Does Sophie need a friend?

[Valarie]

My husband and I have started discussing the idea of getting a friend for Sophie.  There are so many issues to consider such as cost, space, transportation . . . but most importantly Sophie's response.

 

How do we know if it's the right thing for her?  She is home alone 8 hours/day, 4 days/week.  I worried about this with our previous dog.  But we debated it for so long that we thought maybe he was too used to being the only dog in the house. So we were just a one dog family. 

 

How do we know if this would be good for her?  If we decide to do this, how do we go about it?  We want to make sure it is a friend that she will love and enjoy spending time with. 

 

I have heard that if you have two dogs they often will bond together and not with the peeps. Is this likely? 

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences!!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

You may want to foster. Take care of a dog for a few weeks. See how your dog responds and also see if you would like to have another dog around.

,,,,,,with the peeps? What do you mean by this statement? Will not bond with you and your human family?

[DeeDee and Sheila]

I'll bet Sophie is already bonded to you. The second one may rely on Sophie as mentor. But alot of people on this site have two doodles. Or a cat to go w/ the dog. I think Sophie has alot of alone time and may enjoy the company. Joanne just got a second, so did Nancy and Ned, and Jane and Guinness and Murphy. You might ask them if they don't see your post.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The issue of two dogs bonding with each other more than with their humans is only a problem when you get two puppies at the same time, especially littermates. Yet we have members who have littermates, too, and have not had a problem.
There are people who have two dogs who co-exist but really don't interact, and people who have two dogs who are best friends. There is really no way to know which way it will happen for you beforehand. There is no way to know if Sophie will be happy or if this would be "better" for her. I can tell you that eventually, the worst that's likely to happen is that they will tolerate each other.
But I would say, don't get a second dog just so Sophie can have company. There are lots and lots of wonderful, healthy, happy only dogs. The only good reason to get a second dog is because you really really want two dogs.
If it's just an issue of Sophie having company, you can do what I did with my last dog...get her a cat. :D

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

When Dexter was close to a year old, we realized we wanted a 2nd doodle. We wanted to have 2 dogs, but we also (like you) felt badly Dex was home alone 5 days a week while we were at work. We didn't want to deal with another puppy and went looking for a ~1-2 yr old doodle. We found Kirby who is almost the exact same age as Dexter. We had an adjustment period, but after a few months they became best buds. Everyday when we come home, we can see them laying together on the sofa in the front window :)

Kirby and Dex are both more bonded to us than they are to each other. They love to play together, but want attention from us humans even more. So I wouldn't worry too much about the bonding to peeps issue :)

Good luck with your decision - but I do agree with the advice you were given to make sure you really want two dogs and not just a buddy for Sophie.

[Patty]

I am a big, big fan of having two dogs. We also have two cats. It works best for us.

Joanne's suggestion to try fostering is a great one. If having two dogs isn't to your liking, there are other options to consider. Doggy day care one or two days a week might work for you, and a good dog walker can also break up the days for Sophie.

Oh, and always remember... Sophie vastly prefers living with you to her old arrangement. Heck, she's tickled pink that you are worried for her happiness. And she adores you :)

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

We recently made the decision that we wanted a second Doodle. Guinness was about to turn one year, and most of his training was behind us. He was really at a very easy stage, and my greatest challenge was trying to make sure he was getting enough exercise and mental stimulation so that he would not be bored. I knew in my heart that I really wanted another dog, and the timing was perfect. We had decided this time we wanted to rescue. I felt confident enough now that I could take on the challenges of a dog who may have some problems (with the help of this DK community), and I knew I just wanted to provide a good dog with a good home. So we started looking on the rescue sites. There was certainly a decision making process that we went through to get to this point. Here were some of our key considerations...

-Could we financially handle another dog, understanding that there is always a chance for medical issues...sometimes expensive medical issues? We decided that we could (and wanted to). If we had to go without other things, that would be fine.

-Did we have the motivation and stamina to take on the exercise and training responsibilities of a second dog? Again, we decided we could. I absolutely LOVE training, so this was a "no brainer". As for the exercise, we decided we could train the dogs well enough so that we could walk them together. We are now able to walk the two and they do extremely well with this. Sometimes I take them separately, but that's because of their different stages in training.

-My first Doodle, Guinness, was the love of my life. He and I had such a fantastic relationship that I did think about whether it would even be possible for me to love another dog that much. I thought I could....and I was right. I am crazy in love with this puppy. I love them equally, but differently. They each have their own distinct personalities, and so there are unique and special things about each dog that I love. It's been three weeks since we adopted our puppy, and I can't even imagine life without him.

