should I get a second cocker? UPDATE- 4th June - baby cocker coming home!!!!!!!!

[VickyG]

Hi all  

Just after a bit of advice really.  Henry is now 18 months old (we had him from 8 weeks) and has made the most adorable dog ever, he is fairly well trained, well socialised, if still a a little mad, gets on well with other dogs when out on his walks and spoilt rotton!  He has been castrated a few months ago and apart from his teenage 'I'm now a big boy and will ignore you mum' is pretty good.  

Henry has been our first dog and he is the best thing that we ever did - we have no kids.  Both me and my husband run our new business from home, when we go out for up to 3 hours he goes in his crate after a walk, which he likes to do cos he gets beef jerky when he goes in there, but any longer than 3 hours and we take him to my parents who doggy sit him (and spoil him even more).  I have been given the opportunity to rehome a 5 month old boy cocker (1 of 2 one is gold and the other is an orange roan  ) after their hooman parents got divorced.  Both these pups are not trained, so will need full back to basics with toileting, lead, sits etc.  Since they had been with their hooman parents they were kept in the utility room but were not abused but not given the love and attention they needed, now they are with my dog groomer who is fostering them and she has had them for a month.

OH and I always said we would have a second dog but not just yet, but this opportunity is here now and we are tempted   What do you think?  Is it mad to do it now while we are getting the business up and running, will I be able to take 2 strong dogs on walks by myself (henry pulls like a train already when on lead) although most of his walks are off lead, the pups are both dogs so is it ok to have 2 boy dogs instead one of each flavour (boy n gal).  

Please talk me out of it!  Or just tell me to do it!  What do you think?

[Helen]

you may not want to hear this.........













I think you should go for it - you sound like you have excellent dog care arranged for Henry and you sound lovely responsible dog owners.    As for 2 boys getting along - well that's completely up to the individual dog but usually with a decent age difference they should accept each other fine.  You may find that you have a few initial problems with the new pup because of his upbringing so far but as long as you're aware it may be more difficult than it was with Henry you should be fine...and we're all here to help where possible 

[MaggieR]

Sorry - I'm another go for it    Sounds like you have a really good set up there with the support you need to have two really well balanced, well behaved doglets ( but then I've only got the one so choose to ignore!  )

[6thSense]

Like Helen says you sound perfect and have obviously given it lots of careful thought. I say go for it.  I wouldn't worry to much about it being another male either. It is up to the individuals as Helen has said. We have 4 males in our house with little to no problems and one of them is still entire. The girls are the naughty little tinkers.  Good luck and I hope it all works out for you. 

[Sarah1985]

Sounds like the perfect oppertunity. You sound like your providing a lovely home for your current dog.

However are you prepared for the potenital behavioural issues that come along with an undersocialised, undertrained dog? And also the affect that it could have on your existing dog. You  may need to consider walking them seperately if any any of the new dogs behaviour rubs off on your existing dog for example.

Also training can be difficult if you have 2. Ive found that I have to get my OH to take one of my two out for a walk to enable me to train the other one.

With regards lead walking it can be difficult with 2 (2leads, poo bags, treat distruption and clickers ) but having 2 made me get serious about lead training. I knew i wouldnt be able to handle them both so i made sure they did 20 mins a day. Anything that wasnt loose lead (from either of them) resulted in me planting myself still. I took forever to do that first walk but now they both walk perfectly. If you havent already Id go to an obedience class so you can teach henry first. I would have thought it would be easier to teach them seperately but I just went for it and taught them together  

I dont want to put you off as this sounds perfect but I just wanted to make you aware of the realitys of having 2. If you leave it too long Henry will be set in his ways and I would have thought hed be less likely to accept a new dog into his life as well as a youngsta will do. (although i have no experince of this)

As for 2 boys getting along as long as Henry doesnt have an agression issues towards other males it shouldnt be a problem. I have the boy girl combination because my oldest plays better with the girls but I dont think it would have mattered either way.

