For those of you with more than one dog

[Denise]

What do you do when you are not home? Do you keep them together? If you separate them, do you have separate crates?

What are the pros and cons of having two dogs?

Just wondering...

[Chrisanne]

LOL!! Well, where does one start.

When we aren't home of course the puppies are crated. They share one giant size kennel for now. Everyone else gets along great and is past the stage in life where they have to be crated so they are just left alone together.

They still have their crates and often choose to sleep in them, but it is purely by choice as their crates no longer have the doors on them.

To me, the pro's of having more than one dog start with just the pure joy of having them around. They make me laugh, they make me smile. They do keep one another company when we aren't home and that helps.

The con's... well there can be many depending on how you view it.
Of course the more you have the higher the feed bill (this doesn't bother me)
The more you have, the more mess to clean up (hubby's job.. doesn't phase me ROFL)
The biggest drawback to most people is the lack of being able to vacation. To me, that is something that I can't do no matter how many I have. One is the same as 4 in that respect to me.

Hmmm... I'll think more on it.

[Denise]

Chrisanne, how did I know you would reply to this?


I belong to a Pit Bull forum and most everyone on there says never to have two Pit Bulls of the same sex. It is a HUGE no-no. Then, the majority of members say never, ever, leave two dogs alone unsupervised, even if they are of the opposite sex and different breed. If we do get another dog, it will be a female, American Bulldog.

[Chrisanne]

ROFLMAO... because I have a herd and you know it. And it helps that you know I'm online.

You know I've heard people say that bull about never leaving them alone unsupervised no matter the breed/sex... blah blah blah blah.

To me, it is all about knowing your dogs. If you know two have a problem then of course you don't leave them unsupervised together. Common sense rules in that regard. I "think" that even Mandie leaves her pitties alone together and they do just fine.

For instance... in my house I know that Gazoo is not exactly tolerant of the puppies so he is not left alone with them. I fear he would "correct" them and hurt them. Not to mention Daytona is a little terror and would create a HUGE mess to clean up in the house. LOL!! On the other hand, Maverick may as well not exist. Mav does his thing, Gazoo does his. This generally means when I come home Gazoo is sleeping by the door (guarding instincts) and Mav is on the couch snoring up a storm. LOL

BTW.. I ADORE Am Bulldogs.

[RSbunny]

ok well Cindy and Biscuit get crated when we're not home....seperate crates ( occassionally they'll go in the big crate together but Biscuit waits for Cindy to get comfortable and then sits on her so she moves and she ends up with no blanket and very squashed and uncomfortable, we only let this happen if we are going for 1/2 hour or something...never a long time but sometimes they just both want the big crate) but always crated oherwise they are in their 'out of bounds' areas when we get home.
I really love having Cindy and Biscuit but I prefer having ine dog and I wouldn't bring in another dog/puppy after Cindy has passed. I always thought I wanted two dogs but I prefer to own one. I think I'll be alone on this here but just thought I'd add my 2 cents.
Biscuit won't allow me to give Cindy attention and not her...it's one hand on each dog (cindy lets bicuit get one on one time). She's not nasty to cindy, she just has to be center of attention...not sure if you'd have a problem with that with two bully breeds!

[ghost_desire]

I only have two dogs, I don't really leave the house a lot but when I do they go in their crate there's only one. They both get along so well. I agree with Chrisanne, it's all about knowing your dogs.
Pros- When your not here they have each other, more love, more fun
Cons- Money, & mess

Denise, are you thinking about getting another dog?

[Denise]

Right now, I am pleading the 5th.

[Chrisanne]

haha, just give yourself away Denise. Pleading the 5th implies guilt in this case.

I'll tell ya what else too... I'd have 20 dogs before i'd have more unruly children in my life.

[Ravnos]

After much hit and miss with needing to replace my carpet, my baseboards, my shoes, a jacket or two, a large gash in the forehead of my dalmation mix - I tried a confining to a single room, a dog corral, large two-per crates, outside in the back yard (not feasible in Texas for much of the year) - I finally settled on just crating them all seperately. I do much of my work out of my house so thankfully they aren't in there for long periods of time, though, half the time they're sleeping in the open crates when they're lounging around the house.

[Denise]

Chrisanne, I am not doubting for one moment that you would rather have 20 dogs than beastly children. Dogs are more well behaved than those children were and ever will be!

I am getting "basic" information on the female American Bulldog. She is 10 months old, great with other dogs, loves people and can be used as a working dog or merely a pet. She has one blue eye and one brown eye. The woman that has her is going to send me pictures of her. This isn't a done deal yet. Just obtaining "information". Cough, cough.

[Chrisanne]

Whatever you decide Denise it will be a well thought out and discussed decision. I truly admire that about you. Too many people "fly by the seat of their pants" in decisions such as this.

Eventually Smoke and Daytona will be crated seperately. They'll be to big to share.

[Denise]

Thanks Chrisanne. That means a lot to me. I will let you know what happens.

[Denise]

Chrisanne, then there is the argument that a puppy will become bonded with another dog versus its owner(s). Should we wait until Logan gets older to get another dog because of this?

[Dena]

Well I have two pits from the same litter of the same sex. I double no-no. I did have a little trouble with them two summers ago but now nothing. It never escalated beyond a lot of fierce barking but the behaviorist said that was completely normal. It was as simple as sibling rivalry. Occasionally I'll hear a quick "knock it off" bark but from the time they were born to the time they fought to now they have always always always, slept in the same crate together. When they were smaller we had two crates but they would litterally stuff themselves into the same crate. They never wanted to sleep separately. When I had them at the vets for boarding the one woman commented on how they could never be separated. They were dying being in different cages there. She said they were always sticking their paws out for each other so they could touch. I love them very much. They are not locked in their crate anymore but they still choose to sleep in it. They haven't been locked in it for over 2 years now, even during their little spat. There were never a problem alone or with feeding.

That said. I will never own two dogs of that size and strength at the same time again! It was a lot of work and bringing them to the vets still is. I had a mobile vet come to the house and last I heard she went out of business I don't know what I am going to do. They just get way to excited to see everyone and the other dogs. I don't know how other dogs will react to them and people have misconceptions because they are pits so its difficult for me. Misconception is the biggest con for me. I know in a couple more years my dogs will be complete duds. They do nothing right now, they don't even bark at new people in the driveway anymore and soon I know they wont even be jumping on new people that the meet in person. I know many of you see that as a good thing especially seeing as that was a behavior that I would have like to never have had in the first place but now I know once that is gone they will have hit old age, how sad

[Chrisanne]

Ya know Denise, I heard a lot of that when I was thinking of getting two instead of one at the same time. For me, I don't see it. Yes they are bonded to one another... but they are both still very bonded to family.

Daytona has choosen my hubby, whereas Smoke is MY baby. At the same time, they have also choosen others amongst the pack. Daytona is bonded to Maverick while Smoke and Gazoo have bonded incredibly.

You have had time to build that bond with Logan, and I don't think it will ever be broken at this point. I have done so much rescue through Gazoo's early years in life but nothing has shaken our bond.

While the two pups at once seem to be more work, they really aren't for me. They learn from each other. They are also learning from the older dogs as well. It helps that they are not littermates I think. They weren't together from birth. They only met about 1-2 weeks before they were shipped out.

Did that make any sense?????