Author Topic: Some opinions required on second dog  (Read 2600 times)

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Offline chien

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Some opinions required on second dog
« on: September 15, 2017, 05:22:25 PM »
Hello

I've done some searches on here and read about 1 vs 2 in terms of the effort required and expense involved with having 2 instead of 1 dog and understand all that but i've a bit of a dilema. I really want another bitch and have been advised by a few people it's a bad idea to have two bitches together.

I currently have an almost 2 year old cocker bitch. From the beginning I wanted a second dog to join her as i thought it would be nice to have a friend for her to run around with. I took advice from the dog trainer and waited until my cockerpup to mature a little before deciding and now i believe is the right time to introduce another member of the family.

My female is currently intact and I initially considered having just one litter with her and keeping one (a female) as i thought she would most likely accept and get along with her daughter? or is that wishful thinking?.
I know the general consensus with breeding is to avoid but I've other family members that would be interested in taking the rest of the litter. I have some experience from having a KCC's litter as a child and know it's quite a bit of work. My other main reason is i really like the traits of my cocker, she is quite intelligent, well behaved and athletic(probably because she's quite slim and long (weighs in about 11kg))

My secondary considerations were to get another breed , either working cocker, Brittany or springer. I understand the exercise requirements are higher but I'm a keen runner and already take my girl for at least  1-2 hours exercise a day with plenty of park / beach running.

The problem is i REALLY want another bitch. The dogstrust told me it's a very bad idea and they wouldn't suggest another bitch to me as the chances of them not getting along are very high. Is that REALLY the case?

What are you experiences with two bitches either different breeds/litters or mother and daughter?

Offline fionad

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Re: Some opinions required on second dog
« Reply #1 on: September 15, 2017, 06:49:25 PM »
I have two little girls. They are 8 and 10 years old. No problems here. My daughter has four bitches. Again, no problem at all. If you like females, then go for it!

My two are cuddled up together as I speak.

 Years ago we had a litter from our whippet bitch. We kept a daughter and yes, you guessed it, no problems at all.

Offline wendall

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Re: Some opinions required on second dog
« Reply #2 on: September 15, 2017, 06:51:40 PM »
I have two bitches, I didn't plan on getting the second one, she was a surprise birthday present! My older one Honey was about 21/2 when I got Pip. She was petrified of Pip at the beginning, but Pip fell in love with Honey straight away. It took some time before Honey got used to Pip, but now she's fine. To be honest, I still think Honey is waiting for Pip to go back, but they get on fine. I can count on one hand how many squabbles there's been in the two years I've had Pip, and that was only through guarding something. It was hard at first because they both have different needs, but I wouldn't be without Pip she is a little sweetheart x
Rosie,rest in peace my beautiful little girl, you will be in my heart forever. 2/2/12-24/10/12

Offline lescef

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Re: Some opinions required on second dog
« Reply #3 on: September 15, 2017, 08:02:25 PM »
I ended up with two bitches as there was a mix up but ideally I wanted a boy having heard similar stories.
My two only tolerate one another and I don't think they will ever curl up in a basket together. Our trainer says I have been unlucky as their personalities are at opposite ends of the spectrum which makes life hard at times. Having said that they have never had a real fight or had to be completely isolated from one another as their basic temperaments are good.
I think it's very much down to luck as I don't think you can guarantee that any dogs will get on together until you try. As you have a girl with a good temperament already then I would go for it...
Lesley, Maddie and Bramble

Offline Pearly

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Re: Some opinions required on second dog
« Reply #4 on: September 15, 2017, 09:38:33 PM »
We have four bitches.  They do squabble, sometimes it's a bit of a romp but if one is coming into season then we have been know to have to separate them as real damage can be done.

It's pot luck.  Whether you decide to breed (please do get a copy of the "book of the bitch" before deciding) or bring in a new girl you cannot be guaranteed that they will get on or, not.  If you are lucky and have two well balanced girls you should have two dogs that get along most of th time.

I heard a saying that the best time to introduce another dog to a first is after a year for every paw!  Pearl was almost 4 years old when Coral came home.

The other consideration is that you don't know which dog will influence the other.  Pearl had no chase instinct in her until the first time she joined Coral after one of the cats.......I now have a real problem with her joining in the chase although she tends not to start one.

