Getting a Second Dog - Convincing
Ace is going to be a year old in May, how time flies! He has always been a little gentleman, but these days I am just beaming with pride for him. I have been working on his socialization every single day - we walk for 25 minutes to the city centre, we sit at the fountain in the square for 20 minutes, and let people come up to him. It's tough for him, but I never push him more than he's willing to go. Today he made a huge breakthrough - he sniffed someone's extended hand! Previously, he'd shy away and not even dream about approaching them. I am so very happy.
So with that in mind, that I am a dedicated dog owner and love training and working with dogs, I have given a lot of serious thought to getting a second one. Firstly to be Ace's companion - Ace LOVES the ladies. And not in that way! All his playdate "girlfriends" have been females, and of all sizes as well - from a tiny French Bulldog puppy, to a beautiful 6 year old white German Shepherd. I am considering the idea of getting a spayed, retired/"didn't show well" adult Cardigan female.
Ace would be thrilled. He longs for a playmate at home - all three of my Bengal cats just tolerate his presence, nothing more. I can keep him entertained, sure, and I love playing with him. But seeing him play with his girlfriends just makes me realize that he has a whole 'nother tier of energy that he can't exploit when he's with me. Dogs playing with each other are just magical to watch.
Anyway, so my husband is pretty much the opposite of me in this regard. He believes that two dogs is twice more work, and twice the headache. While I agree that financially, it does double, I do not believe that it will equate to time spent doubling as well. I am keen to walk them together to the fenced-in park for games of Fetch and Keep Away, as well as into the city centre for socializing. I am the one doing the entirety of the clicker training, and I think a lot can be learned when training one dog while the other sits quietly and observes.
What has bringing a second Corgi into your home done for you? Has it really required twice more of the time invested? Do the dogs burn excess energy through play time with each other, or does that cease when the novelty of meeting each other wears off?
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
-
I am currently in search of my second corgi as well. EVERYONE always says its twice the work, but I have had 2 dogs my whole life (up until the last 1 1/2 years) and I think its much harder to have just one Franklin, than it is to have Franklin and a 2nd dog. Franklin is SO high energy that even with 1 hour of off leash play a day and short walks morning and evening he is bouncing off the walls in the evening wanting to play. I had a cardigan on trial for 3 weeks and even though the cardigan would get scared if play got too rough, I noticed a HUGE difference in Franklin. He was able to burn off that excess energy and I didn't have to be involved! Lol. He is also much calmer when I am watching my parent's lab or my friends dogs. I think it really depends on the dog if it is going to be more work. If you are starting with a really high energy and time consuming dog, I don't think it would add to the work because you are ALREADY spending all that time with him/her. If you are starting with a really mellow dog and add a high energy dog, then yes it will be a lot more work. If you can afford a second dog, have room for a second dog, and are willing to put in the initial time to train the second dog, I don't see why it would be so much harder to have 2 rather than one. I'm biased though as I am planning to bring a second one home and have always had 2.
-
Permalink Reply by Ludi on
-
Your posts about Truck were the ones that spurred me into thinking about getting a companion for Ace, finally. I saw that the process of finding a permanent pal for our beloved dogs can be a long and tedious one, so I'll be patient with it as you were. :)
Ace isn't high-energy by any means; in fact he's pretty mellow and content with just an hour of exercise a day and then on-off napping through the rest of the day. But when I see just how much he can burn when he's in the presence of another dog, I can't help but think that maybe he's slowed himself down to match Mommy. I know it's not causing him any ill effects, but I would like to see him reach his capacity for Frappy Fun more often!
-
Permalink Reply by Kayla and Mason on
-
I'm with Melissa, it's SO much easier with 2. But it IS harder at the same time, everything's just doubled except for you having to burn their energy...they do it on their own and it is W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L. I'm going to wait till Mason is 2 to get a puppy, but when he was living with my bf's 3 year old pem, Olive, they played and played and were calmer and everything. I'm now back home and he can't play with my mom's older dogs so he just is a SPITFIRE. I've had to adjust accordingly, since I'm not used to him having ANY pent up energy after an hour of fetch...Olive used to help burn the rest off!
Walking 2 dogs is kind of hard, I didn't enjoy it too much but that's just a personal preference. Also 2 dogs to keep track of, and I actually like the 1-on-1 bond I have with Mason, though I do miss Olive a lot.
-
Permalink Reply by Michelle on
-
Well....I am going to consider you post a "sign". We lost our female (15 year old) cardi about 6 weeks ago. Her son (10.5 years) seemed to do well the first couple of weeks, almost like he thought she was returning. As time has moved on he has actually stepped up his grief. To make a long story short we had a meet and greet at the dog show this past weekend with a three year old retired show girl and she is coming to spend the weekend with us...YEAH!!
