# Are two puppies better than one?



## idahomarine (Jan 23, 2010)

I am not a first time dog owner, but it will be the first time that I train a dog. My plan right now is to get an Airedale Terrier. I will be living in Idaho and my plan is to use the dog for tracking, bird hunting, protection, and of course companionship. I am getting a male, but have heard that the breed has some issues if not properly socialized as a pup. My idea now is to get a second pup (most likely a Border Collie. Lab, or German Wirehaired Pointer) so that they can keep each other company. I understand that I can't show too much favoritism, but I was hoping you could give me some advice as to what dog breed I should get with an Airedale (considering that I am a hunter and avid outdoorsman)? Thanks.
idahomarine


----------



## GypsyJazmine (Nov 27, 2009)

I'd hold off on the 2nd pup until you have your 1st trained & housebroke...That way it won't be overwhelming if their are problems with the 1st.


----------



## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

What she said. An Airedale for protection? Interesting. I hope you just mean deterrent unless you know of a good protection club in your area


----------



## Pynzie (Jan 15, 2010)

Also, if you get 2 puppies at the same time they can bond to each other as opposed to bonding to you. I've heard to wait at least 1 year before getting another dog, but I don't know how correct that estimate is. You should get a second dog if YOU want a second dog; you don't need to get a dog for your dog. (I think I read that on here somewhere.) The best way to socialize a pup doesn't have to be getting another pup. You should take your new puppy to meet lots of different dogs (calm ones at first) once he/she has had the proper vet check up and shots.


----------



## idahomarine (Jan 23, 2010)

Thanks for the advice. One of my friends has a Rhodesian and a blue healer/border collie and they are much better since he got the second one (he had the blue first). They seem to take out a lot of their energy on each other, but still respect him as the master. I wouldn't mind a second dog, as long as it is trainable for bird hunting. I also talked to the breeder that I am most likely buying from and he recommends that I keep the Airedale away from other dogs that could potentially try to exert dominance. Any thoughts on that one?
idahomarine


----------



## Pynzie (Jan 15, 2010)

You can def get a second dog so that they can play with each other, but wait for a bit before getting the second one. And I'm not exactly sure what he was talking about. When you are first socializing your pup you should keep him/her with dogs that you know are calm and have good dog manners. Was he trying to say that his dogs tend to dominate other dogs, so only keep yours with dogs that will allow that so that it will prevent a fight? I think as long as you get some good socialization in and your pup is good with other dogs it will be fine.


----------



## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

Dominance phooey. Phooey phooey.
Most of the airedales I know are goofy, garbage crazy and pretty friendly. Early socialization with well mannered dogs is key for ANY puppy, regardless of breed. 
I also don't recommend getting two pups at once. This reduces your bonding time and also you would have to socialize them separately so they can learn to handle the world independently. There are many behaviour issues that come up when dealing with two pups at the same time, get one, train it well and THEN get a second pup. 
What sort of hunting are you talking about? An airedale is certainly not the first breed I would think of for most hunters (birds etc). Terriers are not soft mouthed, so using for birds may be a bit of a frustration for you and for him.


----------



## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

and it would be much harder to train two dogs at once, and once again, they would bond with each other much more than with you, which could effect them seeing you as a leader and actually listening to you. i think two dogs would be too many for you to start training at once, with ZERO experience aquired. all dogs can grow to be aggressive if you don't socialize them, airedales are no different or more likely to do this. all you'd have to do was take him to some puppy kindergarten (which you might have to do with two, and would cost twice as much) and take him to petsmart a few times a week. Voila. socialized puppy.


----------



## DeniseV (Nov 8, 2009)

idahomarine said:


> I am not a first time dog owner, but it will be the first time that I train a dog. My plan right now is to get an Airedale Terrier. I will be living in Idaho and my plan is to use the dog for tracking, bird hunting, protection, and of course companionship. I am getting a male, but have heard that the breed has some issues if not properly socialized as a pup. My idea now is to get a second pup (most likely a Border Collie. Lab, or German Wirehaired Pointer) so that they can keep each other company. I understand that I can't show too much favoritism, but I was hoping you could give me some advice as to what dog breed I should get with an Airedale (considering that I am a hunter and avid outdoorsman)? Thanks.
> idahomarine


Hello!

