Words of Wisdom Needed ~ The Good ~ Bad & Ugly of 2 Doodles :-)

[Denise & Hunter!!!]

I have thought on and off for quite sometime of adding a second doodle to our family.  Personally I have gone back and forth about it for a few reasons.  At first my DH was an adamant "NO" one dog is it! Then he kind of changed to "Well maybe one day...", then "I think Hunter needs a friend" then I emailed him the blog by Carol about Banjo's "Attack" - HILARIOUS for the record and he was totally smitten with Banjo and his beautiful red coat.

 

 I think a lot of my reservations were because of his original adamant NO - it was easier to think of all the reasons why it wasn't  a good idea instead of being disappointed.  After that he told me to email Wendi, the breeder we got Hunter from, and see if she had or was expecting any red goldendoodles.  She has a liter right now but the only red girl is probably going to be the pick from the first person on the wait list for this liter :-(  I told her to let me know if that isn't the case but that's ok because she has another liter due on March 27th that she said should have red's.  

 

My DH is dead set on another female - he has never had a male dog and just loved his female golden retriever growing up and now Hunter so his experiences have been good and he is one of those that does not like to mess with a good thing.  Nothing unexpected is his philosiphy on just about everything LOL  Personally, I think he wants to be the only male in the house with me, two daughters and a female dog LOL  

 

So with all of that being said I would love to hear ALL of the good, the bad, and the ugly of two-doodle households.  I know the logical negatives like twice the expense, twice the mess, etc. but I am looking for more advise and words of wisdom on the dominance issues, dividing your time and attention, what you would do differently if you had to do it over or what you think worked great.  I am thinking about toy sharing, feeding, etc.  I worry so much about Hunter feeling slighted or replaced or like the red headed stepchild.  Hunter does absolutely love other dogs, we did have an experience with my father-in-law's Brittney Spaniel who stayed with us for a month and Hunter seemed to enjoy every minute of her.  Could that be a good sign?

 

Can I just tell you that I totally did not dwell like this over my human children?! LOL LOL

[Lynda Kamrath]

If you ever have a multiple dog family, you cannot go back.  We learned that years ago with our last standard poodle.  He had been raised with a shephard and when she died, he went to pieces.  He cried until he lost his voice and was noticable depressed and despondent.  As soon as we could (summer time) we got him a labradoodle puppy.  I was a teacher and wanted to be home to train the puppy, but he took over the training and absolutely adored "his puppy".  About three years later when he was in later life, I got my second doodle, to replace him.  When the poodle died several months later, my first doodle didn't even seem to notice.  He was so involved with "his puppy".  In Sept., my first doodle died, and doodle #2 also went through severe depression.  He lost weight and just sat on my feet most of the day.  He didn't even look out the windows.  So, doodle #3.  They are, of course, best of friends, and we know that we will always have two dogs.

Start looking around for the doodle pup that meets your needs, and when you show your husband the photo of your desired pup, I'm sure he will come around.  Are the human children grown now?  Are you at home or still working?  Yes, it is twice the expense, twice the mess, but also twice the pleasure.  I took my boys out for a walk yesterday and the young doodle was off leash for the second time.  Boy did we get lots of attention!  Everybody loves a puppy and wants to get all the information on him.