“A dog might enjoy another dog initially,” she says. Patches would never have ‘popped the question’ if she and Dobby had gone on more dates. We chose Dobby, and it turned out that when I got them home, it wasn’t the best match. Borns-Weil notes, “we went to the shelter, and I made a short list of dogs that I liked and that she liked. “When I wanted to get a new dog for Patches,” Dr. It’s hard to tell from one, or even two or three visits to the shelter, whether two dogs will do okay together over the long run. And Koshi, who had a hard time getting all the cuddling he wanted in my sister-in-law’s multi-dog home, came to live with Dobby and us.” In that case, it worked out very smoothly, but it doesn’t always, even if it’s not an emergency situation.Ĭonsider that a lot of people take their dog to the shelter to look for a second one, in the hope that bringing along the first pet will allow for that dog’s input and, ultimately, a better match. So that dog went to live with my sister-in-law in rural Pennsylvania. She was getting more and more aggressive toward people, and my mother-in-law found it difficult to desensitize her in the urban environment, where she could not control contact with people. In the meantime, “my mother-in-law had adopted a rescue dog who was not adapting well to the urban setting where she lived. “Koshi was originally my sister-in-law’s dog,” the doctor says. That’s what happened with Doberman Koshi. Borns-Weil, is that often, “you get a second dog because somebody needs to find a place for a dog, and you quickly find a way to make it work” for the dog you already have. Why is it so hit-and-miss? One reason, says Dr. When Koshi was dying, for the last three weeks Dobby never left his side. They chose to sit in the same place, cuddle up together. But when Patches died and I brought home Koshi for Dobby, I saw anew what closely bonded dogs really look like. “They’d stay together on the bed, they’d back each other up. “But Patches never really bonded well with Dobby. Borns-Weil says, “so I brought home Dobby,” a rat terrier mix. “Patches was clearly lonely after Lucky died,” Dr. He was fearful of city sights and sounds, and Patches would remain close to him and if needed, lick his ears for support. Lucky really relied on Patches during walks. They shared toys, played and barked together, and would lie side by side on a mat eating Greenies. For instance, at one time there was Lucky the male hound mix and Patches the female Tibetan terrier. Yet some of those pairs did better together than others. “It’s hard on social creatures not to live with their co-species members.” Indeed, it would not be fun to live with very loving dogs but not have other people around.īut how do you choose? And in which cases would it not be a good idea to bring a second dog into the home? Hastily Picking a Second Dog Can Lead to Personality Clashes “I believe that dogs in general are happier with other dogs,” the doctor posits. Dogs in isolation are not happy.” Even if you are home with your dog much of the day, a second dog in the family might very well be the right choice. Borns-Weil says, in most cases, “getting another dog is the right thing to do. Thus, the decision whether to bring home a second dog is often a decision between no companionship for most of the daylight hours and constant companionship.Īnd “because dogs are highly social creatures,” Dr. Today, the opportunity for dogs to socialize is in many cases greatly diminished. They and their human companions were always together.” Even less than 100 years ago, many companion dogs did not sit in the house until they were walked once or twice a day but were allowed to roam the neighborhood on their own, with fewer cars on local roads to threaten their safety. “Initially, in partnerships between people and dogs, dogs weren’t locked up in houses alone,” the Head of the Tufts Animal Behavior Clinic, Stephanie Borns-Weil, DVM, points out.
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