Such thing as "perfect" time to add a doodle?

[Stephanie and Ragley]

I have been thinking about adding a second doodle for a long time, but with life changes, pending relocations, and Ragley still being pretty young, I knew that the right time had not come along yet. I told myself that I would wait until my boyfriend and I were back in the same city so we could share the duties, I felt financially ready for all of the expenses, and until I felt that Ragley’s training was pretty much complete. In the meantime, I have found a breeder that I really like, met her and some of the dogs, and have placed a deposit to be on a waiting list just to get the process going with a reputable breeder.

Now that Ragley and I have achieved our goal to be a registered therapy dog team, I have moved, and am pretty settled in my new job, I can’t help but wonder if the time is right. Our number is up on the waiting list and I have already passed on a couple of litters, but there is one due very soon that I am tempted to claim a puppy on. Puppies are a ton of work, but I know that with the way our schedules line up, we would have the time to take care of a puppy. My boyfriend, however, is a little hesitant about whether the timing is “perfect” now. Ragley was such a perfect puppy and continues to be so unbelievably wonderful and easy that I think he gets nervous that our dynamic will change with a new puppy. He also doesn’t have too much experience with raising puppies so it is a little new to him. I understand his concerns and definitely have concerns of my own, but I still really think that now could be a great time to add another doodle to the mix. I would love another dog and I know Ragley would love to have a companion. Although I know there are better times than others to make this leap, I’m not sure that there ever will be such a thing as a “perfect” time to get another puppy like he is looking for.

For those of you with multiple doodles—or those who decided against adding another—did you feel that there was a perfect time? Were there any factors that played a major role in your decision?

Family picture for fun :)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Yes, it is.  Having other dogs when one has passed is all that helps my grief.

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Stephanie, it sounds like you have really thought this through. Ragley sounds like she will be a great big sister now :-)
Our two are only 10 months apart. I'm sure too close in age for many, but for us it was perfect. We love our two and their energy level is well matched. Both are so well behaved and calm.
I think the time is different for everyone, but your situation sounds perfect!

[Tara]

A little off topic but I was wondering what training you had to go through to become a therapy dog team.  Thanks!

[Stephanie and Ragley]

We have done many classes: "puppy school", basic manners, better manners/cgc, and a therapy dog course. On top of that, I have done tons of training at home (classes teach you how to train your dog at home) and out and about at parks and stores that will let us in to do distraction training. 

The final step of therapy training is to be evaluated by someone from the organization- it is a series of obedience and temperament tests that score both the handler and the dog.