[Libby&Jofi]

I got my first dog... my first doodle, Jofi back in December. She's now 4 month's old.

Anyway, when I was looking for a doodle I ended up on two waiting lists (2 separate breeders). So, now we have Jofi, we're still on the waiting list with the 2nd breeder... and they've just had a lovely litter of puppies (all golden, red, cream, caramel - I'd originally wanted a lighter colour although when Jofi came up I couldn't resist). I'll find out in 3 weeks if one of the puppies has been allocated to us (then we can choose whether to go ahead or not). It wasn't the original plan to have 2 doodles but since having the one it just seems to make sense to have a 2nd as a play mate and afteral - 2 doodles... twice the fun?

So... here are my questions... is there a big difference having 2 doodles instead of one - is it twice the work? Do 2 doodles tend to manage better when left alone than one? I'm mostly at home at the moment and for the upcoming months so it doesn't matter that much but perhaps in the future it will be more relevant - I'm also thinking when we go away and the dog has to go to a dog-hotel/kennel.

Is it better if the second dog is around the same age? Is it easier for a young dog (i.e. a puppy) to accept a new companion dog or is it easier once she is an adult? I've heard that it's better to have one of each sex rather than mixing two girls (Jofi is a she although she's been neutered - she gets on well with all dogs). Of the new litter 7 are girls and 3 are boys so it's likely if we do get allocated we'll have a girl.

My partner is open to the idea but wonders whether it's good to wait half a year first.

For those of you with a second doodle - how did you make the decision? What things did you take into account? Do you have two female dogs - does it work - how did you introduce them in the first place? Jofi came from Australia - and the 2nd breeder is also in Australia (Tegan and Rutland Manor), so there wouldn't be an option to test-drive the dogs together first (although I doubt there would be a problem from how Jofi has been with other dogs in the park - she's absolutely loved the doodles we've met).

Here are a couple of pics of the newborns:



and at 3 days



and their mummy:

[annabelles mom]

Libby what sweet babies and mama is very pretty

there are several members with multiple doodles, I'm sure they'll be along

I had 2 choc labs together, littermates, and I didnt find it that much harder and they played so well together and kept each other company
_________________


Mary & Annabelle
Zippity Doodle, Zippyity ay, My O My what a WonderDoodle Day !

http://www.picturetrail.com/luvlabs

[lmtoth2]

wow they are so cute

We have 2, but we adopted Kirby when he was 1 yr old so we missed going through all the puppiness with 2 (at the same time). There is definitely a bit more work to have 2, but overall on a day to day basis I actually feel it's almost easier to have 2 because they entertain each other. Obviously there is more cost associated with food, vet visits...bathing 2 is more work...taking 2 places takes more time (getting them in the car, etc). Boarding 2 costs more...

We are very happy we got Kirby...we hope that in the near future we will be able to leave them together when we go to work (we thought it would be more fair to Dexter to have company while we're away).

We are also lucky in that Kirby is a very good boy and doesn't do a lot of the antics that Dexter does...it may be more work if you are chasing down 2 doodles to get back socks/underwear or whatever else they steal
_________________
Leslie M

[KingstonTodd]

Absolutley twice the fun and more! just make sure they get along. With a puppy and a young one itshould be ok. We "interviewed" a few dogs before we found ont that Hershey fell in love with at first sight. Its been great ever since. Food, vet, boarding, toys, ect cost more but if you can handle it then i always think dogs do better in pairs. It is nice however if one is fully trained first, to listen and teach the new puppy what to do and what is ok. We waited until Hershey was about a year old to add Gustopher, and he was 4 months old, so he was house trained already......that was great. . I have friends with littermates and they had a very hard time training and establishing a person-dog bond.

[hmz819]

I can't comment on having two all the time. I dog sit a lot so about 2-3 times a week Maya has another dog here. Too me it is no more work than having one BUT all the dogs that come are older. I really want to get Maya a full time companion but I am waiting until she is at least over a year if not 2 before I get a second. I want her fully trained so that if another puppy comes along the pup can learn from Maya.

