2 Yorkies vs. 1 Yorkie

[leeeza702]

Good Morning Everyone,

I've been lurking around YorkieTalk for a while now, just haven't really posted much since I created my account.

I have a 1 year old yorkie, his name is Manny. My boyfriend and I have been thinking about getting another yorkie - but this time a girl. I just wanted to ask those that have more than 1 dog... was it an easy transition going from 1 dog to 2 dogs? Also, what is the best way to 'introduce' the 2 so that there's no tension or animosity towards each other?

Few Notes:

1) Manny is neutered.
2) We plan on getting the female spayed once she reaches the appropriate age.

[chachi]

Introduce them in a neutral territory. Manny may not take to the puppy at first he may even growl or seem like he dislikes puppy. That is common. There is an adjustment period he will go through

[DBlain]

Before you do think about a lot of things, most importantly, how is your dog around other dogs. Some dogs will take to other dogs and some will not. I learned the hard way. I had a two year old male yorkie and he hated other dogs, was always on full attack mode when he would see other dogs. Thought I could change that, well I couldn't. He bit me, bit the other dog and spent most of his time under the bed and out of site of the puppy and me, I gave it almost a year. A few times they played tug of war with a sock but I had to watch. The puppy was happy go lucky and loved everyone, I finally rehomed him, and things went back to normal. I later had two and they loved each other, cuddled and slept in the same bed and crate, but the dynamics of the household did change, Murphy the older one slept quietly in our bed all night, the new one Duffy would never settle down and as he got older would jump off and then cry to get back on, we finally started crating them together at night, we felt it was not fair to separate them. Food became an issue one was fat but the other one needed to keep weight on, so I went from letting the bowl sit on the floor at all times, to having to set up a feeding ritual, separate food, separate bowls, separate sides of the room and I had to monitor them while they ate. Duffy was prone to yeast infections in his ears, and this was made worse because Murphy loved to lick and clean his ears and eyes, sometimes I would come home and Duffy's face and ears would be drenched. At times when it got bad I had two side by side crates, so they could be close but not close enough for Murphy to slobber in his ears. Then there were double baths, double grooming, double vet bills, and often different potty schedules. That being said many people have multiple yorkies and love it, in our meetup group one gal has five and as soon as a bed gets put on the floor they all curl up together and always want to be touching. However I am pointing out things that one does not always think of, in the last few weeks I have spoken with two people that both added a second dog to their family and were not happy with how the dynamics in their household changed, one was planning on rehoming the one dog and one was just dealing with it, but they both said they wish they would have known how things would change.

[DBlain]

sorry my post sounds like such a downer, yorkies are often great in groups but just wanted you to know the flip side, so please don't think I am trying to change your mind

[Sophie2010]

Hello,

We have a 1 year and 4 month old yorkie, Sophie, and just added another little girl yorkie, 3 month old Rudy, about 3 weeks ago.

The first few days were a little rough. Sophie snapped A LOT when Rudy would come near her, didn't like us petting Rudy, etc. However, our vet said as long as Sophie isn't chewing on Rudy (!) to let them set their own boundaries. Now, we're doing pretty good!

They play tug, chase each other a lot, and sometimes even cuddle. Soph still snaps sometimes if Rudy does something she deson't like, but for the most part she likes Rudy.

Like the previous person said though, it is double the work. Sophie our older dog could sleep in her crate until 8:00 a.m., but now I'm up at 5 again taking Rudy out. They sleep in crates right next to each other, I think they like having separate space but still being close.

Also, they are on different potty schedules a bit and you have to work on feeding too because Sophie scarfs down her food then tries to eat Rudy's so she eats in a seperate spot.

Don't worry about getting the new pup any new toys because they seem to just also want what the other has! But a few tug toys they can play with may be good.

I'm glad that we got another one despite the extra work. Rudy still poops in the house, so you have to deal with potty training issues again, but it's a small price to pay.

Let us know what you decide and if you have any questions!