[SimonandMandy]

Good luck with whatever you decide... we have had 2 recent (separate) fosters who were both boys.  One was a 7 month springer, the other a 2 year old working cocker.  Both were absolutely fine, like this case they needed basics but in terms of gender absolutely no issues (after Harvey of had taken all his toys to his own bed for first 24 hours to look after, he shares after that.... )

[Ben's mum]

Go for it 
sometimes the right dog just comes along, and you have to say yes.
I was looking for a year for an orange girl, was suddenly offered an 8 month old black boy, and I just knew it was right.
Two dogs is so much fun, i just love it and wish we had done it earlier when Ben was a bit younger (he is 7). Yours would have a great age gap, and hopefully would enjoy playing with each other.  It is harder with two lots of everything - especially two muddy dogs after a walk, but the joy I get from seeing them together far far outweighs the hassle 

good luck whatever you decide 

[VickyG]

thanks for your comments everyone - now unfortunatley this had made it even harder for my head to rule instead of my heart  

we are seriously considering taking one of these boys, but we haven't met them yet, so over the weekend hopefully we will and obviously the main thing is if henry gets on with him.  I suppose the good thing about getting one of these if we do is that we can bring him home and see how henry and we all get on before just getting a second young pup and it not working  

If we do get one, at night henry always sleeps in his crate downstairs, so do you think we could put the new one in henry's crate with him right on the first night? (its a big crate) or would we need to keep them seperate?

the thing that is scarey is that if we did go for it and take one, i would hate to upset / traumatise either henry or the new pupster   and we want to maked sure we do the right thing for all of the doglets and of course us!

[vixen]

If you do decide to go for another cocker, I would definitely get another crate.
Henry's crate is his, his little haven.
I have two litter sisters, aged 2.5 years who get on great most of the time (they ARE sisters and have the occasional tiff  ) but they really love their own soft crate at night,  It is their own territory/den and they just love their own space  .
I thinking it is expecting quite a lot for Henry to accept another dog AND to share his own den.
Henry may be tolerant but I think the new boy may enjoy his own space too 
Whatever you decide, best of luck and keep us informed 

[Lily Freya]

Go for it....................

We absolutely love our boys.  We know that we should not really have had two with such little age difference...........but it has worked, and they are great together.  We have been lucky.

The only negative side for us, was the training issues, but eventually they have been overcome with time and a lot of patience.  But, your dogs will have a reasonable age gap, so it should be fine.

Wishing you lots of luck with your decision, and looking forward to seeing pickies....

[lexi]

Another go for it here... 

[bracken]

How exciting  Sounds great I would go and visit them, then go from there 

If he comes home i would have separate sleeping arrangements until they are best mates 

Good luck 

[sharonmansfield]

and another go for it from me, I was nervous about getting a second dog as we had only ever had them one at a time but I must say I would never go back to having just the one, they are such good company for each other and we never stop laughing at their antics. I have 2 bitches and they have the odd tiff but on the whole its very positive. good luck with this, I  can't wait to hear how you get on when you go to see them.

[Hurtwood Dogs]

Devils advocate here

I think it sounds like you have the perfect set up for your dog and you're obviously great owners, but do be prepared for at least double the work for the first year and possibly even a setback with Henry's training. Two dogs tend to compete so if he's pulling on the lead now, he certainly won't pull less with another dog around. I rescued a 2.5 yr old dog when my second cocker pup was 4 months and they had to be walked mostly separately for the first year and I still often do that today (over 2.5 years on) to keep their training and recall sharp. If the pup you're considering homing is undersocialised, then you may have a reasonable job on your hands with him alone so make sure you have the time available to deal with any potential issues there. And definitely don't crate them together when you are not around - it could take a while for them to form a good relaxed relationship and it's best not to force it too quickly just let them find their own way with each other - feed separately too etc.

I'm not trying to put you off but if you've got a lot on your plate right now with your new business I'd say time/stress is a consideration... However, the pups might be easy characters and not have too many issues but I guess you'll get a better idea of that when you meet them.

Just be prepared for pretty much double everything you do at the moment and that you won't get as much quality one to one time with Henry.

One other hot tip, if you do go for it... don't over fuss the pup or Henry, just act as if he's always been there and get on with life as normal as that's the best way to reduce tension and excitement and help them both settle with the idea as easily as poss.

Wish you lots of luck with whatever you decide

[Cockertime Blues]

I go along with what everyone's said, especially separate crates.  What I wanted to say is that you will never know whether you did the right thing or not by getting the new dog unless you get him, IYSWIM.  And if afterwards you think, oops, did I do the right thing? when life was so much easier before, then you will just rearrange yourselves and make it work anyway.  (I think that's the most incoherent sentence I've written lately.)  Also I would say it can take forever for two dogs to really settle down together.  It took Alfie and Mollie a good year really, whereas some dogs click instantly, so perseverance might be necessary.