Considering a 2nd dog

MickieBlue · Jun 25, 2015

Hi all, those of you who have 2 or more pups, were you nervous/had reservations when bringing on the 2nd or new with 100% certainty it was the right decision? And, how did it turn out? Happy you did it?

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turbodave · Jun 25, 2015

I'm relatively new to the Frenchie world (thanks a lot Michelle!

) Always used to own boxers, but too old for that now. When we first got our Benjamin he was 15 mo old and was a pure joy and loved playing with his toys and cuddling. But.....
A few months later the opportunity to acquire another Frenchie from the same show breeder came along and we decided Benjamin needed a companion. Bitty is 4 years old and a retired Grand Champion from the show circuit.
Benjamin was SO happy to have a play mate, but Bitty wasn't so excited at first. Only took her a couple weeks to warm up to him, and now they're inseperable!!

Frenchies are Lays potato chips, you can't own just one!!! :w00t:

MickieBlue · Jun 25, 2015

Haha, gosh that's the truth! It's like a secret cult I joined! [emoji4] thanks for the input!

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winginit66 · Jun 25, 2015

Hi! We would be in the 'or more' category. We have a female Cairn terrier that was about 5 when we brought Gidget home. They hit it off in seconds! About a year later we brought home siblings. Gidget was THRILLED to have more playmates. The Cairn... not so much. I wasn't nervous at the time but I am stressed now because the Cairn and the female puppy get into it if someone comes to the door. Only then, no problems at dinner time, etc. And the female puppy (Olivia) is the one that starts it.

I have talked about applying for a rescue but my husband has concerns about bringing an adult dog into the mix.

Jakeyjake · Jun 25, 2015

Jake was our first frenchie and he was such a love...very laid back and easygoing. He loved other dogs so much we decided he needed a playmate so about 8 mos. later we got Stella. Well she came racked full of problems, but that's another story. She had pretty bad food guarding behavior and I felt bad for Jake because he would just cower and not even want to go near his food. I literally would have to feed Jake in a completely separate room with doors closed or she would be "on guard" and not even eat her food. We have made progress but she can still get a little scrappy with him. She is on some meds. too that kinda made her stomach upset so she wasn't very interested in food. Now we give her an appetite stimulant and she gobbles her food without worrying about Jake. They play together and get along fine other than that. Jake took Stella's crap from the get go with her hanging from his jowls and chewing on his ears. He was always very tolerant of her. We have no regrets about getting a 2nd and Stella has cost us a small fortune and she's only 20 mos. old!

Alice Kable · Jun 25, 2015

The best thing you can do for Mickie is get a 2nd dog. They exercise each other and always have someone to snuggle. Having 2 dogs keeps boredom and loneliness away. They do compete and feed off each other, what one doesn't think of the other will! I say go for it!

blushy · Jun 25, 2015

It's stressful at first, but once that wears off, and you know you can financially and time-wise afford a 2nd, do it!

I love my two babies. They are so different, it's like fraternal twins. When one is on my nerves, the other comes and is a snuggle and cheers me out of my bad mood haha.

It's worth it!

Squishy Walnuts · Jun 26, 2015

I think my Boston Uma would have been fine on her own if we never got another dog but I'm glad we did. I wasn't worried about getting a 2nd dog because she's pretty sweet. They are the best of buds.

davidh · Jun 26, 2015

With Frenchies, it's really the best thing you can do, as they love having other Frenchies around. Some will take a little while to warm up the the new comer, but once that is over, they love each other. We have 5 Frenchies and 2 English.

Fosta Mama · Jun 26, 2015

I have 2, and a 3rd as a foster.
I would have to say, it depends on your dog. Does your dog like other dogs? Have you had visiting dogs in your home and how did Mickie respond? Generally, a male-female combo works best. Right now I have 3 neutered males together and they are doing fine.
It can take weeks to months for 2 dogs to bond or at least come to a mutual understanding. Slow introductions are incredibly important and lead to better success. Somewhere on the forum I've posted the slow intro procedure. Slow intros can take a couple of days up to several weeks, depending on the dogs involved.
Good luck with your decision!

hotrod351 · Jun 27, 2015

my experience is that they are going to along or there not. ive brought more than a few second dogs in the mix and only one didnt like the others, but she was also 4 years old. no fighting, she just didnt like the others. like you im always concerned each time, and should be. i had a shitzu and brought a pug, good friends, in fact ended up being best friends, then another pug to my pug, again friends, then a french bulldog to my pug, now that i worried about for months, seeing as the frenchie is going to outweigh the pug by a bit, but all is well and they are becoming good friends, playing and sleeping together. like Fosta Mama said = it depends on your dog. Does your dog like other dogs? my dogs have always had another dog to keep them company.

2bullymama · Jun 29, 2015

age of the dogs will factor into the introduction, but overall, it takes about 2-4 weeks for them to settle into each other and become buddies. We have always had two.... when our first Bulldog past and we got Cheli) Frenchie. it took us a full week of neutral location introduction with our female Bulldog to even interact with Cheli. When Banks, past and we got Lambeau (Bulldog puppy) -- Cheli ignored him for the first two weeks, then POW, play broke out and they have not stopped since and that was 5 months ago --- total partners in crime now