one dog, or two?

[Decolliber]

In my experience, dogs do like canine company. We had two German Shepards. When one of them died, the other seemed to mope around for months, showing the classic signs of depression. Then we got a St Bernard puppy and the surviving German Shepard immediatley perked up. They are the best of friends - sleep together and play together.

[Sarah]

John...I agree with you about dogs feeling a sense of lose and depression. Our Owen had a lot of stress & anxiety when our first few sharpei passed away. He also perked up when we got Bailey (his previous owner's house burnt down and they could not keep him). Owen needed dog friends. When Owen passed away last spring...Spanky seemed out of sorts for a long time because they were buddies and did a lot of daily activities together. So...animals do form their own relationships and bonds with one another.

Our Bailey had been a very welcoming and calming influence on new dogs coming into the house. We just wish he got more respect...we call him the Rodney Dangerfield of the family. Because he is mellow and nice...they think they can boss him...but he does have an impressive growl when he has had enough.

[Shuie]

Sarah, that Bulldog is awesome.

My Bulldog is the most dominant male dog I have ever seen or been around. He did not do well by himself at all when we got him as a puppy. His behavior improved from absolutely intolerable to almost normal when we got him around another dog. The other dog was a fairly dominant male golden retriever. They had their fair share of fights, but he was still much better off in this situation. When the retriever passed away and he was by himself again, he regressed quickly. There is another female Retriever puppy in the house right now and he is much better again.

[Sarah]

Shuie - That sounds very similar to Owen's and Spanky's relationship. Owen was absolutely the Boss of the dogs. When Spanky would try to challenge him...Owen would put him in his place in a hurry...Spanky would take off running. When Owen passed away...Spanks world was turned upside down. Bailey never tried or wanted to be top boss dog...but sometimes Spanky gets Bailey just for the heck of it. Funny thing is that the new dog Kota pushs Spanky to the edge and he does not get her like he gets Bailey.

Did you post pics of your bulldog before? I think I might have seen one on another thread. If not...post one.

[Shuie]

Sarah, heres an old pic of 'Sammy The Bull' I just scanned.

[Sarah]

omg that is a great picture. Sammy looks bigger than Spanks. I've posted a lot of dog pictures on the OT threads.

[trj911]

At my house 2 911's for me = 2 dogs for her. Hmmm...I wonder if she would like a third dog?!

[vash]

Originally posted by trj911
At my house 2 911's for me = 2 dogs for her. Hmmm...I wonder if she would like a third dog?!

haha, if it was that easy. i would get her a friggen dog sled team.

[Crowbob]

UNFIXED,

Depends on what she looks like (the gf, not the dog).