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Do you ever regret getting a 2nd dog?

Do you ever regret getting a second dog?

24K views 46 replies 41 participants last post by  Hercules 
#1 ·
I got a small maltipoo and a German Shepherd. I love both of them equally.... BUT sometimes I wish I would only have one at a time lol. They seem to love each other more than they love my fiance or myself! It's a good thing but sometimes I wish it could just be my fiance and I hanging out with one of them. However, it's mostly my fiance and I hanging out and both of them running around the whole house lol. I love them both to death and would never get rid of one but sometimes I wonder how it would be if we only had one dog lol (please don't attack me for this post).
 
#31 ·
When I first brought Nadia home, I was quite overwhelmed. Zisso was the first dog I adopted as an older dog, and he was 16 months old when I brought him home. Just a few short months later, I brought Nadia home who was 16 months old at that time. There is 3.5 months difference between them. So I agree that age difference could have played a role. But Nadia had so many issues when I brought her home, from not being housebroken, having severe separation anxiety, and acting like a wild child all the time. I was probably more than overwhelmed. So many times I wanted to give up, or at least sit down and cry.

But I dug my heels in, and was determined to figure out what makes her tick.

I am happy to report that she settled down-some, I figured out what makes her tick, and she wiggled her happy way right into the deepest crevices of my heart. Turns out what really makes her tick is pleasing me! Now this is not to say that she is not still a wild child....she definitely is...But she is a Happy wild child! Zisso just turned 4 years, and Nadia will be 4 years next month! The pair of them are my life and my love and my passion. There is no way in the world that anything could EVER change that :)
 
#32 ·
I had one dog for several years, and really enjoyed the one-dog lifestyle. Now I have three, and while I do not regret it, I sometimes feel that I could do better by them as a handler... when I'm low on energy or having a bad pain day, I feel guilty for not giving each dog the attention, exercise, and training they need.

When all three of them are barking at something, it's a lot harder to quiet them, as they tend to egg each other on.

When I want to leave town, it's hard and/or expensive to find a reliable person to board or watch all these critters. But I have cats, goats, and poultry also, so it's not like it's the dogs' fault that it's hard to get away.

So while I don't really have regrets, I sometimes feel nostalgic for the days that I had a little house in town, one dog, two cats, and no livestock. :)
 
#33 · (Edited)
Let me state beforehand that I've never regretted getting any of the Hooligans ... they all added a great deal of joy to my life, I love/loved them all dearly. :wub:

With that said, I've never regretted getting No's 1, 2, 3 or 4 but something happened where I also added No's 5, 6 & 7 which were too many as far as finances and being able to spend a lot of quality time with each one individually.

I currently live with 4. :teary: Sadly, I'm at the age where I won't be adding any more to my family until I'm down to 1 and that will be an older guy or gal who needs a home and has a "back-up home" if something should happen to me.
 
#34 ·
Thank you all for your comments. I think I'm just paranoid of leaving my maltipoo outside with my GSD while we are gone. I KNOW that my GSD won't hurt her purposely, but he is VERY playful and very heavy. Just last week I saw him JUMPING OVER HER OVER AND OVER AGAIN! LOL I just don't want him to accidentally hurt her so I keep them separated while I'm gone. This is why they get so hyper when they see each other.

P.S. Yesterday I heard my GSD fart for the first time! LOL He looked back wondering where that noise came from! LOL
 
#37 ·
I've never regretted having 2 dogs in the household. Although once in a while I feel overwhelmed, I just take a step back. I love my dogs. Hopefully when I'm financially ready, (and Nour has gotten old enough...) we'll add a 3rd to the household. I always want at least 2+ dogs in my house, and at least 1 when I get... old. :)
 
#38 ·
I said no.

Arwen was my last second dog. I had just Frodo, and then I got Arwen. I loved every minute of having Arwen. She was my heart dog, and I still feel awful thinking that she is gone.

When I put Frodo down, I had Arwen, I gave Mina back to her former owners and had just Arwen until my brother dropped Jazzy off with me. I might regret that considering I still don't have an antenna for my tv, and my bedroom window remains boarded up, and my leg has a hole in it. But having watched her have a life, living on until she was over eleven at my brother's and knowing that would never have happened if I did not step up to the plate, there is no regret.

I still had Jazzy when I got Dubya, so he was a third. Babs and Jenna came together, and were a third and fourth, Rushie a fifth.

There are days when I wish Babsy was an only. But then I start running them through my head and there is not one of them that I would want to give up.
 
#41 ·
I don't regret adding my second dog but I do regret #3 and #4.

I still love them and give them the best life I can but I a) can't afford to give all of them everything they need, which is a constant source of guilt and b) my first two dogs were much happier when it was just the two of them. They don't protest or make a scene about it but the squeaky wheels get the oil and my first two often get neglected as far as training and attention goes. If I don't have the time for two separate walks, my old girl, my heart dog, doesn't get to come along because she can't keep up with #3 and #4. Or if I don't have money for two classes, she doesn't need it the same way #4 does. I also don't have good chemistry between them all so they are all living in a somewhat stressful situation. I regret it everyday and will probably not have more than 2 dogs again.
 
#42 ·
I can't say that I've ever truly regretted adding a furry member to our family, though there have been times where it would have been much better not to. The highest dog/cat count we've ever had was 5 dogs and 14 cats - now we're at 2 dogs and 8 cats, soon to be 7 *sigh*. I'll probably never have THIS many furries again, but I can't much imagine living with a single dog ever again - the hassle that comes from it is so far outweighed by the pleasures that it's just not a contest for me.
 
#44 ·
No regret whatsoever. If it wasn't for Leyna coming in and constantly irritating Zappa, he may not have been around as long as he was. She made him young again and helped fill out the remainder of his life.
 
#46 · (Edited)
I said no, I would have said never if you hadn't added that part about them being spaced out in ages. We've always had lots of dogs and sometimes they have been close in age for almost 10 years we had littermates. When we were down to just Buddy our house felt so empty. Buddy was so sad. For his entire life we have had lots of dogs. Now that we are back up to three he is happy and content again.
 
#47 ·
I LOVE the fact that I have two dogs at once. At first I hated it due to having to train and house break two puppies at the same time. I am disabled so I can't always give them the exercise they need so it's good that they tire each other out for me. And if I go to the park when there is no one else there, they still have each other to play with. They have known from day one that being together is encouraged, but when I give a command, that means the games must stop and the command followed.
 
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