I have a female lab that is 10 months old...and for some reason my wife and I were thinking about getting another lab...my question is how much harder are two dogs than one? Anyone have two dogs?? Pros and Cons?
peace
two dogs?
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Johnboy114
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two dogs?
Galatians 2:20
Its a rat race down here, the only problem is that the rats are going to win!
Its a rat race down here, the only problem is that the rats are going to win!
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greenheadmachine
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amount of food/POOP!!!!! seems as if when you have two they poop about 4 times as much as your one dog did. 
Generally though they become best of buddies and take care of themselves. They don't require as much attention from you as say a single dog would to keep content. They will dig/tear up twice as much stuff though. There are pros and cons, but its a personal decision you got to make.
Generally though they become best of buddies and take care of themselves. They don't require as much attention from you as say a single dog would to keep content. They will dig/tear up twice as much stuff though. There are pros and cons, but its a personal decision you got to make.-
Doc & Nash
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Lets see I have 3 labs. A 5 year old, a 3 year old and a 5 month old. I did the two puppies at once thing when my 3 year old was a pup.
I found that with the hetic life that i lead that often times i did not have the time to spend with each that they should have to learn as much as they should. I wound up spending more time with one and less with the other and because of that she did not reach her potential. I have since spayed her and parted with her to a good loving family as a kids pet, which she was well suited for.
Now with the new pup, the others are already grown and well on thier way. This gives me more time to spend with her and make her the best that she can be.
As far as the food, when i bought the new pup i was already feeding 2 and one more was not that much. But realistically look at your vet bills. I costs a bit to put frontline and heartguard on a dog every month. Now multiply that by 2. If you have two you are twice as likely (just by the odds) to have to go to the vet more in one year than just for a check up. As they age you are looking at twice as much for ageing vet bills.
Don't get me wrong my husband is in vet school and we are all for the animal thing. Heck we have 6 dogs. But look at your cost and let that be part of the deciding factor. We all to often see people who get them and then decided they can not afford the bills and what happens after that is usually not very enjoyable for the dog.
I found that with the hetic life that i lead that often times i did not have the time to spend with each that they should have to learn as much as they should. I wound up spending more time with one and less with the other and because of that she did not reach her potential. I have since spayed her and parted with her to a good loving family as a kids pet, which she was well suited for.
Now with the new pup, the others are already grown and well on thier way. This gives me more time to spend with her and make her the best that she can be.
As far as the food, when i bought the new pup i was already feeding 2 and one more was not that much. But realistically look at your vet bills. I costs a bit to put frontline and heartguard on a dog every month. Now multiply that by 2. If you have two you are twice as likely (just by the odds) to have to go to the vet more in one year than just for a check up. As they age you are looking at twice as much for ageing vet bills.
Don't get me wrong my husband is in vet school and we are all for the animal thing. Heck we have 6 dogs. But look at your cost and let that be part of the deciding factor. We all to often see people who get them and then decided they can not afford the bills and what happens after that is usually not very enjoyable for the dog.
SHR Rascal's Southern Legend JH (Rascal)
Southern Magnolia (Nola)
"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself."
Billings
Southern Magnolia (Nola)
"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself."
Billings
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Troy Williams
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I have two....There is not a man on earth that could buy them from me.
I would never let them become content with one another. They are not people. They are members of a pack. They must know their place and they must know what they are here for. They are to be trained to live for work and for the birds......
Dogs that dig and tear up stuff on a regular basis are bored or not content with their surroundings. Or have some kind of obsession thing happening (DutchDog needs to watch "The Dog Whisperer" hehehe) Make sure that they can expect you to be on routine. Feeding, airing, training, excercise, etc. If you can give them a structured life they will be much more valuable to you and your life. Remember that they are to fit into your life not you fitting into theirs. If the things they do are dictating your routine then you've it's all backwards and they aren't fitting into your life.
Here are a few:
PROS:
At a HT or trial you get to p/u twice as many birds (most of the time) hehe.
Training and running the dogs makes you a better traner/handler. You get to see 2 different dogs do things different ways.
Time gets divided between them training
Two times as much love when you walk thru the door everyday at home.
When you take those long trips to run tests then it helps if you go out with one to know that you have another bullet in your gun.
