Who has more than one dog , advice please

Hi ,
we already have a lurcher who is coming up 4 ( a girl) and contemplating having another dog. We met another rescue dog today that is up for adoption another lurcher but a boy and 2 years younger. He is lovely and have often thought it would be nice to have 2 dogs but just wondered if those of you with 2 dogs can share your experience with me,
thanks in advance

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We have 2 dogs both rescue. The first was a bitch and had a few behavioural problems. We were advised not to get another bitch but to get a dog for the second dog. We got him in the hope that some company might calm the first one down a bit. It kind of worked but I think she has also transferred some of her issues to him!
We do have a few problems with age as the first dog is now getting a bit old and can’t walk far whereas the second is still full of energy and needs long walks so its hard to take them out together and time limiting to take them separately. I would have thought a 2 year age gap shouldn’t be so much of a problem though. (There’s about 6 years between our two)

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I have three! It can be great if they all get along as dogs like friends. We do get the odd disagreement though. What I did was introduce the dogs somewhere neutral first, before committing myself, to see if they liked each other. We were thinking about rescuing a German Shepherd male, but the girls really didn’t like him, so we ended up with a rescued female instead.
It’s a lot of work and my house is never clean, winter with multitudes of muddy footprints is the worst (that includes husband :wink: ) but I wouldn’t be without them. Cost of vets bills is another consideration as often all things tend to happen at once with animals.

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We had 2 lurcher bitches ( got at separate times) that got on brilliantly and were no trouble, then we got a third male - he got on brilliantly with the girls -they entertained each other . Having 3 big dogs was more of a problem out and about and if we ever needed to stay anywhere.
All our newer additions were puppies though, it may have been different if we had brought in adults.

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I used to have one Jack Russell Terrier who lived with a cat however the cat died of stomach cancer and he pinned for his friend. The vet suggested we either get another cat or dog. He was 7 at the time.

We sure another Jack Russell Terrier puppy also male and wondered if they’d get on. So the owner said we could try introducing the new puppy and see if our little Nimoy liked him if not we could take him straight back again.

We took him home and our little Nimoy loved him and took him under his wing and was protective of him even though he turned out to be a larger JRT.

They were great companions for many years and only ever had one moment when they growled and snarled at each other. This was when Weber became the new leader and he then looked after Nimoy.

We fussed them both and did a lot of sharing treats so that the first dog didn’t see the new dog as taking over. Not that we needed to as Nimoy was always showed a trait of protecting any thing that was young including protecting a wild baby rabbit from a much larger dog.

We had the same problem when Nimoy was much older and only needing a small walk while Weber still loved a long walk. Being so tiny we solved that by Nimoy having a ‘bag’. When he was tired he’d ask for his bag and would be carried with his head sticking out of the bag watching everything.

Most dogs will be quite happy to have another dog as dogs are social animals and form packs. It’s one of the reasons they find living with us humans easy they simply view us part of the pack.

Some dogs who’ve had bad experience’s with other dogs and have not been socialized with other dogs can have problems forming pack ties with new dogs entering their home.

Even dogs like our Irish Staffordshire bull Terrier who’s been attacked a few times and would try to avoid other dogs has now made some good doggie pack ties with friendly dogs and is now able to pass another dog in the street without trying to run in the opposite direction. He even allows his Doggie friend from across the close into his home.

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Thanks so much for all your replies, overall it seems you have all had positive experiences. Its definitely food for thought. Our lurcher that we have was a rescue and its taken her a long time to settle down. Shes not really interested in other dogs so we are not sure how she would be as she is quite head strong and stubborn at times.
Your replies are really helpful :smile:

We had our first dog Tia four years ago, she was a rescue dog and had severe separation anxiety. I spent the first 9 months mopping up pee because every time we left the house (even for 10 minutes) she would get seriously distressed and pee everywhere. We resorted to a pet behaviourist and managed to cutre this problem. 18 months ago we decided to get another rescue dog, Tia was a sociable dog and we thought, even though she had overcome her separation issues she might like company when I was at work. We got Archie and after a week or so of settling in ie Tia chasing him around the house trying to get him to play and being a bit of a bully! They became best of friends. There is a but to this tale though. Tia is very protective of him - she is a staffie cross and Staffies are very loyal. A few months after getting Archie we noticed she could get a bit growly with other dogs - this culminated in her pinning a dog down (thankfully not hurting it) we can no longer let her off the lead because she can react aggressively to some dogs we meet. Of course this may have happened if we had never got Archie but… On the other hand it is lovely to see then together and she seems happy, we love both of them to bits, with hindsight I wonder if we did the right thing introducing another dog into the family. Give it serious thought’ if it seems your dog is happy consider if getting another one is right for you and your dog.