[chachi]

Originally Posted by DBlain

sorry my post sounds like such a downer, yorkies are often great in groups but just wanted you to know the flip side, so please don't think I am trying to change your mind

I think its good you gave another side to consider. It should be a well thought out process before taking on any dog so you should consider all possibilities

[Cha Cha]

Good luck with your hunt for a new puppy. Moka was a little over 1 when we added a new puppy and at 1 she was still puppy enough that she welcomed the interaction so that made our adjustment go quite well. Now we have Mylee who has some pretty severe anxiety issues. She uses Moka as her security blanket especially when we leave the house. She is a dog who will never do well as an "only" lol, so sometimes, it works both ways.

[Baby Teddy]

Originally Posted by leeeza702

Good Morning Everyone,

I've been lurking around YorkieTalk for a while now, just haven't really posted much since I created my account.

I have a 1 year old yorkie, his name is Manny. My boyfriend and I have been thinking about getting another yorkie - but this time a girl. I just wanted to ask those that have more than 1 dog... was it an easy transition going from 1 dog to 2 dogs? Also, what is the best way to 'introduce' the 2 so that there's no tension or animosity towards each other?

Few Notes:

1) Manny is neutered.
2) We plan on getting the female spayed once she reaches the appropriate age.

Hi! I have a year old male too (he turned 1 in December). He is very very spoiled - aren't they all?

We just added an addition to our family a few weeks ago - a little girl yorkie. She was 17 weeks old when we got her...I think her age helped with the transition. I was lucky..by day 3 they were best buddies. Day 1 was difficult. I had to introduce them myself because my finance was out of town on business. Teddy kept giving me a look like "who is this?". He was very hesitent to play. She had no problems adjusting at all. Each day got better and better. I really focused on trying to play with them together. I think that helped. When my fiance got home from his business trip Teddy was back to his old self! I recommend getting another while your male is still young. It helps with him accepting the new one.

I would recommend getting one a similar size...because my two play hard! Teddy is 4lbs and she is 2lbs (she should mature around 3.5). Teddy sleeps in the bed with us and she sleeps in her x-pen. She is really good and doesn't cry at all. I also think that has to do with the age she was when we got her.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me!

Best,

Nichole

[Dazzlingdoodles]

This could get long so beware LOL!!

I got Sukie when Roscoe was around 9 months old. I really wanted a little girl to be part of our family and I so wanted him to have a playmate for life because even though he is spoiled and got all of my attention he still seemed lonley. My DH was not really on board but the second we got to the breeder's home she was the first baby he picked up because she was so chunky and cute!

When I first bought Sukie home(she was around 11 weeks) Roscoe would growl if we touched her or if she came near him. She wanted to play and he was angry and jealous! By day two he would bark high pitched and whine like he was scared of her or something. At that point I was wondering if adopting her was the best choice because he was my mommy's boy and he was SO mad at me! I mean this is the little guy that has to be within room distance of me every single second and when I get home from leaving won't let me out of his sight. He would not even let me cuddle him!! Plus I felt like I wasn't able to bond with her because Roscoe got so mad if I dared touch her. My husband could hold her all day though and he could care less. On day 4 he was going up and sniffing her and would take her toy and run, but hey at least he interacted with her!

By day 6 or 7 he was playing with her and even wanted to take a nap with her. One thing that helped was at night I would kennel him(he normally89 sleeps with me) and kennel her side by side so they could see each other all night. EVen after day 7 though if I touched her he would growl and snap at her. Within 2 weeks he was in love with her and they became best friends. It's funny because now if another dog is around Roscoe goes into protective mode and won't let them near her LOL! He guards her with his life. In fact if we are in the backyard and I tell them to come in he will go get her and then come in once she follows him LOL!

Honestly I was happy with just Roscoe and that is saying a lot because I am a "cat" person, well I use to be since adopting him I am a dog person and I love all dogs! Now that I have Sukie though my life is fullfilled and overly joyful! I could not imagine life without either of them they truly do complete me in a way I never thought possible!

