2nd dog... thinking about pulling the trigger...

[OneSickPsycho]

Question to you folks with multiple dogs... Is it less of a pain in the ass with the 2nd dog, as it was with the first one?

Taco is maturing nicely... calming down... listening better... not destroying as much stuff... all in all, being a real good boy... He's 11 months, about 90lbs, and doing great.

However...

We've been talking about getting another dog... adding a companion for Taco while we are at work and taking some of the play burdon off of us (cause he wears us out QUICK lol)...

Most who I've seen with two or more dogs say that they entertain eachother, but also cause more havoc as a group... more poop, more trips to go outside, double the destruction when they do get into something... Also figuring more money on food, vet bills, etc. Just curious about everyone's experience here...

Oh, and ONSSP found this: http://orlando.craigslist.org/pet/2379058660.html
Just like Taco...

So right after we finally get one dog somewhat out of the moron puppy phase, we are looking at another puppy!

[dReWpY]

i have two and it is easier to have two then one, but my only issue is i used to take pudge everywhere i go, now that i have two i just leave them at home alot more then i used to

[OneSickPsycho]

Originally Posted by Drewpy

i have two and it is easier to have two then one, but my only issue is i used to take pudge everywhere i go, now that i have two i just leave them at home alot more then i used to

That's another thing to consider... going on vacation, gotta board TWO dogs instead of one... And on weekend trips to visit family, Taco was welcomed with open arms... Two giant dogs though...

[Particle Man]

I had 4-5 growing up. The upside: it gives them someone else to play with when you're not there. The downside: expensive (food, boarding when traveling, etc). If you're going to do it, do it while Taco is young so there's no "this is mine" going on...

[the chi]

Depends on the dog. My lil one was like not having a pet at all, she went everywhere with me and was no trouble at all. But she also thinks she's a person. Ask the guys who have met her.

Enter the big dog I wanted. She has great personality and means well, but she is a TON of work, trouble and often frustration. She's over a year old and still has boundless energy, to the point she goes outside and just runs back and forth carrying parts of trees around. Not sticks, we're talking limbs longer than she is and several inches thick. The good part about her is she actually eats them after playing with them (I dont mean chews them, she actually EATS them) as well as eats all the pine cones in the yard. She's large enough and so energetic she can't lay on the bed quietly, cant sit still for crap, if one of the cats runs by she wants to play with them, constantly nosing for attention, etc. In short, much as we love her and even as well behaved as she typically is, I wish we had NOT gotten another dog.

ETA: as far as traveling, it is difficult, as she isnt very portable. We like to take them on trips, like with the atv's but she's nervous of them, so we can't take her out with us like we do the lil one, we have to take her kennel everywhere because I dont trust her, when we visit my parents she has to stay outside while the lil one gets run of the house. It's really not fair to her either and that makes it difficult for me as I like to treat them equally.

[Kaneman]

Two is easier than one, but three is a motherfucker.

[tallywacker]

Oh dog children. Thanks for letting only the stupid breed.

[OneSickPsycho]

Originally Posted by Particle Man

I had 4-5 growing up. The upside: it gives them someone else to play with when you're not there. The downside: expensive (food, boarding when traveling, etc). If you're going to do it, do it while Taco is young so there's no "this is mine" going on...

No worries there... he has no ownership of anything... nothing is his, it's only borrowed... even at the dog park, he's a big pussy. He gets dominated by smaller dogs (like 9lbs wiener dogs) and when we play he has to obey commands to get his toy back or even to initiate anything.

Originally Posted by the chi

Depends on the dog. My lil one was like not having a pet at all, she went everywhere with me and was no trouble at all. But she also thinks she's a person. Ask the guys who have met her.

Enter the big dog I wanted. She has great personality and means well, but she is a TON of work, trouble and often frustration. She's over a year old and still has boundless energy, to the point she goes outside and just runs back and forth carrying parts of trees around. Not sticks, we're talking limbs longer than she is and several inches thick. The good part about her is she actually eats them after playing with them (I dont mean chews them, she actually EATS them) as well as eats all the pine cones in the yard. She's large enough and so energetic she can't lay on the bed quietly, cant sit still for crap, if one of the cats runs by she wants to play with them, constantly nosing for attention, etc. In short, much as we love her and even as well behaved as she typically is, I wish we had NOT gotten another dog.

ETA: as far as traveling, it is difficult, as she isnt very portable. We like to take them on trips, like with the atv's but she's nervous of them, so we can't take her out with us like we do the lil one, we have to take her kennel everywhere because I dont trust her, when we visit my parents she has to stay outside while the lil one gets run of the house. It's really not fair to her either and that makes it difficult for me as I like to treat them equally.

I'm pretty sure we know what to expect out of this other dog... should be similar to Taco... portability is a good point... he has the biggest fucking crate you can buy and it's a pain in the ass to lug around... probably going to have to get a 2nd one... though we have been working on de-crate training him... That could be interesting...

[the chi]

Crate training IMO only is the absolute best thing ever. My lil one only needs hers when she is home alone (as in has a break down if she cant get to it) but the rest of the time she's loose. The big one I dont have hope for ever being able to be loose all the time. Everytime she's on a good streak, she does something utterly stupid, like eat the vacuum while daddy isn't watching. In less than 5 minutes. *sigh*

As far as being more work, I wouldnt think so, you'll just need more room for all the kennels. And pay a lil more for food. But if you're buying the good stuff, where you feed less, you'll find it's actually not really more expensive.

[Particle Man]

Originally Posted by OneSickPsycho

He gets dominated by smaller dogs (like 9lbs wiener dogs)...

A lot of small dogs do that to larger ones