Hi Guys,
I'm just looking for some advice on the right time to adopt a second dog and how to know if this is maybe the right thing for my dog.
My partner and I adopted Murphy 2 years ago. He had separation anxiety and took a while to toilet train, but other wise has settled in well. My parents have a collie and my sister has a German shepherd/ Labrador cross. We also live in an area with lots of small dogs and thankfully Murphy is fantastic with other dogs. He doesn't seem to have much of a prey drive and was really good with my guinea pigs when we had them.
We've noticed however that Murphy reacts really different to other greyhounds compared to different dog breeds. He will sniff small dogs but shows no interest in playing with them and will quickly move on. With bigger dogs, like my sisters dog, he will play a bit but again quickly looses interest. When it comes to other greyhounds he gets to excited, he'll pull the lead to say hi and he is not a puller! He loves seeing other greyhounds and will run and play with them in a way different to other dogs.
Because of his interest in other greyhounds, we have started talking about adopting a second dog. I am also concerned that his separation anxiety could return after the pandemic. Before all this started we both went off to work and Murphy was at home for most of the day and had settled into his routine well. Since last March, my partner has worked from home full time. Due to lockdown's Murphy hasn't been left on his own much in the last year. Max of probably 4-5 hours when we went out to dinner or drinks when things have been open. He has been completely fine when he has been left on his own, but going forward I would prefer he had company, but I'm not sure how to know if this is right for him/us or not. I have a few concerns I have listed below if anyone has any advice.
1. Finding the right dog for murphy and leaving them together. How does the introduction process work? How long before you can leave them alone and unmuzzled? We plan to go through the same rescue we got Murphy but just wanted some thoughts.
2. How long before you know if its working out? Like if they're ok and both settled after say 6 months is that settled?
3. Practically, is there much difference say about the house with 2 compared to one? Obviously we'd need say 2 food and water bowls, lots of beds and would expect to loose more sofa room.
4. Also any cars that are good for transporting 2? I have a honda civic, but Murphy takes up most of the boot so I don't think 2 dogs would comfortably fit, especially for long journeys. Could two dogs travel on the back passenger seats with seat belts or would that not be safe?
Thanks for any advice