I would definitely, 100%, without a doubt NOT get two puppies at once. NO way, no how. Yes, they keep each other company, but getting 2 pups at once, that is the ONLY good thing, and actually, will become one of the reasons NOT to do so. Read below. 

The reasons are endless. Here are a few:

1) Getting 2 pups at once will cause the pups to rely on each other only. You are always going to be second. Pups get what they need from other pups, and you will become a source of the food giver. 

2) Training 2 pups at once. Well, good luck. LOL...seriously. One is hard enough. If you have two pups, and say one is great with outdoor pottytraining, and the other has accidents in the house alot....guess what? Your pup who was great with the housebreaking may very well develop bad habits, learned from his puppy best friend. This is very, very likely.

3) Double the cost of everything. Crate (if you crate train, which I think is the only way to go, but this is my opinion), food, toys, collar, leash, cleaning supplies (natures mircale is the best) vet bills (for pups, these costs can SKY ROCKET, and to double them......YIKES!!!), etc. One puppy is so expensive. We planned for this but I wil be honest. I had NO clue how quickly things add up, and if something unforseen happens with ONE day, the cost is high. With two? I don't know how I would have done it. Our puppy Bella, was founf to have Giardia. this is a very common thing; a parasite found in the feces. The test, just for this, was $48.00. Add in the office visit of $40. Add in the medication of $70. Add in the month re-check of Giardia of another $48 and another office visit fee of $40. Thankfully she was negative the second test. However, Giardia is VERY hard to get rid of and it is common for dogs to be positive upwards of four times. And this was just the Giardia! Never mind vaccinations which pups need SO many of, rabies, registration, etc. You need to somehwat prepare for the "what ifs". If you have an emergency....the costs can be out of this world.

4) If you ever have to board your dog, double that cost. Double the cost of training/obedience classes......

These are only a few of the many reasons you shouldn't get 2 pups at once. Certainly, having a pup, letting it grow up a bit, and then introducing a second dog is great! But not together!

I really have to emphasize that the ONLY benefit in my opinion, is yes, they have each other for company. But the major problem, is the problem #1 above....they will solely rely on each other for all of their needs. Socialization, playing, comfort, etc. When you get a puppy, you want it to know that YOU are their first sorce of comfort, playing, introduing them to the sociliziation process, etc. You want the pup to know that you are his/her master, and the giver of all. Once pup is old enough, introducing a second pup is great! He will have a new friend, but again, the older dog has learned that YOU are his master, and the new pup will learn the same.

Even though you wil again have the expenses related to a puppy, it wil be later...not at the same time. And this makes a difference.

Good luck!

Denise


----------



## Marsh Muppet (Nov 29, 2008)

Cracker said:


> I also don't recommend getting two pups at once. This reduces your bonding time and also you would have to socialize them separately so they can learn to handle the world independently.


Two pups may bond perfectly and totally with each other, but that doesn't mean they will develop good social skills with other dogs. In fact, it may interfere with proper socialization. Some dogs depend on their canine buddy like a security blanket, and get stressed in individual social situations.


----------



## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

> Some dogs depend on their canine buddy like a security blanket, and get stressed in individual social situations.


Esther was an adult when we got Molly. When I took them both to the dog park, Molly would cling to Esther like Velcro and slink with her tail between her legs when another dog approached.

It wasn't until I started taking Molly alone that she blossomed into the social butterfly she is today. And, while they are still very close at home, Molly is starting to show some signs of independence and increased self-confidence.


