How big of an impact did a second dog make for your house?

[Truck]

Hi all. I'm pondering about the acquisition of a second dog in the near future. There is a terrific rottie at the local shelter that will be up for adoption soon. So I've been mulling over things like how will I manage almost two hundred pounds of canine companionship during feeding time, walks, cleanup, etc.

So I'm looking to the multi-dog households out there for some wisdom. What should I be thinking about? How big of a challenge will this pose on a day to day level. I've already been thinking of the bigger issues like pack order, resource guarding, individual training time. How much of a impact did it make on your origianl dogs? Did you feel guilty about dividing your attentions between your original dog and the new one? Is there any aspect of getting another dog that often gets overlooked? Your comments would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks for the help. :)

[livertw]

I think it is wonderful that you want to give a Rottie a forever home. I wish I could do the same. We had no trouble introducing a 7-year-old rescue to our 4-year-old resident pooch.

The only real negative that we encountered in the past with multiple dogs, was multiple expenses. Vet bills will double. At one point it was a significant factor in my budget. Take two dogs in for complete annual exams and after bloodwork, stool check, shots, flea and heart meds, food, Cosequin (glucosamine/chondroitin) for two aging arthritic dogs, etc., and the bill was close to $500.

At that time, $500 was two weeks take-home pay for me and that vet (we don't use them now) wouldn't "work with me" to let me pay in installments.

I hate to put a price tag on loving a dog and if money isn't a major factor for you, GO FOR IT!!! :p

[Roscoe's dad]

I brought Big Boy in at about 6 yrs old to 3 year old Guido. They hit it off right away, Mean little Guido is the boss in her mind and Big Boy just ignores her when she gets pushy. The biggest change was in eating habits. Before Big BOy joined the household, Guido would sometimes not eat her veggie glop in the morning, and was never in a hurry to eat. Now she is a hoover at the food bowl. I did make sure to get opposite sex dogs just to be on the safe side.

[Carina43]

I got my "first second dog" in 1991 when I had a change in schedule & wasn't able to take my #1 Rottie to work as often - he wasn't used to being alone for 8 hours a day. I was going to get a female Mastiff...then around that time I found stray Phoebe & she's been with us ever since - now I can't imagine not having a single dog in the house!

Are they opposite sex dogs? This may be very important. many times same sex dogs work out just fine, but it's awful if they don't. My two males cannot be in the same room unless both are crated - this is far from an ideal situation and trust me you DON'T want to deal with it. I used to foster dogs, and took in dogs of either sex - not a problem, as long as I didn't foster any pushy bitches, because Phoebe HAD to be top dog and she would fight to prove it. Generally, after a few initial minor squabbles, everything worked out. Some dogs will steal others' food, watch that, you might have to feed seperately. Ditto with high value chew toys - a crate might be necessary to let them chew in peace.

Otherwise...it's great. They keep each other company in your absence. Unless the two were to be abandoned in a back yard, they will bond with you - all my dogs follow me around the house in a little pack.

Walking two dogs - if they are different speed dogs, it's more difficult! My last Rottie ambled most places, and in her youth, Phoebe was a very high speed/high energy dog. I would take Bosco alone, or the two of them, for walks, then go for a bike ride with Phoebe so she could burn off energy. Also more work if you're going to training classes, obviously.

Money - if they both get elderly at the same time, it could be expensive. Of course, twice the HW meds, shots, etc...and if anything pricey or complex should crop up, you need to be prepared for that.

I don't feel guilty if one day Cooper gets walked and Daphne doesn't, or whatever. I spend a lot of time with the dogs (I often work at home) and if their little noses get out of joint because one feels slighted, I don't let it bother me. I do NOT permit mine to get possessive about my attention, they all pretty much understand that now.

I think that it's great you're considering a shelter dog - what kind do you have now? When I got Daphne last january, I took Cooper along so they could meet. The Rottie female I initially went to look at was avoidant and snippy with Cooper - Daphne was a very sickly skinny thing, but I took her out and she & Coop were instant play mates.

[KatMc]

Sooner and Jordie were my resident dogs and had been the only two for about 2 years or so, when I brought Bella home, I haven't had Bella a year when I started fostering for Roxies Fund and broiught home 2 puppies. Adopted 1 and now have another foster.

Feeding time around my house has actually been a minor miracle IMO. Bella and Sooner eat side by side in a dish set up that is supposed to be water and food. Right now Samson eats in the hallway, Vienna (puppy) in the kitchen. Biggest problem has been Samson is more intimidated and as soon as someone glances at him while he is eating he will walk away, so I stay there to make sure he doesn't get run off.

Sometimes the attention is a little hard to dish out. If I sit on the floor to give to one, next thing I know I have 5 dogs in my lap.

And yes, vet bills will definitely prevent me from getting another one of my own!

Good luck and let us know,
Kathy

[Jamie & Odin]

I have Odin and Pebbles together with no problem. Pebbles is a very "low maintenance" dog. Bred to be a lap dog and that's what he is.

Then I acquired my sister's displaced lab for 6-9 months. She and Odin got along fantastically, they were/still are best buds. She was relatively low maintenance too. Not a lot of energy, very submissive and very well behaved. No problems there.

THEN, I adopted Rajah, a three year old dobe. Whole different story. I figured since I had already had a three dog household this would be just fine. Well, she was very high energy, needed a lot of training, and ended up with a good case of dominance aggression which she took out on my Odin. The training and energy I could have handled, and was looking forward to working her. But the dominance aggression I couldn't. Unfortunately, after a pretty bad fight, I made the decision to take her back to the shelter.

