# Do you ever regret getting a second dog?



## bad_news07

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).


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## LaRen616

Nope, I do not regret it.

Mine both choose me over each other. I love them both equally and I enjoy spending time with both of them. I also like watching them interact and play with each other. Everything is perfect. :wub:


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## elisabeth_00117

At this very moment... maybe.... JUST KIDDING!

I say this because I am trying to get their crates and training bag ready and they are jumping all over me, winding through my legs and whining because they KNOW where they are going. 

I don't regret getting a second dog, but sometimes I do have a "whew..." moment or two when they are both going nuts because they need their walk or ball time. Or when I get home from a 10hour shift (my sister is usually home with them on these days but plays inside with them, hardly ever takes them to play outside) and they both need to be walked, worked/trained and fed = and they want it to happen at the same time.. lol.

I love having the dogs, both are so different that each give me something fun to look forward too and do to with them.


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## BlackGSD

Nope. I've never had any of my dogs that would rather spend time with each other than with me. Having dogs that are more bonded to eachother than they are to the owner is "handler error".


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## weber1b

I have three and many times I have said that what I learned getting three is that two was enough. I have also thought at times how nice it was with just the one. I might have less issues if the two I added had the same temperament and lack of issues that we have with our first. I would love to be able to take the two boys the places I can take Clover and do the things I can do with her but I just can't. Max is too dog aggressive and Patton has issues sometimes with strange people and some dogs. We also have issues between the two when we are off property. If I could resolve those things, I would find myself wishing for the old days much less.

Having said all that, I am not getting rid of any of them, but have learned things for the future.


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## smdaigle

No . . . we've had 2 GSDs for the majority of the past 12 years and they've all had different personalities which add so much to our lives. They always bond to us (my husband in particular) more than to each other.


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## RileyMay

I don't regret adopting Riley and bringing her into the family. I love having both of my dogs' sitting, layind down, or layding down on top of me everyday for some attention! Although, they get attention a lot everyday! There isn't a minute without me with them, or them without me. They're both amazing dogs', and I ADORE both of them!!


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## Germanshepherdlova

My GSD loves to hang out with me and will only play with my lab if I am not available. And to answer your question-a resounding no! I have never regretted it.


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## King&Skylar

Not really... Skylar is my heart dog but I really love Kayden to pieces and love training and adventuring with both of them (together and individually) Skylar is independent and can do her own thing, easier to train and more serious, but Kayden is a goofy, attention-seeking love bug. I will never have more than a male and a female at the same time- I would most likely regret that. It gets hard sometimes juggling attention/exercise/training/adventures for both, but I don't regret it, they're both completely different. BUT next time I will wait until the first is older than 1 year, because I feel like I didn't let Skylar be an only dog for long enough.


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## mysweetkaos

Regret it? No, but sometimes I wonder how we can give them both everything they need. I wouldn't change anything.....but having a senior dog in declining health and energy as well as a puppy is not always easy. That being said for my children it is wonderful as their beloved Kaos ages and becomes less able to play with them the puppy matures and is becoming quite a play mate with them. It is fun because they compliment each other well in every way except the $ dept where they are both at their most expensive times of their life. I would do it again in a heartbeat.


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## Josh's mom

Sometimes..... 
We got Josh first at 8weeks, he's a great boy, he knows all his basic obedience and minds pretty good for a 14mo old teenager. Just a happy, happy guy. 

We fostered Jenna for a little bit before we adopted her. She has been a trial. She was a yard ornament before and barely knew "sit" when we got her in August, now she knows her new name, sit, down, sit stay, down stay and come. We are working on cutting out fence fighting and getting her used to other dogs now. 
Just sometimes, when life is busy, I wish we didn't have all the extra work, she's worth it though


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## southernfiction

When I lost my grand old best friend Chance, a smooth collie, I told my sister it would take 15 dogs to equal one of her. I was wrong about that. It would take 50. I now live with four females, three of whom are rescues. I don't have the intense closeness I had with Chance, but each one is special to me. 

At heart I'm a one-dog person.


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## Emoore

Only when he eats the crepe myrtle. Or eats the foster dog's leash. Or does the flying gut stomp first thing in the morning.


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom

No never regretted. Lucky is my dog and he was our third at the time. If we hadnt adopted i dont know if his HW would have been taken care of .Daisy was the second dog but my first and only from a puppy.OK I wonder now if i had kids would they have been criminals,daisy has been challenging. On the other hand she has been my protector/alert dog and I cant imagine my life w/out both. I do regret that our oldest dog Dodger who was 13 at the time had to be segregateda nd he hung out in our family room/kitchen in the basement where my husband's buddy was staying.Those 2 years were difficult and I would not get a young dog w/ my old dogs now.In retrospect it was wrong for Dodger and I still feel incredibly quilty re that decision but if i hadnt adopted Lucky he might not have gotten tx for HW. Would I have two dogs again yes would I have three not sure Im smart enough.


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## chelle

Regret isn't the right word. I feel very stretched at times with three dogs, though. I try hard to provide for ALL their needs and I know sometimes I fail and one gets more and another doesn't. I simply try to make up for it the next day.

My life revolves completely around dogs. They need to eat, need their exercise, training, medication, vet visits, gotta get a bag of food, need this-that-or-the-other. It's very time consuming, tiring and expensive. Every GREAT once in awhile, when I'm tired, or feeling a little sick, I think GEESH, I'd like to have a dog day OFF.! But of course I couldn't do that, because I couldn't trust anyone to take care of them like I do. 

