Hello,

Just got a quick question to ask.

At the moment, I have a 7 month old border collie/lab cross puppy who lives happily with my parter, his family and I so she is always with someone.

In two weeks time, me and the ball-n-chain move into our new house with the pup. I was wondering, will it be best to get another pup to keep her company or will she not like not being the only dog any more? It's not the case where she'll be alone all day, just a bit longer than before.

Any advise to offer?

On reflection it wasn't really a quick query either...

having 2 dogs is hard work!! but it can also be very rewarding. Its good you are at home most of the day. Your little doggy is young enough to accept another,
you may need to look at this , does you dog like other dogs when out walking?
Is your dog a people dog then maybe not
I hope that helps
oh yes and remember 2 lots of vets bills

We,ve got one little dog and he's really no trouble, they are like having kids though, they want your attention most of the time. Dogs are quite happy being on their own without another dog's company, depends what your pup is like with other dogs and whether they would accept another in their house.

The first thing you must ask yourself is why do you want another dog?

If the answer is to keep your pup company then I would say no, now is not the right time.
The other thing is, your pup is only 7 months and generally it's not advisable to get another pup until the first is at least 12 months, preferably 18 months. Obviously, it can work out ok but you will find that regardless of how well trained your 7 month old is, she will undoubtedly take a step back when you get another. Many grown dogs revert to puppyhood when a new dog comes into the house, which can be nice, but also a lot of work. Your pup won't have gone through her adolescent stage yet and so she will also take a step back in her training at this point and then you'll also be training a new pup, double the work.

It's great having two dogs, don't get me wrong, we were lucky as our second dog was older and just slotted in really with our routine, so it's not much more work. However, two pups under a year old can be a real handful and I wouldn't advise anyone to get another until their first was at least 12 months.

That said, it's up to you and some people do have two young pups without too many problems but personally I wouldn't want to try it! Our two are like naughty twins and one's a year old the other's 11!

I agree with Lotti, i have 3 dogs and i think they love company of their own kind, but every new dog changes the behavior of the others and sometimes for the worst.
And more than 1 dog can be very hard work indeed if they are still puppies of 7 months, you can expect none stop playing and probably noise, digging, and a bit of destructive behaviour as they tend to show off to each other like naughty school boys :hihi: .
In my opinion it would be best to wait till your dog is more mature and sensible, unless you take on a sensible older dog perhaps that can cope with puppy behaviour :thumbsup:

I agree with all of the above.

I would first of all be wary of introducing a new dog and a new home all in one go, but if you are sure that this is what will suit your circumstances, I would suggest you choose a re-home dog who is older than yours.

The best way to be certain of the temperament of an older dog is to adopt a pedigree who has lost his/her home due to divorce or illness in their 'family'. Contact local breeders to see if they have had any dogs returned to them (all good breeders take back their own dogs, no matter how long they've been away)

Consider allowing your dog the security of an indoor kennel when you are out. Dogs always prefer to hide in the smallest corners available (under tables and desks etc), so allowing them to have their own little space is beneficial.... And it protects them from choking on any furniture or shoes they may find as a distraction whilst you are out. Have a look at the Croft website for good quality, mail order indoor kennels :thumbsup:

Brude's is located so he can see out of the window to keep him entertained, but out of the sunlight, so he stays cool

Hmmmmm.i can see all of your points here, valid ones too. Right, here's mine. We have 6 dogs (although 3 of them have to go). At one point, our 2 bitches gave birth to seven pups each within 12 hours of eachother, hence me rockong in corners on a regular basis...llf., anyway..i WOULD strongly recommend getting another dogs to keep the one you have company. I had a dog on his own for many years, and always regret not getting another one to be with him, but he's got all his mates here now!. Dogs do get lonely and bored, that is the main reason you may come home to find lots of things chewed up, although pups do that anyway, but there would be less mess if your puppy had another dog to play with. Yup, lots of patience is needed, and as afore mentione, twice the vets bills.but that can turn out cheaper than having to buy new furniture and constantly decorating. Would you like to be stuck in a house all day on your own, no one to "woof" too and nothing to do???...think about it hun........you can still give as much to two of them as you can one. Hope this helps.
Destiny x

Destiny, whilst I understand your point I still want to assert my point of the age!

