When to get a second yorkie...
 

I know this is early...He hasn't even been out and about yet, waiting for his booster shot. My husband and I were talking about it the other night; Oliver is alone for 4-5 hrs a day 2 days a week, 6-8 hours 1 day a week. 4 days he's with either me or my husband (we have different days off). We were talking about having a playmate for him. When is a good time to do that? I see some pics of folks having 2 pups. I guess I'm thinking I want to wait til atleast I can have him out and about and til he's a bit bigger.

What has been your experience? I'd like to hear your opinions.

haha....can't answer your question because i'm basically in the same boat except i started thinking about getting another one about a month after i got Hailey. she's almost 6 months - will be getting spayed in a couple weeks.

yea i need one to play with her....she's wearing me out!

That's exactly it! He has wayyy to much energy, he's asleep on my foot now, I love the cuddle times. We've had him only a month. Waiting til I can get him out and about see if that helps him. I just feel bad when he's alone. :(

As long as finances allow, I'd say the sooner the better. If you can afford to provide for two pups (premium food, vet care, emergency fund, etc.) then my opinion is go for it:D They can grow up together:) Of course if you are going to get an opposite sex playmate, then making sure that at least one of them is fixed BEFORE a female might go into heat is extremely important, so that there are no oopsie pregnancies. Your vet can advise you on when the best time is to spay or neuter, but it's usually done around 6 months or so if they are above 3 lbs at that time. That's just a guideline though, there are many differing opinions on that subject;)

My Japanese Chin, Sir Yumble will be 1 year August 11. My Yorkie is almost 17 weeks. They are the best of friends!

Louise

I would say wait until he is housetrained. Housetraining two at once would be SO difficult and they might start learning bad habits from each other, one pees on the floor because they smelled urine stains from the other one, etc. Mine are 1 year apart almost exactly and are best friends.

Sound like good advice. :thumbup:

I agree with backwardsrain. I have two one male 7 mo and 1 female 5mo, and I am going crazy:eek: trying to potty train them both at same time. Since they are together all the time, I can't tell who is to blame. I am trying everything I can to fix this before it gets too late.

I got My second one a month after my first. Potty training was more difficult however i did it

I've always used this criteria...

Same breed,
Opposite Sex,
New animal about two years younger than the Resident,
or is a Puppy.

You'd be surprised how well this works out.
Older animal can really teach the younger a LOT, and
still maintain his "seniority", which is important.
Just about all the work you've done with the resident,
can be passed along to the younger by example.

However, you MUST recognize that there may be a serious
psychological impact on the resident. He will need a lot of
petting and reassuring that he's not being replaced in any
way. This mainly applies when you only have one, and add one.
When there are several animals in-house, this is somewhat
moderated, and the age separation is less important.

ooo sounds stressful for all. Hope they both get it down soon! (and in the proper location);)

I'll be 45 on August 11 Biewer, I'd recommend either at the same time or wait until one is fully trained to your satisfaction

I have two pups together. This is the second time I have taken litter mates and the reason being it worked so well first time around. I find they take to another dog in the house easier the younger they are. I have older dogs too and it takes a bit of settling in time when a new member is introduced. Pups just accept the new one no question. I have not found toilet training more difficult with two. They are 5 1/2 months and both use pee pads when they cant get outside or will go outside when I take them. I use the command ~"toilet " when we are out and they both squat down and pee or poo is so cute. Im not saying they are perfect at times one or other has and accident but that does not mean the other then does it too. So I would say if you can afford it then go for is now. It takes the same time to toilet two pups as one. The benefits are that they are great company for each other. I have older dogs but they are big dogs and dont want to mess around with the pups (just as well they are about 40-50 lbs) the girls chase each other round the house and play tug together then settle down to snuggle up to sleep at night. Yes I said girls, they are same sex from the same litter as where my other two yorkie x border terriers. I have put a pic on to show you them together. Good luck with your decision.