2 Dogs or 1?!

lostbunny · New member Joined: 08 Nov 2006 Posts: 5

Okie...so here's the story. About a month ago my boyfriend bought me a Mi-Ki. Coincidently, I named my new baby Mickey. Anyways, Mickey is the best dog ever. He's real sweet, real smart, and real loving, a true lap dog. Now a month later, my mom decided that she wanted a second dog, a Shih-Tzu. On an impulse, we bought the Shih-Tzu and she will be shipped to me this Thursday. Before buying her, I did research on both my dogs and both get along with other animals fairly well. Mickey has been to training and he responds well with other animals so I do not think he'll give her any difficulties adapting. The new Shih-Tzu is also coming from a reputable breeder that has been well socialized so I do not believe she will be giving Mickey a hard time either. But, after reading some responses to having two dogs online, I'm becoming a bit skeptical. The sites are telling me that two dogs are bad, they won't train, they won't bond to their humans, etc etc. Is this true? Do dogs really not bond with their humans and become difficult to train? Mickey right now is super attached to me and I love the bond that we share. I don't want that bond to go away. I want both of my dogs to be able to get along with the family and not isolate themselves. Can someone please validate my concern and give me their advice from experience?

DeLaUK · Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 10:37 pm Post subject:

For as long as I can remember Ive had more than one dog until recently (Ill be getting another one soon though). They are more difficult to train but only in as much as you need to train them seperately to begin with (more time consuming) and then work them together. This is just so you can have them both walking on leash together and not getting into 'play mode' while they are together.
As for the bonding, never had a problem with it, I have had dogs that Ive had a closer bond with but that was down to the dogs personality, doubt it would have made any difference had they been the only dog. As humans we have this thing about needing this 'inseperable' bond with our dogs, this generally results in seperation anxiety issues, we...over time...basically make our dogs dependant on us for everything including constant companionship, some people need to feel needed, dont put human emotions on your dogs (anthropomorphism), if they have a little independance from you and get comfort from each other then you should be happy about that, think about how the dogs will cope if you go away on vacation and have to leave them in boarding kennels or somewhere, if they are 'over-bonded' to you they wont cope very well with that, if they have a little independance from you and like being together they will be fine when your not there. Theyre dogs, let them be dogs.

gypsy · Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 3:44 am Post subject:

As a multidog household, i totally agree. We have all them in our laps in the evenings, and they are well bonded to us, and each other. You will have to learn how to speak in a low tone of voice, so they don't get excited, and feed off of each others excitement. but that is about the only caveat.

Sara · Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 12:56 am Post subject:

WOW I am a multi dog owner with all of them but one (the Chinese Crested) weighing in over 50 lbs for the most part... Sometimes it's nicer to have more than one dog because they keep eachother company. There was a study done on that and they said that in stressfull situations two dogs are better than one... I think they even figured that they live longer if they have another canine companion....

Go figure.

Sara

mariopug · New member Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 3

I have two new puppies. I have had them four weeks now. At first, I thought I would get two, then I decided on one, reading the info that you got...won't bond to their owners, then my husband caved and we fell for two. After the first two days, I thought...oh my gosh...what did I do? I was soooo overwhelmed. They were 3.5 pounds each. Now one month later, I am sooo happy that I have the two. They are hard to keep from play-fighting constantly and I work hard on them playing individually and biting toys not us. They like to playfight as I said, which I primarily allow outside. One becomes more dominant than the other and I step in and divert to other activities. My vet said, let them fight, but I have read mixed messages. I do let them playfight, for a period of time, but I don't want one letting the other one know he is boss, I am the boss. They are demanding but I know will be well worth it. I love them so much. They are such a joy and will be for years. If I was to do it again...whew...you have to have the time and some help. I don't have much help as my husband was not as involved as I thought he would be. But, they are named leonardo and raphael...from the turtles...my son named them. What kind of dog is the first one you bought and how old is he or she??? Would love to chat. We had a shihtzu for 10.5 years and he was the love of my life!!! Just lost him not too long ago...my best pal.

DeLaUK · Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 6:49 pm Post subject:

Congrats on your new pups.

I have a comment on stepping in as you are the boss, its great that they know you are the boss however you really should let them figure out between the two of them who is the more dominant dog otherwise you will be looking at years of built up frustration and more serious fighting. (Possibly).

As I mentioned in the other post Ive always had a multi dog household and while there was never any question as to who was in charge (me) the dogs still had their own pecking order. A lot of the times owners will favor the one that seems to get picked on....dont do this, it will give the subordinate false security and can make the dog nervous....the dog knows that the more dominant will 'pounce' at some point. The more dominant of the two should get any extra attention, should eat first, choose its sleeping area first etc. If you favor the 'under-dog' the dominant one will become frustrated.

Not all multi dog households have this as an issue and live in perfect harmony for a long time but if you do find that one is asserting its dominance then let them get on with it, it will most likely just be vocal and a lot of pinning down, one will back down and one has to win....dont interfere in the process. (It usually sounds A LOT worse than it actually is....a small percentage will go to the next level and cause actual bodily damage....in most cases when this happens its down to human interference).