-I wondered about how Guinness would handle another dog in the household sharing everything...including my time and affection. I thought about how much he loved being with other dogs. His one day at Daycare was the highlight of his week. There wasn't an aggressive bone in his body, so I wasn't too worried about meaningful dominance or aggression issues. So, I decided he would probably be so happy to have a playmate, the rest wouldn't matter. Clearly there was a little risk here, but I felt like I really knew my dog, and this was a pretty safe bet. I was right. The two dogs bonded immediately. They have "brotherly" squabbles once in a while, but they settle it themselves. They are "joined at the hip". They do "argue" over my lap time, but they have now pretty much learned to take turns (or else the puppy just lays on top of his bother) on my lap.

Here we are three weeks into our two Doodle family. We were blessed with a Doodle puppy from DRC. I never even imagined when I started down this path that we could be so fortunate. He is perfect...and he has completed our lives and our family. I will admit that the night before we went to pick him up, I never slept a wink. All those worries about whether or not we made the right decision and all that second guessing that we all love to do were front and center in my mind that whole night. I'm so glad I didn't let all that get in the way, and I followed what my heart was telling me. Being logical and considering every implication is so important, and it keeps us from making serious mistakes. But, once we've done that, I believe then it's just time to listen to what our hearts are telling us.

I don't know if this helps you at all. I just wanted to share the journey we've just been through in making this very important decision. I know it's a very personal decision with implications that vary so much from family to family. Please keep us posted on what you decide.

[Kelli, Fenway, & Dustin Pedroia]

Everyone has made really good points. I can't add anything, but my own experience. We got Fenway in may of 2008 and brought Dustin home in April 2009. They are both bonded to us and each other. We love them and wouldn't change a thing. Having two dogs is awesome, but like others have said you have to make sure you're ready for two. Check out the multiple doodles group to see some of the discussions about having more than one! Good luck and keep us posted :)

[Nina, Phil, Harlow & Lacey]

We currently have 4 dogs (1 is a foster) and 2 cats. Our 9 yo beagles are litter mates and are bonded to everyone, human and animals alike (shoot, they raised our 4 yo cat from the time she was 2 weeks old). They love Harlow to death and have accepted our foster into the pack. We have always had at least 2 dogs as they do keep each other company, even if it is just napping together on the couch. I agree with Joanne about trying to foster to see how Sophie responds.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I think everyone has great ideas for you - especially the fostering idea.
I can only say that since we have brought Peri into our homes (June '09), Taquito the chihuahua has gained 1 pound (this is a good thing and accounts for about 15% of his weight!), eats more, walks more, and plays more. I know you rescued Sophie and her past is less clear than Taquito's, but I certainly think if a chihuahua enjoys a crazy playmate, a doodle would more than likely welcome it.
If you are 100% ready mentally and financially, try fostering. Or even try keeping a friend's dog and see how she reacts. Taquito was so social, I just knew it would work out in the end.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Fostering a dog is a good idea, but it is not going to duplicate the situation of actually having another dog in your home permanently. For one thing, it takes time for any new dog in a household to relax and settle in enough to show their true personality and colors. For another, it takes time for two dogs to work through the initial "jockeying for position' that typically occurs. As Leslie mentioned, she had an adjustment period of a few months when Kirby joined the household.
I have found that Jack takes a long time to warm up to another dog in the house and start to interact in a positive manner. With my last foster, he went from outright dominance initially to grudging acceptance, and was just first starting to initiate play and voluntarily interact with her when she went home. If you had asked me prior to her third week here, I would have said he absolutely hated having another dog in the house, and this was also based on his reaction to my prior foster and to friends' dogs who have stayed here overnight. So while fostering is a good idea, (and a worthwhile opportunity to help a dog in need besides), it may not really reflect the way Sophie would respond to a permanent sibling over time.
I really believe that if you truly want a second dog, it will work out well for Sophie, too. I think you have to put your focus more on what would be best for you and your household as a whole with this decision. If you are content and happy, Sophie will be too, either way.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I agree - if it ends up stressing you out having a second and driving you nuts, both dogs will pick up on that and it will negatively affect both of them. We were totally ready for another dog though and it made us very happy - I think T picked up on that.

BTW it took Taquito 2 weeks before warming up to Peri. He avoided her at all costs. Then by week 2, look what happened:

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

All together now...AWWWWWWWWW! How cute is this?