Regret, No. A break every once in awhile? WOULD BE NICE! )


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## Emoore

I also regretted it when I had food poisoning recently. 10 month old WL puppy + food poisoning = a really horrible day.


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## elisabeth_00117

Emoore said:


> I also regretted it when I had food poisoning recently. 10 month old WL puppy + food poisoning = a really horrible day.


I raise you your food poisoning and GSD working line pup with a .... 6 month old WL pup who had to be crate rested for 6 weeks.


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## deldridge72

Heck, I've got six-sometimes I think it would be nice to just have four-but I'll never give up any of them-til the end.


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## Emoore

elisabeth_00117 said:


> I raise you your food poisoning and GSD working line pup with a .... 6 month old WL pup who had to be crate rested for 6 weeks.


Ha! I did that too! Only he was 5 months.


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## lar07

I'll let you know in a few weeks. LOL We are "adopting" my mom's Golden Retriever who has some issues (because of her) and we have two adult dogs already in the house, plus two cats. I've had three dogs in the house before and it is a lot more work than two! For whatever reason, three dogs adds a completely different dimension.

My other two, I had moments in college years back where I wished I had given myself less responsibility, but it was worth it. Looking back on those years, I wouldn't have changed it.


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## fuzzybunny

I guess I'm the odd one out here because I do regret getting my second dog. That doesn't change the fact that I love them both, will never give them up, and will give them the best life I can. Hubby and I have decided that were a one dog family so once our guys pass away, we will only have one dog from that point forward.


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## dazedtrucker

No, I love both of my boys, they love each other...they are both just awesome dogs  I am however cringing because now my life has taken some unexpected turns, my job changed, my living situation is changing..I don't regret getting them, or having them, however, I wouldn't have taken them on if I had any idea my life was going to be unstable like this. It is going to be a challenge now to keep 'em happy like things were. My training is already suffering, but there is still nothing more uplifting than spending time with my guys, I wouldn't trade them for a million bucks.


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## Gwenhwyfair

With my two shepherds, couldn't be happier. My male is a sweetie and gets along great with my girl and they have a good age spread. Now that both are dependable on leash and have good recalls we go all kinds of places together and are a very happy pack. 


Number 3 will be coming along soon.... (my SOs dog) so now we'll see how we do with three!


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## Pepper311

Sounds to me like you might have been happier waiting to get a second dog. I have 3 no regrets. My dogs are all about 5 years apart. I don't feel my dogs love me less because they have each other. 


Age differance is key here I think.


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## shilohsmom

Not for a moment! Not with the second or the third for that matter.


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## Runswithdogs

I am SO happy we got a 2nd...our first one is so much happier with her around, and they are both very bonded to us and more interested in our attention than in each other. Plus, I've always thought that unless you take your dog everywhere with you, it's sad to just have 1. 
The only times I even think about the decision is when it comes time to pay the yearly regular vet bills (twice the fun!) or when they are feeding off of each other's spazziness and barking up a storm.


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## Warrior09

bad_news07 said:


> 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).


I know how you feel! me and my fiance' have two dogs. Rottweiler and a young gsd puppy (9 months) and I feel overwhelmed because i worry about him getting stolen or killed. my rottie i dont worry about bc she doesn't go near ppl and she runs from you lol but Hachi (gsd) is very outgoing and would probably follow you home and my fence isnt completely up yet. I'm also overwhelmed considering i'm not use to have a puppy in a long time. I got my rott when she was a year old from a family member so i get really angered and upset bc he is so hyper and jumps on and doesnt listen to me. BUt i also learned that i love them and you only live once so enjoy them exspecially since they really aren't giving you alot of trouble


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## bad_news07

Thank you all for you insight I love both of them but we do say hi to them separately before they go off playing with each other for a few hours... I like them once they are nice and tired lol


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## Samba

Since we have 7 and have had many, I don't remember when there were 2 here.


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## BlackPuppy

No, two dogs are great. But sometimes with THREE dogs, I have logistics problems, because there is nobody to watch the other two if I have an out of town show, like this weekend.


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## Zisso

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


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## Freestep

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.


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## arycrest

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.


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## bad_news07

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


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## MaggieRoseLee

POLL ADDED, what with it being in the Poll section it seemed to make sense....

People may want to go back and VOTE!!


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## mjbgsd

Never, I love my dogs.


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## _Crystal_

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.


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## selzer

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.


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## HeyJude

chelle said:


> Regret isn't the right word. I feel very stretched at times with three dogs, though. I try hard to provide for ALL their needs and I know sometimes I fail and one gets more and another doesn't. I simply try to make up for it the next day.
> 
> My life revolves completely around dogs. They need to eat, need their exercise, training, medication, vet visits, gotta get a bag of food, need this-that-or-the-other. It's very time consuming, tiring and expensive. Every GREAT once in awhile, when I'm tired, or feeling a little sick, I think GEESH, I'd like to have a dog day OFF.! But of course I couldn't do that, because I couldn't trust anyone to take care of them like I do.
> 
> Regret, No. A break every once in awhile? WOULD BE NICE! )


:wild: I feel this way too sometimes since we adopted Uschi.


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## deldridge72

Have five ranging in ages 2-5; just put the old man down last month-he might have been happier with fewer-but as long as he got his attention he was happy.


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## sashadog

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.


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## OriginalWacky

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.


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## GregK

:rofl: 

Well I have 12 so I guess my answer would be 'no'.


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## jaggirl47

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.


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## Gharrissc

I don't regret having multiple dogs,but it can get overwhelming sometimes if you let it.


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## shepherdmom

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.


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## Hercules

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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