[Geekerbell]

Okay, here's the deal. Molly is just under 5 months old, and I originally was going to wait a year before getting another puppy. I just figured it would be better to give all my time and energy to her while she's a puppy before introducing another. I'm home all day, so she's not left alone and I'm not worried about her needing a companion to not get lonely. Tho I'm sure she would like to have another pup to play with sometimes, since moomy does not do the nippy game.

But my friend's mom has a basset that had puppies a couple of weeks ago. It was not planned, she just was not responsible enough to get her dogs fixed soon enough. (The mom is only a year old and had 8 pups, poor girl).

So of course she now needs to find homes for them. And I DO want another puppy, just wasn't planning on it being a couple months from now.

So I would love for all of you to be honest and either convince me or not (give me pros and cons) to take one of these puppies.

 

[Geekerbell]

Oh, and yes for those of you wondering, the male has now been neutered.

 

[dreamons]

Not knowing all the circumstances it's hard to say for sure. But to me I think you should take the puppy. It sounds like you want too and you have already dealt with a puppy before so you know what your getting into. We had a Puggle and Maggie our Basset when we fostered Daisy an almost year old Basset. Never planned on keeping her but she had severe hip dysplasia so no one really wanted to take her. We decided to keep her and it has been a great decision. I guess it comes down to money to me. Food cost and vet bills. Good luck on deciding. I know that looking at a Basset puppy it's hard to resist not taking one home. Heck looking at any Basset that needs a home it's hard to resist.

 

[Soundtrack]

If you're not ready, you're not ready. Only get the puppy if you really, truly want to, not because you think you should or it's free or convenient.

There will always be more puppies.

 

[Geekerbell]

Good point Soundtrack. I'm glad I have a couple months to decide.
honestly, I'm really leaning toward getting one. My husband however is worried about the housetraining issues. Molly uses a dog door, but we susally crate her when we are away from the house. So do we crate the new little one at night, taking him/her out so we can teach the right spot to go in the yard, etc. Do we just try to teach it the dog door from the start?
I'm not really too worried about the money aspect of it, since we saved up a pretty good amount in our pet fund before getting Molly.

I guess the part I personally worry about the most is if it will be more beneficial to Molly to wait or not.

 

[Gracie's Mama]

Well, if it were me I would wait. I agree with soundtrack, there will always be more puppies. I had kinda thought that Gracie would like a sibling. But after I thought about it, I decided that we would just stick with the original plan. That way Gracie gets to have our full puppy attention.
But, if you want another baby right now then go ahead and get one. But if you think you would be alright waiting. Then go ahead and wait. There are always lots of basset puppies. And that way you can pick based on breeding and you can be more selective and what not.

 

[MollyMcFrecklesMom]

Two puppies is a lot of work, especially when you are housebreaking both. That said, I got Winston when my Molly was 8 months old and it was the best thing I could have done for her. She has a constant playmate and a friend to grow up with. They are inseparable. I'm not going to lie, it's a LOT of work...but eventually they'll grow into good dogs (read: less insane) and the work will pay off. If you really want a puppy and you are willing to deal with extra time, effort, expense, and mess, then by all means do it. I'm glad I did.

 

[SophieB]

If you're not ready, you're not ready. Only get the puppy if you really, truly want to, not because you think you should or it's free or convenient.
There will always be more puppies.

My thoughts too... make sure you really want another puppy, but as you're home all the time like I am (well 99% of the time) you would have lots of time for a new puppy. I do hope they will all be found nice people to care for them! It's double the work (but twice the fun) training two pups as I found out by getting my two gorgeous sisters at the same time... LOADS OF FUN and they amused one another for hours outside and in and had lots of freedom to rest and play.

 

[Geekerbell]

Thank you all so much for the input! Especially those of you who are raising/have raised two puppies at once. It certainly gives me alot to think about.

 

[Soundtrack]

I have raised more than one puppy at once, in fact I just raised four sisters. But I'm set up for it, and even so I much prefer one at a time.

 

[charady2]

I cannot imagine having two puppies, however mine is only 2 months old right now! My pup is insane when he gets playing and he attacks feet (my 4 year old child freaks out when flash comes toward his feet). I also have 2 cats though, so that may be part of my wild puppy issues

Now, once he calms a bit down I could totally see myself in your position of wanting another. But we did have 2 rotties at once and I think this time around, I only want one dog(but basset puppies are too darn adorable!)

Good luck deciding! What a hard decision!

 

[Scully]

I totally agree with a lot of what's been said already. If you really are sure that you are ready for all that comes along with having another puppy, and that you truly want one of these particular puppies, then I'd probably say go for it. However, if you have significant concerns or hesitation--whether that be about the responsibility of bringing in another pup so soon, or about the pups themselves--then maybe it's not meant to be right now.

I have never raised two puppies at once, and I'm pretty sure I'd be kissing what's left of my sanity goodbye if I ever tried. But then again, I admit that my sanity is in pretty short supply in comparison to many other people, and I can't see myself taking on challenges that others might enjoy.

Good luck deciding!

 

[MollyMcFrecklesMom]

What drove us to decide to get Winston while Molly was so young was Molly's needs more than our own desire for ANOTHER crazy puppy. Granted, we were all in favor of bringing more cuteness into the house, but we thought long and hard about the needs of a small puppy...more vet bills, more food, extra messes. But Molly loves other dogs so much and loved playing rough. Another dog would tolerate that more than we would...puppy teeth HURT, no matter how much bite inhibition there was. The other question was will they get along? Will Molly be jealous and mean to the puppy who steals her toys, lays in her bed, and monopolizes the chew bones? We took Molly with when we picked Winston out (same breeders, same mom and dad...we had a little family reunion). We introduced Winston to her...she didn't care, but just wanted to play with her parents. When we picked Winston up, Molly came with, and still no reaction from her. The first day or so, Molly would just sit and stare at this little crazy ball of cute that came to live with us. Then, it was all over. They are inseparable! She adores this little guy and he can't be without his big sister (oh the howling when she's out for potty and he has to wait his turn!).

My point is this: know if you can handle it, as it can be stressful...but they eventually will grow up and calm down. Know if your own dog will tolerate it. Our last dog, Zoey, would not have handled another dog, so we only had her. Molly was the opposite...she needed a buddy. Best decision I made for her.

Good luck in your decision. At least you'll go into this with your eyes open.

 

[Geekerbell]

Ok, so after MUCH discussion on the topic, we have decided to hold off and not take one of these puppies. what really made out decision is that I am supposed to have surgery on my wrist and arm this summer and will have zero use of my right arm for 6-8 weeks. My husband just is not up for the challenge of two puppies house training, etc, and it's not fair for me to put that pressure on him.
That said, I do think Molly would greatly benefit from a friend. Even though I am home all day, I do have kids to take care of and can't always play right when she wants to. And our cats think she's insane and will have nothing to do with her! Lol. So I have been talking to the breeder that I had planned on getting a pup from next year, and found out she is planning a litter for this fall also. So depending on how quickly I recover from my surgery, I may look at getting one of those puppies.

thanks so much to all of you for your comments and help!

 

[MollyMcFrecklesMom]

Glad you made the decision that was right for you. It's true, there will always be more puppies and by the fall, Molly should be doing well on potty training and you'd only have to deal with one piddler.

PS - my cats think the bassets are insane too!

 

[Gracie's Mama]

Sounds good. Make sure your still hangin around the forum then. So we get to see the new addition.

 

[Geekerbell]

Of course I'll still be around. There's still way too much I need to learn and too many cute basset pics to see!