what age...?

[lulu]

  my husband and i got a golden retriever pup, cooper, about 4 weeks ago. he is now 10 wks. old and is doing great so far. we are starting to talk about what kind of  second dog we would like to add to our family. so far it is between a lab, a st. bernard and a mastiff. i am wondering what age should we wait for cooper to be before we get a second puppy? or does it matter?  i am thinking probably wait for cooper to be potty trained, or at least mostly potty trained and then get another one? does that sound right? what age were your pups when you got a second one?
  thanks,

[Gypsy Jazmine]

When my 1st great pyr was one we got him a puppy for his b-day...We stuck with a dog that "spoke his language"...another gr. pyr...I would suggest that you stick with a breed that is close in family to your 1st dog to make for a good companion for your 1st "born"...lol...If I were you I'd choose another lab breed or a spaniel for compatibility. .good luck!

[Senghe]

Personally, I think it's better leaving 18 months to 2 years between pups. There are many problems associated with having two dogs around the same age - them bonding with each other instead of you or the fact that you will have to train and socialize them seperately so they don't depend on each other. You'll miss out on a lot of the joys of raising a single puppy and devoting all your time to him. For some reason, two is more than double the hard work of one. And if this is your first puppy together, I'd DEFINITELY leave it a while as you may not realize how much hard work just one puppy is, especially when the hormoes kick in and you have a stroppy 'teenager' on your hands. When I got Flynn, I hadn't raised a puppy for about 18 years (dogs in between all being adult rescues) and I think I'd forgotten everything I learned the first time! This is despite seeing my friend raise a few litters and me being vey hands on with them.

Another biggie is, do you really want to have two dogs grow old together? You may end up with a big hole in your life if they die of old age within a short time of each other. And finally, the one plus of waiting until your first dog is fully adult is if you raise him right, he will be a steadying influence on the new baby. Dogs learn behaviour far faster from other dogs than they do from humans.

[BabsT]

Zero was 10 mths old when I got chara and she was 15 wks old both of them are in the same family of breeds (LGD's)...Never had any issues... as long as your first dog has the basics down and you are a consistent owner. 

I have never taken on two pups at the same time but I imangine it wouldnt be easy.  There is a woman on this board that took in two Neo pups at the same age, so she may be able to give you some pointers or some lessons she learned along with way of the trials and tribulations of two pups the same age LOL

If you have a golden you may want to get another breed that is active like a golden so they can play like goldens do because a saint may prefer once it is older to not run and jump for 400 miles but ask the Saint people on the board what the overall attitude of the saint is.

Good Luck

[Kiahpyr]

Welcome aboard! Puppies are very exciting! They're a lot of work too. I have 2 dogs. Kiah is a 1 year old great pyrenees and Kitana a 15 week old puppy. We think Kitana is either a leonberger mix or a german shepard/great pyr mix. I got Kitana a month ago, so far things are going great. They both get along and are very happy to have a playmate.

[Leah...]

Bailey was a little less than a year old when i got Sammie. Another option is to get an older dog to minamalize stress. (potty training, puppy stages etc...)  Older dogs are always available, and need homes whether you get them from the pound, a breeder, or (in my opinion) the perfect "in-between" A breed rescue. Sammie was 7 months old when we got him, and they both still live here, and thats saying something!
Leah

[Kermit]

Howdy.
I recently adopted a 9 week old pup and then a few months later brought home a 7 week old pup. So they are only a few months apart in age- Mokey is now 7 months and Turkey is 4 months. Although they love each other very much, I would definitely not say that they have bonded
"too much" to one another. Mokey was recently out of town for a week getting spayed and I am not sure Turkey even noticed that she was gone. They both love me and Turkey is about as devoted to me as any pup I've ever had. Of course everything depends on the personalities of individual puppies and of course how much time you have to devote to them. I think you can add a new one as soon as you are ready for the challenge!! Are you home for most of the day?? This helps A LOT. I am with the babies all day, and I definitely have a radar alert that tells me when a puppy has to pee, it is an acute sense I have developed! But there are accidents here and there of course, as with training just about any pup.
But also keep in mind I have a house full of dogs, not just the two pups, so that might be influencing how much they bond together, but I think out of all our gang, those two being the closest in age hasn't necessarily created a bond that was any more than another bond between any two of my dogs.
Good heavens do I even make sense anymore?

