We have a 3 year old yellow lab who has been the best possible dog we could ask for. He is extremely affectionate, docile, perfect with our kids, and gets along with every dog out there. We all want another puppy, but we are really nervous adding to this dynamic because we have it so good with Finley. We don't want him to change, nor do we want a 'bad egg' of a lab and ruin our perfect little family thing we got goin on So I guess I'm posting for a few reasons...I'd like some advice on should we even do it? And if we do, is there a preferred way of doing this? ie, go for a female, bc we already have a male? Or does that even matter? We take Finn to a farm/kennel occasionally and the owner says he is a 'beta' and that is a big part of why he gets along with almost every other dog. Should we ask the any potential breeders for thoughts on the Alpha/beta thing for our best chances? Just looking for a bit of guidance I guess. TIA!
I'd think seriously about why you want another dog. If you are happy with Finn and what he as to offer you and your family, then why rock the boat? One dog is a lot easier than two for so many reasons.
I spent a couple of years thinking about a second lab and I wanted one for myself - for training and potential trials as our current dog is almost 6. I fully knew that our perfect older dog was likely happier as an only dog and isn’t overly interested in playing with other dogs, especially puppies so we would have to really manage giving her space and separate walks etc. Our older dog is docile, well mannered, sensitive and overall a really easy dog, although high drive and needs a lot of physical exercise. Well, our puppy is a level 10 - she is the opposite of our older dog in every possible way (both female). She’s made many easy things of the past much harder - she’s not great in the car, very demanding, hard to bring her places as she jumps and destroys still at 10 months. She’s very rough on our older dog who will not correct her - we have to step in frequently. That said, they do play together quite a bit and our puppy has mirrored a lot of good behaviors too. It’s a ton more work so you need to really weigh the reasons you want a second and think about how you will have to adjust.
Sorry for the long post. Just want to explain some of the things that happened with our little ones. There are pros and cons. We have a 15 month old lab, Alma and got a companion for her 3 months ago, Murphy. Murphy was 8 weeks old when we bought him home. Like yourselves we feel like we have the perfect dog in Alma, so I was unsure if we should change anything. A lot of people advised me that male & female would be a better suit (how true that is I do not know) at first it was very difficult, Murphy was a real crocopup and poor Alma got the brunt of it, she often ran away from him and looked to us for support, she never put him in his place. We had to keep an eye on them all the time. They had different sleeping areas but that started to cause issues as Murphy was becoming quite attached to Alma and would howl for her in the middle of the night. He was too dinky to sleep with her at the time and we were unsure with all the biting if he would hurt Alma while we weren't down there, or that she could possibly hurt him. He would often howl when Alma was taken out on walks and was unsettled the whole time she was gone but obviously he was too young to go out at the same time. Feeding time was a little bit chaotic as Murphy was very greedy and although we would feed them in different rooms at first as soon as he inhaled his food he would be barking, chewing at the stairgate, door and causing lots of noise until he could get to Alma's bowl. As Murphy was on 4 x times a day feeds we had to change Alma back to 4 x times a day as she looked devastated everytime we fed Murphy and not her. For the first 3 weeks Murphy would constantly try and suckle Alma which she found very annoying and was causing some tension. Murphy took a while to toilet train and the accidents in doors can be a little harder to sort when you've got 2 dogs that you really need to keep an eye on and only one pair of hands and eyes! That being said Alma would be lost without Murphy now, he's definitely enriched our lives in so many ways. She has a constant companion, seeing them bounding around in the fields is just a joy and she's always looking for him and wanting him to follow her around. As she's on longer walks than him, me and Murphy get home before her and my partner and the first thing she does when she comes in is look for Murphy. She's more confident too. Murphy has been such a good pup to tain and I think he's learnt a lot from Alma. Other things to consider are the wear and tear on your house, it's lovely to see them play but they can certainly bound around. Just bumps and scrapes of furniture are a lot more common with 2. Walking is a two person job at the moment for us as Murphy needs that bit of extra care when out, he trys to eat everything! With him now being 25 min walks and Alma an hour, it takes up a lot of time for both of us, but we understand there will be a point when just one of us can take both out. I wouldn't change a thing as I just love the pair of them so much, they are adorable together. That's not to say it hasn't come without its challenges and it has changed the dynamic of how Alma is with us a bit as she doesn't need us as much now she's got one of her own kind around.