Brittany spaniels are beautiful but they are HPRs, they work differently to spaniels and have a far greater range and notoriously more challenging to train than a cocker - worth considering with running  ;).

Is your first girl a show type or wcs?

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Offline PennyB

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Re: Some opinions required on second dog
« Reply #5 on: September 15, 2017, 09:58:47 PM »
I have 3 bitches and 1 boy - only reason why I have squabbles now is my newest edition as she gets jealous sometimes but I don't think its a huge issue

To be honest its often down to the individual dog's personality rather than being male or female as to what you get next
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Offline Carolynleah

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Re: Some opinions required on second dog
« Reply #6 on: September 16, 2017, 08:05:19 AM »
I have two bitches and a boy - they all get on really well, but that might partly be due to one bitch being a cocker while the other and the boy are Labradors, so have very different personalities. 

Offline aljeana

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Re: Some opinions required on second dog
« Reply #7 on: September 16, 2017, 12:32:21 PM »
I have always had bitches together currently have 3 but have had 4 at any one time they have always ranged in ages currently 13.5, 7.5 & 4.

Mine are all spade all very happy together miss each other if they are seperated and they look after each other when they are out, Jodie my middle one is currently in charge 😋 They so get on with each other.

2 are show cockers and the youngest is a worker
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Offline chien

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Re: Some opinions required on second dog
« Reply #8 on: September 18, 2017, 09:10:02 AM »

Brittany spaniels are beautiful but they are HPRs, they work differently to spaniels and have a far greater range and notoriously more challenging to train than a cocker - worth considering with running  ;).

Is your first girl a show type or wcs?

Good luck with whatever you decide!
She is a mix between the two i believe. Her father looks more working with a flatter head the mother very show like.
My cocker has the domed head but lacks the underskirt and otherwise looks like she has the coat / body of a wcs apart from being very petite!
She certainly is as lively as a WCS and can easily run around all day if i let her! lol
Thanks for your advice so far :)

Offline chien

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Re: Some opinions required on second dog
« Reply #9 on: September 18, 2017, 09:10:40 AM »
Thanks for everyones input it's good there are examples of two living together happily :)

Offline David Morgan

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Re: Some opinions required on second dog
« Reply #10 on: October 27, 2017, 10:32:51 AM »
I've heard of problems introducing a second bitch and that certainly was the case with my neighbour's Jack Russels. As others have pointed out, it may be bad luck; though the evidence suggests your chances are worse with two bitches than with a mix or with two boys.

However, can I make a case for boys? We have a brother and sister pairing and Murphy is just the more wonderful dog you could hope to have. For sure, he is no better than his sister, just different, but he is friendly and loving, but not as desperate for attention as Molly. He's also a great size for cuddles, where Molly is a better lapdog for stroking.

Our new puppy, Mason, is a boy. We went for a male to avoid the potential clash with Molly. Mason is a little too young to really tell what he will be like, but, so far, he is great fun, lively and smart and becoming more and more affectionate by the day.

Offline Finvarra

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Re: Some opinions required on second dog
« Reply #11 on: October 27, 2017, 11:28:21 AM »
I had five Scotties, all bitches, and they all got on. One was mother and daughter, the rest were all outsiders. No one Scottie was the top dog, she kept them all in order, and there was no trouble til number five came along. She wanted to be dominant, and she beat the others up one at a time until she she got to number two place. The other three were happy to let her, they were happy with their place. However, when she tried it with number one Scottie, she was having noneof it, and put her well and truly in her place, actually standing on her. I didn't interfere but let them sort it out themselves, watching the dynamics was fascinating. After the showdown they all knew where they stood, and there was never any trouble. They got on well together, I walked all five together with no bother and they were a happy family.

Twice in my life I have had two boys together, a jack russel and a Manchester terrier, and two Cockers. Never again. I had to rehome the Manchester as they fought,like mad. One of the cocker boys was a rescue, and he had guarding issues.

So you will get different views from people's different experiences.  My five girls were lovely together and I miss them Terribly.

Lesley and Dylan
Remembering All the dogs of my life, especially Milo