----------



## BarefootLena (Oct 18, 2009)

I have to agree with everyone who said not to get two puppies at once. If, however you do, a border collie wouldn't be my first choice. They aren't hunting dogs, they're herding dogs. I've spent my whole life hunting, and I couldn't even begin to imagine the stress that would be felt, both by me and the dog, if I took a border collie with me. A good friend of mine raises them. Her dogs are well trained and behave excellently, but they were bred to herd and work livestock. Sure, they'll tree a squirrel during their down time, and they heel when asked on a walk, but bird dogs they aren't. If you are set on getting two pups at once, you would make it a lot easier on yourself to pick a breed that was bred for hunting, rather than to take one that was meant for something else entirely.


----------



## CoverTune (Mar 11, 2007)

One puppy is more than enough!


----------



## Trixie (Feb 27, 2008)

Frankly, I am trying to wrap my head around the idea of an airedale terrier for birding and tracking. 

And what everyone else said about 2 dogs at once. Get one, wait a year or two (after raising one puppy you may want to wait longer!) and then add number 2.


----------



## Marsh Muppet (Nov 29, 2008)

Trixie said:


> Frankly, I am trying to wrap my head around the idea of an airedale terrier for birding and tracking.


Actually, A'dales from working lines will operate in flushing spaniel mode, and are popular with a small segment of hunters. Bird hunters who like Airedales, or Airedale owners who like to hunt birds...I'm not sure which. The also give a good account of themselves in Schutzhund. 

Airedales were originally bred as all 'round farm/working/hunting dogs, and can be extremely versatile. They were utilized in the Army War Dog program in WWII. They've had much of the sharpness bred out of them (by the usual suspects), but there are still lines that will do CQB with mountain lions, bears, and hogs.


----------



## Trixie (Feb 27, 2008)

Ya learn something new every day!


----------



## Xie (Feb 5, 2009)

I did two puppies at once and so far so good (they are both about 10 months old now). 

I have a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Carol, turned 10 months on Jan 22nd, who is devoted to me and her family beyond belief. Like most of her breed she can be vocal and aloof with strangers but generally speaking she's an angel. She's a tad on the dominate side but the breeder knew that when she placed her with us (had all puppies temperament tested at 8 weeks, placed in homes at 9 weeks). She chose a slightly dominate girl for us because I'm experienced with dogs and we have a busy household. She knew we could handle a little dominance and the pup would be more confident with people always coming and going.

Our other dog is Sally, a Leonberger, who will be 10 months on Feb 7th. She's a total sweetheart who loves her family and is very outgoing and social. She loves to play with other dogs and people and is known at the dog park for being able to get the more dominate (but not aggressive) dogs to play nicely with her. She speaks "dog" very well due to a ton of socializing.

For us, with two puppies, it was a bit of extra work. I took/take them both to puppy kindergarten and now beginner obedience classes seperately. I also rotate walking them together and walking them seperately, and even though they have each other I also make it a point to get them out and socializing almost everyday. This is more important with Carol because Swissies are not really naturally social dogs. When we go to the dog park (up to 4 times a week depending on the weather) they tend to ignore each other and play seperately. It's actually such a rare occassion that people will remark on it when they do really start in playing with each other.

Sally housebroke very easily while Carol was a lot longer in the training (again, breed typical, the average Swissie is not trained until between 6-9months, thankfully Carol was in the 6 month range). Carol's longer time in housebreaking never affected Sally. If anything, because we had to take Carol out constantly it probably helped, since Sally went along each time.

Instead of chewing on us in the puppy stages they chewed on each other. So they could get that out of their system and they learned pretty easily to have soft mouths. 

Why do I think two puppies worked so easily for us? Both breeds are VERY human oriented. It was no work at all to get them to bond more with us than with each other. I also didn't rely on them only having each other to socialize with. They frequently go to the dog park, for walks in the busy part of town, they also go and hangout with my parent's 4 dogs. Plus they both did puppy kindergarten and are still in training classes. 

All this to say that while two puppies might not be right in this situation it certainly can work out very well. It just has to be a thoughtful decision with appropriate planning.


