Get Another Dog/Puppy?

[Faluzure]

Hello all.  I'm a first time Shorkie owner and found this board on Google.

I purchased Oreo from a breeder on 1/5/2009 (2 days ago) and she is currently 6.5 weeks old.  I gave Oreo to my girlfriend as a birthday present.  We both love her very much and she's been doing great.

Since we got her, we've been hearing from other dog owners that we should get another puppy to aid in raising her.  I was just wanting to get your opinions on this matter.  We've talked to the breeder and they still have Oreo's litter mates available.

Our schedules are really convenient.  I work Monday - Friday, 8AM - 5PM, but I go home during lunch.  My girlfriend is a college student and is home most of the time.  Oreo is only alone anywhere from 1-4 hours per day, so it's not like we leave her alone for extended periods of time.

We have agreed that we do want another dog, but were going to wait until Oreo got older.  Getting another dog while Oreo is still a puppy was something that just recently came up.

Thoughts/opinions?

[Ann]

Hi
This is my opinon I beleive if you intend to get another dog anyway you should get it now so they grow up together. It also is better for you as you will only have to go through the toilet training once as long as you both share in the responsibilities. It's really wonderful that you feel this way about your dog.

I will say though if you don't really want another dog that's fine as I only have Toby and my husband and I find he is great and we are here most of the time but when we go out we give him things to keep him busy and he is fine.

We would of loved to have got another as they are a great dog and so easy to train but we couldn't aford it.

Another thing you must consider is if you wish to go away taking them with you or having them looked after.

I'm lucky I have a friend who has dogs and she looks after Toby for us but if I didn't have her I know I couldn't leave Toby on his own as he would fret. The only other thing I do is sometime my parents come over to stay and they look after him for me and he loves them.

[Ann]

Oh I must say Oreo is soooooooo cute offcourse. She is going to be a beautiful girl.

[Mai Tai]

I am with Ann on this one.  If you are going to get another dog eventually, get it now, as they can grow up together and be a pack.  I think a littermate would be the optimal choice.  My friends dogs love them, but really play the best with other dogs.  I wish I had been able to get a littermate for Mai Tai, but there were only 3 pups in the litter and they were all spoken for.  I am home all the time with Mai Tai, but I can see he would really love another dog to play with.  I imagine it would be more difficult to take care of two at a time, especially with potty training if they don't have the same schedule, but I think it would be worth it.  I know what I am talking about as I have quadruplet daughters...LOL.  It was a crazy house for a long time, but now they are each other's best friends.  I have never owned more than one puppy at a time though, so I am no expert.  I guess you could run into difficulties if they don't get along well.  Give it some serious consideration and follow your heart.  Best of luck no matter what you do.