sweet_ceana Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 Part of Ceana's fear & agression draws from lack of companionship. Our attempts to socialize her at the dog park seem more over whelming than anything. She hasn't once tried to play with a dog at the dog park, but when we meet another dog one on one sometimes she will interact very positive and play. Part of her attitude also stems from Chris and I having to increase our work hours since the move. If you blow Ceana a kiss she will show you her teeth because she thinks you are leaving. We have been blowing kisses constantly and giving her treats and ball throws to dismiss this behaviour. It is almost at bay, but it does point out that she is more lonely then I would like her to be. The amount of work hours we put in at the same time is about to imporve. Once Feb. comes around Chris will be able to work from home and so she will only have two days where she has some alone time- and it will not be much. Come Feb. Chris will/ should be having knee surgery and will be home for 2 weeks straight. We know we want another BC, but we wanted to wait for ceana's issues to be "fixed." So my question is... if we brought in another dog is it possible that she would learn dog interactions better and more comfortably while also increasing her sense of companionship? Chris wants a puppy- but I want to rescue a boy that would get along with her and future children. (Strangely Ceana has all these problems but thinks kids are the greatest things ever.) Having Chris home for two weeks non- stop would make me more comfortable with bringing another dog in. We should have more space in Feb. as well. (another dog is 100% pending on if we move into a house since it would be a more nuetral territory & Ceana is a possesive dog.) We have had play dates at the house with dogs she loved and she did not have a problem with them at her house. I just want to make sure all goes as smoothly as possible. When Ceana gets along with another dog she is so happy, it is like nothing else. We really want that kind of constant bond for her. Do you think bringing in someone special for Ceana to play with and be a dog with could help our situation or is it a horrible mistake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 I don't think you'll really know until you try it! But based on what you describe, I would be inclined to add another dog to the group. I know that Sammie, Maddie, and Dean have all done Speedy worlds of good. Having other dogs has been a good component of his fear-issue rehab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloRiver Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 Assuming you have the time and resources to get a second dog, having a second dog who is normal in behavior can do worlds of good for an anxious dog. This was one of the reasons I got Fly -- ostensibly, she was coming in to be my "schoolmaster" for sheepdog handling and my trial dog, but really, I got her for Solo. It would be much wiser to add an adult of known temperament -- you want something bombproof. And if I were you, I'd get a male. Of course, this is all assuming that you actually want a second dog. I would not add a second dog if you'd prefer to remain a one-dog family. That said, once I added the second dog I never looked back. I think most dogs are happier with another dog around, whether they are normal or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 I like having more than one dog and an addition to the pack may be a good thing for Ceana for both companionship and having someone to play with. Just keep in mind that even if she becomes best buddies with the new dog, she may still never be comfortable in dog park situations or even with strange dogs. The other thing to keep in mind is a second dog will need your attention, time and training. Depending on how busy you are, this may mean less of those commodities for Ceana. And depending on how significant her fear and aggression issues are, your divided attention/time could be detrimental to her progress. That said, if you decide to add to your pack, I second (third) the idea of a rescue boy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G. Festerling Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 I think shetlander said it well. A friend of mine rescued a lab with horrible sa. Last resort was adding another dog that kind of fell into their hands and was on the way to the pound. I have babysat both dogs now and can honestly tell you that it helped tremendously. Even on her own the first dog is much better now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OurBoys Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 I agree with Melanie 100%. Our situation is reversed. JJ is our 1st bc and he's never met a stranger he didn't like. He's never met another dog he didn't like (as long as they are well behaved-if they aren't, he just turns his back to them). JJ is bomb-proof and well socialized. Jake is a different story. We were doing as much as possible for JJ but there came a time I realized the one thing we couldn't do for him is play with him like a dog could so Jake came into the picture. Jake is not bomb-proof by any means. He's very noise sensitive-to the point he's scared of DH's sneezes. He's thunderphobic and even though we have taken him out often, he usually doesn't find "instant" friends. I