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Hi We have three at the moment but foster spaniels as and when needed, I find that providing dogs are introduced carefully that they can really enjoy the company of other dogs. I would say go for it - and well done for considering another rescue.

Why dont you ask the rescue if you could do a couple of walks/ visits before making your mind up.

Rachel

We have two large male dogs. I love having two dogs, but we do get jealousy issues. One is a rescue and is ‘mine’, the other we had as a puppy and is ‘his’. I think it comes down to the individual dogs and their personalities. We’ve certainly had issues and lots of trips to the vets after fights. But each time we’ve been able to recognise when my husband and I created a situation (unintentionally, but you don’t realise it until afterwards!) and we make sure we don’t give them reason to disagree any more. But we still have the odd issue and it gives you a very different perspective on dog ownership and behaviour. Our dogs will play with each other in the garden, but they certainly aren’t best mates. I think I’d prefer to have two in future, but maybe not two males next time!!!

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I agree with Sharon. We had a golden retriever (pup) and got a staffie as a pup 3 yrs later. They were the best of friends for 2 years, but the staffie was absolutely obsessed with my husband and in hindsight we should have realised that was a problem. They had a few little scuffs but one day while walking them out in the field, the Staffie just went for the retriever without any warning because she was walking next to my husband and it was nasty! (I must add, that I do NOT think it was because of the breed). But in the end we had to get rid of the Staffie and give him to someone who was happy to have a dog that worshipped him and no other dogs. It was very sad because the staffie was a great dog with people, just not dogs.
Some dogs just don’t want ‘friends’/competition

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Luckily Tia is brilliant with Archie - he is a small dog and she has never shown the slightest aggression to him, in fact she is incredibly gentle even when they play. We took time introducing them but ultimately getting another dog alters the dynamics of the ‘pack’ and you don’t know what will happen until you do it.

I am glad you’ve got such positive replies Helen and I don’t really like to add something negative, as it may not even be an issue for you but something to be aware of, two dogs (especially lurchers) can team up and go off hunting, we had an incident here a few weeks back where a pair of lurchers killed a deer and later a cat.

Like I said I don’t want to appear negative as until now we’ve always had more than one dog with no problems, but two dogs can change the dynamic sometimes.

Thanks again its all really interesting to read. Obviously you dont know until you try but having had a good chew over we are going to stick to one pooch for now. It has taken 3 years of hard work to get to the point we are at now with our dog and she is just settling so on balance we think its best to keep things as they are for now. I think we may be better if we do get another eventually to go for a smaller dog and when our dog is a bit older and more mature. She had a hard start in life and I dont want to undo all the good we have done .But never say never I just love dogs !

Yes I am aware of the traits of lurchers, and even on their own they are very instictive hunters. We only let ours off where its safe to do so otherwise she is on the lead. But they are lovely dogs and she has a lovely nature but I do wonder if having a different breed smaller dog would be better.

Any good rescue centre will let you introduce your dogs to one another before they approve your adopting him. We have 3 dogs, a westie who we have had from 8 weeks old and 2 basset hounds who both came from different rescue charities. They were introduced to one another before approval on rehoming. The westie was introduced to our first basset and she had to get along with her first. When we adopted the second basset 2 yrs later she also had to meet our other 2 before considering taking her home. Yes we have 3 bitches and they all get along, well most of the time. There are bound to be the odd spats but so long as you keep on top of being the leader of the pack you should be fine.

I have four dogs a Dalmatian collie cross, a wire fox terrier and two little papillons. The fox terrier is the eldest at 10, she can be a bit of a bossy boots with the others, but most of the time they all get along as one big happy family. The Dollie and Paps are all youngsters compare to the fox, but she still keeps up with them on walks and chase games. I wouldn’t be without my dogs, they and knitting keep me sane. A house is not a home unless there is a furry friend.

We have two female border collies, rescue dogs that came as a pair but we’ve always had animals (cats, pigs, dogs, sheep, hens) in pairs or more so that they have company and they’ve always got on. Sometimes they have a little spat (usually if someone is on the wrong bed) but we just let them get on with it and they soon sort things out. We previously had a border collie/kelpie cross (female) and a black lab (male) who was 2 years younger than the collie. They got on a treat, she just wanted to mother him and he was happy to let her. We once had 5 months without a dog around the house and it was so strange, wouldn’t be without my dogs now.

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How did you get on? Are you a two dog family yet ?

We decided to stick with one for now, I think our dog is a one dog type and its taken so long to settle her after a hard start in life that I wouldnt like to risk the hard work we have put in. Cant help still looking at dog rescues on twitter though ! Maybe in a couple of years when shes more mature…

Oh yes and thanks for all your replies they did help a lot, everyones so helpful on here :smiley: