# I am thinking of getting a second Golden



## wagondog (Aug 24, 2007)

ozzygolden said:


> Hi all, I write with hope of getting everyone's advice about getting a second golden. Our current boy is 11 months old today, and while he is doing great with obedience class, and generally being a great member of the family (just my wife and I, no kids) we are worried about the time we leave him alone whilst at work. Recently he has turned his chewing attention to our garden furniture and our wooden decking, and started digging more around the garden. While we don't want to panic about the destruction, and we totally expected some, we wonder if a golden companion would fit the bill and keep him from going down the destructive course he looks like following. We wouldn’t go down the puppy route again, rather we would look at a rescue golden, ideally female 2+ years of age. So if anyone out there has experience in second goldens and introducing them to a 12 month old I would love to hear back…(and any other tips or experiences as well!)


My experience with getting a second dog is that it should be a decision made to make a good one dog home a better home, not to solve a problem in a one dog home. You may very well end up with your little dog chewing and destroying even with the new dog. Dogs left alone seldom play together when the human factor is not around. On the other hand you may get the second dog and it works out perfectly


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I'm with wagondog. A companion is great for a Golden who's already getting enough stimulation, but if your dog is indeed under-stimulated and/or under-exercised (which is what it sounds like), a second dog may just double the destruction.

How long is he alone while you're at work, and what do you do with him to help him express his natural desire to retrieve and work?


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## beargroomer (Jan 2, 2008)

I agree with wagondog and Tippykayak (who always gives great advice!). 

Most trainers recommend waiting until the first one is trained and 2-3 years old. I don't think that applies to everyone, since I know people and forum members (Tippykayak is one of them) who are successfully living with young dogs close in age. But that only works if the first dog is already where you want him to be, training-wise.

We're planning on a second dog sometime soon, but it's not because we feel the first dog needs a friend. Gibby loves other dogs and he enjoys the regular playdates we have with friends' dogs, but he's perfectly happy as an only dog. DH and I just like having dogs (and cats) around and we feel, more the merrier. But we would not think of adding another dog if my current one wasn't fully trained, completely reliable, easy to live with, and free of bad habits which he might pass down to the second puppy. 

Wagondog is right - dogs don't really play together if there is no audience. I noticed this when we had our foster dog or when we babysat friends' dogs. Even when I AM home, if I'm not paying attention to them (like when I'm on my computer), Gibby does the exact same thing he does when he's the only dog - he stops playing and lays by my feet and sleeps. I realized that I now had two dogs instead of one who lay at my feet waiting for me to "open" again. When I finish whatever I'm doing and turn my attention back to Gibby, he'll then get all lively again and play with toys or with the other dog. It's almost as if dogs put on a big show (playing, wrestling) for humans. 

You might end up with TWO bored, destructive dogs instead of one. Instead of looking for another dog just yet, how about looking for a fun class or activity you and Ozzy can do together so that he's more stimulated and exercised...? 

Good luck!


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## Loboto-Me (Nov 13, 2008)

I'm one of the members who got another golden whilst the first one was a puppy of 7 months. The second one was the exact same age (a kijiji rescue). Things are working out great with them but then, I'm home all day with them. I primarily wanted a playmate for Sophie who is an extremely calm puppy, and who was always showing signs of boredom. 

Having 2 pups was a big challenge, always having to keep an eye on them because someone would think of a naughty thing to do and the other would say "yeah let's do it, I'll help!". Sophie taught Duke how to dig... they now both dig. Duke taught Sophie how to bark as passers-by, they now are both barking. Imagine if I were not home to curtail these things? 

I admit, having 2 is a wonderful experience but oh my!... the work involved is two-fold. I feel that in your situation, seeing as both of you work all day, and the dog spends his time outside during that time, you might be asking for more trouble than you bargained for. What if one of them decides to dig under the fence? Two dig faster than one. What if they start playing together and one gets seriously hurt? What if they start fighting in your absence? So many what-if's.

I could never ever imagine our lives without Duke now, but I probably should have waited a while longer just so that Sophie could get more one on one training time with us. I'd say the success of us having 2 goldens in this household has been 95%but that's just because I'm home with them... it could have been a disaster otherwise.


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## yvettelovesgoldens (Mar 30, 2009)

We just got our 2nd golden puppy a week ago. Our oldest girl is 11 years old.
I wish I would have gotten our 2nd a long time ago! Dont wait too long
Its twice the food, poop and vet bills....................BUT also twice the kisses and love!


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## ozzygolden (May 7, 2009)

Thanks everyone for the great replies. I should elaborate some more – our primary reason for looking at another golden is because we have fallen in love with them, and would love to have another, not to try an curb the (mild) bad behaviour in our current dog. The other reason is that if we are able to provide a good home for an abandoned golden, then we feel we should do so. We are very active in our local obedience school, our boy gets at least 2 walks a day and spends a lot of his time inside with us when we are at home. On the weekends he comes with us to our local sporting activities and gets long walks and off lead runs in our local area. So I hope we doing the right things for him.

