2 dogs?! 6mo old and a 1.5 year-old?
Hey, friends!
So, I have the opportunity to adopt a 6mo-old Cardigan (female) from a breeder I live near. I would absolutely love to have her, as Gutie gets lonely during the day while I'm working and he'd love a playmate the rest of his life! I'm going to go visit her (Margo) on Wednesday to see how compatible her and Gutie are.
If all goes well, how do you guys juggle having two dogs in your life? I already have a second crate from when Gutie was younger, I already have the toys, the chews, the food, the preventative care. I have everything I need for a second dog EXCEPT the time off that I'd really want. If all goes well during our meeting on Wednesday, I'd pick her up next Tuesday and have 5 whole days off with her, getting her adjusted to her new home. After that, I would have to crate her 4hrs at a time while I work (with potty breaks/walks every 4hrs, I work 8hr days, but sometimes 10hr days).
Gutie (my 1.5 year old Pem) is fully potty trained and is responsible enough to be uncrated during the day as long as he has chews to keep him occupied. Margo, however, would be crated because I don't yet know her behaviors. I have a feeling she would be crated like that everyday for a few months until I felt she was ready. Is that okay to do? Once she is fully potty trained in her new home and knows the rules, I would let her have free roam to play with Gutie.
I really want another dog and I think Gutie would absolutely LOVE to have another dog around. We're very active and exercise daily with fetch, hikes, swimming, walks, etc. I'm not worried about getting her exercised, because I have access to a fenced-in area that they can just run, run, run, off-leash (however, I DON'T have a fenced-in yard of my own, but the dog park is just down the road by 5 minutes). I just want to know: is 5 days off with her enough time before I start crating her? She is ALREADY crate trained, so that helps tremendously. 5 days would be fast and furious, but I can't afford taking anymore time off. The beauty of it is that I have a set Wed/Thurs off and my other half has Mon/Tues, so she would only be crated Fri/Sat/Sun.
What are your thoughts?
P.S. The reason Margo is seeking re-homing in the first place is because the breeder was hoping to show her and kept her until they could find their Cardigan mentors to evaluate her for show. She didn't meet showing expectations, but otherwise she's super healthy.
Comment
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Comment by Bev Levy on May 31, 2016 at 2:01pm
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I love having two. They play together and keep each other company. There are only two things I think are really important to consider, one is the vet bills are double, that may seem obvious but can be financially difficult wbhen you add up heartworm and flea preventative for two dogs. The second is that you need to balance your time between both dogs for training. Having control over your dogs is important especially with breeds that tend to be bossy. Enjoy your new pack!
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Comment by Vicky Hay on May 31, 2016 at 1:50pm
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Cassie was about 7 when I got Ruby the Corgi Pup. Even tho' the older dog was pushing the high end of middle age, she was still very energetic. She's also a sociable sort. There was no problem with the two of them -- they got along from the git-go. Occasionally Cassie would snap at (not bite) Ruby to put her in her place (Ruby is pretty dominant), but those disagreements seemed to be teaching moments rather than trouble brewing.
I would think a 1.5-year old and a 6-month-old would be fine.
She's already crate-trained...what more could a person ask for? :-D Might consider getting an X-pen, especially if you like to picnic or sit outside and don't want someone wandering off and getting into trouble. I had both: crate for Ruby to stay in when I wasn't home, and the X-pen for outdoors so she couldn't fall in the pool if my attention was distracted and for indoors when I was busy with cooking and the like and didn't want her left unattended. Those things are a huge convenience!
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Comment by Beth on May 31, 2016 at 10:03am
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Sounds ideal to me! Go for it, assuming of course the dogs get along.
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Comment by Jane Christensen on May 31, 2016 at 9:10am
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I say..."go for it" I think there's many reasons for having 2 dogs and you will have so much fun watching them play. I still crate my dogs when i leave just to make sure they don't get into things they shouldn't and mine really do like their crates and hang out in them otherwise too. I do have extra large crates though so they have some room.
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