----------



## Ayanla (Jun 11, 2009)

I have two puppies. Odo was 13 weeks old when I brought home an 8 week old Kira. These also are my first real dogs, as we didn't keep dogs growing up.

Don't do it. It's overwhelming, especially in the beginning, but even now I'm finding problems I've created that I don't really know how to solve. In addition, everything is more expensive and more time consuming. Assuming you do 10 minutes of training 3 times a day...you're at an hour with two dogs since you can't realistically train them both together. Add in separate walks (until they learn to walk properly together - mine still can't) and you're up to multiple hours a day at best.

Here are three significant problems we're dealing with now that both pups are past the 6 month mark, and there are other smaller issues I won't list.

1. Kira can not, at present, be left alone unless Odo is in a crate beside her crate where she can see him. Since the day I got her, she's spent exactly one hour completely alone and we came home to a trembling, soaking wet (pee and drool), panicked, dog who'd nearly ripped her toenail out trying to escape the crate.

2. Odo is still not completely housebroken. He hasn't learned to alert us, as he just goes out when Kira does. If Kira doesn't have to go out, and therefore doesn't say anything, he'll just go by the door without a single indication of needing to go.

3. Neither Odo nor Kira understand how to interact with other dogs. Neither are dog aggressive, but they rely on each other in "social" situations. If we are at PetSmart and we split up, each taking a dog, neither of the pups will approach another dog. They're frozen, petrified, and sometimes will just chuff/bark or whine. If they're together, no problem. So, in essence, they're worse off than if I'd just had the one and socialized them properly. Even Odo, who went to puppy class and got out in public way more often, is completely dependent on Kira in public at this point.

As I said, this is just three of the big issues I'm having to resolve because of my inexperience and lack of foresight with regards to raising/training two puppies together. I love them both fiercely, and we'll work through it all, but it definitely does not in any way make things "easier" to have two puppies at once.


----------



## Marsh Muppet (Nov 29, 2008)

Xie said:


> I did two puppies at once and so far so good (they are both about 10 months old now).
> 
> ...


Good post Xie, and that's how it's done boys and girls. Except that the issues will be slightly (or enormously) different with two puppies of other breeds. Getting a Lab puppy and a Jack Russel puppy at the same time (good luck with that) will be a different sitch than a Leo and a Swissy.

It should be done with thought, pre-planning, and an understanding of how much work it can be to get it right.


----------



## comicalcupcake (Jan 29, 2010)

I have to agree with DeniseV and Ayanla. 

I got male and female littermates, thinking they would keep each other company while I was gone at my long workday. Having two at the same time and at the same stages in development is more work than I ever imagined. Because they spend all day together, they don't really listen to me when they are together. They are naturally more into each other. Because they play fight, they are louder and more boisterous together, which is a problem for my neighbors. If one develops a bad habit, it encourages the other to do so. They are also more destructive because they can tug at both ends of whatever they get into. 

Logistically, it is difficult to get the timing of activities right. I will feed them, and try to take one potty so I can play with him, but he doesn't need to go yet. Then I play with him for a little bit and the other is whining to go potty. I take her out, and then I come back and the first one has made a potty mess. Or, I bathe one, and want to let her run around in a clean room while she dries off. I want to bathe the other one in the same bathwater, but then when he is done with his bath, he has nowhere to run around and dry off until I manage to put the first dog, still wet and a little crazy from the bath, into her crate. I hope you get the picture. To manage both, it takes more than twice as much time. It's doable, but it will take ALL your free time. 

As soon as I got enough money to do so, I ordered another play pen so they can be in separate areas during the day while I'm at work. I just hope they haven't bonded too closely for the separation to take. 

If you do end up getting two despite everyone's warnings (which you might have good reasons for doing, as long as you are up to the challenge), be aware that some vets will waive the second "vet visit" fee if you take them in at the same time. You'll still have to pay for two sets of shots, etc., but at least that one small thing is a better deal with two.


