ONe or TWo doodles advice please

[Pam and Ginger Snap]

I have an 11 month girl doodle..she is just hitting her stride....so sweet, not into things, calming down, loves her crate at night and when we are gone.  Totally potty trained. She weighs about 20 pounds and should max out at 23-25 lbs. she doesn';t shed and I am not allergic.  I have asthma, but Ginger has not made it worse.

 

We live in a townhouse..patio backyard...so walks and patio. Our house is average, but being a townhouse, it is vertical living.  Our living room is small.

I teach all day Monday and a couple of hours the rest of the days of the week.  This schedule is great for Ginger.

 

Things seem GREAT.....  but I am thinking of getting another puppy....he would be the same size as Ginger when he is grown..maybe a little bigger.

 

SOme people say yes (me) and some say no (DH) 

 

What are the feeling of the group.  Are two more trouble than one?  Do they bond with humans as well if there is another dog around? Do two doods take up the whole back seat and where would my son sit? (in the middle of his dogs. I'm sure...but serioiusly?)

How do you walk two dogs? 

Would my life become more complicated?    

 

thanks

 

Pam

[Holly (Jax & Bandit)]

We would love a new cousin!!!

[Pam and Ginger Snap]

VERY CUTE PIC!!!

 

[Pam and Ginger Snap]

Thank you all for your honesty.  I know that you all LOVE your dogs and would steer me in the right direction.  It's  a big decision and I value all of your thoughts and feeling on the issue.  It's just that those puppies are just so darned cute!!!!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Here's my perspective...

• Two is definitely harder than one.  There's twice the work and expense.  Think of the time you spend now and double it.
• My two are definitely VERY bonded to me, even though they have each other.  They love playing together, but they like spending time with me even more.  My oldest (Guinness) would have been just fine without another dog in the house.  My younger Dood (Murphy) definitely benefits from having a "brother" to play with.  He has tons of energy, and having another dog in the house helps with that.
• I have a mini and a standard, and yes the definitely take up the whole back seat.  I will sometimes squeeze in there with them when we have others in the car, but it's pretty tight.
• It took me months of heel training to be able to walk both of my dogs together.  Without this training I honestly would not be able to do it....they would be "horsing around" with each other.  We still have to take them separately for potty trips.  We are in a condo so there is no fenced yard, and if we take them both they will not potty.
• Yes, your life would be more complicated IMO.

All that said, I love both of my Doods and I would not trade either of them for anything.  My oldest has been a very easy dog, my youngest....not so much.  I always say if I had Murphy first he would have been an "only dog".  Good luck with your decision and let us know the outcome.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Jane - I'm with you - if I had Stuart 1st - he'd be an only.  Maybe it is the Golden in him but he is a nut job, always always into something.  Rooney came like a little old man, calm and content.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

HAHAHA, but Stuart is one darn cute "nut job".  Thank goodness our "big guys" have their looks and charm.

[Jennifer and "Cooper"]

I too have been wondering about getting a second doodle.  Cooper is alomst 16 months old now and we are really enjoying the "easy" life now that all the puppy stuff is behind us.  I don't think I could do the puppy thing again.  Have been looking for a older puppy/young adult rescue/re-home doodle but that too brings its challenges.  Plus I now have been offered a job working more hours than I currently do, which would mean less time to bond with a new dog so that only adds to the "what should I do?" moments.  My easy answer so far has been doggy daycare.  It gives Cooper other dogs to play with and makes me feel not so guilty that he doesn't have anyone to play with at home.

 

Good luck finding the right decision for you. 

 

 

[Carole (*Koda*Monty*Bindi)]

Answering strickly for our situation I can't imagine NOT having two.  In our experience, having one more doodle join our family only enriched our lives.  Yes, we are calling two names instead of one....Yes, there's more food involved......Yes, there's higher vet bills and more poop to pick up.  That having been said......there's an incredible amount of LOVE......non stop LAUGHTER......and unmatched JOY in watching Gaston and Rosie play together <3.   We take them everywhere we go.We don't have a massive SUV but have plenty of room in our Explorer.  We did buy a coupler to use on walks but that was more for our convenience instead of a "need".  When we dont' use it they walk head to head anyway! LOL  Gaston and Rosie get along beautifully and I do count myself lucky that they are not the type of dogs that race all inside the house and wreck havoc.  They play hard and fast outside! LOL  Both are standard sized.  My only suggestion to you would be to make certain that you have a place that's safe and secure (like a dog park) that you can let the two of them run and play freely off leash if you are looking to add one larger. They love to play themselves silly these doodles! LOL

 

The decision is a hard one as it's a lifetime commitment.  We have been blessed and I can only speak of our duo of doodles and our experience with them.  Truthfully we actually have three dogs.....our other, Bindi, is a "wannabe" and equally as attached to GC and Rosie.  Taking Bindi out of the equation though we couldn't imagine life without our second <3

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

[Susan and Sasha]

 I just love this picture!  Beautiful...Loving Doodles!

[Jennifer Goaring]

I'll share our experience...

