My wife and I now have 2 dogs. Any advice welcome from multi dog owners

[New Donker]

We finally did it. After talking about it for a couple years we decided to adopt a second cavalier.

She wasn't able to have puppies anymore, so the breeder called the shelter and left her in a box in their driveway. :/

she's going to need a bit of work house breaking her and teaching her how to play. Also he first instinct was to hump my other dog!

Anyway, figured I'd get some advice from the multi pet owners here. What did you struggle with? What's some concrete advice I need to know? Any and all tips are appreciated 😀
(She's in the red red harness)

 

[CrocM]

Cavaliers are great dogs, just keep an eye out for any issues left over from her previous owner. Otherwise, the dogs should figure out how to get along pretty quickly.

 

[rrc1594]

Get ready for some petty behavior

 

[grang]

My god that crooked mouth ;_; so fucking cute

 

[Vincent Alexander]

My god that crooked mouth ;_; so fucking cute

Click to shrink...

Seriously. That smile is an 11 out of 10.

 

[hinryu]

Get a third dog

 

[Swig]

They don't look like they would be aggressive, but if they show signs of it, don't leave them alone together. I have three dogs, one of which has major resource guarding tendencies, so I never, ever leave him alone with the others. They're fine most of the time, but they can't have toys around each other (two of them are fine together, just with the one). I would just be careful about anything like that.

Mine play together all the time and it's not a problem if I don't leave food or toys out.

 

[Officer Big Mac]

They are weak to pikemen.

 

[Minthara]

As someone that owns two dogs: realize that they have their own likes, dislikes, temperament, and behavior. For instance, one of our dogs is a leader and the other is a follower, so the follower will often go outside in the snow because the leader is out there (for instance) and then whine and cry because he doesn't want to actually be outside in the snow and cold.

Also, one of our dogs likes his space and likes having his own area, the other is the complete opposite. One likes to have his face pet, the other not so much. The smaller, younger dog has anxiety so he needs things to chew on and play with constantly, and he turns into an energy demon at about 7 PM every night. Other dog? Would literally sleep all day/rest if he could, not interested in walks unless I'm going outside, mostly acts grumpy towards the energy demon when he's trying to sleep and the younger dog won't leave him alone.

Enjoy it! It takes some getting used to. Of course, both my dogs are over 80 pounds, so its a bit different for smaller dogs.

 

[Fireblend]

I was so worried about adopting a second dog when we did. We'd been with our first one, a puppy, for about 3 months but it was obvious she needed company (attachment issues) and we were planning to get a second one eventually anyway. Plus... it was her mother who was up for adoption, and I felt like a monster denying them the possibility of being back together, so I said yes.

Still, I feared I was doubling my responsibilities and was terrified about spoiling the progress we'd made with our new dog, what if they hated each other? What if the new dog was trouble? Was I going to be able to love them as much as the first? It seemed like such a huge risk.

But it was... fine and surprisingly painless? If anything, it may have made my workload as a dog owner easier! They play with each other, they keep each other company while we're away, they have become better at interacting with other dogs, I think they might have actually become easier to train, they're great study partners and look to each other for example. That they're mother and daughter probably helped, but it went ridiculously well.

There was a bit of a learning curve for everyone and some expenses did increase, but overall all of my fears ended up being just that. So yeah, I became a fan of having 2/multiple dogs overnight. It's been almost a year and I can't imagine not having both of them around. I hope it goes just as well for you OP! Those are some adorable dogs.

Bonus pic:

 

[CrocM]

They don't look like they would be aggressive, but if they show signs of it, don't leave them alone together. I have three dogs, one of which has major resource guarding tendencies, so I never, ever leave him alone with the others. They're fine most of the time, but they can't have toys around each other (two of them are fine together, just with the one). I would just be careful about anything like that.

Mine play together all the time and it's not a problem if I don't leave food or toys out.

Click to shrink...

I work with dogs for a living and Cavalier King Charles might be the least aggressive breed I've encountered. I've never seen them show the slightest hint of aggression towards a human or other dog and I've dealt with dozens. They just seem to be mellow dudes.

 

[sven]

Honestly adding more dogs really didn't change much for me. The challenges were pretty much just normal puppy stuff like potty training and walking on a leash without needing to sniff every tree, rock, and blade of grass along our path.

 

[Faenix1]

Thanatos knows what's up.

Though I don't find two dogs any different than one, it just depends on the situation you get it from. I have an 80 pounder, and a 70 pounder. Otherwise it's basically just another thing to feed and interact with. Though for the first while you really need to pay attention to how they interact.

My dog and my puppy, before it died, had a mother-daugher-best friend kind of bond. The type where they are ALWAYS together. The puppy, unfortunately, ended up dying on us due to a heart defect and after some time we opted to rescue a dog from an abusive situation.
For a year it was like we welcomed hell into our house. The original dog is the leader type, and the new one didn't like that and so we'd occasionally have fights break out. Also had food aggression for the longest time, and toy guarding is one of those things that seem to always persist in some form. Not really sure how we solved the major issues, but she turned into such a lovable little dork though she's still terrified of males and always acts like she's in trouble.

If I didn't think the newer dog wouldn't lose her shit, and my original dog wouldn't feel left out, I'd honestly contemplate a third dog - though I'd go to a rescue or a breeder this time. lol

 

[Hokey]

Careful with feeding, usually one eats more than the other, we had to hand feed initially because even providing separate bowls one of them would go scrounging after finishing her share.

 

[fanboi]

We also have two cavaliers... lovely dogs.

Only tip, try to keep them as individual dogs as in go on a walk one and one from time to time (and do activites one on one).

 

[MajesticSoup]

I don't know if this is right and I'm probably a terrible owner. But I encouraged alpha-beta behaviour between my two dogs. The older original dog being the more alpha one.

 

[Hubologist]

Plenty of great advice in here.

Just wanted to add: fuck that breeder.

 

[Septimus Prime]

If you're giving attention to one dog, don't also give half-ass attention to the other at the same time. Make sure each dog gets its own time with you so you don't need jealousy and fights for attention.

 

[New Donker]

Thanks everyone. All really great advice in here, it's really appreciated :)

 

[Sadire]

I remember always separating the two from eating in the same room.
One would always try to get in the other's bowl.
We'd also always have someone keeping an eye on them for the first two months, just in case they'd start a fight and ransack the living room.

Nowadays there's a clear line of what our youngest can and cannot do to the eldest. Sorted each other out quite nicely, even though the nuance in their interactions sometimes eludes me completely.

After awhile both of them found their own place in the family.