Why do people say 2 is better than one?

[Goldens4ever]

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Ive seen a lot of people on a labrador forum say 2 dogs is always better than one because it's better for the first dog to have company from the second dog and that existing dogs are missing out on not having another doggy housemate?

Were talking labs or dogs who have been well socialized and trained from a young age.

Are current dogs really missing out pn living with another dog?

Moms always had one at a time shes never had more than one and all hers seemed happy. Shes always had Golden retrievers except for her last dog who was a Golden cross flat coat.

So im not sure how true this is and wondered if its more coming from the humans way of thinking ect.

 

[JoanneF]

An older dog can help show a new pup the ropes, provided they get on. That isn't guaranteed.

Two puppies is an entirely different matter - not recommended.

 

[Hemlock]

I always tell people to stick with one!

When there is more than one dog (and I've been up to six) one will always be a stronger character than the other(s) and the human part of the family sometimes has to work very hard to keep stress levels down. If the dogs really get on, then training is ten times as difficult, because the dogs would rather run about with each other than listen to the Fun-Police human. Dogs don't always get on any more than humans do, and many live in a state of armed truce rather than the pink fluffy adoring friendship that people who tell you to get more dogs maintain. We don't like everyone we meet either. Suppose your life partner came home with another person and said it was such fun having you that they'd brought this person to live with you so you could be friends, go out together, share clothes etc.....yeah, right.

I'm not saying a second (third fourth, more) dog is necessarily a bad thing, but it is one helluva lot more work. It's perfectly good to have just the one dog.

 

[Ash2021]

I have always had more than one dog until now. Used to get a pup when I lost one of the two.

lost both within a year of each other just before lockdown and the other in the second lockdown and for a while there we said no more dogs

we ended up with Ash who is 14 weeks old now and boy it’s so much easier with one - this time when she gets to around 5 or 6yrs I will not be adding another.

 

[excuseme]

I have always said that the 1 to 1 relationship with a dog is far more personal than having extra ones.
We have 6 dogs, 3 tend to go with my husband and 3 with me. We all share the same house and cuddles are given as required. The girls will respect either of us and we all share each other.
I need to love my dog, but this amount of love is very difficult to share, and to not feel guilty that I am not sharing my love fairly.
A 1 to 1 family dog in my mind is the best

.

 

[JacksDad]

Ive seen a lot of people on a labrador forum say 2 dogs is always better than one...

If they are literally using words such as always or other words that imply always... That is a HUGE red flag to the advice/concept.

..... because it's better for the first dog to have company from the second dog and that existing dogs are missing out on not having another doggy housemate?

my last dog became quite social (for him) with 95% of other dogs. BUT never, EVER, behaved in a way that suggested he would have been open to living with another dog, that it would have enhanced his quality of life.

Were talking labs or dogs who have been well socialized and trained from a young age.

I would argue that it depends on the dog, and there can be dog social dogs that still prefer to be the only dog based on their behavior. That their socialization history is but one "data point" to consider, and training history is irrelevant. We can't train a dog to "love" being around, play with, or want to live with another dog.

Are current dogs really missing out pn living with another dog?

I think it depends on the dog.

I have only given the advice of "get another dog" once because being a only dog was impacting quality of life for this dog. BUT even when there are sound reasons to get a second dog to improve the existing dog's quality of life, its a serious miscalculation to assume just any dog will do. you need to make the effort to find a dog that is a good match, that has similar needs, play styles etc.

Is there anything wrong with having more than one dog in principle? No. BUT it is no where as near clear cut as the advice you are referencing implies. with exception such I describe above, a second, third, fourth etc dog is mostly about us at the end of the day. we like the idea of more than one dog, so we get more than one dog. That it works out a lot of the time is a testament to the dog species for their adaptability and easy going nature. BUT its something that works until it doesn't, and when it doesn't the quality of life for everyone involved takes a serious nose dive.

My last dog lived his entire life with me (10+ years) as a single dog, and his life was better for it. His best dog buddy is still alive, lives by her self, and has a better life for it. They never played together, never went into each other's house. BUT LOVED to go on walks together.

A dog that almost became my next dog seemed to indicate he wanted to be around other dogs, but yet there were small things that raised questions of could he handle living with another dog? Or would he better off having his dog/dog social needs met in brief blocks of time, then go home, relax, and be the only dog in the house.

I will likely always be a single dog house.

 

[Goldens4ever]

Thank you all for your replies , i myself only want one dog i prefer the idea of putting all my time and attention on one dog and his needs rather than sharing my attention between 2 but i kept getting told 2 was better than one so wanted to ask here and glad i did.

 

[Dibbythedog]

It depends on the dogs involved. Some prefer to be only dogs and some love company.

 

[Inka]

I think it depends on the individual, their home and what they want. I would never advise getting a dog for the dog you already have, YOU are the one looking after, training, feeding and providing for the dog you get, so only get another if you want another one.
I personally would tell people never to get two pups together and if they want more than one dog then train/socialise and spend individual time with their first dog to iron out all their training/behaviour as dogs learn very well from other dogs and that doesn't just mean the good behaviour but the bad behaviour too and two 'new' dogs together or an addition of another dog into the houshold where the first dog has behaviour/training issues can cause lots more issues, certainly more than double trouble and much harder to resolve. Also having two dogs together can make them rely on each other too much , if for any reason one has to go to the vets and stay in the one left behind can suffer separation anxiety. People tend to walk all the dogs they own together which means one of the dogs will take the lead, the other/s follow, so for 'follower' can result in lack of confidence and we all want dogs who are confident and secure by themselves, not anxious and unsure.

 

[Yveren1]

This is something I have been worried about for a long time so really appreciate all your feedback in this thread

 

[Dibbythedog]

I have two dogs because I wanted two I didnt do it for the benefit of the dogs. Pip has separation anxiety ( from humans) and having another dog didnt help him. In fact it ended with with both of them howling.

They get on well though and cuddle up together but they occasionally resource guard so i don't leave chews etc lying around.

It depends on the individual dog. many dogs are happy on their own.