Also all my friends have female dogs and Maya has been fine with all of them. Even at her daycare they report Maya will play with everyone but prefers the females. Doodles tend to be very easy going so I don't think it matters much.
_________________
Heather, Morgan, Maya, and Sadie
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion-Unknown

[emilee]

we have a 2-year-old male (neutered) doodle and just brought home a new puppy a couple weeks ago. he's almost 10 weeks old. my fiance and i are finding that the normal puppy stuff is a bit harder when there's another dog around the house -- even a well-behaved one like kumo is.

it is more difficult to watch ursus (the puppy) when he's playing with kumo, so that we can catch him before he pees on the floor or chews on inappropriate things. they can get really worked up, and then i think ursus has to pee before he really knows it.

kumo is also insanely tolerant of ursus chewing on his legs, ears, face, etc. -- so we do puppy "time outs" so that ursus will learn proper dog manners. we didn't have to do this with kumo as a pup, because he didn't have another dog around.

it is not possible to take them both outside at the same time yet, so for a while that means twice the trips outside. if you have a yard i guess that would be easier.

we have started puppy kindergarten, so we have training "homework" to work on with the puppy, and we're finding that we have to put kumo in another room or in his crate when we work on training the puppy. fortunately kumo is housebroken, only chews on his toys, and is very comfortable in his crate.

all of these things are necessary and temporary aspects of having a puppy, and fairly minor changes to our routine -- we are looking forward to when ursus is grown up and we have two well-behaved dogs we can take everywhere with us!

oh, and in addition to food, vet and boarding -- don't forget double the grooming costs (unless you plan to do it yourself)...

-em

[lindamarie]

Ohhhh...........I've melted right here on the floor!! If you even have to ask.....then you're ready!! hahahaha!! It's in your mind and you'll do it eventually, so why not get get one of those precious babies!!!!???

Right now, I'm waiting. We just lost our Springer in November and the decision to get another dog immediately was tough........but I'm so glad I did!! For now, one is enough for me.............I've had 2 dogs before and it can be WONDERFUL!!.
Let us know!!!
_________________
Linda & Bogart
Dogs=Unconditional love
"We have it all! Just like Bogie & Bacall!"

[MaxandMe]

OK i have 3 doodles which just hit the ages 7mos, 14mos, and 19mos

max and peanut are 6mos apart and i'd say it was considerable work at 1st as we got peanut at 9wks old and max was 7mos.
Max was turbocharged for weeks on end with his new playmate but they trained well together and were also great playmates bonding almost instantly.

anything closer than 6mos apart-- well you'd have your work cut out for you. For potty walks i walk each doodle separately but i look at this way: i am getting some good exercise and fresh air while giving each doodle time alone with me. Their runs out back are together though.
For me , life is easier with 3 doodles than when i had just one. They play beautifully together, nap together and i do one on one training and at night a group session of 30min lie down along with sit stays etc.

the work is worth the effort........and the YOUNGER puppy learns from the older doodle puppy. As well as the older puppy matures quicker as they are a big brother/big sister to the new puppy.

YES they will be days you can't blink and then most days you'll smile and laugh feeling the happiness and love of these wonderful doodle dogs.

if your family works as a team it is so much easier.
_________________
Annmarie, Max,& Peanut
Forum BLOG ARTICLE LINK http://blog.labradoodle-dogs.net/

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." Anatole France

[Libby&Jofi]

Thank you for all the tips. So, it seems it would be more ideal if Jofi were a little bit older first as the 2nd puppy would be 8 weeks on arrival. At 4 months she's pretty good with her house training (although the last week things have slipped a lot while she was ill).

I guess for me it would be important that a 2nd puppy would be as person orientated as Jofi is. Jofi and I have a good bond - she loves to snuggle up on my lap and to be brushed, for example. She's doing well with her training - she can do quite a number of things now on command and now has the free roam of the kitchen/hall.

With the current set-up, it would be feasible to have both dogs in the same room, with the younger one confined to a large play pen, for example. This way I could spend time with one of the dogs without being away from the other dog.