I do not find two dogs to be burden. I have found that they tend to entertain each other and you might be surprised at a new dimension in Ace's personality. We have always tended to have two dogs....Not sure why just our magic number.
Good Luck! ^,,^
-
Permalink Reply by Melvin Brock on
-
Our first one Belle F (pem) joined 2adult F Bassets and M adult westie. Everybody got along her but not much playing. We got Winnie (pem) 1yr1/2 later, they were best buddies right away. They have large fenced yard w/doggie door. They run and chase and ponce constantly. Then lay side by side and rest, eat, drink, everything together. There is cost for vet, food, etc. But the fun goes way up. Get a new fuzbutt and never look back.
-
Permalink Reply by Beth on
-
I do like having two. I would say it's usually not twice the work, but there is no way to be sure they will get along and if you have two who can't always be trusted loose together, it's probably more than twice the work.
Mine get along great (no fighting) and genuinely seem to like each other, but don't play all that often. I have one that loves nothing more than playing ball games in the house all evening, and the other one gets all excited and wants to chase whoever is running rather than the ball. There are certain games I can play with them both loose, others that require locking one away at a time and playing one-on-one.
I don't find it hard to walk two, but since I got Maddie as an adult, and Jack was already trained, I didn't have to deal with training one while handling the other.
When I am doing training, I usually lock one up and work them one at a time. Same for nails. For general grooming and sit/stay practice I can have them both out at once.
They definitely keep each other company and Jack is a happier dog since we got Maddie.
Overall I prefer having two to one and it's not twice the work; maybe half again as much work. It IS twice the expense, so there is that to consider. Like everything else in life there is a trade-off. You do lose some of the intense bonding. Your dog may have to make sacrifices as well; Jack could be left with any toys except rope toys, but Maddie will eat everything which means most of the toys need to be locked up when not being played with. No food puzzle toys anymore. If I try to cuddle Maddie, Jack wants to play. If I try to play with Jack, Maddie wants to chase him. And so on.
So, overall I love it and like I said I prefer two to one. But it's not an "all good" or "all bad" thing. It's a matter of looking at what you want from your life, looking at what relationship you want with your dog, and choosing which set of options seems best for you.
-
Permalink Reply by Emily & Scout on
-
The reason I'm looking at a 2nd Corgi is because Scout is so well behaved. She is always happy to smell noses with other dogs we pass (she's come SO FAR from when I got her and she was a little dog aggressive) . She loves playing with other dogs like her border collie lab mix friend and also enjoys herding my uncle's puggle. If she had not come this far or still showed signs of wanting to jump at other dogs then I wouldn't think about it. But after seeing her tolerate being fussed over by a little Aussie puppy a while back I decided she was ready. Anyway, long story short I'm in your situation now of thinking about a puppy and see no reason why not to get another one as long as Ludi is well behaved already. Hope you can get you husband to agree. I'm still working with my fiance.
-
Permalink Reply by Katie on
-
It seems the significant others are the hard ones to convince. We are considering another corgi and Foxey already loves humans and other animals that I think another dog is a good choice and she is well behave but convincing my boyfriend has been the hardest part!
-
Permalink Reply by Snickmom on
-
We have a pattern with our dogs that is similar to what we do with cars :). we have two of different ages so they don't both have old age problems at the same time. With the dogs, when one gets too old to play, its time to get a third. My parents had a dog before they had me, and so I have been around dogs all my life, usually two at a time. It is definitely a personal decision whether you can afford the vet bills and time for more than one. My husband's family never had dogs and when he decided he wanted a hunting dog, he did the research and all the training. We have a lot of jokes about His dog and My dog. Which one is smarter, stinkier, etc. The situation would be a lot different if your husband was not on board with the idea. Hubby's dog, Jack Spaniels. is 9 and loves to play with the little ones. They definitely keep him young and they enjoy each other's company. Our dogs have to be home without people a lot and that is a big motivator for having more than one dog.
-
-
Yes, ours our home alone a lot too and that was my biggest reason for wanting two. Also, Jack loves having other dogs around (or people). He's very much a "the more the merrier" sort of dog and he was starting to develop behaviors as an only dog that I didn't care for. He was getting very clingy when we were home, and since he's a very confident and outgoing dog, that told me he was feeling some stress.
I've had other dogs in my life that were happier being an only dog.
-
Permalink Reply by steve smith on
-
Two dogs a burden....NO the more the better. Always had at least three and as many as five. We are glad that Ace is doing so good.
-
Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
-
I also like having two. They are buddies and I enjoy both of them. There is one for me and one for my husband! It is twice the expense and not as many people are comfortable with two dogs coming to visit as they are with one. Now three (especially when one is huge) is a different story!
Rescue Store
Stay Connected
FDA Recall
Canadian Food Inspection Agency Recall
Groups
We support...
Badge
© 2024 Created by Sam Tsang.
Powered by
