Having a dog has been a fun and wonderful experience for everyone in your family. In fact, it has been so rewarding that you are now seriously thinking of getting a second dog. However, it is important that you really think this decision through, because having two dogs can be an entirely different experience from having one. Before you make a leap of faith off of this cliff, you need to make a detailed list of the pros and cons associated with getting a second dog. As you thoughtfully compile this list, here are just a few things that you might want to take into consideration.

Dogs are pack animals. When a dog is separated from his pack he may become worried, stressed and unhappy, sometimes leading to Separation Anxiety. A lot of destructive behaviors stem from dogs who just cannot deal with being separated from their packs. A lot of unwanted dogs in pounds are there because of behaviors which stemmed from the stress of being left alone without their packs.

The Pros
If you are enjoying spending time with your dog, then there is no doubt that a second dog can enhance that experience. This might be a little overwhelming if you were the only person in the house, and you suddenly had two dogs totally relying on you for everything every single minute of the day, but if you are a family, there should be plenty of human companionship to go around.

Companionship is one of the main things that people think of when they are considering getting a second dog – companionship for their canine friend who may be lonely for someone to play with, sleep with, and socialize with. This can be an especially important consideration if your dog is forced to spend a lot of time home alone each day. With another dog around to keep him company, instead of staring fitfully at the door for hours waiting for someone to come home, he may be so busy goofing around and getting into mischief with his new friend that he may not even notice when you come in through the door.

The Cons
No matter how much we may love dogs, some of that mischief they get into can be a bit destructive. Put two dogs together, and you could potentially have a mess on your hands. They might enjoy their time home alone together, but can you really trust them to mind their manners and leave the place the way you left it?

Even if you end up with two dogs that are extremely well behaved, they still represent twice the responsibility. Essentially, this means the potential for twice the cost: in vets’ fees, for food and medicine (including tick and flea prevention), for personal care products like shampoos, leashes, and so on. You hope of course that both of your dogs live healthy and active lives. But there is twice the possibility for health problems to arise, and if both of your dogs should need extensive medical care the situation could quickly get out of hand.

So far we have been assuming your two dogs will get along with each other just fine, but in fact that is a big assumption to make. It is entirely conceivable that your old dog will not take kindly to having his or her space invaded, and he or she may take it out on the new addition. The possibility for personality conflict is definitely there. If it turns out your two dogs can’t get along, for whatever reason, what are you going to do then, after you have already made a commitment to the new dog by adopting him or her and bringing him or her home?

Beyond the Pros and Cons
In truth, the list of pros and cons really boils down to just two things – behavior and health. If both dogs behave well with you and each other, and don’t break anything or bite anyone, and if their health is basically sound, then owning two dogs really can be twice as wonderful as owning one. But before you bring the new guy or gal home, here are some steps you should take to make sure your new addition is going to bring nothing but happiness and fun to your lives and your home.

Research your Breeds
All dog breeds have certain personality traits that generally define their character and their behavior. You already know about the characteristics of the dog you have, so what you need to do now is find another dog that will not clash with his personality style. If your dog likes to be active, you don’t want to pair him up with a dog that prefers to sleep 16 hours a day. On the other hand, if you have a slothful canine, a frisky puppy from an active breed is hardly likely to be a good fit as the new addition will just end up annoying your already faithful friend. In your research you need to pay careful attention to the experiences of people who have owned any breed you are considering bringing into your home to see what kinds of problems have come up in their relations with other dogs.

Spay and Neuter
Of course if you choose a second dog of the opposite sex, then it goes without saying that you want to take at least one of them to the vet for an operation. But if you are going to be getting two dogs of the same sex, then spaying or neutering will probably do more to head off conflict than any other step you could take. If you choose to have two unaltered dogs of the same sex, then all we can say is, good luck to you.

Training
Hopefully the dog you have has been to puppy school, or received some other kind of training that has helped him become comfortable with other dogs, because this can make a really huge difference in how he will greet the newcomer. If this is not the case, and your dog appears to have some problems with other dogs, then you need to find ways to expose him to them in a non-threatening environment before you bring home the second dog. And of course when your second dog arrives, you may need to repeat the procedure with him.

