Man I love Okami even in all his stubborn glory haha. We have good times. Now I just wish I could have had the foresight to get his brother at the same time.

Either way, no I want another Husky. And wooo are they expensive. Even here in Washington haha. I saw one that was spotted, white with brown spots,. weird. And he was only $600.

How did y'all deal with "the itch"? haha

I have puppy fever that is THREW THE ROOF almost all the time. I constantly have it. I just have to keep reminding myself that I can't afford it, I don't have the time, and right now two pups is enough. It's HARD, but you just gotta be responsible lol. Horrible, I know.

LMAO I know! I don't want to be responsible though, haha! I just want moar!

Ah but yeah! Stupid money.

Another way to be responsible, BUT to have your itch taken care of is to foster .

You get another dog, but a rescue pays for food, vet care, and whatever else the pup may need. You save a dog, have a huge hand in helping the pup have a new life, and you get your itch satisfied!

OH! Ok, I never knew that a rescue helps like that. That's great.

Hehe nice name choice!

Haha, hey there copycat. XD

Ha ha. Um yeah, I pretty much always have the itch, and honestly if it weren't for my husband I would already have a second, even though we have 2 cats, and even though we live in a studio apartment in NYC. I will admit though, that being forced to wait has been good. It has allowed me to deepen my bond with Diz and get him through some of the worst/hardest parts of his teen phase.

At 7 months, you have many ups and downs ahead of you until he settles. Diz was just starting to act up around that age, and I thought it was bad. The phases that followed were worse. If I had to deal with two going through those phases at the same time I would be on the other side of the sanity line by now.

Link is 2 months older than Diz and Jeff and I started to compare development and they had very similar issues/attitudes at similar ages. Some months were wonderful and we felt like the hard work was paying off, and other months were hell, and we wondered if they would ever come back around.

At 14 months Diz is doing well and starting to slightly mellow a bit, but I won't really feel confident about that until he is 18 months to 2 years. I've come to a decision that I will wait until Dizzy is at least 2 years old until I bring another puppy into our home, and most likely longer.

What has helped with the itch? Well, I guess there are two things that have helped. First off, I set goals of things I want to achieve with Dizzy before I get a new puppy. I want him to have his CGC, I want to show him in UKC altered, and have him get his Championship, and I may even try rally obedience or agility with him. Secondly, he's just getting to the point where I can start to do a lot of fun things with him, running, long hikes, joring, and eventually pulling, etc. Bringing another puppy into the mix would seriously limit the stuff we could do, and that's not fair to him. I want to give him a chance to fully develop and mature and grow up with me before I turn his life upside down and add another puppy. He would love to have another dog in the house, but it will change a lot for him, and not all of it will be positive.

Lastly, it has helped me to think about where the itch is coming from and why I want another puppy so badly. For me, mostly it was because I wanted Dizzy to be a show dog, and he can't be. I was deeply disappointed and wanted (and still do) another puppy I could show. I have finally come to accept that Dizzy is my dog with all his great qualities and all his faults. I need to be happy and content with him before I add another. I owe it to him to get to a state of mind where he is 'enough' and I don't need/want another dog at all, to fill something inside of me. This is kind of personal, but my relationship with my dog is very personal. I want my connection with him to grow and strengthen before I add another dog to the mix and upset that bond. Adding another will change your relationship with Okami make sure you are ready for that.

Aww I could understand deepening your bond with Diz.  I'm sure he loves it.  With two you would have to split your attention.

Yeah Okami keeps wanting to adjust what he learns and twist it.  He knows what I want dangit!  

I came back yesterday though from class and Okami had actually pulled the crate cover off  and was laying down and rolling in it haha.  Then later on I left for short task and when I came back he got out of his collar and was sitting in the hallway waiting for me.  I was surprised he was so calm.  He was just laying there watching me.  He didn't pee or poop anywhere...nothing important was chewed up. It was amazing.  

I just hate it when I'm busy and he just lays around all the time.  That's where I wish I could have gotten his brother.  He would love it.

wpskier222 wrote:

I owe it to him to get to a state of mind where he is 'enough' and I don't need/want another dog at all, to fill something inside of me. This is kind of personal, but my relationship with my dog is very personal. I want my connection with him to grow and strengthen before I add another dog to the mix and upset that bond. Adding another will change your relationship with Okami make sure you are ready for that.

This has always been my greatest fear if I were able to get another dog. I too have the fever for another dog. Not so much a puppy because I don't have the lifestyle to deal with a puppy and I know it. Kenzi is my baby. She is heartbroken when I'm with other dogs and not her and I don't want to break her heart if I were unable to balance my time between the two. I wouldn't want her to feel left out or loved less than the new dog and breed resentment. I think you must prepare yourself as much as your original dog to make having two work for all involved and not just to satisfy an itch. So while I window shop for dogs I can't have due to Kenzi's aggression the itch for another dog is usually tamped down by my guilt at having to divide my time between her and another.

Right now I don't have the itch at all. Granted I have 2 dogs and the nice thing is Simon at 6 months is still enough of a puppy to fill the itch for a puppy and enough work that I wouldn't want to add to the crazy. Working at a dog kennel has made me really happy to come home and just have my two mostly mellow guys to deal with. So maybe volunteer at a shelter or something? It will help those dogs find home and crazy dogs with no manners help me love my guys all the more.

I have a itch for another one really bad. I dont have the time or money for another though. Im still waiting for koda to start calming down a little though. He is 1 1/2 and still does bot relax ever. Even after a roller blade or long walk. He wont relax just barks at me or mouths me lol. He is a good dog if he has something to do or i constantly pay attention to him but if not he throws tantrums cause he isnt getting attention. Anyone have trouble with that? Do they out grow it?