CONS:
COST. A weekend HRC HT will cost me around $500 if I'm travelling. A weekend Dbl master will cost around $650 all said and done.
Time gets divided between them training.
Twice the vet bills. Twice the feed bills.
When you take those long trips to run tests then it hurts real bad when you go out with both on the first go-round. hehehe.
Goodluck with your decision and the outcome. Let us know what you decide.
Troy
I would never let them become content with one another. They are not people. They are members of a pack. They must know their place and they must know what they are here for. They are to be trained to live for work and for the birds......
Dogs that dig and tear up stuff on a regular basis are bored or not content with their surroundings. Or have some kind of obsession thing happening (DutchDog needs to watch "The Dog Whisperer" hehehe) Make sure that they can expect you to be on routine. Feeding, airing, training, excercise, etc. If you can give them a structured life they will be much more valuable to you and your life. Remember that they are to fit into your life not you fitting into theirs. If the things they do are dictating your routine then you've it's all backwards and they aren't fitting into your life.
Here are a few:
PROS:
At a HT or trial you get to p/u twice as many birds (most of the time) hehe.
Training and running the dogs makes you a better traner/handler. You get to see 2 different dogs do things different ways.
Time gets divided between them training
Two times as much love when you walk thru the door everyday at home.
When you take those long trips to run tests then it helps if you go out with one to know that you have another bullet in your gun.
CONS:
COST. A weekend HRC HT will cost me around $500 if I'm travelling. A weekend Dbl master will cost around $650 all said and done.
Time gets divided between them training.
Twice the vet bills. Twice the feed bills.
When you take those long trips to run tests then it hurts real bad when you go out with both on the first go-round. hehehe.
Goodluck with your decision and the outcome. Let us know what you decide.
Troy
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chip laughton
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I just got a second dog a year ago. I never wanted to have two, but I wanted to have a "ready-to-go" successor for my older dog for hunting. It really hasn't been a problem, actually the wife and I have adpated to it just fine. The big negative is the vet costs. Like MD's, they seem to be inventing ways to price gouge you these days. I have located alternative sources on the internet which have cut my monthly medicines (Heartguard, Front Line, etc) by almost 50%.
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woundedduck
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i have 2 male yellows, one 6 years old 80 pounds the other 3 and 100 pounds. them sum bitches are hell on wheels. my older one was calm until the second one arrived. now they are both crazy. i still wouldnt trade them for the world. they got out of the fence about a year ago. didn't even think of going to the office. i looked for those dogs for 2 days. ended up finding them in doggy jail. cost me $25 apiece to bail them bastards out. both were arrested for public drunk. oh well, can't blame em.
i've got one right now.....he has my heart and soul...i "used" to think i'll get another "some day"....until my current house guest arrived....i've been telling folks that i will get one winter/early spring, but i'm leaning WAY more to speeding that up now....
took about 1 hr of posturing and now, both dogs are like old friends...my boy got his point across that it was HIS yard, and Drake-MS' dog got his point across that he had earned the right not to be bothered by kids, hehe...both are asleep on the den floor right now....
honestly, i can see EXACTLY what troy's saying....moose is different, and it has made me more focused (in just this short time) as to what each dog needs.
the puppy search has begun in earnest....as soon as i figure out how to make a kennel that i can wash out daily and not offend MY yard or my neighbors - it's ON...
it won't be just any puppy tho.....i got all the hunting/HT dog i'm gonna need for - Good Lord willing - AWHILE.....this next one, i want to attempt taking him to "the show"......dunno if i can do it, but it's gonna be one hell of a ride.......gator
took about 1 hr of posturing and now, both dogs are like old friends...my boy got his point across that it was HIS yard, and Drake-MS' dog got his point across that he had earned the right not to be bothered by kids, hehe...both are asleep on the den floor right now....
honestly, i can see EXACTLY what troy's saying....moose is different, and it has made me more focused (in just this short time) as to what each dog needs.
the puppy search has begun in earnest....as soon as i figure out how to make a kennel that i can wash out daily and not offend MY yard or my neighbors - it's ON...
it won't be just any puppy tho.....i got all the hunting/HT dog i'm gonna need for - Good Lord willing - AWHILE.....this next one, i want to attempt taking him to "the show"......dunno if i can do it, but it's gonna be one hell of a ride.......gator
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