one puppy or two?

[Nijm]

My fiance and I will be moving into a house with a yard this summer and are looking into getting a dog or two. We are on the fence with getting one dog or two at the same time. He would like a lab. I would like a German pointer, though the breed might be too high energy for us at this point. I grew up with the breed and would love another one. We are pretty active, with going on a walk or run each night. And hiking on the weekends. I was thinking that getting two dogs at once would allow the dogs to grow up without separation anxiety. As well as keeping each other entertained while we are at work. We'll be taking the dog(s) to obedience class and such.

[Quelah]

Most people, myself included, do not recommend getting two puppies at the same time. It is much much easier to train a dog that looks to you than to train/raise a dog that looks to the other dog first. There's a better way to put that, but that's all I can think of right now.

[fergusnc]

I personally would not take on two puppies at the same time…however I would take on two adult dogs at the same time. But I have never not had dogs in the house, so the training/handling part of my brain is always front and center, the routine is already there.

Puppies are HARD. And from what I have seen from people I know who took on more than 1 truly young puppy, they survive, they don't really train. And that is with going to training classes. In the cases I know of, the breeds have been very high drive/high energy, so I am sure that is a factor….but puppies are still a lot of work.

Only one of my many dogs over the years had issues with separation anxiety. Lots of dogs live as an only pet and do just fine. Or enjoy a cat. For me, I enjoy having 2 dogs at a time, but have had only 1, and have had up to 4….just the way life rolls at a given point in time.

[pawsplus]

If you're going to be home a lot, and each of you takes one dog as his/her own, this is a great plan. My ex and I had beagle littermates we rescued as puppies. They were great companions for each other and loved each other so much, but because Greta was mine and Ellie was my ex's, and because we trained them extensively in obedience (and later, agility), they loved us even more than each other. Greta always chose me over Ellie.

Plan to do a lot of training (positive training, of course--clicker training), and take your dog on separate outings (and he does the same), and it will work out great. People only run into problems with this when they fail to work with the dogs individually, and instead just use them as babysitters for each other.

[Chisamba]

If you get two, one dog and one youngster is better. Of course it would have to be a social and tolerant dog, but a mature dog with manners actually helps train the puppy, so long as you do not let the puppy worry it constantly.

I've never had only one dog so my n perseverance is obvious lol.

[Code3]

I have twice had success raising littermates from puppyhood. They were, as paws pointed out, trained separately and we never had an issue with the dogs looking to the other dogs and not the human. In both cases, the dogs were social, well behaved, and well adjusted. It sounds as if you plan to spend quality time with the dogs and train them. I think it could work based on my two experiences.