One dog or Two dogs in the house?

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SHORTFAT
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One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by SHORTFAT » Wed Dec 21, 2011 11:28 am

ok... I have a two year old English Pointer on crack... I love her, and she is coming along nicely as a project... kind of a rescue, but from great breading... long story... Any way... She hunts but is also the family house pet... I would love to get another pup, either another Pointer, or a Setter... My wife isn't crazy about the idea. :cry: I could probably force the issue, but I'd like to have some input from people who have more than one dog in the house. Are two better than one? :?: :?: :?: I'm just fishin' fer opinions here... :wink:
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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by DonF » Wed Dec 21, 2011 11:44 am

I really like dogs so naturally I'd say two is better than one. But you can have two dogs in the house or one wife, your choice. If she like dog's or puppies, no brainer. Get a puppy and let her play with it awhile and she'll probably bring it in the house! :mrgreen:
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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by Karen » Wed Dec 21, 2011 11:57 am

We have 5 in the house (3 adults, 2 13 week old pups) and 1 off with a Pro who will eventually come home. 2 sounds EASY!! :D
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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by wberry85 » Wed Dec 21, 2011 12:01 pm

I got 3 big dogs (2 GSP, 1 pit bull) and they all sleep in the bed!! :D

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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by Brittguy » Wed Dec 21, 2011 12:39 pm

We have always had two , sometimes three. It is no harder than one. The two we have now we have to put one in another room at feeding time because she eats fast and steals the others food, other than that no problems. Often they play tug a war with a chew rope. Fun to watch because one weighs 40lbs the other 12. The big dog uses just enough strength to make an interesting game .

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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by Sharon » Wed Dec 21, 2011 12:45 pm

SHORTFAT wrote:ok... I have a two year old English Pointer on crack... I love her, and she is coming along nicely as a project... kind of a rescue, but from great breading... long story... Any way... She hunts but is also the family house pet... I would love to get another pup, either another Pointer, or a Setter... My wife isn't crazy about the idea. :cry: I could probably force the issue, but I'd like to have some input from people who have more than one dog in the house. Are two better than one? :?: :?: :?: I'm just fishin' fer opinions here... :wink:

I have 3 in the house with no problems. However I am home half a day and enjoy them. If I didn't enjoy them I wouldn't want it foisted on me.They do have muddy feet everytime they come in and the occasional bout of diahrrea. 3x the amount of hair to be vacuumed.

2 are not better than one , anymore then twins are easier than 1 baby. In all honesty, each dog increases the work load.
Last edited by Sharon on Wed Dec 21, 2011 7:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by VizslaGirl » Wed Dec 21, 2011 5:39 pm

I also have 5 in my house. 3 Vizslas, 1 IG and 1 Chinese Crested.

There is more hair, more dirt and more muddy paw prints. You feed more food, need more food bowls and more toys.

However - I love having 5 and it is absolutely worth it to me. That being said - it's a very personal choice and it does take more work.
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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by Ruffshooter » Wed Dec 21, 2011 6:11 pm

Got six in the house. In my house the dogs do less damage to stuff. They all know when I say enough it means enough. They all settle in pretty good. They all right now are just laying in the living room in their chosen spots that I allow them to have. They are happy, mind well interact well together with just the occassional spats. It is harder to keep clean but luckily my wife is a neat freak.

My biggest problem is the other family memembers allow to much misbehaving when folks come in the door. So When folks come over It is much harder for me now than it used to be to get all the dogs to greet people properly. If you can get your wife to be on the same page on the training and the disipline and house manners you will be way ahead of the game an in a couple months you will have a calm household.

During the days they are out side if we are at work.
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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by DonF » Wed Dec 21, 2011 6:16 pm

VizslaGirl wrote:I also have 5 in my house. 3 Vizslas, 1 IG and 1 Chinese Crested.

There is more hair, more dirt and more muddy paw prints. You feed more food, need more food bowls and more toys.

However - I love having 5 and it is absolutely worth it to me. That being said - it's a very personal choice and it does take more work.
Excuse my ignorance but what is an IG and a Chinese Crested?
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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by wems2371 » Wed Dec 21, 2011 6:18 pm

VizslaGirl wrote:There is more hair, more dirt and more muddy paw prints. You feed more food, need more food bowls and more toys.
Don't forget more nose prints on every window and you lose more of your bed if you let them up. (2 young shorthairs and an ancient lab in the house :wink: )

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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by SHORTFAT » Wed Dec 21, 2011 6:43 pm

I like all of the different perspectives. Truth is I guess I already know the answer... it is more work, dirt, fur, poo in the yard, and a few months of hard work... My wife does very well with the training in the house and is very strict on the dog stopping at the door to get her paws wiped! We never let the Lab on the bed or the couch, but when we got the Pointer she weaseled her way onto the couch... course, she's not even 40lbs... but one night on the bed and she felt like she was 400lbs! So... no dogs on the bed... my wife would let me get another if I pout enough... or play really dirty and have our son pout about it... :mrgreen: I think we will probably wait another year or so and keep working on the EP's behavior first... But I sure would like a Setter pup... :D
Thanks for all the input! It's nice to know I'm not the only nut out there that wants two psycotic dogs! :roll:
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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by phermes1 » Thu Dec 22, 2011 12:25 pm

One big advantage to multiple dogs is that they keep each other busy. With only 1 dog, you are the only one that can play with them, exercise them, pay attention to them, etc.
We have 5 vizslas in our house. That's a little much, but we manage. I wouldn't blink about 2 dogs vs 1. And the difference between 2 and 3 isn't much either. :)
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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by slistoe » Thu Dec 22, 2011 12:33 pm

DonF wrote:
VizslaGirl wrote:I also have 5 in my house. 3 Vizslas, 1 IG and 1 Chinese Crested.