I guess my point is it depends on the dogs;)

[New NJ Mom]

I took my resident dog with me to the pound and let her pick her own friend.

I walk both girls at the same time and my neighbors think it is comical to see me walking 200lbs of dog 4X a day. There is a lot of twisting, spinning and jumping for me to avoid being tangled in the leashes when they want to play.:D

My Rotti has resource guarding issues so toys and bones are carefully regulated by me and the girls are seperated for when I hand out these prizes. The first time I hear one of the growl because they thought someone was looking to close at them, the toys go back in the closet.

I try to space my annual vet visit's out so that I dont do both girls in the same month. We go in Jan and June. This helps me to budget bettter.

The only time I wonder what possesed me to bring home another dog is when I'm fighting for room in the bed at night. :D

[ladawn]

I second the opinion that it depends on the dog(s). Daisy is my first dog. We "fostered" (unofficially) my cousin's/aunt's" pit bull mix for about 4 months--not a good match but we made it work--both were the same age but Chance the foster dog was a lot of work and required lots of attention. NOw we have Toby, a little terrier mix. He is fantastic. He is kind of the opposite of Daisy, very laid back, (lazy basically). They play great together, no food aggression although I do have to watch Daisy b/c he isn't as food motivated as she is so if he steps away from his bowl, Daisy will try to empty it for him (so thoughtful a sister ). I love having two dogs. Whoever mentioned different walking speeds is on to something. Walks for us work best when we have one person per dog. Expense is a factor as well. Between crates, toys and vet visits, another dog is no joke but I love having the both of mine. Good luck.

[RottiMomCT]

Someone once asked me "How much more work can one more dog be?"

My response? "A second dog is sometimes FOUR TIMES more work than a single dog." Twice the food, twice the vet bills (sometimes more), twice the time (if they must be pottied separately expect the 2nd dog to potty wherever the 1st dog went before actually pooping/peeing :D ), HALF the human social interaction because you adore your DOGS so much you stay home all the time :D :p :D :p (oh wait, that's just me!). Your set routine is in shambles for a while while you establish a new routine to incorporate the new dog. Back to training classes for you and the new dog (might as well take them both to make certain they both know the rules - can't hurt to take '1st dog' to a refresher so they don't feel left out!!).

Just a few thoughts...not saying a second dog is a bad thing! I'd LOVE a second dog...hoping to nag hubby into letting me foster for NERR again so I can get a brother for Ben :p . Hubby whines until the foster dog shows up then he's IN LOVE!! :D

[Jen]

Another thing to consider is who will watch your dogs when you go away. If you have to board, it gets quite expensive for two. I had a friend that always took in my Rottie over vacations. We obtained a second dog (Pit bull rescue). My friend already had 3 Rotties of his own. He didn't mind taking one dog while I was on vacation, but 2 were too much. When I went on my honeymoon I had him take my Rottie and one of my other friends took my Pit bull. We now have 3 dogs, so I have no idea what we will do with them next time we take a vacation (if we can ever afford one again ;) ).

[ladawn]

Good point Jen! Who will watch them is a big deal if you can't take them with you everywhere. My extended family does not like dogs--my sister would keep Daisy, but Daisy AND Toby was a hard sell. No way can I bring both dogs to visit my mom, she barely tolerates them at my house and Daisy was a stretch for her so the two together. Boarding is expensive anyway and then double that.....

[Mark Hodowanec]

I agree w/ Carina43 100%! Top recap:

- Stay away from having two dogs of the same sex. One of each tends top work best
- Money: two dogs are twice as expensive:
- Time: actually, I thought that two dogs took less time than one - they entertain each other when we sometimes would not have time to play/exersize them.

We have two large dogs and it worked out great. The first dog was a very dominant female Rott. The second dog was a very submisive, large male yellow lab (125 lbs., 33" @ shoulder). She was very happy bossing him around, and he was very happy being told what to do. The two dogs immensely enjoy each other's company. It has worked out great!

[frau]

Gypsy was almost two when we drove to Iowa to get Winston. She was a bitchy bitch and he a 5 mo pup, so we weren't worried about their getting along.

As he grew, he became completely submissive to her. He has excellent survival skills. When we brought home our newly adopted yellow Lab, (neutered) Vegas. I figured that since he was neutered there would be no problem.

HA! Winston, former pest and thorn-in-the-side became instant comrade-in-arms. Winston saw his chance to actually growl at a dog, and to stand in a menacing fashion.

Gypsy was far worse with Vegas because he was not a pup, and did not "assume the position" when she entered the room. She had to rectify this and did so by repeatedly snapping at his ears, which bled off and on for 3 weeks.

The worst is over. They can play with each other. They are separated for feedings and the 2 boys stay in the Fla room during the day, with Gypsy as Queen of the House.

They will fight over fresh bones.

I can't imagine being without any one of them now.--Even though Vegas will be my son's dog and move away in May.

One plus about multiple dogs is that they do entertain each other.

With the second dog, it seemed like the mess around the house increased exponentially (mud, slobber). Now with three I notice no increase.

Good luck,

Frau

[Grendl]

That's why my husband and I go camping for our vacations. Our dogs are family, and we go on family vacations. It's just a matter of learning which campgrounds are pet-friendly.

[frau]

I should have mentioned how much more it costs to board more dogs. I rarely board, but we must, for example for our upcoming GSAR training which involves a Fri. 6-10p, Sat 8a-12mn, Sun 8a-5p. We can't be gone from the dogs this long, so now all three have to be boarded. AND I will have to take time off work to take them to the kennel AND I can't pick them up by the 6pm p/u time Sun, so will have to board all three for an extra day! What an expensive weekend!

Frau