I got another dog just before Takara was a year old which I would normally have said was too early but he desperately needed a home and he's a lot older.
Even so, they can wreak havoc!

You don't know how your puppy will mature and a lot of puppies get worse after you think they're totally trained and having to introduce another dog (and as Strix says a new house) will take it's toll.

Please think seriously about it, I strongly recommend you wait until your puppy is at least 12 months (it's only a few months away) and really assess whether you think it would be beneficial. The puppy will get used to having another dog around but please don't get one just because you want to keep the first dog company, if your pup gets the right amount of walks and socialisation and human attention and training at home she shouldn't even need a companion at home. Remember that dogs aren't like us, they are quite happy to sleep during the day as long as they get some mental stimulation from you at certain points during the day!

Also remember you will get less time one to one with your puppy. They rely on you a lot less and so you won't get as much together-time.

We have three, and i agree with Lotti, each dog needs time to settle and fully mature before another is introduced.You said this pooch is a colliex, these guys are usually very bright and will almost certainly prefer being naughty to being good, anything a new pup does they will copy and outdo. However i also agree that most dogs enjoy company and benefit from a companion. Wait a while and look carefully at your dogs temperament, is he/she dominant or passive. We have two passive bitches and a dominant male which works as pecking order is maintained. Two bitches/dogs often doesn't work as there is constant competition. Dog and bitch generally works.

Good luck

Good points there guys.....but always be aware of jealous behaviour in dogs too. Yup, thats a gud idea waiting until your pup is around 12 months old before introducing another one, perhaps is just because i'm so used to dogs and had them all my life, that i think it's easy, but if you're not used to having more than one dog, then serious thinking about it is necessary. Get your puppy used to other dogs first as mentioned before, and lots of toys for when it is alone in the house. Good luck with it hun.
Destiny x

Wow! It's great how you all know so much.

I appreciate the advise and although I do still want another dog, I've decided to wait a bit.

On a vaguely related tangent, why would my pup act strangley towards white dogs but be fine with darker ones? Shes never had a bad experience with white dogs and even had 2 white brothers?

I'm not entirely sure of that because usually the rule goes that dogs are worse with black dogs than white due to them having trouble seeing them.

Perhaps white dogs that see your dog act strangely towards her due to her being black but their body language is so subtle that you can't tell they're warning her off? Just an idea but really not sure!

ps. Well done in making your decision - she'll be grown up before you know it and you'll be glad you waited and focussed your attention on her alone before she was all grown up!

hi and good luck with the house move. i think moving house is going to be enough stress on your dog for the time being, and if you do decide to get another as a companion for her, i would at least wait until she has settled into your new home. as for keeping more than one dog, its great fun but you need to be sure you are the pack leader or you will end up with problems. We own 6 siberian huskies, who all get along great, but we do rule with a rod of iron and they know not to step out of line. that said, huskies do well in a pack. we owned 2 border collies several years ago, and despite them both being neutered, they hated each other, it sometimes happens and is a possibility you need to be aware of.

That's a thought...

Are dogs generally best with another dog of a similar breed or ones with perhaps complimentary temperments?

That depends on what you have and what you want!

If you have a mad dog and don't want a madder one, get a calmer breed, the calmer one will calm down the mad one, BUT the mad one will gee up the calm one!

If you have a calm one and don't want a mad one, get another calm one! If you get one mad one, the calm one will get geed up too!

However, with many breeds, they play together and get along together far better with dogs of the same breed. Dalmatians for instance, are very sociable with any breed but to watch two dalmatians play together is like nothing you've ever seen!

That's a thought...

Are dogs generally best with another dog of a similar breed or ones with perhaps complimentary temperments?
I don't think the breed or size matters (as long as the large one does not bully/ roughly play with the small one) my dogs are greyhound size, collie size and teeny yorkie size, they do fine together.
Always try to match for temperament and personality.

