Should I get a 8week old puppy or a 8month old one

[minimoo]

i would go for the 8month old PUP, as its still a pup and you know pretty much what it will look like and its a nice age to get, i have taken on 2 girls who have been 2ish and they were both really still, young and puppyish anyway, though kiz is now over 12yrs , if the breeder kept her for potential showing she must be gorgeous 

[cran477]

Thanks for your help, i gearing towards the 8mth she was a stunner at 4mths, she is red roan and i really want to see her again, but then again if I see her I will want her, they are so hard to turn down !!!
The only problem is does any one think she might not get on with Darlagh , she is my number 2 girl, after the oh, would they be able to be kept together from the start or would they fight, they would be both girls ?   

[Max X 2]

Before you found out about the 8 month pup did you have any firm requirements as to sex or colour etc?
Do you feel you missed out on the puppy stage enough to want the sleepless nights etc?

Hard for me to comment as like you I've never done the puppy stage, Max was 10 months when he came to us, but such a dream & never had any problems at all.  We're hoping to add an older pup too, but it's the same sex thing that's confusing me at the mo as well, you get so many different opinions.
I know some people say they must have a pup as it's such a fabulous stage & you can start training them your way & an older pup cold be going through its teenage stage.

Good luck whatever you chose, although I think you've already made your mind up  
Darlagh is beautiful & you're obviously happy with the breeder too - just out of curiosity would the 8 month & Darlagh have any of the same relatives?
Afterall cockers never grow up do they   so you'll still be getting a pup at 8 months  

[Ninasmum]

Thanks for your help, i gearing towards the 8mth she was a stunner at 4mths, she is red roan and i really want to see her again, but then again if I see her I will want her, they are so hard to turn down !!!
The only problem is does any one think she might not get on with Darlagh , she is my number 2 girl, after the oh, would they be able to be kept together from the start or would they fight, they would be both girls ?   

Would it be possible for you to take Darlagh to meet the puppy? 

[EmmaA]

Now I didn't get Lucy from a breeder but i did get her from rescue at 8 months old. I am not saying this will be true of your girl but it can be frustrating sometimes when you are trying to break bad habits that they have picked up from someone else IYSWIM  At least when you have had them from a pup you know their bad habits are your own doing and it isn't as frustrating when you try to sort them out because you know you only have yourself to blame. Also with an 8 month old you seem to plunge straight into the teenage phase 

On the other hand little puppies are evil    but oh so cute

Good luck with your decision, it's not an easy one 

[fifer]

I would go for the 8 month old 

Me too!

[cran477]

I got Darlagh at 4 months old, but as this was our first pup so she will still young but i did spend a lot of time outside at silly o clock telling her to be quick and all she wanted to do was play  !! I would love a young baby puppy but as we love Darlagh so much i wouldnt want to put her nose out as a icckle puppy will require so much more attention, my oh is at home all day so they will not be left on thier own. i know at 8mths a lot of the fun is gone but so is the hard work and when walking them they will both be near evenly matched for walking capabilites. Darlagh has meet her before and the 2 of them enjoyed each others company but that wasnt for a long period of time, I know if I go to see her she will be coming home,

Just a few more questions now, are 2 x the work or is it more like 1 1/2 ?/ lol

ps thanks for all your help on this one, this is a fab site x

[EmmaA]

I think deep down you have made your mind up  Just remember the new dog may take a while to settle and may still be quite hard work.

As for having 2, 2 is twice the mess, twice the expense, twice the training, twice the barking but also twice the fun    I love seeing my two play and run around together, they really do tire each other out.

[Ninasmum]

I got Darlagh at 4 months old, but as this was our first pup so she will still young but i did spend a lot of time outside at silly o clock telling her to be quick and all she wanted to do was play  !! I would love a young baby puppy but as we love Darlagh so much i wouldnt want to put her nose out as a icckle puppy will require so much more attention, my oh is at home all day so they will not be left on thier own. i know at 8mths a lot of the fun is gone but so is the hard work and when walking them they will both be near evenly matched for walking capabilites. Darlagh has meet her before and the 2 of them enjoyed each others company but that wasnt for a long period of time, I know if I go to see her she will be coming home,

Just a few more questions now, are 2 x the work or is it more like 1 1/2 ?/ lol

ps thanks for all your help on this one, this is a fab site x

Having 2 is more work but its amazing how quickly you adjust.    You also get more fun watching them interact.  It is a good idea to try to walk/socialise them seperately as much as possible.  I have never regretted having 3, the only problem is it seems the more cockers you have, the urge to have another one and another one and another one etc...just doesn't stop. 

[Nicola]

. i know at 8mths a lot of the fun is gone but so is the hard work and when walking them they will both be near evenly matched for walking capabilites.

