Sorry if this has been answered before, but I couldn't find it anywhere.

We have had Betty for a little over a month and she just turned 3 months old today. She only has about 1 accident in the house every 3 or 4 days and is learning all of her commands (except "come") very well. She loves to play nip but is getting better. She plays great with other dogs and loves strangers. Now for the real question.

A friend of a friend is rehoming their 6-month old pup. He doesn't have papers or vet records but looks great in his pictures. I'm going on the word of what I'm being told and they say he is a good pup that does well with others.

I've heard some people say that a second husky will not occupy the first, they'll just make double trouble. But I would love for Betty to have a full time play mate. Do you think it will hurt her training and obedience lessons? I'm nervous about getting a second one so quickly after getting Betty but she has been so great I would love for her to have a friend. Plus, I do think that i can provide a good environment for the other husky "Buddy". Anyone dealt with this before or have tips on what to expect, or any advice to make me feel better before I make the final decision?

Congrats on the pup(s).

How confident are you in the stability of your situation with your current pup?

I can't speak from personal experience, but from reading books and on here and just thinking about it hypothetically it seems that bringing another puppy (or any dog really) into your house with your current puppy being so young is going tobe......hectic.

Because Betty is so young and you have only just begun to establish your dynamic together and your relationship with her, not to mention the rules of the house and training, it would likely be a little chaotic bringing another puppy into the situation;perhaps whatever ground you have gained with Betty might be jeopardized.

The general rule of thumb seems to be wait until you and dog #1 are firmly established and stable until getting dog #2. From what I've seen (and what our family is banking on with our second Husky) it is recommended to wait until dog #1 is roughly 2 years old, give or take. This allows dog #1 to mature and stabilize with you.

I certainly would not definitively recommend not doing it or take any strong stance against it or for it, but it does seem that the possibility of it being more difficult than easy is much greater given Betty's age and life stage.

At the very least your efforts and commitments and time and "oh my gosh puppies are frustrating!" moments are going to greatly increase. The most difficult aspects would probably be continued housetraining and promoting calmness/quiet time.

But if you have the time and money and patience and confidence then you could make it work, it is just going to be a lot of work. This is a special circumstance that just might be too good to pass up.....tough call for you!

Hopefully people with real life experience can chime in.

Cheers.

I would say to wait, only because the new pup could come in and teach bad behaviors to your current pup and vice versa. However, if you can battle those behaviors and think you can handle the work of two, then it's totally up to you. I had a 6 month old Cloud when I got my two month old Yuki. However - it was /nothing/ like having two huskies. Cloud, even at 6 months old, acted like an old man. Preferred to just cuddle with me, was already house trained, didn't get into trouble. Adding Yuki in was a piece of cake. My only worry is that you said the 6 month pup doesn't have any vet records? I would make sure he's fixed and if he isn't, to get that done as soon as possible. 6 months old isn't too young to do so and here in as little as 3 months your little one could hit her first heat and you could end up with an accidental pregnancy. So that would be my main concern, training aside.

We have a nearly 5 month, Sky, and an 11 week old, Phoenix.

It is HARD! You need eyes up your backside and the patience of a saint (bit like life with my 3 kids lol)

We can't work with them together (sit, lay down, stay, paw etc.) because they both want attention at the same time, just as I'm getting Sky to do something Phoenix will come barrelling over to see what's going on and distract her. It's no biggie, since we only do 5 minutes a time we just separate them by letting one in the garden.

They play fight most of the time, always running around the house like loons growling and snorting, so if you like to watch TV in peace there's no chance for a while. After 3 weeks they fight for an hour, sleep for an hour.

They like to divide and conquer, if I'm stopping one from hunting the bin the other is running off with a sock. One comes in from outside, the other refuses, then when that one comes in the other bolts back out.. at midnight when you just want to go to bed.

We haven't had problems with toilet training or sleeping and there's no real aggression between them for toys or food. They're brilliant with the kids, they don't nip at people, they sit nice for strangers to pet them and they do great on a joint lead (only for a few minutes)

They've only been together 3 weeks so I'm sure there'll be more good and bad along the way hehe but I wouldn't change it for the world and I'd do it again tomorrow. It's twice the fun and twice the love

I should add.. I don't work and hubby works from home so he is always there if I really need him.

Thanks all for everything so far. I'm not concerned about the money factor. If we decide to go ahead and get him them he would be fixed within a week of getting him. I also failed to mention that my girlfriend is the one that wants the second dog.

At this point it doesn't seem like there is a "right: or "wrong" decision, just if we have the time and patience. I know I can work on those, but I'm still not sure. I'm going to set up some play dates and ask the owners more about his personality, food guarding, progress in their training and see he he interacts with Betty and myself.

SkyPlusUs wrote:

We have a nearly 5 month, Sky, and an 11 week old, Phoenix.

It is HARD! You need eyes up your backside and the patience of a saint (bit like life with my 3 kids lol)

We can't work with them together (sit, lay down, stay, paw etc.) because they both want attention at the same time, just as I'm getting Sky to do something Phoenix will come barrelling over to see what's going on and distract her. It's no biggie, since we only do 5 minutes a time we just separate them by letting one in the garden.

They play fight most of the time, always running around the house like loons growling and snorting, so if you like to watch TV in peace there's no chance for a while. After 3 weeks they fight for an hour, sleep for an hour.

They like to divide and conquer, if I'm stopping one from hunting the bin the other is running off with a sock. One comes in from outside, the other refuses, then when that one comes in the other bolts back out.. at midnight when you just want to go to bed.

We haven't had problems with toilet training or sleeping and there's no real aggression between them for toys or food. They're brilliant with the kids, they don't nip at people, they sit nice for strangers to pet them and they do great on a joint lead (only for a few minutes)

You just described my life. Are you spying on me?!?! lol

I have two huskies, but one is a foster. Juneau is almost a year and two months, and we think Maddie is about one year old as well.

I will say this: If you AND your girlfriend both work with the pups, I don't think you'll have any issues with training them. I am the one that does the training for my two and it is kind of a pain to do it by yourself. You will just have to have PATIENCE!

Since your husky is so young, I don't think he will have any aggression problems with his food or toys. I am not sure about the other husky. If you have to, feed them both in separate crates for a while until they get their hierarchy established. My foster still eats in her kennel because I am afraid she will attack Juneau if she gets too close (even though she doesn't growl when Juneau stands by her).

I, too, have lost my silent TV watching privileges. Juneau and Maddie are always throwing each other to the ground while growling and yapping. lol

I also have a hard time getting them both in the house. BUT, if one goes in, the other one usually follows.

Keep in mind, the 6 month old may be potty trained, but if he sees your 3 month old husky pee on the floor or smells the pee spot, he will probably relapse. So be patient with that.


TL;DR: Two humans can easily train and deal with two husky puppies, but they must have patience.

I have 3 dogs, a nearly 2 year old lab, 15 month old husky, and 4 month old Loki. So technically three pups at the same time. It is hard, fun, rewarding, maddening, crazy, lunacy, magical, loving and every other verb you can throw at it. I have 3 kids, I swear its about the same craziness.

I love every single minute of having the three of them, and trust me Loki is like having three all by himself