I will say that I got Nigel after Zoot was 4 years old, and although Zoot enjoyed Nigel for a while, they have not bonded and I think they resent each other a bit.  So keeping ages closer together might actually be better in some scenarios.

Good luck!

[Teamshredit]

I have two 10 month old puppies from the same litter. We were only going to have one, but made an emotional decision(they were an accident and the owner of the mother was going to take them to the pound) and took the runt. I won't ever do this again and don't recommend it unless you are an exceptionally good dog trainer with a lot of time on your hands. We've been fortunate that Lucas is very well behaved, but Daisy is fiesty and cunning, and needs to be watched every second. She's a bad influence on her brother too. I'm pulling my hair out on a daily basis! 
At the same time though, I love them both very much and it's been fun to see them grow and learn together. They are very bonded to each other, but also to each of us...we are truly a pack! Neither Chip nor I work alot of hours, so they receive full attention from one or both of us all the time. They go to the dog park minimum two hours(sometimes twice) a day and walk me at least once a day, with frequent playtimes in the backyard(and Daisy still has energy to keep going!).
If you decide to go ahead and get another puppy, I suggest a mellow breed. I don't know much about st bernards and mastiffs, but labs are high energy and require your full attention. My mother has a nine year old lab who has the energy of a 6 month old. It's mind boggling.   

[greek4]

When Rocco (3.5 yr old Newf/rott mix) was 8 months old my ex got a lab puppy, Reese.  Rocco was able to show Reese the ropes, they enjoyed playing together.  It was nice having two dogs.  The only issue was that we did not socialize Reese enough on her own and she is now dependent on other dogs in her household for confidence.

After Reese and the ex moved out when Rocco was almost 2, I got Maia (~20 month old OEM).  I made a point to socialize Maia and take her out alone but she still is more confidence when Rocco is around.  Rocco is my only completely confident, friendly, outgoing dog and I think it is because I had him alone, took him everywhere, taught him everything, didn't get lazy and send the dogs out to play instead of taking him for a walk.

Take time and enjoy the puppy you have.  Try fostering for a local shelter if you want to try out having two dogs.  Take your puppy to play with friends dogs or to the park.

Ultimately it is up to you when and what breed you get.  Do what you feel is right for your family and you can't go wrong.

[NoDogNow]

For me, the answer to this question is dependent on the answer to a question I'll ask now--is Cooper just for loving, or will his dad be hunting with him? 

There's a B-I-I-I-G difference in the answer!

If Cooper's going to be his daddy's hunting buddy, then there are two schools of thought about pups.

School A says that it's best to have pups that are within a month or two of each other, so they can train as a hunting pair.  (I know guys who deliberately choose littermates under this theory.  It makes for a tough first year, but they swear the result is worth it.)  If DH is going to want to hunt with a pair by next year, you should find Cooper a partner in crime pretty quick.  Also, find some clinics for dad and the pups to go to, as it will help with training immensely.

School B says that there should be at least 3-4 years between dogs.  This will allow you to get a really proficient, steady hunter well in hand before you introduce a new pup to the mix.  This school also holds the belief that pup will become a better hunter by learning from big bro/sis.  This school of thought encourages the acquisition of a puppy on a planned schedule, so you can retire your dogs into the house as they 8-9 years of age, but still never be without a 'pair'.  It also gives serious hunters time to research their next pup's kennel.

If Cooper's NOT going to be hunting, then I disagree a little with the idea that you should 'match' breeds with him, just because he IS a birding breed. 

I've been around hunters and their various dogs all my life.  My observation of bird dogs--be they a retriever, a pointer or a spaniel--is that their natural birdiness is usually strongly reinforced when they're with another birdy dog.  And if bird dogs aren't using those instincts to hunt, they seem to get a little frustrated--lots of barking and over-rough play, obedience issues, stuff like that.  Because both dogs KNOW they're supposed to DO something about those doggoned birds--they just don't know what it is, and you're not helping them figure it out!

If Cooper's NOT going to be hunting with his dad, I would give it 18-24 months, and then get a hound or a working breed dog. 

My friend Lucy (who's blind) has been very happy alternating her guide dogs between a golden or a lab, followed by a shepherd, then golden or lab. Even as well trained as guide dogs HAVE to be, she found that it was much better to NOT to have 2 bird dogs in the house when she was retiring one dog from active service.  Once the work harness came off, the birding would begin  .