Oh well, it will just be a matter of wait and see - I've seen pictures of previous litters from the same dog (and with the same dad) and they're lovely - there are even a couple living in the Netherlands.

Libby

[MaxandMe]

Libby...Echo has 2 doodles 3 weeks apart in age and i'll pm her to comment.
for now i do know she said no problems for her and she brings them both to work since they're puppies. so everyone is different.

2 doodles= 2 times the love and laughter
_________________
Annmarie, Max,& Peanut
Forum BLOG ARTICLE LINK http://blog.labradoodle-dogs.net/

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." Anatole France

[Sarahdavek]

We are now the proud humans to 2 doodles!

Brutus is 7 months old (was fixed last month). Buckeye came to us without much warning three weeks ago. Both are males.

The first week was really tough. There was some serious jealousy going on to put it nicely. Plus Buckeye (10 wks old at the time) was so much smaller that we worried Brutus might hurt him. At the advice of our vet, I just let them be for about an hour. I only broke up the pair if one was crying (surprisingly it was Brutus who cried first b/c Buckeye tried to nurse on his newly surgered parts). Once Buckeye realized that Brutus was boss, it's been good. They seem to really enjoy each other. Both are confined to playyards in the same room but apart from each other during the day. Once Buckeye is housebroken, we'll leave them together.

My biggest problem is that Buckeye was paper-trained by his breeder and refuses to go outside. I've tried taking them both out together so he can witness what he's supposed to do, but it turns into a massive wrestling match. I think we're going to work pretty hard at that this weekend - yippee!

Good luck with your decision.
_________________
Sarah
Proud Momma to Brutus (our F3 LD) and his compadres in crime Katie (5) and Emily (4)

[Libby&Jofi]

So, here's the exciting news....

We've just had news that we've been allocated one of the puppies - a standard boy with a gold/apricot/caramel coat. It's exactly what I wanted.

Here's a pic from the breeder's website at 3 weeks:



BUT my partner is having doubts.. his main concerns are that Jofi is only 4.5 months old and it might be too soon to have a second doodle. I think I might just die if I have to pass up this beautiful doodle - I've fallen in love with it - but I don't want to do something my partner isn't happy with. We've got a week or so to make a final decision.

I've talked through the advantages and disadvantages and he's open to it but not sure - I just hope I can persuade him to give the go ahead as I think this will be a wonderful playmate for Jofi.

The cons:
- Jofi is still a puppy - 2 puppies will be a lot of work
- Extra costs - insurance, vets bills, food etc.
- 2 doodles bouncing around instead of 1 (is that a con?)

The pros:
- A companion for Jofi - she's absolutely LOVED all the doodles she's met.
- Easier if we are away and the dogs have to go into a kennel/dog hotel - being together will be easier for them - likewise they won't have to be alone - at the moment Jofi is alone if I have to go out.
- Getting the puppy process out of the way quickly i.e. both are puppies together - rather than having to go through 2 lots of puppyhood at different times.
- I've got the time now to give the dogs the attention/training they need - later I'll be studying again and so won't have as much time for them. I'm at home most of the time at the moment.

Wish me luck!! I'll let you know what we decide
Libby

[cracker9ball]

You have already decided and it looks like your making a good one. I just passed on Samantha's sister of the same litter, but I live alone and am in a chair, otherwise I would have took her. Luckily I talked my friend into taking her so Samantha will have her sister to grow up around and play together often. Perfect scnario for me. Good luck in talking your partner into giving you what you want.

Here is Samantha...

_________________
If your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise.
-P.T. Leashonandgo

John and Samantha (my double doodle)

[blueteal]

Beautiful puppies Libby................
_________________
Sue & Denver


Denver Meets Ryder Today!!!!!!!!!!!

[annabelles mom]

what sweet puppies - they would be hard to resist
_________________


Mary & Annabelle
Zippity Doodle, Zippyity ay, My O My what a WonderDoodle Day !

http://www.picturetrail.com/luvlabs