| There are pros and cons to getting a second. I have a 7 1/2 year old female, Maggie, and recently was given a 10 month old female, Dresden. I've had Dresden for four months now and things have gone relatively smoothly.
Maggie loves to play and I do enjoy seeing her running and playing with Dresden. Dres has given new life to the old girl. The downside is that Dresden is young and Maggie is a little arthritic, so sometimes I have to step in and stop Dres from bugging her when she's had enough.
I don't think Maggie was ever depressed or felt left out. I've made a real effort to treat Maggie as the alpha dog of the two and to reinforce it every chance I get. She gets fed first, she gets let out first, she gets walked first, she gets patted first, etc, etc. Dresden doesn't resent this at all and patiently waits for her turn for whatever's going on.
I've had to make a real effort to spend individual time with each of them, especially so Dresden bonds with me more than Maggie. I do Dresden's obedience work and on-leash walks alone. If I decide to do an off-leash run in the fields with them, they go together so they can play. I occasionally take them for car rides and into town separately.
I've found that two dogs, especially with one being a young one needing training, are more than twice the work of owning one older well-trained dog. There are days when I feel everything I do is related to dogs and nothing else. I'm sure this will change as Dresden's training comes along.
Truthfully, I do sometimes miss the very quiet special times Maggie and I used to have. It's impossible with a pushy young dog in the house. On the upside, the two of them get along very well and seem to enjoy each other's company for the most part. Dresden is very sweet and very lovable. She is a lot of fun to train and she has a ton of enthusiasm. She's totally different from Maggie, so things are never boring. ;)
There are days when I wonder if I was nuts to get another dog and there are days when I'm out walking with the two of them and think there's nowhere else I'd rather be.  |