gettin another puppy

[Kristen Juarez]

I have a 13 week goldendoodle, I heard they do better if there are two. Would it be wise to get another? If so should I get another male or a female?

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

If you go into the search box and search on various forms of "When to get a 2nd puppy" you will get lots of previous conversations on this topic.  There are all sorts of schools of thought on this.  If my memory serves me correct, a lot of people expressed their opinions you should wait until the first puppy is obedience trained so that that puppy can pretty much guide (train) the 2nd puppy.  A lot of people thought maybe around 18 months.  That being said, there are people on here that have done it at various ages successfully.  I think that it is pretty much dependent on your particular situation and how much time (and energy) you have.  Male vs. female, consensus seems to be if they are spayed or neutered, it really doesn't matter.  You can do a search on male vs. female puppy as well.  Things must be going pretty well if at 13 weeks you are thinking about #2.

[Jennifer Tramell]

I wouldn't get a 2nd one at this age.  I like to be able to bond and build a relationship with each dog as an individual, you won't know your puppy's true personality until your pup is about 1 yr old. Sometimes you think you have your puppy figured out and then they hit the "teenage" stage.

I have 2 goldendoodles now and had 2 pound puppies for the prior 9 years.  I got my first 2nd dog after dog #1 was 5 yrs old.  I got my 2nd goldendoodle, Charlotte, when Webster was 1 1/2 yrs old.  If I had gotten Charlotte when Webster was younger, I feel like I would have missed out on the one-on-one time I had while Webster was maturing. 

Just my opinion, this is the type of thing where everyone has different ideas that fit their family best.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Of course you shoud get another doodle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If I had my choice I would have got them at the same time (it took a whole day of begging my husband to get the 1st one...the 2nd one I found on Pet finder and actually had to cry for her) Reason I wish this is that I felt that they would probably get along easier. We got Myla after Chloe was over a year and she was set in her ways and then when Myla came along she was/is very dominant over Chloe even though she is smaller. She steals her toys blocks her hangs all over her and chases her. I know it's different for everyone (and maybe we're just bad doodle parents?) but I think yours is young enough to not remember who was there first and may think they are equal. I don't know, but if I ever had to do it again, the younger the better for us. Good luck, let us know what happens. (we have 2 spayed girls)but were often told that we should have brought a boy to Chloe's house but we like female dogs.

[Adina P]

Some two-dog relationships involve one dominating the other regardless of when they join the family.  That can easily happen when two littermates are purchased together--it really doesn't depend on when the two dogs join a new home.  I have a work colleague who I dog sit for every now and then.  And they have two females they bought together (not doodles) and one is very much the 'boss' of the other in every way. It's evident immediately.  So even if Myla and Chloe came together.  It may have worked out that way anyway.

[Lynn D.]

"(it took a whole day of begging my husband to get the 1st one...the 2nd one I found on Pet finder and actually had to cry for her)"

 

Oh, you are good!!!  Can you teach me?

[Adina P]

I vote no.  But I also have high expectations and requests when it comes to behavior and obedience.  There's just no way to have a puppy trained to the level I'd want it trained at this age and training two gets very tricky.  But it's all about YOUR expectations and demands and how much time you have.  I don't have a lot of time and thus I'm still training my 10 month old and she's nowhere near done.  If I were to take on another puppy now, I'd lose my mind :-D

 

You mentioned "I heard they do better if there are two." I guess I'd like to know what you mean by "do better" -- in what way have you heard they do better?  Is your pup NOT doing well?  I think dogs can be perfectly happy and content as single dogs as well as in a multi-dog household.  They might have more play and dog fun with another dog--but that doesn't necessarily mean 'do better.'  It's all in what YOU want and what YOU can handle.  Two dogs can be fun.  And tiring.  And fun.  And time consuming.  And fun.  And exhausting =)  Training a dog to a high level of obedience takes an incredible amount of time and patience and consistency.  Trying to train two---well double the work. 

You'll hear people talk about how the first dog can train the second.  I disagree 100%.  I think they might learn a few helpful things...like where to potty and some habits (good and bad).  But actual obedience (reliable response to sit, down, stay, come, heel) can only be taught by the human in charge of that task.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

My Peri is about to turn 2 and I think this would be a good time to get another (I am not going to though - have an older dog too).  I would have gone NUTS getting another at 13 weeks.  But that is just my opinion. And Peri had her "big" brother the chihuahua to harass already.

[Lorraine Bromley]

I have had both experiences with having two dogs at once. THe first pair were brother sister and were so close and yet were so different. They were great dogs and each had their own special relationship with us and our kids.They were adopted from a friend who's dog had an accident they were raised in her home and yard.

The second pair were sister and sister I adopted them from the pound after searching for the first two who were stolen from us. They were sick so they gave me a discount as they were going to get put down. They lived until 14 and 15. They were both good dogs. APART! we had to find a new home for one of them as they were competing constantly for the kids. They would fight and with little kids trying to separate them it was an accident waiting to happen. I don't know if it was because they were brought up in a kennel situation and had to vi for attention with limited human contact. When we found another family to take Cinnamon she turned into a great family pet and played with her four new family boys. Jazmine stayed with us and we lost her last fall. We introduced Neely about a year and a half before losing her. She never liked other dogs although she did get better with the ones that we interacted with and we could control or settle her down easily. When she was babysat when we were away it was funny that I told them the kids should not walk her alone incase they came in contact with another dog. They found out that she was fine when walking with them meeting other dogs. We found out she was only protecting her family.

So I have had both experiences. Just food for thought

[Dori & Rua]

Funny, my DH and I were talking about this last night.  Not that I was wanting another puppy (Rua will be 8 months old on 3/27), but more along the lines of, in my opinion, I don't think it would be fair to Rua to add another puppy to the household.  First, how in the world would I be able to handle training two dogs at one time (I think to have a dog that is truly a joy to have around, YOU have to be able to comment to making that happen).  Also, it would dilute the amount of time I have to spend with Rua and I am not willing to give that up at this time.  I agree with Adina - they MIGHT have more play and dog fun with another dog, but I think that the most important part is the time spent with us.  If you had just had a baby - thinking about all of the time AND money it takes to get them from birth to toddler stage - would you really want another baby while you were going through that.  I personally don't think I have that much time and energy to make sure I could do the kind of job raising the baby (or in this case the puppy) up to my standards.  So, personally for me, another puppy would be a no.

[Michael Gurley]

Personally, I would be afraid to get another puppy at this time because the two dogs may become bonded more to each other than to you. I love the bond that my doodle and I have, and don't want to have to share her with another dog.

 

Also, I'd say that you should get the first puppy fully trained before introducing another puppy.

 

Do you mean that they would "do better" as in having a playmate while you're gone?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I honestly think it is like spacing your children. Some of us like a bit of space between them and some prefer that they are almost the same age.  It really is personal to what you want.  The only caution I have about multiple dogs is that you can't always include multiples in your activities when you could almost always squeeze in the one dog.

If you are poling people's preferences, mine is for years between dogs.  You can really get to know that one dog well and when they really settle down you can get another without 'shorting' the older dog.

[shelly]

Nancy... that's so funny - I just used the same analogy today to a friend of mine!  But like kids, if you wait until you can afford them or the right time,,, you may wait forever!  Maybe we'll get another next spring!