Getting another older dog with our 9 month old dog yes or no

[Yomper]

Hi
We have just rang someone about having there 19 month old cocker spaniel as they can no longer give the attention he needs as they have a new born baby.
we already have a 9month old cocker spaniel who loves other dogs and is very friendly. our dog gets 3 walks a day and is very rarely left on his own although he behaves when he is left alone.
We want another dog as sometimes we need to go out for an hour or 2 maybe a little more but its hard with one dog at home as we don't like leaving him so we was thinking 2 dogs at home are better than one. this isn't our only reason we want another dog as we was going to get one when oscar is older but it is one reason that makes it seem worth while giving another dog a lovely home.
We think oscar would be fine with another dog but just wtd to ask some other people who may have done this before or know someone that has.
Thank you.. Martin

[Karma]

I would want to know more about the training level of the older dog.

Your boy is about just starting out in adolescence - he may sail through with no issues, but he may need a lot of training input from you over the next few months.  If the older dog is well trained and good with other dogs, he could well be a positive influence on your boy... but if he has training needs of his own or isn't that well socialised you could end up with twice (if not more) the work.

There is no guarantee that the two dogs will get on - even if they tolerate each other you may need to keep them separate when unsupervised for quite some time, so don't go into this with an idealistic picture of them both curling up together when you leave them.  Obviously they could be the best of friends and everything could be fine, but there's no real way of knowing that until they have been living together for a while.

I think, assuming the are no major training needs for the older dog, and he isn't going to be bringing bad habits for your boy to pick up on, you do have the time to devote to two dogs (especially important in the settling in period) - and adding an older dog is certainly a better proposition than adding a puppy considering the age of your existing dog - but it may not be as plain sailing as you are hoping, so you need to be prepared for this if you do decide to take the older dog on.

Is there any way you could trial a visit of the other dog, to see if they are likely to get on (though bear in mind some issues can take weeks/months to become apparent) - a trial overnight visit might at least answer whether the two of them can get on within the same house. 

My main concern would be the level of training of the older dog - if the owners are having to give him up due to lack of time for him, he may well not be that well trained, and may have bad habits which have arisen through boredom... I think this is what I would want to know much more about before committing to the dog. 

Sorry if my post sounds negative - and I hope none of my fears are justified at all - but I do think if you go into this you need to do so knowing all the potential issues so that you can be prepared for any problems.

Good luck with your decision.

[Ben's mum]

I wish we had got a second dog while Ben was younger, it wouldn't have been so much of a shock to his system!!

I suppose one issue might be that your own cocker at 9mths might be just hitting adolescence, which we found hard as Ben became deaf to our recalls and instantly forgot every command that he had ever learnt , despite having achived his KC silver good citizen by then    The other issue might be the 19mth old would need more exercise that your 9mth old - would that be possible?

I would never choose to have such a big age gap between cockers again Harry is 6 years younger than Ben and I think its too much, so having two a bit closer in age would be good.  
Good luck whatever you decide  




 

[Yomper]

Thanks for the replies. we have decided against the other dog although at one point we was on our way to get him. He seemed to be a lovely dog according to the nice family we spoke to and i just wtd the best for him.
We decided against it as oscar can come to work with me instesd of being on his own for more than an hour but i cant get 2 dogs comfortably in my van front seat. hopefully i am changing jobs soon and this would enable us plenty of time for another dog. if any one wants another dog and lives near leeds and can give a nice dog a home who is a little nervous around kids i can give you the url.

[Nicola]

I see you've come to a decision already but just wanted to give my own experience of this, I got Tilly from rescue when Alfie was 10 months old and she was 2. It worked perfectly for us but only (and I really emphasise 'only'!) because Tilly was really well trained and really well behaved, although she's a cheeky, stubborn mare she's a very good dog and has never shown any behavioural or training issues whatsoever right from day one so I was incredibly lucky with her. I did still do quite a lot of individual training with them though as Alfie needed it and I wanted bonding time with Tilly too. Alfie was a very difficult adolescent and I wouldn't have been able to cope with another dog with issues at the same time but Tills was a good, steadying influence on him - most of the time anyway, she did also teach him to play fight really roughly and bark like a maniac at the doorbell but nothing's ever perfect

[Yomper]

The other dog was meant to be well behaved and trained and he looked a lovely red show cocker. i wtd to give him a good home just in case someone else gets him and doesn't treat him proper. my partner works 2 and a 1/2 days a week and although i work full time sometimes i can spend a lot of time at home so while shes working i have oscar.
It was really close to us already being on our way but it was me that decided that until i change jobs i didn't want oscar to be left home because we get another dog. I am sure everyone on here loves there own dogs but i absolutely love oscar more than anyone