I don't think it's true that all the fun part is gone at that age, they're still very much pups then and personally I much prefer my dogs when they're that bit older and I can do more with them and really get into their training and longer, proper walks. I like puppies as much as the next person but I'm not a fan of that whole puppy biting, house training, limited exercise stage! If she's been well reared by the breeder, which it sounds like she has been as they were thinking of keeping her, then she will probably have had some training already, already be house trained etc.

As to whether or not they'll get on you're never really guaranteed that with any dogs you get but chances are they'll be fine. When you bring a new dog home try not to overly fuss one or the other during the settling in period, just let them get used to each other in their own time and interfere as little as possible in their interactions and in all likelihood they'll settle fine. I would do some separate walks and training, I think that's important no matter what age of pup you get as it allows you to build a bond with them and give them some alone time so they can focus on you and their training without the distraction of their playmate there.

[Hurtwood Dogs]

I'd go for the older pup everytime.. having had 2 pup's from 8 weeks old and a 2.5 yr old rescue... give me an older dog with issues anyday over a puppy

You may have problems with them being bitches so close in age.. but they may be fine, it's impossible to know at this stage.

In terms of work and expense, yes 2 dogs are pretty much double that of one and for me the biggest downside is that I don't feel as close to my two individually as I did when I had just one. I get round this by giving them lots of individual attention  - they are walked separately most days and trained separately too. I love walking them together and it's a lot of fun, but they do tend to hunt more and egg each other on and if they're going to be a little deaf, they do it when they're together - if I didn't have young children this wouldn't be so much of an issue but it's a pain in the bum trying to keep track of all of them on walks sometimes . I think I've agreed with myself that in the future it's likely I'm going to stick with one dog that's a bit of a handful - I like the challenge and the bond you can have with a more highly strung dog (which is why I got two dogs as my second cocker pup was very different to my first and was a bit too easy if you see what I mean!) Having said that, I couldn't pick between my two now, they both offer very different things and they're just both a massive part of our family

If you absolutely love everything you have with your current dog, then think carefully about adding to this.. as it will change the relationship you have. If you feel you're missing something and need more of a challenge then that's a good indication that you should get another

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[cran477]

Just thinking the little 8mth old one was out of the puppies I was looking to get but when I went to see the breader Darlagh was ready to go and I was a little nervous getting a smaller pup, I think i will go and see the new one tonight and take it from there, Darlagh is such a lovley dog and I think sometimes she lacks company,we always said we would look at getting another after Darlagh was older I just dont want the gap to be so big, we live very near some lovley parks and beaches so there is so much adventure for them, the only worry is 2 off the lead running mad could be fun !!! I will keep you posted as to how I get on and If i can take a few photos of the new one, hehe will have to take a sneakie visit to the breader tonight as the oh is still thinking about it, I want another one but someone has to talk sence into you when you get the cocker bug !!!!

[Colin]

Darlagh is such a lovley dog and I think sometimes she lacks company,we always said we would look at getting another after Darlagh was older I just dont want the gap to be so big

A reasonable age gap of at least 12 to 18 months is usually recommended. Having two adolescent bitches with an age gap of only 4 months isn't a risk I'd personally take. I'd always put my sensible hat on and err on the side of caution... it'd be an 18 month gap minimum for me. Good things come to those who wait and all that. 

There's a couple of paragraphs in this FAQ on adding a second dog...

http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=2017.0

[Pudding]

i would go for the older one as the puppy stage is very hard
I got Bob when he was 6 months old and i dont regret not haveing to go through all that hard work

[Hurtwood Dogs]

we always said we would look at getting another after Darlagh was older I just dont want the gap to be so big, we live very near some lovley parks and beaches so there is so much adventure for them, the only worry is 2 off the lead running mad could be fun !!!

Colin made a good point about the age gap - it's definitely better to have a bigger age gap (I have about 2 years between mine) and two dogs can be a lot harder to control than one, particularly if they live together as they egg each other on - mine are both very good when walking on their own with other peoples dogs but together they can become a bit of a 'team' if I'm not on top of them all the time and this is with a lot of individual training and walks... We're probably just a few months through the tricky phase now as the cocker has just about matured now (he's 2.5 years) and my other dog is a Weimaraner which are later to mature at generally about 3.5 years (She's now 4.5). They are lots of fun now and both very fit and exciting to walk, but a lot more predictable than they've been for the last 2 years.

If your older dog isn't that reliable yet at recall, it's pretty much a guarantee that she will only get worse with a pup in tow and the pup will learn off her too so be harder to train. I don't want to put you off but it's a big consideration and a lot of work with two young dogs together and it's best you know the score before leaping! However, if you're up for it then it can work well with A LOT of hard work and separate training and walks!