two better than one?

G

grumpylilmoose

Forums Regular
Connor annoys the heck out of us, chewing on everything including the girlfriend and I.
He's constantly trying to herd us and play like crazy!

As much as he can be a bit high energy and over the top we could never picture having another dull moment around here, he brings us so much happiness and challenges us to no end.

I have been on the look out for another dog to add to our family for a while now.

What are the pros and cons of two puppies, usually?

Will we have two dogs to rough house with us, or with one another to play with they'll take it easier on us?

Would an older rescue dog be better. And help show him the ropes?
 
I forget how old your pup is? In my opinion, yes, two young pups will definitely play together and wear each other out, but it's much harder to train them. You'd need to separate them for basic obedience training and individual bonding time with you. More effort on your part.

Others may have a different view. It might be better to get an older but still playful adult dog.
 
grumpylilmoose said:
Connor annoys the heck out of us, chewing on everything including the girlfriend and I.
He's constantly trying to herd us and play like crazy!

As much as he can be a bit high energy and over the top we could never picture having another dull moment around here, he brings us so much happiness and challenges us to no end.

I have been on the look out for another dog to add to our family for a while now.

What are the pros and cons of two puppies, usually?

Will we have two dogs to rough house with us, or with one another to play with they'll take it easier on us?

Would an older rescue dog be better. And help show him the ropes?
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I can say without any doubt..2 is better than one. We added Jasper 4 months after Trapp came home. Our poor lab (now gone to rainbow bridge) was the target of onstant herding,nipping,playing..
So we always said we would add another maybe when Trapp was close to a yr. old...but we took the plunge.
And never ever looked back.It was the best decision ever. Within the following year,our precious Mia came home from rescue. She was almost 5 months old. Blind & deaf...
Then just this past Oct. We added Blake. We have 4 shelties now. An awesome mix of colors,personalities & loads,loads of love!!
 
grumpylilmoose said:
Connor is only eight weeks old (was born the day before thanksgiving)
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while I agree 2 or more shelties is great. My advice would be to bond and housetrain Connor and get some basic training under your belt before bring home another pup. It is very very difficult to proper socialize and train 2 puppies that are so young. I know many experienced dog people that have a hard time doing it. Double trouble with 2 untrained dogs(annoying you, chewing, pooping and peeing) who will bond to each other more than to you.

At about 8 months when you are settled that would be the perfect time to bring in another pup. JMO
 
Justicemom said:
while I agree 2 or more shelties is great. My advice would be to bond and housetrain Connor and get some basic training under your belt before bring home another pup. It is very very difficult to proper socialize and train 2 puppies that are so young. I know many experienced dog people that have a hard time doing it. Double trouble with 2 untrained dogs(annoying you, chewing, pooping and peeing) who will bond to each other more than to you.

At about 8 months when you are settled that would be the perfect time to bring in another pup. JMO
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not that I planned it like that but it's pretty much what happened.
Cranberry came home as puppy- annoyed the two older dogs. went to many training classes- basic obedience and agility. then lost the dog that played with the puppy and at close to 10 months old, brought Cran's litter sister, Dixie, home. she got to go to classes by herself- basically everything that Cran had already had so each got their own time with me...
 
Honestly I would wait until your current pup is a little older, unless you plan on getting a slightly older dog.

When you have two pups close in age it's like tripleing the energy levels as they will feed off each other. It might be cute when they are puppies, but it can become hell when they hit adolescence together.

As mentioned you are better off managing and training your current pup before introducing another dog. You lose a lot of their focus and it becomes much more difficult to train them with another dog play with. For people who do have pups close in age I recommend individual walks and training until they are a year old so that they learn to focus on you.

Best bet is to wait until your pup has at least reached adolescence, then you will have a better idea whether it's going to be a smooth or difficult adolescence. If things are looking okay then consider introducing another puppy.
 
Justicemom said:
while I agree 2 or more shelties is great. My advice would be to bond and housetrain Connor and get some basic training under your belt before bring home another pup. It is very very difficult to proper socialize and train 2 puppies that are so young. I know many experienced dog people that have a hard time doing it. Double trouble with 2 untrained dogs(annoying you, chewing, pooping and peeing) who will bond to each other more than to you.

At about 8 months when you are settled that would be the perfect time to bring in another pup. JMO
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This is great advice. Two puppies at the same time tend to bond with each other and that makes training very difficult. You want to be the center of your puppy's world, so he will be dedicated to pleasing you.
 
At 10 months, Bacca's herding was driving me crazy. That's when I decided that he was old enough and mature enough to handle another dog. So Indy came home. Same age as Bacca but different breeder.

I would not recommend bringing in another dog until your dog is about that age or older. You really do need that time to bond with your puppy and train him/her.
 
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