.

Good luck!!!

[cocoincanada]

Thanks so much for the feedback! It's so nice to know that we have a place to come to and ask questions.

 

I will keep you posted on the progress. We hope to bring the new pup home tomorrow. They are calling our references today, which is the last step!

 

All the pics I see here of multiple dogs are so heartwarming. Looking forward to posting pics of my own!

[Nicole]

So how are things going with two doodles? We have a one year old labradoodle and a 12 week old goldendoodle and they absolutely love each other...Coco has become the mama dog and Barney is her pup...she will lay with her paws around him and sleep. It is toooooo cute! They get feisty when they play but so far it's been all play...no aggression. Couldn't be happier and LOVE watching them romp and wrestle...am so glad we got another!!!!

[cocoincanada]

Things are going well! We've had some rough moments, especially in the beginning, and the dogs have duked it out a time or two, but generally, they seem to really enjoy each others' company. They wrestle so much and play each other out. When they're bored, they entertain each other...and they chase each other around the yard.

 

They are still battling it out on some fronts and we're still having issues with crate anxiety with Diesel (so we haven't been crating him), as well as challenges with house-breaking him and developing his social skills....but we're working on it, and hope to have him in tip-top shape in no time.

 

They have not curled up with each other yet, but I have caught them sleeping nose-to-nose, which is probably the best I'm gonna get! :) I just love watching them play though, and since we got Diesel, Sunny doesn't seem depressed anymore and he looks much more balanced and happy.

[Lynda Kamrath]

Count me in for the double doodles also.  We have decided that two is the way to go.  When my son's shepherd died, she left one very depressed poodle behind.  We had to get him another dog and that is how I got started with doodles.  Now we try to replace an elderly dog before they go to the rainbow bridge.  Once dogs have had a special companion, they need to have another dog to make their lives complete.