Possible Second Doodle Question

[Phoebe's Mom]

My son and I have always wanted more than one dog so I am contemplating--merely contemplating--adding either a cavadoodle or a miniature goldendoodle next year. My concern is that both will be significantly smaller than Phoebe and I worry that she will be too rough with the puppy (who will never grow to match her size). I have never owned more than one dog at a time and worry about the dynamic of adding another a lot! While I certainly understand that each dog is different, I do wonder if they intuitively grasp the size difference or am I being totally unrealistic? Thanks in advance.

[Tricia, Shiloh, Fenway & Tessie]

Shiloh is quite a bit bigger than Fenway...I hope Fenway gets closer to Shiloh's size...but for now he is a puppy and Shiloh isn't. I worried about the size difference and the rough play....sometimes I have to get after Shiloh to play easy....but for the most part, they do just fine on their own. The key is to supervise...and crate when you have to be away....then you know they will be ok.

[GBK]

My two love to play together and Kona 32lbs is half the size of Buddy 60lbs. The smaller one is always the instigator, and when Buddy is really in a playful mood he lays on the ground and they play tug, or bite at each others cheeks and make such funny noises LOL I really like having medium and large size dogs, I take them everywhere and would probably have a hard time if they were both a standard size. Good luck, two are so much fun!

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

OK, I too am thinking about a second dog early next year. I am planning on getting another standard doodle so why do you say you would have a hard time with 2 standards? Is it because of lack of room in your vehicle or something else I should know?

Please fill me in before I do it.

[Doodle Kisses]

I have two standards...one of which is pretty darn big. I can fit both in the back of my Beetle.

The only problem I envision is if training doesn't get done...it would be HARD to walk two pulling large dogs. But if you train them...heck they could be mastiffs and you'd be fine.

[Adina P]

LOL--true but by then I think the Beetle will have been rehomed ...

*wimpering*
*sniffling*

[GBK]

Vehicle, travel, grooming, I take them most places by myself. For me it is easier with all of this having one a little smaller. Just my preference :)

[Sandy Nuccio]

I have a goldendoodle and added a cavapoo. My goldendoodle is over 75 lbs and the cavapoo is about 13 lbs. The play rough but the little one only got hurt once, and it wasn't bad, just a screech, but she was fine. They love each other, play all the time, sleep on top of each other. It is great, I would totally recommend it.

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

Hannah is much bigger than Honey will probably ever get at this point. Honey has shown Hannah... Size means nothing, or the bigger you are...the harder you will fall. When they play and get going with each other it is usually Honey the one who instagates it all. Hannah can be a little bit more bossier when it comes to treats, as Honey is not much into chew treats, but loves to play Shreky the Shreeder with paper. They both take turns eating out of the same large bowl, I have tried to split up their food, but that does not work with them cause they eat out of each other bowls anyway. I use to worry about size when Honey first came with us, and would also tell Hannah to play nice or easy with tugging and so on...but Honey was like a timex...gave a licking and kept on ticking. She never missed a beat....These dogs are just so dynamic that adding to your doodles does not harm them in anyway, but add's to thier understandings of each other. It's like a ball and glove that just fight just right with each other.

[Barb, Murphy, Emmet, & Hudson]

Hi I have 2 doodles one is a med. at 50 pounds and the other is small at 23 pounds. They do great together the little one ALWAYS takes down the big one heehee=) You can go to my page and take a look at them if u want. I was very worried about the size difference when we got the 2nd one. It's never been a problem for us, .....it's a lot of fun having two!

[Phoebe's Mom]

Wow! Thanks to all of you for your swift and wonderful replies. I suppose I worry a lot because we think we want the second to be so much smaller (my son's dream...a tiny dog) than Phoebe. We are working with Phoebe now and will resume obedience classes June 1st. I have read that you want your first dog to be trained the way you want BEFORE the addition of a second. That gives us plenty of time to work on lessons and to see if this Mom can handle another energetic 'child' to the mix!

[Adina P]

This is Rosco and my friend's pup Amaya (she's now almost as tall as him):

Despite an ENORMOUS size difference when Amaya was a pup, they played okay! When Rosco would get too rough she'd usually just yip and run away...waiting a minute or so and then she'd run back for more. They played pretty well and if their play worried me I'd just take Rosco by the collar to separate him and have him sit or down and stay until he chilled out.

Quite often she was the one instigating things and climbing all over him while he tried to relax and enjoy a good chew:

[Phoebe's Mom]

Your picture is priceless!