I think where a collie/collie cross is concerned, you could get away with most other breeds as a companion. we only have huskies as they are a breed who come with a very primative but complex set of canine interactions (think wolf characteristics). for this reason, they are one breed that dont get on well with other breeds possesing more domesticated characteristics, sad to say, small breeds can also be considered prey!. there are not many breeds that fall in this catagory so whatever choice for your current dog should be fine.

We have a collixlab , a huge lurcher (greyhoundxcollie x irish wolfhound) and a Papillon, the Pap is tiny, huge ears, lapdog with attitude. They get on fantastically well, BUT, a pecking order must be maintained. Our Pap is top dog, he's definitely alpha male, then Rosie lurcher and then Molly collie (Molly couldn't care less as she knows she is my husband's darling). We (humans) rule, a 'look' from one of us is enough to restore order.

We have always had more than one dog and haven't found that breed type makes much difference. However as we have always been a multi-dog family we have avoided some breeds who often do not like to share, i.e bull breeds, though i do know several of these dogs who do enjoy sharing.

As Lotti said look for temperament, size and age. If your dog is a loon, try not to get another loon as they will egg each other on.

My dog Meggy was a border collie/alsatian cross. We had her for 11 months before deciding to get Rosie (jack russell/border collie cross) to keep her company. My dog psychologist Katie Patmore said it was the worst thing we could have done for Meg. Dogs are pack animals and look to us as the leader of the pack. Once Rosie came along, then Meg became the leader and it was a constant power struggle to make her behave. Meg died a year ago (aged 15) and we thought Rosie would be distraught. Not so. She got a new lease of life and was thrilled to be an 'only dog'. She had a lovely 9 months without her big sister before she died aged 16 in April. We are only now considering getting a puppy (all children need a pet to grow up with), but would never have 2 dogs together again.

Two dogs together are great. We have a 14 month old male english setter and have acquired a new addition - a 3 month old male irish setter. They get on fantastic, the new pup follows the older pups good habits - eg toileting (very few accidents in the house), resting, playing. I think it is good to have 2 dogs. Must say I wouldn't have done it before 12 months, especially with setters. Give it a little more time, and you should have no problems. Good luck.

Sweet Jesus, this is an old one!

I have 2 other dogs now as well and the dog in this post lives with the m-i-l

The first thing you must ask yourself is why do you want another dog?

If the answer is to keep your pup company then I would say no, now is not the right time.
The other thing is, your pup is only 7 months and generally it's not advisable to get another pup until the first is at least 12 months, preferably 18 months. Obviously, it can work out ok but you will find that regardless of how well trained your 7 month old is, she will undoubtedly take a step back when you get another. Many grown dogs revert to puppyhood when a new dog comes into the house, which can be nice, but also a lot of work. Your pup won't have gone through her adolescent stage yet and so she will also take a step back in her training at this point and then you'll also be training a new pup, double the work.

It's great having two dogs, don't get me wrong, we were lucky as our second dog was older and just slotted in really with our routine, so it's not much more work. However, two pups under a year old can be a real handful and I wouldn't advise anyone to get another until their first was at least 12 months.

That said, it's up to you and some people do have two young pups without too many problems but personally I wouldn't want to try it! Our two are like naughty twins and one's a year old the other's 11!


would totally agree with Lotti- dont get one because you think it would be company for your pup. Be aware that it is extremely difficult to train 2 dogs at the same time and ultimately one suffers and they tend to emulate the bad behaviours rather than the good ones. 18 months to 24 months is what we were advised, when we considered getting another dog. In the end, we havent done.

Sorry, didn't look at the dates until after posted, but don't you agree two dogs are great together. Hope your new ones are good together.

Sorry, didn't look at the dates until after posted, but don't you agree two dogs are great together. Hope your new ones are good together.

:lol: Helly is currently trying to write an essay due in for 5pm and the dogs are wreaking havoc to a degree that she can't concentrate...

Now's not a good time to ask that question! :lol:

I didn't get it in either :( The electricity went and that really sent the dogs barmy.

They do like to play with each other though. Jenny's totally changed since having a canine pal too!