 

Our first doodle was brought home at 4 months of age... sort of a second-hand / wouldn't sell right away pup from a breeder.  He is a medium ALD.  We got him Feb 2009.  One year later I was so enjoying this whole dog owning adventure that I really liked the idea of a second dood.  I thought Sam was looking bored and lonely and that he maybe get more exercise and have fun with a second dood and I liked the idea of getting a different sized dood and doing training again and all that.  DH wasn't thrilled with the idea but I started looking into it.  DH really didn't want a brand new puppy so while I thought the puppies were DARLING... I was looking more at doodle rescues or dogs needing guardian homes for breeders (which is what our neighbor's doodle was... a stud dog for a breeder and they are the guardians).

 

So then I find a local breeder with a 1 year old male mini ALD needing a home and I look into it.  I take Sam with me and we go visit -- they seem to have a great time playing and do well together.  We talk about the terms of guardianship and all that and I decide to go for it.  I go home and ready our home and get supplies and make a plan to pick him up a week or so later.   All goes well.

 

The first few months were really fun.  Sam had a play mate, the new dog Mojo seemed to take really well to the kids (I have 4 boys aged 12, 8, 8, and 3).  I started him in obedience classes as he had never really had any and he was smart and took to basics pretty easily.  He is much more hyper than Sam and I had lots of trouble getting him to stop jumping on everything and everyone and he didn't seem to think the dog gate was a barrier for him... so lots of trying to escape and run off and get into things.  He also would still chew on anything he found... he destroyed a pair of kids' shin guards, lots of socks, stuffed animals and who knows what else.   I really had to go back to lots of crate use to deal with his crazy attacks at night -- they would fight in the house and he would get really worked up when people came over.  He is just VERY different type of dood than Sam is and I was hard at times.

 

After a few months and my husband constantly getting annoyed and yelling at Mojo I started suggesting maybe he should go back to the breeder... the agreement was always open like that -- he always had a home to go back to if things weren't working out well for us.  But strangely, my DH said... "No... he is ours." and so things continued.

 

Then we started see more dog fights.  Not just playing... but teh more aggressive, alpha dog type fights with growling and such... and often in the house near my kids.  I could usually just open the door or get one of them in the crate or something to stop it... but it was scaring me.

 

Our dog trainer had warned me that after about 4 months the "honeymoon" period would wear off and the dogs would fight more and we should be careful about it -- she suggested feeding them totally separately and not having any dog toys out but controlling when they could have them.  I admit, I really thought, "oh my dogs are fine... they won't be like that..." and didn't really do anything different.  But around 4 month we did start having fights over food and toys and such and it got really frustrating.

 

Long story short... Mojo went back to the breeders about 3 weeks ago.  We had had a fight where Sam got really defensive and went after Mojo and bit his ear to the point that he was bleeding everywhere and then another bad fight happened again the next day... and DH went through the roof when Mojo started chewing on a new wooden deck chair... it was just too much yelling and fighting for me.  So I just said, "we are done -- I am taking him back."  No one objected.

 

Life has been SO MUCH BETTER now that we are back to 1 dog.  Sam seems so relaxed and at ease... honestly, I swear he is a much happier dog now.  We have gotten to take down the dog gate and Sam gets to roam free (something he was just about ready for when Mojo came along but then we kept it up because of the new dog).  We are all enjoying getting to give our 1 dog all the attention and I think we all appreciate him more now that we have seen what some other dogs can be like.  Sam is so well behaved -- so good with his commands and such... so laid back.

 

Anyway... that is my long reply.  Hope it helps some.  I think a scenario with a new pup and maybe a girl and boy combo instead of two boys and maybe a bigger age difference between the two... and waiting until the first one was a bit older... lots of things like that may help.

[Jennifer and Jack]

I will say that I think it depends on the dog and the situation.  I don't believe dogs are meant to be home all day by themselves. That is just my personal belief and I know a lot of dogs do and they are fine.

 

I will say this.. We have had my mom's puppy living with us for over a month now. Jack prefers to be an only dog. He is jealous of her, does not want to share toys, does not want to share his people or anything.

 

Granted he is sick and has been for a while so it is hard to say, but I am home with Jack most of the time, When I am not he comes with me or I set up play dates.

 

I lived with a friend that had three goldendoodles for almost six months. They all got along, but there was always competition, I was forever correcting Jack for being bossy.

 

He will got to daycare, play with dogs like crazy, ( when he is not sick) he loves them, loves other people, and has been dubbed the greeter at daycare when he went.

 

In his home, he prefers to be without any other dog. He prefers not to share. I honestly don't know what I would do if I had to work full time again, I think I would continue to bring him to daycare.

 

I know a good indication may be to bring other dogs in your house and see how she does sharing toys, your affection, the house. etc. Some dogs just are not jealous.

 

I have decided without a doubt, as much as I would love to have my own puppy, I will just have to enjoy my moms unless of course I was willing to let Jack be depressed, pout and be willing to spend who knows how long maybe forever dealing with a jealously issues with a dog.

 

I don't want to do that. I don't want to correct him forever and I don't want another dog to be bullied. Luckily Molly is able to hold her own with him, but he still continually puts her in her place around high value objects.