A Second Dog

I wouldn't exactly agree with that although having a second dog has been a pleasure (not without its difficulties, mind) and Jessie is an irreplacable part of our family.

Our situation
We had had Georgie our Golden Retriever from a puppy; when she came to us she was six weeks old which I now know to be rather young.

She had grown into a beautiful dog - quiet yet sociable, fun yet knew her boundaries, popular wherever we took her. My husband was happy cause I no longer bothered him with phrases like, 'Please let's get a dog' followed by long persuasive conversations. Life had settled down to a steady and contented pace.

But something was nagging in my head. We'd go on dog walks and I'd see people with more than one dog. No, not professional dog walkers but owners who were going home with two dogs, three, sometimes four.

A second dog?
When I was walking on my own with Georgie I'd stop them and ask questions about their multiple dog households. Where did your second dog come from? Is it more work having two? How did your first dog react? Do they get on? And so on.

I started secretly surfing the net and checking in regularly with our local Dogs Trust. Would that dog suit us? What about that one? That dog looks a bit shy but we could bring her out of herself and give her a fulfilling life. I was becoming gripped with the idea of having a second dog.

I thought I'd better come clean with my husband!

Just when he thought it was safe and no more surprises were round the corner I told him what I'd been up to; what I'd been thinking about and planning in my head for weeks. 'Why don't we look for a second dog?'

I find with men or specifically with husbands (or is it just mine?) that a seed has to be planted and then left. And then prodded a bit. And then left some more. And finally, if you're lucky, you say the original idea that had caused so much shock and they say, 'Okay, let's do it.'

The Dog's Trust
So we went down to our local Dog's Trust and told them the kind of dog we were looking for:

It was the last one that seemed to be the sticking point!

I went home rather sadly thinking we'd never find a suitable companion for Georgie.

And then I had a casual chat with a friend - her dog's litter-mate had been returned to the breeder (who also happened to be her cousin) and they were looking for a new home for her.

That was on the Tuesday and by the Thursday, Jessie had moved in with us.

The first visit
We took Georgie to the breeder's house and watched how the dogs reacted to one another. We were lucky. Because Jessie had been returned to the family home as it were, we were able to meet her canine mum and grandmother as well as one of her brothers from the same litter who the human family had decided to keep.

What a lovely group of dogs. Jessie was four months at the time. Apparently her original family hadn't realised what a commitment having a dog was and had decided they couldn't cope with her anymore. If we were to have a second dog, we knew this was 'the one'.

Jessie's mum and grandmother on our first visit.

Taking home your second dog
We knew straightaway that we would rehome Jessie but we agreed to some 'thinking time' and went back two days later to pick her up - again with Georgie.

We can't know what goes through a dog's head but I wonder whether in those first few days, Georgie thought, 'when's this young upstart leaving?' After all she had had our complete attention for nearly two years and from now on things would never be the same again.

The first car trip
The first car journey was interesting. Georgie let Jessie know in no uncertain terms that particular places in the car were no-go areas. If Jessie over-stepped the mark, she would be barked at very loudly. We rarely saw this very assertive side of Georgie.

In fact Jessie spent most of that journey on her back with Georgie sitting over her. We decided not to interfere. They would have to sort things out themselves and unless things got nasty we would leave them to it.

Meeting on neutral ground
We decided to let them meet properly on neutral ground so we drove to a safe open area near our house. Well of course they had already met but they hadn't met in that cute doggy way that we find rather embarrassing!

We took them out of the car, led them to a safe spot and gave them their freedom. They were able to metaphorically shake hands, ask a few pertinent questions and then have a rough and tumble in the grass. It was all going well.

Bringing your second dog into the house
After the walk we drove home and led the way into the house. I think we tried to make Jessie come into the house last but I can't remember whether we succeeded.

Georgie once again asserted her authority. Thee was lots of barking if Jessie went near her toys or took too much of our attention. We were aware that we needed to do this carefully or Georgie might put Jessie in her place when we weren't around. And that we didn't want.

Georgie first
To this day (and it's been a year and a half now since Jessie came to live with us) we have always practised the mantra of 'Georgie first'. She is the first to have her lead put on, to receive any treats and to be let out of the car.

I know there is a school of thought that suggests the calm dog should always be attended to before the other one. But actually Georgie always is the calmest one, and now, if I offer Jessie a piece of food before Georgie, she won't take it. It seems to have created an accepted status quo which works.

Feeding time with your second dog
This is a sensitive area and you need to take care where food is concerned. The one time Georgie blew up before we had Jessie was when a friend's dog started helping herself to Georgie's food. There was almost a full blown fight that we just didn't see coming.

Consequently in the beginning, Georgie and Jessie were fed in different rooms; and then different areas of the same room; and now side by side with no problems. But we didn't take any chances.

We still watch them though because sometimes one dog might not be feeling particularly hungry and the other might finish off her bowl of food. It no longer causes problems but we don't want one of them putting on weight. As soon as one dog walks away from an unfinished meal, we try to whip up the bowl to avoid the other one helping themselves.

Walking
This has been the area of most difficulty. When Georgie was an 'only dog' she had just got into a very sensible mode of walking on the lead - no pulling, and us taking her for the walk rather than the other way round. It had taken a lot of patience but we had got there in the end.

Jessie pulled a lot at first and if she saw another dog on the lead, all hell broke loose. To be honest we haven't cracked the latter - it's a work in progress. But we did feel we had to go right back to the beginning with Jessie's walking, and just as we'd started to reap the benefits of our work with Georgie.

But the pulling has got much better and I'd say that's largely thanks to the dog backpack we now use. Jessie seems to like having a job to do. She'd probably have made a good therapy dog, especially since her favourite job seems to be taking socks out of the washing machine!



The backpack is filled with heavy items making up about ten percent of Jessie's body weight. It gives her a good work-out and slows her down just enough on the street walk to make walking her a lot more manageable.

Of course a good harness is the obvious choice to help on-lead walking and Pet Planet have a good selection with reviews written by owners. Type 'Dog Harnesses' into the search box.

Play
The biggest benefit of having a second dog has probably been the fun they have together. A friend of mine said that, 'At best they will play together; and at worst they will ignore each other.' Luckily ours play - a lot.

They play-fight every day; they love tug toys; sometimes Jessie will lay on her back, legs in the air, while Georgie paws her face and they mouth each other. And they seem to have this strange language, like a very ancient form of vocalisation which visitors to our house are amazed at.

Here's a short snippet of them on our landing.

All in all
All in all it's a delight having a second dog. It is more work but it's also more fun and more interesting. It's been great for Georgie who has really come out of her shell. I'm sure she'd sleep for most of the day if it wasn't for her adopted sister.

And of course we've given a new home to Jessie, a dog that had a bumpy start in life. She settled in quickly and is a gorgeous dog to have round the house. She's full of life and is really affectionate. We wouldn't be without them.

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