There is more hair, more dirt and more muddy paw prints. You feed more food, need more food bowls and more toys.

However - I love having 5 and it is absolutely worth it to me. That being said - it's a very personal choice and it does take more work.
Excuse my ignorance but what is an IG and a Chinese Crested?
They aren't really dogs :D
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2 is more work than one. Especially if they are both on crack.

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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by gittrdonebritts » Thu Dec 22, 2011 12:38 pm

6 dogs in the house :mrgreen:

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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by SHORTFAT » Thu Dec 22, 2011 1:04 pm

Maybe I'll ask my wife to get me TWO more dogs for Christmas!!! Then she'll be happy to have just one more! :mrgreen: NOT... :roll:
Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.
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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by VizslaGirl » Thu Dec 22, 2011 6:27 pm

slistoe wrote:
DonF wrote:
VizslaGirl wrote:I also have 5 in my house. 3 Vizslas, 1 IG and 1 Chinese Crested.

There is more hair, more dirt and more muddy paw prints. You feed more food, need more food bowls and more toys.

However - I love having 5 and it is absolutely worth it to me. That being said - it's a very personal choice and it does take more work.
Excuse my ignorance but what is an IG and a Chinese Crested?
They aren't really dogs :D
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2 is more work than one. Especially if they are both on crack.

Nope, they're not. :P But they cause more trouble than the 3 V's combined! Also - my Crested is fully coated ;) slightly more tolerable to most.
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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by nj gsp » Thu Dec 22, 2011 7:31 pm

We have 7 dogs: a shorthair, an English setter, and five Lurchers. They all have lived in or outside at one point or another. At the moment the two pointing dogs are outside dogs and move between indoor and outdoor kennels, depending on the weather and temperature. The Lurchers all live in the house. Our sighthounds are mostly on the large side - the three boys are all between 95 and 105 lbs and 31-32" at the shoulder. It's why we have a king size bed. We have hardwood floors & tile and no carpeting, but lots of dog beds. If you trip & fall in the living room, it doesn't hurt when you hit the floor. Sometimes it's kinda like walking on the moon. And yes, more dogs means more hair and more dirt. You just have to stay on top of it.

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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by displaced_texan » Thu Dec 22, 2011 11:55 pm

We have the two EPs and a Redbone as well as an anti social Chihuahua/Rat Terrier mix in the house. It works great for us.

If your wife is opposed, it's a bad idea though.
I have English Pointers because they don't ever grow up either...

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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by Cajun Casey » Fri Dec 23, 2011 12:26 am

VizslaGirl wrote:
Nope, they're not. :P But they cause more trouble than the 3 V's combined! Also - my Crested is fully coated ;) slightly more tolerable to most.
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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by Doodle » Fri Dec 23, 2011 6:46 am

Why not narrow down your selection and then let the wife choose? If she is that good with the house training and basics why not let her have some input? After all you are just going to look at a litter, right? Perhaps you have a friend that is looking for your input on a particular litter. Always make sure she holds at least one pup up close to her face and inhales deeply of puppy breath. It tends to help pave the way. Never out and out ask for another pup. IMO

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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by 3Britts » Fri Dec 23, 2011 7:37 am

I have the three, will be adding a fourth early next year, and have far fewer problems than when we had just the one. Like so many others have said, they keep each other busy. You will find that after a while they will keep their more enthusiastic activities to the outdoors and relax more in the house, unless you get them riled up.

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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by SHORTFAT » Fri Dec 23, 2011 9:06 am

Doodle wrote:Why not narrow down your selection and then let the wife choose? If she is that good with the house training and basics why not let her have some input? After all you are just going to look at a litter, right? Perhaps you have a friend that is looking for your input on a particular litter. Always make sure she holds at least one pup up close to her face and inhales deeply of puppy breath. It tends to help pave the way. Never out and out ask for another pup. IMO
:twisted: :twisted: :twisted: Oh... I like how you think... but, I've been married fer twenty-some years and my red haired lass pegged me before I ever got her in the truck... "Oh no you don't! I ain't goin'!" But at least she said it with a smile... She really has fallen in love with our first EP, She just still misses our Lab alot... We're a very busy family and it would take a full team effort to do it right. I think if I wait another year or even two she might be more receptive... One of the other dirty little tricks I pulled was taking her with me on a grouse hunt... :twisted: She's a farm girl growin up and has hunted deer, but never upland birds... She had a lot of fun and got really excited when the dog when on point... My shotgunning didn't impress her tho'... :oops: But a friend said my next gift for her should be a 20ga... 8) It's all good natured right now. I won't push the issue if she stays opposed to it, but I do think she'll come around. I'm going to retire in about 6 years and her big question is "What are we gonna do with the dogs when we start travelling around then?" My answer was "dog trailer"... and a few trips to some grouse polluted states to start things off!!! Thanks for all the input folks! :D
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Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.
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Re: One dog or Two dogs in the house?

Post by displaced_texan » Fri Dec 23, 2011 5:25 pm

Doodle wrote:Why not narrow down your selection and then let the wife choose? If she is that good with the house training and basics why not let her have some input? After all you are just going to look at a litter, right? Perhaps you have a friend that is looking for your input on a particular litter. Always make sure she holds at least one pup up close to her face and inhales deeply of puppy breath. It tends to help pave the way. Never out and out ask for another pup. IMO
Actually, when we added the 4th, I had been told repeatedly that we were full.

A member here told me she knew a pup I needed, I told myself, her, and the wife that I didn't need two bird dogs for 4 days. I called the wife at work, told her I was gonna take off early to go get a pup.
I have English Pointers because they don't ever grow up either...

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