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Advice on breed for second dog


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Hi, I'm just wondering what some generally good breeds would be for a second dog.

 

I'd like a dog around 25 lbs, and we will be seeking a female. Right now my husband and I are leaning toward mini aussie shepherds, thinking they are small but still big enough to tag along.

 

Any ideas on other smallish dog breeds, or good mixes?

 

Also, our dog Max is 2 1/2 years old, does anyone have experience with going from having an only dog to him/her being the older sibling? I am terribly afraid of messing up this wonderful thing we have going! I love how snuggly Max is in the mornings and don't want to lose those special times. What personality changes have you seen in your dogs?

 

Thanks!

-Hill

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Lots of nice, smallish border collie mixes around in shelters I bet :) My girl is a jack russell x border collie, she weighs 26lbs, but most of the terrier/BC mixes I know are a lot smaller than her.

 

As someone else said, you can find nice small border collies too. A friend of mine has a working bred BC girl that is the same size as my terrier/BC! I find that BCs tend to get annoyed with Elsie though, they don't seem to enjoy her play style that much.

 

If you're looking for actual breeds, I find miniature poodles tend to get on well with BCs, they are SUPER snuggly, will keep up well on walks and playing chase with BCs and are very clever too.

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Please consider checking out your local shelters and rescues. If your only requirement is size, getting along with your other dog, and companionship, there will be a lot of great choices. Check out Petfinder.com, put in your location and see what pops up.

 

It was worrisome going from one dog, to two. But in the end, one of the best decisions we ever made.

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I agree with Paula and others who've suggested looking at rescues. And the only problem I saw with getting a second dog was it led to a third.

 

More seriously, we worried a lot about our first dog when we added the second and nothing particularly changed about him except for the better. Just like I hear is true with children, there is enough love and devotion to go around.

 

Good luck with the search

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I would also suggest another border collie, from my own limited experiences they just seem to interact differently with each other than other dogs. My two never really interacted with our house guest dogs but have always found games to play with the border collie fosters that have come through, they also seemed to want to play with the very occasional border collie we meet on walks but never care to engage with other random dogs.

 

If not a border collie then maybe a terrier cross, most terriers are tough little dogs who are great fun. From my agility experiences I would also not suggest a mini Aussie.

 

Regarding adding a second dog, it was the best thing we did. We did struggle to create a balance as we did favor our girl dog which was not fair to the new one (our first border collie) but all four of us worked it out and the two dogs had 10 great years together.

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I had a shelter mutt and my older collie for a long time, and it was a great combination. Lu was a who-knows-what-mix, definitely some GSD, possibly ACD. No Border Collie, that's for sure. She & Nick got along famously. Lu was there first, but I don't think that mattered. She was a fairly dominant dog, and pretty strict about her boundaries. Nick was perfectly happy to let her be top dog, and he respected her rules, and I think that's what made it work.

 

After Lu died, and I added Hoot, the second collie... Well, that's when things got interesting. Hoot's 4 now, and Nick is 9, and even though they mostly get along, I still have to run interference every now & then.

 

More than breed, I'd say it's important to make sure the dogs' personalities mesh. Nick's favorite dog in the whole world was our old neighbor's small, poodle-something mix. Daisy was not my type of dog, but Nick loved her! He'd go into "slow mode" playing with the little fuzzball. And Hoot, out of the blue, decided he loves my sister's enormous, sweet, but amazingly dumb, Golden. Go figure :)

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You don't say why you don't want another border collie, or what it is you're looking for in a dog other than size. I think those are both very important things to know first.

 

I agree with looking in shelters and rescues.

 

And as Alligande pointed out, border collies can be real snobs when it comes to other types of dogs. Their play styles are different and don't always mesh well with other types of dogs. Most herding breeds, tough, would tend to be more compatible.

 

But, as I said, without knowing what you're looking for, it's hard to make any suggestions other than the above. . . . but I'd probably still say go to a shelter or rescue and find a dog that you can test out being compatible with your dog.

