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Footballguy
My wife wants to get a second dog. Those of you familiar with my sentiment towards dogs know that I'm now their biggest fan. When I met my wife she had a well-trained dog and I actually have come to like and get along with the dog very well. That said, my wife and I have a good understanding that all things dog-related are up to her (training, feeding, poop-scooping, etc.) and that, while I'm not nearly as bad as I used to be with dogs, my preference is to not be around them. So, if we got a second dog she's well aware that I'll be of no help and I'd basically be doing my best to tolerate the dog.
She's also aware that if the decision were solely up to me I would not want a second dog. However, she really wants one for two main reasons: 1) she believes getting a second dog will give our current dog a "friend" and will it make it easier for our current dog when we go out of town for several days (which is often) so it may create less work for us in the long run; 2) her maternal instinct is in full throttle and she's frustrated because we've been trying to get her pregnant for six months now with no luck and a dog may be a way to relieve some of that stress. So, essentially, I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons to see if this is something that will meet those two goals and not disproportionately make our lives more difficult (and, for me specifically, not piss me off too much).
She found a family yesterday looking to re-home a dog. 1 year old female mix-breed. It is kennel-trained. We free feed our current dog and this dog apparently doesn't do that. The dogs met and appeared to get along.
So, generally, is a second dog substantially more work and headache? Anything about my specific situation that would make it more or less so?
She's also aware that if the decision were solely up to me I would not want a second dog. However, she really wants one for two main reasons: 1) she believes getting a second dog will give our current dog a "friend" and will it make it easier for our current dog when we go out of town for several days (which is often) so it may create less work for us in the long run; 2) her maternal instinct is in full throttle and she's frustrated because we've been trying to get her pregnant for six months now with no luck and a dog may be a way to relieve some of that stress. So, essentially, I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons to see if this is something that will meet those two goals and not disproportionately make our lives more difficult (and, for me specifically, not piss me off too much).
She found a family yesterday looking to re-home a dog. 1 year old female mix-breed. It is kennel-trained. We free feed our current dog and this dog apparently doesn't do that. The dogs met and appeared to get along.
So, generally, is a second dog substantially more work and headache? Anything about my specific situation that would make it more or less so?