----------



## bdobosz (Dec 6, 2009)

My parents and I each got a Golden Retriever pup from a litter this past Thanksgiving. Since we live in the same town, the pups get plenty of play dates. When they are in their individual homes they are very loving and are learning very quickly. When they are together they are a handful. All they see is each other and will play non stop. All training and housebreaking goes out the window as well. 

While being around the two pups has been on of the greatest experiences of my life, I also have the luxury of only taking one home with me. 2 pups 24/7 would be a very difficult task unless you have an enormous amount of patience and time to spend with them each individually. When they are together they definitely have no need for you which likely is not what you want from your dogs.


----------



## misty073 (Mar 31, 2009)

Marsh Muppet said:


> Good post Xie, and that's how it's done boys and girls. Except that the issues will be slightly (or enormously) different with two puppies of other breeds. Getting a Lab puppy and a Jack Russel puppy at the same time (good luck with that) will be a different sitch than a Leo and a Swissy.
> 
> It should be done with thought, pre-planning, and an understanding of how much work it can be to get it right.


I think getting another Jack Russell puppy and any other puppy (including another Jack) would be crazy LOL  Ours is one and we have a new puppy and that alone is "fun" LOL


----------



## Marsh Muppet (Nov 29, 2008)

misty073 said:


> I think getting another Jack Russell puppy and any other puppy (including another Jack) would be crazy LOL  Ours is one and we have a new puppy and that alone is "fun" LOL


I used that example because I know a couple who did that. He got a lab puppy for his own reasons, and she got a JRT (I suspect) out of spite. They were both considering moving out before 2 months had passed. The only ones having any fun were the puppies--and boy, were they having fun. Saying that a thing _can_ be done, is not the same as saying it _should_ be done.

The JRT breeder I visited recently had half a dozen adult Jacks, and two 16-ish week old puppies they kept from the most recent litter. They had another litter due in a couple of months from which they planned to keep at least one pup. Dude!

Their household was clearly more fun than the law allows, but they have the experience, the time, the expertise, and the facilities to deal with chaos².


----------



## misty073 (Mar 31, 2009)

Wow thats alot of Jacks LOL. They must wear each other out . I had considered getting another Jack this spring because I love them...but then I found Bella and fell in love...I am glad because I think getting another would have been a big mistake...I have a 3 year old, a 4 year old (almost 5) my Jack and now Bella the puppy...our house is crazy enough LOL


----------



## NRB (Sep 19, 2009)

eons ago my grandmother had 2 Airedales. Both were named Cracker, lol. So obviously she only had 1 dog at a time.

I have an 8mo standard schnauzer pup and am visiting my mom who has an 8mo pound puppy. They play ALL THE TIME. Pretty much all training goes out the window when they are together. Some one just peed on a new rug today. So house training goes out the window as well. Ugh. My Schnauzer would play all day long and never rest and still have energy for more. Your Airedale will have even more energy than her, lol. 

I would never in a million years own 2 puppies at the same time. 1 Terrier puppy at a time is enough! 

besides if you are hunting why not a lab or a spaniel?


----------



## mrslloyd09 (Jul 12, 2009)

NRB said:


> I would never in a million years own 2 puppies at the same time. 1 Terrier puppy at a time is enough!


+1. We have Melodie, a six month old old terrier mix. Why would I hate myself and get a second? Our first girl, Mandie, was adopted as an adult (she's two). I wanted the puppy experience at least once before we had children (I don't think I'd like to have to housetrain and potty train at the same time). I do not want the puppy experience ever again. We will only adopt adult dogs from here on out.

I love Melodie but she is non-stop go, nose to the ground, chew it up terrier girl. We were prepared for that but I wouldn't double it.


----------



## DogsforMe (Mar 11, 2007)

Great advice all round, don't get another puppy until you have the 1st one reasonalbly trained. Having 2 pups together is not socialisation it's just like having multiple ppl in the house, they are only social with the immediate family. Read up on Ian Dunbars socialisation tips at dogstardaily you'll find the links at the top of this forum.


----------

