inversion of nostalgia

[dinahprincedaly]

She has no idea how her life will/is about to change forever. I am so sad for her this morning. I think I may be starting to feel/feeling about Stella's imminent singledogdom the way Agilejack feels about her extrees... Except I am feeling it in the weeks before because I KNOW it's coming. And I am also thinking that for anyone here it's very likely been

Comments

[omnipoodle]

Faith was my only dog for 8 years when I got Tanqueray. I thought I would miss having just one dog to pay attention to, but I don't really. I love watching my two play outside and interact in the house. I feel bad sometimes because I honestly have so much more fun with Tanq (who is toy-crazy, whip-smart, FAST, and non-reactive), but I just have to set time aside to love and train Faith. Faith loves her border collie; I bet Stella will, too.

Things that are lost:
-hotel stays are a pain in the butt. Two dogs (one dog-reactive) plus one 36" crate plus gigantic mountain of dog gear is tough for one person to handle.
-less quality time with Faith...but she's actually a lot cuddlier and more socially normal since I've gotten a puppy.
-usually I exercise mine off-leash together; when I'm someplace where that's not possible, exercising takes more time because I don't walk mine on-leash together.

[dinahprincedaly]

Yes Stella will be so excited to have a border collie of her own. And I look forward to seeing them play and I hear border collies play differently than the doodles...
Separate training time...
Stella still at 6 has a long way to go with her agility training and I think only in the last year we are just understanding who she is better and what we need to do to have stronger team... It takes a lot of focus and energy and care and so I just hope this gets to continue.
And that's so interesting that the second dog distinctly has changed the social gestalt of the first only dog.

[semperfido]

It's a financial burden - mouths to feed, toys, leashes, collars, treats, double vet bills, HW and flea prevention. That's where you will miss it - in your pocketbook. The rest is fun and gravy.

[dinahprincedaly]

Oh yeah ha the monies

[biggmellon]

honestly for me I didn't feel like I lost much of anything with the addition of a second dog. I still had two hands for walking, it was just as easy to put two dogs in the same xpen, I have two hands for petting, two hands for giving two dogs treats, it really doesn't feel like a huge impact. But then, I am a dog trainer, I love raising and training dogs and it was very easy for me to train my two dogs to be as easy to handle as one dog was.

Now three dogs, that's a game changer!!! Once they outnumber your hands, you got your work cut out for you and suddenly you have a pack:)

[talesofmyboys]

We had our first corgi, Chelsea, as our only dog for 8 years before we got Kirby. One dog certainly is easier but I can't think of anything that I lost in getting another dog. Chelsea really enjoyed having her Kirby (she would clean his face and ears) and then when we got Slider, she thought he was super sexy and flirted with him. She had never been much of a flirt before that, it so cute! I still feel very guilty for making her be an only dog for so long, it wasn't fair to her. I didn't see it at the time, she was our spoiled baby girl, but I sure did see it afterwards. I will never have an only dog ever again for any length of time. Not that I am judging people who have only one dog, sometimes that is all someone has room or time for, I do understand that.

[agilejack]

My first dog was my Aussie Billie. She was five when I got Forrest, and she just looked at me like, "you've got to be kidding me. WHEN is he leaving?" But then she adjusted.

When I got Skeeter, Billie was 10 and was relieved that Forrest now had someone else to play with. Forrest at five years old was like, "You got her for me???" Skeeter felt the same way when Bender came home.

Going from one dog to two was pretty easy. Going from two to three is incredibly hard. Two dogs is just one more than one. But three dogs is exponentially MORE than just one more than two!!!

I have a friend who says, "You shouldn't have more dogs than you have hands." She now has three for the first time!

[nosemovie]

I do like having just two dogs. They "fit" more places! When you walk three.. it's a zoo! ( I do it occasionally when Nova comes along).

[3monstersandme]

Two is three is the worst. Two dogs can be walked at once, share a crate and they can be on either side of you for snuggling. Dog bones also usually come in packages that are a multiple of 2. The third dog ruins everything. Everything.

[nosemovie]

I know for a fact it would be too much for me. Three dogs just seems like MORE!
Of course, probably going to four from there is pretty simple. hahahaha