I will admit cost go up such as grooming, vet bills, food and so on, but it is soooo worth it to me! Traveling is also more challenging but doable and honestly me and DH joke taking them out somewhere is just as stressful at times as taking our two kids somewhere LOL!

I would not change it for the world though and having two is the best!!!

[Tessa327]

Hi and welcome to YT! I have 2 girls, one yorkie and the other a maltese. They are great together and are close in age. I would say that adding an additional pet is a little more work, especially when it comes to grooming. That means double the bath, clippings, & brushing. Sometimes one will pick up behaviors from other (usually bad habits in my case). On the upside, I don't have to entertain or worry about separation anxiety since they play well together. It's really your call as they're pros and cons to both. Good luck with your decision.

[concretegurl]

Only if you have a dog friendly dog already, can financially support both in a simultaneous emergency situation and your current dog is completely trained.

[christinedeb999]

I adopted my Gizmo when he was around one (or so I was told I think my old soul pup is older than I'm led to believe) and he was in very rough shape. It was horrifying. He was sick sick and it took about 4 month for me to nurse him back to health with much medication 3 times a day, patience and love...

That didn't include some of the major behavioural issues he was facing as a rescue. He didn't want to walk, ever. He hated the grass. He was afraid of EVERYTHING, massive separation anxiety, he couldn't even eat properly when he first arrived and needed serious dental surgery. He quickly became Mummies little guy though. However, we noticed him displaying some amazing improvements when with my best friend's yorkie...things he never did on his own!!

We decided to add Luna in to our family and from my perspective it has been the best thing that has happened for us. That being said, I am eXHAUSTED. I love Luna but she is a puppy and puppies are hard work. She had me up every two hours to go out to pee for the first couple of months. She has so much energy. BUT - she has taught Gizmo how to be a dog, something I could never do. Sure, she's the alpha and he is sometimes not it the mood for puppy all the time. But he plays now. It melts my heart. We go on great walks. He plays fetch and will chew toys...Things that for months held no interest for him. Every day as Luna gets older she becomes more obedient and fits into our routine more and more...

I guess my personal opinion is that it's a great addition to the family -- as long as you're prepared for the extra work Gizmo is smiling at me as I type this, he's going to take a pass from Luna's 530 am walk tomorrow morning Best of luck.

[leeeza702]

Good Evening Everyone!

First and foremost, thank you all for your responses. I really appreciate everyone's insight on this (whether it be pros or cons) ^_^

I would say that Manny is a friendly dog. My sister has a dog, and we go to their house to visit every weekend. They LOVE to play. They pretty much play ALL DAY. Every time we go home from their place; he's knocked out in the car. We also try to take him to the dog park every weekend if the weather is nice. When he's there, he interacts with the other dogs just fine. Never aggressive. However, he does seem a little skittish when bigger dogs come around (Manny is only 3lbs). He'll hide between our legs and wait for them to leave. The only dog he seems to hate is my friend's shiba inu (Kona)... but i'm thinking this is because Kona kept trying to slap Manny with his paws >.< So I can't really blame him lol.

Manny is potty-trained. I can't say completely, because he will have an occasional accident every so often (maybe 1-2 times per month).

My boyfriend and I already spoke about the added expense of getting another yorkie, and we're prepared and able to take on that added responsibility.

One of the main reasons why we're considering getting another yorkie, is because if/when we do leave Manny at home... he will not do anything besides sleep and wait for us to come home. It breaks my heart every time we leave (even if it's only for 30 minutes) because he will follow us to the door and just give us this sad look. Manny isn't ever by himself for a long period of time either. Even though I work an 8-5 job; my boyfriend is here during the day and goes to work a few hours after I get home.

My only concern is how Manny will feel about having another dog around. I don't want him to have a hard time with it, or think he did anything wrong, or be jealous, or think we don't love him as much anymore, etc. We absolutely LOVE Manny to death and are completely happy with him. I just don't want him to think that mommy and daddy are replacing him