believe JJ has helped him alot. When he sees JJ walking up to someone, he'll walk up to them too. Jake went from running from the vacuum cleaner to jumping and barking at it to just laying there until I tell him he has to move. Jake loves it here so much, if he had his way, he would never leave the grounds. JJ has helped Jake learn it's ok to jump in the back of the suv because we'll always come back. Anytime Jake is unsure about anything, he will literally look to JJ for guidance. DH wondered at the time how it would be with 2 bc's. JJ already took up alot of our time with the mental and physical exercises. Would adding another dog mean twice the work? Nope. After taking Jake to a number of obedience classes and learning the household rules, having 2 bc's is actually easier than having one. In fact, DH and I took a mini-vacation earlier this week and after checking into our hotel rooms, DH would get upset everytime I told him I was going to go out & walk the boys and I didn't include him. Now, since most hotel's don't like more than 2 dogs per room, I'm working on DH to get a mini motorhome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKB Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 It's not the reason we adopted her, but having Ingrid has improved Pasqual's interdog issues tremendously. He doesn't want her around all of the time, but I think he grudgingly likes having her here, sort of, in his own angry little way. And on the other side, I think little Arthur would be a very different dog if Ingrid wasn't here to show him how to play, how to walk on a leash, etc. He has a great deal pf anxiety, not just separation anxiety, the poor thing is just nervous all of the time. But when things seem okay to Ingrid, they seem okay to Arthur too. He's still at the point where he trusts her a lot more than he trusts people. Ingrid's our middle dog- and I'm afraid she's our only sane one. She's a great help to her crazy brothers. So- from my limited experience, I think if you can find a sane one it's a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bexie Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 Slightly off from the original poster's question but still relevant (Sorry sweet ceana if you feel I'm hijacking your thread), but those of you who went to two dogs, how much of an impact did you notice on your dog budget? My DH and I have been thinking about adding a second dog to our pack, but we're also worrying about the financial aspect of it all. I'm currently unemployed so we're worrying about adding the maintenance expenses. As well as the dog, we have 5 horses to support and no idea when I will find a new job. But in terms of training time, now is when I have time to help a new dog adjust to life here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G. Festerling Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 It doubles the expenses. Twice as much food, twice as much for even just routine vetvisits (or if you do your own basic stuff) and the list goes on. The real killer comes if you want to partake in classes.... I started one dog a while ago and added a second in agility....no more movies for me (of course I never went in the first place ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bo Peep Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 I'm looking forward to getting a 2nd dog. You can't have just one. Once you have the first one's shots and basic training done, adding a 2nd is not so expensive. It's getting 2-3 at once that really kills ya. LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 It doubles the expenses. Twice as much food, twice as much for even just routine vetvisits (or if you do your own basic stuff) and the list goes on. The real killer comes if you want to partake in classes.... I started one dog a while ago and added a second in agility....no more movies for me (of course I never went in the first place ) Pretty much, that's what I've found, too. Sometimes there are discounts for taking two dogs into the vet at once or having more than one dog in classes at the same place, but those don't tend to be very large. Back when we only had Sammie, once a month he went to a groomer to get a bath and have his nails clipped. When we got Speedy, they both went to the groomer every other month to get a bath and have nails clipped. When we got Maddie, we started giving our own baths and clipping their nails ourselves! Baths are now as-needed! So, you might find there are things you can do yourself, like that, to reduce the financial impact of having more than one, but I would plan for the cost to double for a second dog. Of course, I've found that the benefits of having more than one far outweigh the cost, but that wouldn't be the case for everyone necessarily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 So, you might find there are things you can do yourself, like that, to reduce the financial impact of having more than one, but I would plan for the cost to double for a second dog. I agree that while having twice the dogs does not end up twice the work (unless you're actively training both/all dogs), each extra dog definitely racks up additional expenses. Some vets around here will offer discounts for multiple dogs but, while much appreciated, it's pretty minimal in the grand scheme of things. Just keeping your dogs up to date with HW & Flea/Tick Preventative is a significant chunk of change. And if your luck is poor, you can have more than one dog with expensive vet care required. I just experienced that. Quinn needed to have some scopes done and the week before he went in, out of the blue my Lhasa became literally deathly ill and ran up a $500 bill. Fortunately, I had shopped around and was saving a huge amount on the scopes, but that savings was largely eaten into by the Lhasa's emergency needs. But lots more people have better luck than I do with my dogs' health. I also agree about the expenses of training classes and entries fees if you enter trials of any sort. Those fun weekends can get very pricey. Before I started doing agility, I used to take great vacations. But now dogs are my luxury and I wouldn't have it any other way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G. Festerling Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 But.....it also adds twice the fun! That is unless you need to clean up the trashbag that two dogs just got a hold off. Two dogs - one trashbag = twice the area of pick up.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OurBoys Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 You do have twice the vet bills and twice the HW/Frontline expense. Their food would last twice as long if we only had 1 dog but since they eat EVO RF, it would probably spoil before we got to the end of the bag (we buy the largest one). Because our cat has/had health problems, she costs us more than the 2 dogs together at this point. Once the initial costs are covered (crate, bowls, obedience classes, etc), I can't see the increase in cost. (selective blindness???) Before we adopted Jake, JJ was on allergy pills. They cost us $86 for 100 pills. I was to give them to him anywhere from 1 to every 24 hrs to 1 to every 8 hrs. That got expensive. By working on JJ's diet, he no longer takes allergy pills. With that expense cut, to me anyway, Jake isn't costing anymore than just having one dog. Besides giving them a bath yourself, another way to save money is to stop buying expensive rope toys. One of JJ and Jake's favorite toy is a cheap piece of nylon rope we bought at a home improvement store. DH tied some knots in it and melted the ends and they last a lot longer. JJ has some very powerful jaws and the balls that have lasted the longest are the rubber chuck-it balls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKB Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 I agree double the daily expenses. If you are planning on getting a dog though and have saved and prepared for the starting costs, it shouldn't be too bad. We've had a bit of a struggle since Arthur showed up but he's well worth it. I've never been sorry for a second that he found us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet_ceana Posted October 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 Thanks guys, I feel alot better. We have always wanted two dogs. We got Ceana as a little pup so we wanted to make sure she had grown up a bit before we got another dog, and then we saw an increase in her issues. We were waiting to have her issues under control before we brought in a little brother, but from what I have heard a little brother may be the best thing for her. We are getting a rescue whether Chris wants it or not lol. If we find a boy that Ceana gets along with there is no way that he could say no. It looks like we will be making an addition in Feb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bexie Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 Congrats ceana! Everyone's responses match up with my BF's and my concerns--we just can't really afford to risk a second dog right now. With 5 horses and Molly, we already risk too many vet emergencies. If a rescue stumbled into our lap, it might be a different story, but no fall puppy acquisitions, tempting as it may be. Not unless I suddenly get a job, that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKB Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 Your boyfriend? Do he and your husband get along well? I hope your job search goes well. And then I hope to see puppy pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OurBoys Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 Your boyfriend? Do he and your husband get along well? She's not use to being married yet is she?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bexie Posted October 16, 2007 Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 She's not use to being married yet is she?! No, I'm not. It is weird to write DH. ;-) But thanks for the good wishes. I've been job searching for months without much luck. :-( But at some point I will get luckier. I'm also keeping my eyes open for any potential older dogs to adopt. A more stable dog could be a good role model for Molly. She was copying the older aussie female when visiting our horse trainer, but I don't expect a dog to solve her issues or train her for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4pack Posted October 16, 2007 Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 Going off on a tangent regarding multiple dogs ... heck of a lot cheaper than a herd of horses Tara 4 Border Collies 6 Quarter Horses (w 2 on the way) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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