Getting a second dog - did it help or was it just double the work?

[Anonymous]

Just curious for those of you who got a second dog as a playmate for your first. How did that work out for you?

[Anonymous]

The dogs hated each other LOL but we loved them both to bits so it was fine. The older one has passed now and I’m glad we have the second dog.

[Anonymous]

Mostly double the work. The dogs played together but were more like roommates in that I don't think they liked each other much. And they couldn't be walked together because they were too rowdy so it was double the walks or just yard time. We loved both though. They died within 6 months of each other and that was really hard on us. We now just have a single dog and it will stay that way.

[Anonymous]

It really depends on the dogs. We've gotten a second dog twice. The first time was a complete disaster, our older dog was not okay with no longer being an only child, and while we did end up keeping the second dog, they never really bonded and I felt a lot of guilt about taking the spotlight away from our older dog in his last few years of life. When our older dog passed we said never again, but then I ended up fostering a mother dog as she gave birth to 10 puppies and we decided to adopt one of the puppies. The puppy is now 6 months old and twice the size of our other dog and they get along great. I think it helped that our other dog was around the puppy since birth.

[Anonymous]

I have 2 dogs as a solo woman, so I do EVERYTHING.

It's hard AF!

My dogs are both female. One was 6 years old when I got a giant breed puppy. My established dog was cranky for maybe a month or so, and the puppy has been completely obsessed with her older sister since day one.

Now that the puppy is 11 months old (and 3 times as big as her older sister), they love each other--though my old girl needs a break now and again. It actually warms my heart to watch them play with each other and sleep in a puppy pile.

The hard work and tears were worth it, totally.

[Anonymous]

It’s no extra work for me. Feeding and walking one is the save as two. Hardest part was that I used to trade off with a friend who had one dog when one of us was out of town. But now I have two we can’t do that anymore. So I pay someone to stay in the house with them both.

[Anonymous]

Depending on how you time it, it's not all that much extra work to have two. We first had a male dog and a couple of years later got a female puppy. They were buddies and got along great. Snuggled and played with each other all the time. The male passed away earlier this year at the age of 16. The female is now 13. Having a second dog made it easier on us when our first dog died.

I wouldn't get a second dog if my first was still a puppy (way too much work!) or if there was a big age gap (an older dog may not like a boisterous young pup), but it really wasn't that much work for us to have two.

[Anonymous]

I have 2 dogs. They enjoy playing with each other. Both need a lot of exercise so they get it with each other. Both were trained together. I can walk them on a leash at the same time. I take them for a morning, afternoon, and evening walk--about 3-45min each. And then they play both in the house and in the yard for a few hours each day. I could not give them the exercise that they need so it's good that they have each other.

One dog is a shepherd and the other is husky.

[Anonymous]

the biggest thing for me is getting someone to take care of them i i want to go somewhere. our OG dog, people would practically pay ME to babysit her. she is so sweet and everyone loves her, and she loves everyone. now we have three and that is a lot for anyone. if we are gone for a long day, i will have someone come and let them out for a while, then put them back inside. much easier than subjecting a friend to THREE dogs to wrangle.

[Anonymous]

Other than the actual training/housebreaking, it is no more daily work for us whatsoever and huge benefits. I have had two dogs (at least... sometimes a couple overlap years of three) for 25 years. Always females, always close in age. My current two play together endlessly and exhaust each other and keep each other company. They are hilarious: chase each other in full-out sprints, wrestle, play tug of war. So much fun.

Only downsides:
*double costs for food, boarding, vet
*harder to "trade" dog care because everyone I know has only one

[Anonymous]

We have 2 large shepherd mixes. I didn't think through how much more expensive things like vet and house sitter would be. Especially now that they're old men and require some special treatment (medications, one is semi-incontinent). As of this past year it now makes family travel prohibitively expensive, so one parent stays home. So that's not super fun. But, being in a pandemic I guess we're not traveling that much anyway...