{"id":34684,"date":"2025-01-18T12:10:16","date_gmt":"2025-01-18T12:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/animal\/how-to-choose-a-second-dog\/"},"modified":"2025-01-18T12:10:16","modified_gmt":"2025-01-18T12:10:16","slug":"how-to-choose-a-second-dog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=34684","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose a Second Dog"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Last week, I posed the question: Should I get a second dog?<\/a> I suggested five questions to ask yourself before making a final decision. <\/p>\n

This week, I\u2019m going to assume your answer is YES and explore how <\/em>to choose a second dog for your family\u2013because you want to make sure you find the right match! <\/p>\n

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How do you choose the right second pup for your family?<\/h2>\n

So, you\u2019ve decided you have the time, space, ability, and budget to add another pup to your family.<\/p>\n

Congratulations! How exciting! <\/p>\n

Exciting, and maybe a little overwhelming, too. Where to look? How old should the dog be? Does breed matter? Or gender?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dig in, shall we? <\/p>\n

Here are two questions to consider when choosing a second pup:<\/p>\n

1. What type of companion would be most fulfilling to your current dog?<\/h3>\n

Think about your dog\u2019s personality. What traits or characteristics in a second dog would be most complementary? <\/p>\n

For example, if you have a high-energy dog who loves to play, it might not<\/strong> be in his or her best interest to add a couch potato to the family. (I say might not because, well, it might. See question 2.)<\/p>\n

If your dog snarls and growls and lunges at every big dog you pass on your daily walk, well, a big dog probably shouldn\u2019t be on your list of potential playmates. <\/p>\n

Sometimes this question can be hard to answer because you can\u2019t talk it through with your dog. What you can do is observe your pup and his or her preferences and reactions. You can give your dog lots of time to meet other dogs (like at adoption events or through short-term fostering) to assess what is the right match.<\/p>\n

In our case, Penny is a calm, gentle dog. She loves to walk but not run. She ADORES nearly every dog she meets and tries to skitter with them on trails and sidewalks and at our neighborhood bus stop. Because she\u2019s so easy-going, it feels like we have more options, which I suppose we do, but it also means we need to be extra cautious so that we don\u2019t get a dog who walks all over her or pushes her around. So, that means that I\u2019m looking for a puppy\u2013and I am NOT a fan of puppies! I would much rather adopt an adult dog, but, again, the companion who would be most fulfilling to Penny is probably a younger dog. <\/p>\n

2. What type of pup best fits your family\u2019s lifestyle as it is\u2013or as you want it to be?<\/h3>\n

Take an honest look at your family\u2019s lifestyle AND at your family\u2019s lifestyle goals. Do you want to spend more time outside? Are you taking up running this year? Do you hope to beat Tears of the Kingdom before summer? Planning lots of plane trips\u2013and you want to bring your pup along? <\/p>\n

It might help to grab a scrap of paper and write out what your lifestyle is like right now and what, if anything, you plan to change. <\/p>\n

For frequent fliers, a tiny dog that fits in a TSA-approved carrier<\/a> should rise to the top of your list.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been a couch potato but want to take up running, an energetic dog might be the key to your motivation. (It\u2019s true<\/a>.) <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re going to get to 100 percent on Tears of the Kingdom, that\u2019s something like 200+ hours in front of a screen, so a high-energy dog would not be the best fit for you. Unless you want to balance the couch time with running, in which case you gotta take that into consideration, too. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s no judgement here, but you do need to be honest with yourself! <\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s consider a couple more factors when choosing your second dog:<\/h2>\n

Do not worry about gender!<\/h3>\n

This is one of the biggest myths out there, filled with lots and lots of anecdotes but no actual scientific data. So, here goes: Aggression in dogs, regardless of gender, is complex and multi-factorial. <\/p>\n

Here are some issues that matter more than gender:<\/p>\n