Sooner or Later?

[Amy, Kokomo & Killian]

We are pretty new doodle owners.  We picked up Kokomo on 7/23.  Prior to Kokomo, we had an American Eskimo named Klondike for 12 years.  He was put down in January, so Kokomo was genuinely loved the minute she came into our home.  Growing up, I never had a dog but my husband has always had at least one...sometimes up to 3...in his house.  I love Koko a lot and really think Doods are the ideal breed for me.  So, while the kids are young and running and playing in the yard, we thought it would be nice to get Koko a playmate to keep her entertained as the kids get older.  The question is, when is the best time to add another? 

 

The breeder we got Kokomo from has another litter expected this Fall.  Should we find a playmate from that litter....or should we wait until Kokomo is a year or two old?  My thinking is...why go through puppyhood twice?  Kokomo will be 6 months old when the next litter is ready to go home.  Is that too young?  I would love to hear from anyone who had two puppies at the same time...as well as anyone who has them a year or two apart.

 

Oh, and another question...is it better to get another female or a male this time around? 

 

Thank you!!!

 

Amy

[Steve Drury]

Hi Amy,

I think I might be in the minority around here because we're all nuts about our doodles. But I would advise waiting. We were totally enamored with Daisy from the day she came home. I couldn't wait to get another. Now I wish I had waited.

Adding a young puppy to a home with an older puppy caused (IMHO) conflict in the family dynamics. But more importantly the most significant advice I ignored was to make sure dog #1 is thoroughly, dependably trained. If you think training one puppy is a challenge---you can't imagine trying to train a young puppy when the older dog still lacks adequate self-control.

We were a 2-3 dog family for decades. But the difference was that there was significant time between additions. All the existing relationships between people and dogs were well established. Adding another caused no insecurities or jealousness. Adding a 10 week old to a 9 month old was a mistake for us. My advice would be wait until dog #1 is closer to two years old.

[Lynn Stoops]

Hi

 

We added Shiloh to our forever family when Emmie was still very young and they have bonded and played great ~ Shiloh was VERY easy to train & a calm puppy I think he helped get Emmie trained.

 

[Lynda Kamrath]

I guess I am pretty much the same with dogs as with children.  My sister and I were one year apart and there was always conflict between us.  The other children were three years apart and that seemed to work much better.  But, there are exceptions to every rule.  My boys are three years apart and there was a lot of wrestling and playing while the puppy was young, but they have worked out the rules to everyone's satisfaction.  So, my opinion is two to three years apart for puppies and three to five years for human children.  As for sex, it is your personal preference.  I have boys, partially because all my dogs are neutered and that is easier than spaying.  I also like the male personality better than the female.

[Lynn Stoops]

Hi

 

Another thing I wanted to add was I would not do littermates ~ but 6 months apart has worked great for us!  In our opinion we have found a male is much easier and calmer then a female.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Amy, I second everything Steve Drury wrote. I added our Vern when Fudge was a little over one. I think the spacing was good, but the training advice Steve gave should not be ignored. Training two is very hard and in order to do a good job, you must be prepared to leave one dog home and work individually with the other. I find that very hard to do. Good luck!

[Jersey, Jasmine, Jypsy and Diane]

My two female golden doodles are two years apart and get along great, never fight, both were easy to train and housebreak. I like to keep them at different ages and have always spaced all my dogs at least two years apart. I have had all female dogs except one male. We prefer them.