Barking Up The Wrong Tree

Should I Get A Second Dog?

My friend asked if I knew of anyone who was trying to rehome an older shih tzu because she wanted a companion for her dog.  Her dog seems quite happy to be left alone while she goes off to work and doesn’t destroy the house or bark all day, but she’s been feeling guilty when she sees how happy the dog is when she has a playmate for a while.  Many people consider a second dog, but ask yourself a few questions first.

Dogs are pack animals, so they expect to live in a group with a pack leader and a pecking order.  When you go out and leave your dog at home for hours at a time, it doesn’t make sense to them.  To a dog, everyone must have their place in the pack, from the boss or the leader, to the lowest place.  When dogs are with humans, they must understand that humans come above them in the pecking order.  Although that sounds quite foreign to humans, dogs are quite happy to be the lowest member of the pack, just so long as they know their place.  A dog is only unhappy when he doesn’t know his place or the order is unclear and then he will test the order, by growling or biting.

Following from our earlier article about separation anxiety, anxiety happens when a dog cannot cope with being separated from his pack.  Dogs expect to live in a pack so when he’s left alone, he feels instinctively upset and anxious.  This is why some dogs are destructive when left alone.

When we go out to work, our dog cannot understand why he is not being taken with us.  Having a second dog can help the dog to feel that the pack has only been split up rather than abandoned him.  Bringing a younger dog into the family can bring a new lease of life to the older dog and similarly, a previously shy dog can be brought out of his shell when a second dog is introduced.

However, having a second dog can bring complications in itself.  The two dogs will naturally want to establish who is higher in the pecking order, and it is best to leave them to decide this between them.  It is perfectly normal and healthy.  Just so long as it is always clear that the humans are higher in the pack.  Be prepared that having two dogs is a huge change.  The two dogs will usually play together and that one on one relationship can be lost.  You must be prepared to spend equal time with each dog and to treat them the same.  Similarly, you must make sure both dogs are obedience trained.  It’s just like having kids!