How to convince OH to get another dog...? Or why not to?

I've got to agree with the general conscencus of the thread that it is much easier to have one dog than two. Having sadly lost my old lurcher a few weeks ago, I am now down to one dog again for the first time in about six or seven years and have to admit that whilst I miss the lurcher greatly, it is definitely easier just having one. Often if you have two dogs they can have very different needs - different feeding regimes, different exercise requirements, training often needs to be done separately, etc. and you often find you are trying to juggle things to be fair to both dogs and give the right amount of attention. My whippet is now about 20 months and I have decided I won't be getting another dog for the foreseeable future, and thankfully she seems quite happy being an 'only dog' and in fact relishes the extra attention.
 
Sorry, I'm another late arrival. I have three dogs - two shepherds and a collie and my OH has eight (but with workers I think things are a bit different). I really enjoy the strong bond that grows between you and a single dog and there are so many benefits to only having one. I do understand the pang for a particular breed as I adore both my shepherds and collies and so couldn't really imagine not having at least one of each, but two really are more than twice the work ime but also very rewarding. In your position, it is about the timing. As your GSD pup is only 5 months old (and what a gorgeous fluffball he is) I would wait for another year at least, but ideally even a little longer until your GSD is fully trained, obedient and more likely to pass on good traits to the pup than bad.

If you are desperate for a terrier pup - then just factor into your day extra feeding, exercising, play and training times and make sure you maintain a strong bond with both.
 
My trainer always says that if you want to get a second dog, you should wait until the first is at least 3 years old. By this time they have got through the terrible teens, and should be well rounded adult dogs. It is almost impossible to walk two untrained, adolescent dogs together - they are a distraction for each other and wind each other up, so you then end up having to walk them separately - which you may have time for, I don't know - it certainly wouldn't work for me though! You can't train them together either - you have to separate them, so training takes twice as long too.

I always thought this advice was mean and that said trainer was a bit of a spoilsport, but time goes faster than you think - my dog is nearly 3 now and having come through the terrible teen phase I am so glad it was just him to cope with and not another! I am now desperate for another dog but OH won't even consider it. I think he may come round once his cat dies, which is fair enough as cat is 20 and she's already suffered a lot of changes in the last 12 months with me and my dog moving in! So I've given up nagging with any real purpose - I just mention it every now and again to make sure he knows I haven't forgotten about it ;)
 
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