Ever since Bryan & I brought our sweet puppy home, we've had so many people ask us, "are you going to get another one?" We kind of wondered why so many people asked us this exact same question, but after hearing their reasons for asking, as well as going through our own experiences with a family dog, it is now quite clear why 2 can be better than 1.
We have friends that brought home 2 puppies and they felt very overwhelmed. We thought the reason they were in over their head at first was because they had double the trouble. After getting a puppy ourselves, though, we now know that EVERYONE is overwhelmed those first couple of weeks, regardless of quantity. The puppy is in shock, he can't sleep all night, he's scared and then on top of that WE were nervous we would do something wrong, sad that the puppy wasn't happy, and exhausted because of the very long nights of crying and howling. The difference between their situation and our situation became pretty clear later though - those dogs were so much happier, even when their humans were gone, because they had each other - they had a partner to eat with, sleep with, play with, get into trouble with all the time.
Research claims that dogs that have a buddy to live with tend to be healthier, live longer, and be happier. They are also (usually) easier to socialize and train - when one learns it, it helps the other figure it out.
We've had Maverick 3 days shy of 3 months as of today. He's an incredible dog -funny, happy, friendly, inquisitive, easy to train, and just a joy to play with. He is now fully housebroken (knock on wood?), he sleeps great in his crate, he's getting basic obedience commands down, and still learning fast. This is really going to come in handy when ... in August ... we're bringing home another puppy! :) Maverick will be a HUGE help in helping the new youngster adjust, and figure out how things work in our Evans' household.
If you've ever been around Maverick when there are other dogs around, you'll have a great idea of how happy and fun this will be for him. I'm sincerely hoping our future puppy will be just as friendly as Maverick is. We are going through the same breeder - Safari Doodles - so we feel very good about our chances of getting a great dog again. The litter we've chosen has the same dad as Maverick did (Scrappy, a miniature poodle), but will have a different mom. Maverick's mom was a golden retriever, but this puppy's mom will actually be a labradoodle (meaning part labrador and part poodle). The cross between a labradoodle & a poodle means the puppy will be completely non-shedding (yay!).
We did not specify the sex, because we really don't care. What we DO care about is having a great temperament (like Mav-boy) and a non-shedding coat. We'll find out mid-August if it's a boy or a girl that comes home with us when we go pick one out. We are, however, about 99% positive their name will be Goose regardless of sex :)
This is what a puppy from one of their previous litters looked like, just to give you an idea:
Cute :)
Some of you may approve of this move, and some of you may not. That's totally okay. However, for those of you who are now going to caution us against this, it's too late, so please don't try to rain on our parade :) We are very excited.
I have absolutely loved being a "momma" to Maverick, and am very much looking forward to being a "momma" to this new little pup. It's great practice for when I'm a Momma for real!!
We'll keep y'all posted, and let you know when they're born, and post pictures.
Get excited :)
We have friends that brought home 2 puppies and they felt very overwhelmed. We thought the reason they were in over their head at first was because they had double the trouble. After getting a puppy ourselves, though, we now know that EVERYONE is overwhelmed those first couple of weeks, regardless of quantity. The puppy is in shock, he can't sleep all night, he's scared and then on top of that WE were nervous we would do something wrong, sad that the puppy wasn't happy, and exhausted because of the very long nights of crying and howling. The difference between their situation and our situation became pretty clear later though - those dogs were so much happier, even when their humans were gone, because they had each other - they had a partner to eat with, sleep with, play with, get into trouble with all the time.
Research claims that dogs that have a buddy to live with tend to be healthier, live longer, and be happier. They are also (usually) easier to socialize and train - when one learns it, it helps the other figure it out.
We've had Maverick 3 days shy of 3 months as of today. He's an incredible dog -funny, happy, friendly, inquisitive, easy to train, and just a joy to play with. He is now fully housebroken (knock on wood?), he sleeps great in his crate, he's getting basic obedience commands down, and still learning fast. This is really going to come in handy when ... in August ... we're bringing home another puppy! :) Maverick will be a HUGE help in helping the new youngster adjust, and figure out how things work in our Evans' household.
If you've ever been around Maverick when there are other dogs around, you'll have a great idea of how happy and fun this will be for him. I'm sincerely hoping our future puppy will be just as friendly as Maverick is. We are going through the same breeder - Safari Doodles - so we feel very good about our chances of getting a great dog again. The litter we've chosen has the same dad as Maverick did (Scrappy, a miniature poodle), but will have a different mom. Maverick's mom was a golden retriever, but this puppy's mom will actually be a labradoodle (meaning part labrador and part poodle). The cross between a labradoodle & a poodle means the puppy will be completely non-shedding (yay!).
We did not specify the sex, because we really don't care. What we DO care about is having a great temperament (like Mav-boy) and a non-shedding coat. We'll find out mid-August if it's a boy or a girl that comes home with us when we go pick one out. We are, however, about 99% positive their name will be Goose regardless of sex :)
This is what a puppy from one of their previous litters looked like, just to give you an idea:
Cute :)
Some of you may approve of this move, and some of you may not. That's totally okay. However, for those of you who are now going to caution us against this, it's too late, so please don't try to rain on our parade :) We are very excited.
I have absolutely loved being a "momma" to Maverick, and am very much looking forward to being a "momma" to this new little pup. It's great practice for when I'm a Momma for real!!
We'll keep y'all posted, and let you know when they're born, and post pictures.
Get excited :)
Two dogs are waaay easier than one. We have a 4 1/2 year old chihuahua and a 17 month old (pregnant) dachshund. The chihuahua's minor behavior issues disappeared and he became the teacher. They're best friends, and my only fear is what would happen when one of them passes (hopefully many years from now :). Congrats, and enjoy your babies!
ReplyDeleteI'm always glad to hear another success story with 2! Thank you! I think it's going to be so much fun.
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