By no means would we rely on a second dog being the only cure to bad behaviour, and I hear what people are saying that getting a second dog might just double the destructive behaviour rather than helping to curb it, so we wont go into getting a second dog until we are very, very ready. Also, our boy is in class 2 at obedience school and we would be looking at progressing him further before we took on a second dog.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

I'm one of the ones who got a 2nd when my 1st was still young (10 months old). My 2nd, however, was a 2 year old rescue, not a puppy, and very well behaved and mellow.

I did bring home a 2nd dog primarily to be a friend to my 1st. Yes, I wanted another dog of course too, but I felt that there were certain dependency and boredom issues going on with Sam that would be helped by having another dog around. 

I was lucky in that having a 2nd dog and playmate for Sam helped him calm down a bit too, become less dependent on me for 100% attention 100% of the time, and have company during the days when I'm at work.

It's true that 2 dogs will rarely play when the humans are away. I watched mine on webcam and they did play and wrestle around the living room for about an hour after I left for work before they both settled and slept ALLL day long rotating positions from the couch to the floor and back.

I guess my advice is, if you are truly ready for a 2nd, go for it.. it can be an awesome thing. If your dog has some behavioral issues to work out, I would really recommend working with him on those first though. Honestly a lot of those issues sound boredom related, and could be helped with more exercise to tire him out before your absences. Another dog may help cure some of the boredom while you're gone, but its also likely that if you have one underexercised bored dog during the days, with 2 you'll just double your problem there. 

Good luck!


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## buckeyegoldenmom (Oct 5, 2008)

I am also someone who got a second golden after just one year. Tucker my older golden is not perfectly trained by any means but he is very mellow. My husband and I just missed having two goldens.

So we looked into getting another puppy...Murphy. Murphy is more lively than Tucker but they get along wonderfully. I like having them close in age, as they play together so well. Previously our goldens were 9 years apart in age. And the older one couldn't keep up with a puppy.

And finally I have to say that I think Murphy is less destructive, because he has Tucker to occupy him. He is always bringing a toy to Tucker or doing surprise attacks on him etc. Now the zoomies are pretty chaotic in the house, but it's a ball!!

I would suggest being very careful when adding the rescue. Make sure she gets along well with other dogs especially your present golden. And I would say two neutered males or one neutered male and one spayed female would work out best.

Good luck.


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## Mrs. Mouse (Jul 31, 2009)

This is my first post here. We are getting our second golden within a matter of days-the situation sort of fell into our laps, although we have been very anxious to have a second golden for a while. We'll have two, exactly the same age, neutered male and spayed female (2 1/2 years). We are very, very excited.


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## knog (Jan 12, 2008)

I have two: Yorvit was 25 months when we brought in Z, the 3 month old rescue. After a month with the two of them, I can say that it's been wonderful for the both of them as well as my human family. The only problem I've had is with potty training the little one. He rebels against the leash when I take him out because Yorvit finds that a perfect time to taunt him with toys and so distracts him from proper potty-ing. I could probably resolve the issue was taking out only one dog at the time, but they are nearly inseparable. When they're apart, they both whimper and that doesn't help with concentrating on the issue at hand.


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## ozzygolden (May 7, 2009)

thanks everyone for your comments, they have been most helpful. it has given us lots to think about before we take on another golden. thanks to all!


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## Bronwyn (Sep 7, 2009)

Hiya,

This is my first post on here too. So glad to have stumbled across this forum!

We just bought 2 golden pups from the same litter at once, a brother and sister! They're names are Jack and Stella.

We have a huge backyard however since they are only 7 weeks we've sectioned off their own little area until they get a bit bigger. They play constantly, I think I'm slowly learning to distinguish playing from fighting. This is all pretty new to us however I've found they seems to comfort each other, especially at night, from day one we've had no crying at all. 

I'm on holidays to hang out with them both a bit more while they're still so little however my husband and I both work full time. They'll be staying in their outdoor area (they have lots of undercover space there too) while we're at work but inside as soon as we get home. Any tips advice anyone has would be really appreciated. We'll obviously be spending lots of time walking and running with them, puppy school too once they've had their second round of injections.

I'm from Australia, I've never heard of crate training before? Is this the most common training technique?

Thanks
Bronwyn


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## Traz (Jan 19, 2009)

Welcome Browyn,
Congratulations on your 2 puppies. JUst be sure to try & spend some time alone with each puppy. Often 2 raise the same age will attach to each other more than attach to the people. I have several friends with 2 littermates that did just fine.

Crate training is very popular & I feel the easiest way to potty train. Buy a bigger crate but section it off so the puppy only has enough room to stand up, turn & lie down. No pillows or blankets to start. They are less likely to go in the crate.

They should only be out of their crate indoors if someone is the to watch every second. As they get older & become trained they will spend more & more time out of the crate.
Good luck.

PS We are getting a second Golden at the end of Sept. Our currrent puppy is almost 8 months old.


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