Introduce them Slowly
When you bring the new dog home, your two canine pals need to be introduced to each other in a series of gradual steps. Take things slowly, and only let them get closer or spend time together unsupervised after you are sure there are not going to be problems. If they can get to know each other in an unhurried pace, in environments where they are made to feel completely comfortable, they should eventually learn to accept and even like each other. You might want to start with the new dog in his or her crate and allowing your dog to sniff him or her without any potential threat.

From there, should things go well, allow the new dog out of the crate and onto a leash, again, reducing threat to your existing dog.

Once it is well established that things are going well, you may let the new dog off the leash, but neither dog has proven that you can leave them unsupervised. This, too, may take some time. Pack structure will need to be established between them and only they know to determine this.

You may hear many people advising that as long as things don’t get loud or bloody, let them work it out. This is highly unadvisable. Bear in mind that you are the pack leader and while you do not determine their pack status, you do lead over them both. Allowing them to “work it out,” in terms of fighting signals to them you are not in control. Recognizing they will determine pack structure is one thing, allowing things to turn into a fight is another. Once a dog has been attacked, he or she is never the same again and your home will always be a source of stress.

However, if you are vigilant, the two should eventually work it out. You should expect a little dominance being presented on either side – paws or neck on top of one or the other dog or mounting in a non-mating manner – these are normal. If these behaviors are accompanied with growling or fighting, you must be on hand to mediate.

Managing Two Dogs

Several things change in how you manage your first dog when a new dog joins the family. You might get away with not taking these precautions, but it’s far wiser not to take the risk.

1. Separate your dogs for feeding. If your first dog is used to having food out all the time, that needs to change now—preferably before adding the new dog. Feed at least two meals a day. Three or four smaller meals are fine. You can make training opportunities of these times, and frequent meals can help your dogs get along better—if they are separated and never feel they have to compete over food.

2. When you give treats to one dog in front of the other one, give the other dog treats, too, but do it in such a way that they don’t compete over the food. This approach helps each dog support the other’s learning rather than resenting the attention paid to the other dog. Once in awhile, though, it can aid learning to give treats to one dog and withhold them from another. For example, let’s say your dogs are outdoors and you call them back into the house. Fuzzy comes, but Fuzzette doesn’t. If you close the door and let Fuzzette look longingly through the glass to see Fuzzy getting treats while she doesn’t get any, she will begin to get the idea that it pays to come in when called.

3. When a dog does something well, let the other dog see that. When a dog tends to misbehave in a particular situation or be scared of it, try to separate the dogs for that situation until the one who handles it well is stable enough to influence the other one to do better. Sometimes that never comes, but taking some care about this tends to pay off at least part of the time.

4. Don’t leave chews or highly desirable toys out for dogs to “share.” That’s asking for a fight, and no chew item is worth the risk. Give your dogs these things when they are separated. This means that your dog who used to be an only dog will give up being able to have free access to these items. Keep that in mind in your decision about whether or not to add a dog.

5. Use a crate for a dog who needs that support, and give the other dog whatever freedom that dog can handle. If you give each dog proper individual attention, this difference will not be a problem. Never put two dogs in the same crate, no matter how well they get along.

6. Don’t give a dog bed privileges until the dog is ready. One guideline to keep in mind is around a year of age, when temperament is fairly evident. Don’t take bed privileges away from one dog because the other one can’t handle those privileges. Dogs can deal with that difference. And it is absolutely fine to never allow your dogs on your bed if that is your preference. It is what most professionals recommend, even though most of us don’t listen!

7. Each dog needs frequent individual attention from you—daily at home, and regularly away from the house without the other dog. This is important to their emotional health as well as your relationship with each of them.

Adding any dog is potentially a life-changing decision for the human and any dogs already in the home. Be sure to take your time. Don’t do it on impulse because a desirable dog has become available.

Carefully chosen and spaced dogs can enable you to do things that are enjoyable and healthy for you. It does make for a lot of work, though, often at extremely inconvenient times. The expenses can be quite daunting, too. Life in a good home with the right other dog can be nice for both dogs. But your dog can be happy as an only dog, and some dogs will not be happy sharing you.

Consider all the angles and gather all the information before deciding whether or not to add a second dog. It is a big change in daily life between having one dog and having two. With the resources of time, energy, finances and physical facilities; two dogs in the family can be a rewarding lifestyle. It does mean the dogs having to share you and lots of other resources, it does reduce the extreme closeness you can have with just one dog, and it may not fit with other things you want from life. Only you can decide.