One dog vs. two

M

marshrat

Member
After my accident where I tragically lost one of my labs (see the main forum for the ice warning), I am concerned that my 1-1/2 year old is a little lonesome. The reason I got her was because Abbey was an EIC dog and I knew I would not be able to hunt her very much. Now that Abbey is gone, I am considering getting a new pup for Bailey's sake as much as mine. Thoughts?
 
If you are ready I think it's time.:cheers:
 
I like having two dogs. At least with pointing dogs in this area having two dogs is and advantage in the field.
 
I like those pictures with 3-5 dogs pointing and backing. I never get a picture because my heart is in my throat withmy hands on the gun. That many dogs can not be wrong!
 
For my first years of having and hunting labs I only had one lab, I was younger then and was able to hunt harder myself and hunted those dogs pretty hard, and really wore them out at times, but they enjoyed it. Now for the last several years I have had two Labs that I am able to rotate for Dove, waterfowl and upland. I feel they keep each other company in the house and in the kennel when I cannot keep them company myself. As for upland hunting rotating dogs every couple of hours keeps them going for several days. The hard thing is one having to stay at home on daily waterfowl hunts. The one being left behind doesnt like the idea of staying at home. BUt for the most part having two or more Labs works out well for all of us.
 
Having two dogs makes a lot of sense. It's great to have a back up in case one of the dogs can't hunt, hunting a single dog for a couple of hours then putting them up to rest and hunting the other dog, keeps both dogs fresher over several days of hunting and hunting two dogs together allows you to cover the ground more thoroughly if you only have time for a day hunt.
 
Having 1 dog is nuts. You're just one accident from losing an entire season. Having 15 dogs is PSYCHO.........hi, my name is PSYCHO! Yes, it makes more sense when you're a breeder, but I do enjoy working several dogs together and rotating them throughout the day. When the pheasants are running, having several dogs on the ground can get them to set. Yes, those pics of several dogs pointing and honoring are supreme. I think the best pic I have is of 5 dogs at one time. I've had 7 lined up before but didn't have a camera. Good luck with your decision.
 
I always hunt with both of my goldens. They hunt well together and have learned to stay away from each other and find their own birds. When they come together and get really birdy chances are something is going to fly soon. The difficulty comes in running the collars for two. I have a collar that runs both dogs on one transmitter, but it takes a bit of skill to keep track of everything. But since I started hunting with two, I don't think I want to ever go back to one.
 
More dogs the better!!!!! I just bought a started dog from a guy that had to get rid of her because his girlfriend told him she only was going to allow 1 dog in the house!! Poor guy... only to know he STILL has two DOGS in the house!! The more dogs the better:cheers:
 
Cooper and Star are best friends, love to hunt together. Work separately until one or the other gets "birdy" They know body language. Great fun watching them team up.
Mostly I hunt one dog at a time. After the limit I like running both dogs. :cheers:
 
marshrat said:
After my accident where I tragically lost one of my labs (see the main forum for the ice warning), I am concerned that my 1-1/2 year old is a little lonesome. The reason I got her was because Abbey was an EIC dog and I knew I would not be able to hunt her very much. Now that Abbey is gone, I am considering getting a new pup for Bailey's sake as much as mine. Thoughts?
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Get you another girlie girl, name here Abbey and love up on her big time:thumbsup:
 
Chave Dakota said:
More dogs the better!!!!! I just bought a started dog from a guy that had to get rid of her because his girlfriend told him she only was going to allow 1 dog in the house!! Poor guy... only to know he STILL has two DOGS in the house!! The more dogs the better:cheers:
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I knew a guy like this once. Only reason I got to know him was because of his GSP. Few monthes later said the wife made him get rid of the dog. Talk about insecurity. I'm all for two dogs, if my wife had her way, we'd have none. I took about a 10 year break and got back into the swing of things 2 years ago. Got my 10 year old son 2 GSP's. 3 monthes later we lost one. I figured this was a sign from the man above, he only wanted our family to have one dog. Who am I to question? I seriously considered getting another dog a few monthes back. Had to make a deal with the wife. Deal was, 2 dogs, they live outside. 1 dog, he can come inside, few hours a day. Has to stay on his pillow. He's inside 2-3 hours a day. They do shed alot. The wife claims she hates the dog, but when he got hit by a car a few monthes back, she was the first in tears when I came home from the vet and said he may not make it. He made it, back to about 100% in little over a week. One dog is not too bad, 2 would be nice.
 
See "Jeffstally" signature..."and 1 nice wife to allow it!" I am fortunate to have one of those!
We have 2 1/2 dogs, 2 gsp's and a mini schnauzer, all going on 9. Will be picking up new puppy in about a week to bring up the rear. All our dogs are "lap" dogs and spend most time in the house when we are home.
The guy's girlfriend was descent about it and let one remain, don't know how I would choose which one to go!? But if someone made me chose between her and the dog, I'd lose the 2-legged bitch.
Just so this is clear, I wear the pants in the family...and I have my wife's permission to say so!
By the way, I hunt with two dogs and love it!
 
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FairOaksRod said:
I knew a guy like this once. Only reason I got to know him was because of his GSP. Few monthes later said the wife made him get rid of the dog. Talk about insecurity. I'm all for two dogs, if my wife had her way, we'd have none. I took about a 10 year break and got back into the swing of things 2 years ago. Got my 10 year old son 2 GSP's. 3 monthes later we lost one. I figured this was a sign from the man above, he only wanted our family to have one dog. Who am I to question? I seriously considered getting another dog a few monthes back. Had to make a deal with the wife. Deal was, 2 dogs, they live outside. 1 dog, he can come inside, few hours a day. Has to stay on his pillow. He's inside 2-3 hours a day. They do shed alot. The wife claims she hates the dog, but when he got hit by a car a few monthes back, she was the first in tears when I came home from the vet and said he may not make it. He made it, back to about 100% in little over a week. One dog is not too bad, 2 would be nice.
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Am sorry to hear you lost one, we had 2 hit and killed by the car in '05. Never easy! Don't know your situation, type of dog, etc., but there are a few things we can do as dog enthuseists to make our life easier when it comes to the wife. 1) Get her a dog of her own that stays behind while you're out chaising tail. 2)Give your dog a bath so he doesn't stink up the house and shed as much. Know a guy, his dog stunk! I couldn't let it sleep in the camper with us and my dogs if I wanted to stay married! Asked him when was the last time you gave him a bath, he said 4 months. Didn't do any good he said, cause he'd go roll in the first pile of -hit when he was done.
I wouldn't let my dog in the house if he stunk without a bath, try to show your wife the same consideration
 
I see her side, if she sees my side she won't admit it. Manny is a GSP and as far as dogs go he's pretty well groomed. I actually have a seperate washer for his pillow cases and blankets. I buy him a new pillow probably 3 times a year, because they do get smelly. I believe in being a responsible dog owner, no chance in hell Manny is only going to get 1-2 hours of attention a day. Currently, he gets around 5 hours a day, I run him off leash at least 5 days a week for 45+ minutes, usually as soon as I get home from work. If its dark out, I strap a light on his collar to keep track of him. If he had his own companion, they'd never come in the house, but do live in the garage. They do shed, and GSP hair is time consuming to vaccum up.
 
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