Ericobeasto wrote:

He is a good dog if he has something to do or i constantly pay attention to him but if not he throws tantrums cause he isnt getting attention. Anyone have trouble with that? Do they out grow it?

LOL. In my case, no. Just last night I was doing my online HAZWOPER class, granted it took me a little bit longer then most nights; well, the girls were wrestling and then Kennedy laid down in the living room so I had assumed Shebs laid down in the bedroom. I wasn't paying too much attention until all the sudden Sheba hauls ass into the living room, stops right in front of me, stares at me for a good 30 seconds, jumps back and forth and hops around a little bit, stared at me again, and then just hollered and screamed at me for a good 3 minutes. I don't think they ever outgrow it LOL. At least not yet .

Playing with the Big Dogs wrote:

So maybe volunteer at a shelter or something? It will help those dogs find home and crazy dogs with no manners help me love my guys all the more.

I totally second this emotion, as well as the suggestion to foster. When we lived in a townhouse and couldn't have a dog I volunteered four hours a week at an animal shelter working with the dogs. In one year I learned so much about dog behavior and training from their head behaviorist and from working with the dogs one on one. It made me even more passionate about dogs and dog behavior and was a great training for me many months before we got Layla. It's also really fulfilling to be part of all the happy stories of dogs who came in from horrible situations and went out with a lot of dedication and training from staff and volunteers to a wonderful forever home.

How do I deal with "The Itch?" I tell myself it wouldn't be fair to him. I hate that he's alone for 8 hours of the day during the week, with an hour with me at lunch, but I don't have the yard to have 2 dogs. Currently looking for a place with a bigger yard so I can get him a friend though. I can't wait to see his face when he gets a friend.

TwisterII wrote:

wpskier222 wrote:

I owe it to him to get to a state of mind where he is 'enough' and I don't need/want another dog at all, to fill something inside of me. This is kind of personal, but my relationship with my dog is very personal. I want my connection with him to grow and strengthen before I add another dog to the mix and upset that bond. Adding another will change your relationship with Okami make sure you are ready for that.

This has always been my greatest fear if I were able to get another dog. I too have the fever for another dog. Not so much a puppy because I don't have the lifestyle to deal with a puppy and I know it. Kenzi is my baby. She is heartbroken when I'm with other dogs and not her and I don't want to break her heart if I were unable to balance my time between the two. I wouldn't want her to feel left out or loved less than the new dog and breed resentment. I think you must prepare yourself as much as your original dog to make having two work for all involved and not just to satisfy an itch. So while I window shop for dogs I can't have due to Kenzi's aggression the itch for another dog is usually tamped down by my guilt at having to divide my time between her and another.

I feel this and I already have two. Especially with Nikolai's seizures lately and him needing more attention. Although I love Siku more than anything I feel like he doesn't feel that anymore and that kills me. He has started to gravitate a little more towards my boyfriend recently, he does get a lot of love and attention from me but its not the one on one kind that I would like to provide him with, if it was still just us. When I started noticing him getting a little distance, I have really tried to take him to do more one on one things so he can feel special, but sometimes it can be very difficult to split between two dogs cause one bond at times will suffer. Just my opinion from someone who already has two! I wouldn't change having my two now, but sometimes I wish I had waited until Siku was like 4 or so before adding in Nikolai. Plus Nikolai is just a bully and Siku is very sweet, I feel bad a lot of the times when Nikolai just comes and takes Siku's stuff although I stop it, their pack mentality makes Siku feel like he is wrong and sometimes won't take back when I give it to him and that makes me feel bad.

I didn't know that fostering a dog is reimbursed.... I am highly considering fostering now, I would like to know how Okami does with another husky in the house.

Okami's not aggressive just over excited. So he does good. But I want to volunteer now at a shelter. I could help out and maybe learn like others were saying.

I meant my Okami lol, oh I can see this getting funny one day.

Ahh.."the itch". I have had it in spades. Comes and goes. Our plan was always to have 2 huskies to keep each other company as they are supposed to be outdoor dogs to control wildlife...Since we got Ami, he has become my best pal. I scroll through petfinder several times a week, look at all the huskies. I chide my husband for always being on the hunt for the next car (he collects them) and that it is the hunt more than the acquisition. Well, now I'm doing the same thing with huskies. But...

Turns out, Ami is the perfect dog for us. He "fits", he doesn't howl, he travels in the car beautifully - quiet, sleeps (unless we are snacking, then he joins us  ), he doesn't get carsick, he doesn't "mark" indoor spaces. He loves people. Every single one. He does not have an aggressive bone in his body - no food guarding, no possessiveness with toys - loves other dogs, plays, shares. He doesn't even chew things he ought not. We just got back from an overnight in a hotel with Ami - we actually were complemented on the behavior of a 19 mo. old siberian husky, he was so well behaved! We were just so lucky - impulsively got him from a shelter with little known about him except he was badly neglected and he's wonderful.

So being so lucky with Ami, I have to remember "regression to the mean", "law of averages", "the Natalie factor (my son's second child - total handful!)". "Quit while you're ahead." After contemplating all this, I have decided that one dog is good for us, I can meet the needs of this one, perfect dog. Adding another, who knows what we'll get. And I don't want to ever have to give up a dog to re-homing. So, I look at the pretty pictures and give a silent prayer that those dogs will also find their perfect home.

Though, there is still the lingering guilt that Ami would love a constant playmate...