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Also, our dog Max is 2 1/2 years old, does anyone have experience with going from having an only dog to him/her being the older sibling? I am terribly afraid of messing up this wonderful thing we have going! I love how snuggly Max is in the mornings and don't want to lose those special times. What personality changes have you seen in your dogs?

 

Although it has been forever since we added our second dog after having just one (he was also about 2 years old when we added a new dog), I think it is good from the outset to know that things will change. You will keep some of the special times and special things, but things will also be different when a second dog is in the picture.

 

Granted, if you find the right match, most of the changes can be good ones. But after having added four dogs to my group over the years, I have learned that when a new dog comes into the mix, things just don't stay the same. However, you do find a new normal, and many things can be better than they were before. You will have special things with your new dog, and special things with the pair.

 

I will always have very fond memories of walking our oldest around town, just the two of us, and the one summer that we spent hanging out and playing and enjoying just each others company.

 

Of course, with just two, you really can still carve out a lot of one on one time. Walking two dogs separately or playing with them separately is really no big deal. Once I got to three, most things started happening with the group as a whole, or a pair at a time!!

 

I have never regretted expanding beyond one dog. Yes, things change, but in the long run I can't imagine having any less than two!!

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Good advice above.

 

I agree that the personality of the individual dogs is more important than the breed. Will the 2 get along and play? If they both get along, I don't see why you can not still have your snuggly time in the morning - but with one dog for each human.

 

I also agree with not getting a mini Aussie. I was curious about them too last year and saw a woman at an agility trial with 2 or 3 of them. I struck up a conversation and she wryly admitted that they weren't for everyone - indicating that they had personality issues. Although she had multiples, she was not going to get another one.

 

Rescue - yes!!

 

Jovi

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Thanks for your responses everyone!

 

First, I would consider getting another border collie because I do love, love, love them. But we have decided to be very firm with size (25 lbs or under). We have small cars and want the two to fit, and who knows what size house we will end up in (just moved out of 600 sf and I can't imagine having two big dogs there)! Max is a very large border collie-62 pounds-he's mostly legs, but I think he'll still fill out more. So a mix would be a good bet. We also want a dog that has those big melty puppy eyes that look up at you---max's eyes are, well they're intense- ha ha.

 

Second, thanks for the advice on mini aussies and their personalities, that is really important. I loved shiba inu's for awhile after seeing one hiking 14'ers, but after every single owner telling me what a pain they are I won't go near them.
Plus, I'm finding mini aussies to be very expensive.

 

Third, I want to rescue a dog, I do. And if we can find a puppy then that is a definite option. Any advice on finding rescue puppies (I rescued an adult golden-cocker mix who was sweet but had aggression issues stemming from years of abuse)??

 

And finally, yes, Max is a total snob about other breeds. He does like herding types. He has liked a sheltie, and a blue heeler. He spent his first 6 months with our old roommate's 5 pound toy poodle and LOVES the tiny dogs. So maybe a miniature poodle. We want it to be large enough to keep up hiking.

 

And thanks for the kind words about making room for a second dog, there's enough love in this house for two.

-Hill

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Ok, so I do have to defend the mini Aussies a bit. A real Mini can be a wonderful companion. I have one that would be a wonderful dog if she was a single dog or in a two dog type home. But I have found that to be true with the full sized ones I ran across as well. My girl is fun, athletic, very much my shadow. But I don't do terribly well with constant shadows. She is smart and a load of mischief as well!

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I think that if my next dog is a rescue, I would search for a dog between 5 or 6-12 months of age. By that time, you will have a good idea of adult size and temperament. And with a good personality, they love to train.

 

My favorite two fosters were in that age range, and I just loved working with them.

 

Jovi

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I understand about the size criteria, my young dog grew into a leggy and long beast. (when I measured him for an airline crate he needs the very largest our other very average 40lb one needed a crate 2 sizes smaller) At the last agility trial it seemed like half the other border collies could have walked under him without ducking, if you look in rescue you could well find a small border collie if you want another. If you fancy some variety I would also suggest going to rescue/shelter and getting a young adult as you can guarantee their size.

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