# Getting a second pet for the vizsla?



## rubicon (Dec 9, 2019)

Hi all, we have a now three month old boy named Erdös. My partner works at home, therefore so far he hasn’t had to be alone yet. But someday we anticipate that he will need to be. Maybe for a couple of hours at a time. Especially if my partner goes on business trips (February, so he would be about 5 months) and I can only see him at lunch times. Yet at the same time my partner doesn’t want to have to crate him. He has a dream that our V can one day roam free without humans in the house.

So my question is, would another pet be a solution to that? We do want more than one animal in the future, and either another dog, or a social, high energy cat like the Bengal or Ocicat. And because of the home alone issue, we’re thinking of getting one sooner than we’d originally intended.

Our theory is that they can keep each other company, get energy out on each other and generally keep out of trouble more easily that way. We know he doesn’t like to be alone, and within reason, as long as it doesn’t get into the way of necessary activities for us, we’d like to find a way so he doesn’t have to be.

Any input or experiences would be welcome!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Another pet later down the road, is not a bad idea.
Right now I wouldn't do it. Your first pup needs.your time, and training.
Not leaving him alone, or crate training. Is setting him up for for a failure when your partner goes out of town. Also if he ever has to be boarded, or stay overnight at a vets. He will be under add stress.

FYI
The dogs at my house get into more trouble together, than they do separately.


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## InTheNet (Jun 1, 2016)

If you are not crate training I would start now.


A crate is NOT a punishment, it is the dogs safe place.


It will be easier to get him used to it now than when he is older.


Our 2 will go in their crate if they are tired. Bed time they RUN to their crate as soon as they come in from the last pee break. (They also know they are getting a half slice of cheese.) 


Start leaving him in a crate for short periods of time working up to several hours.


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## Starrpath (Nov 7, 2017)

Crates should be safe havens and never used for punishment. Puppies are wild things full of fearless curiosity. 2 puppies can be a whirlwind of bodies playing tug and tag, running and bouncing off walls, couches and any other thing they think is soooo much fun...quite literally, their energy knows no bounds.
If you look at a puppy as you would a child then you can understand how a crate equates to a baby's crib. They both have walls and they are for the safety of the one inside; for the child, you begin to worry when it begins to crawl over the top. For a pup you don't worry because it is fully enclosed. 

Far, far better to come home to a pup in a crate than to one who found the electrical cord and can no longer run to greet you.

InTheNet said her pups voluntarily go in their crate when they're tired and they leap into them when it's bedtime...so do mine. Loving their crates like that is something you will come to depend on and it begins now. Crate train for the safety of the pup. Your partner's dream will come true but (in my experience) that's for an adult dog, not a puppy.
Good luck!


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## rubicon (Dec 9, 2019)

texasred said:


> Another pet later down the road, is not a bad idea.
> Right now I wouldn't do it. Your first pup needs.your time, and training.
> Not leaving him alone, or crate training. Is setting him up for for a failure when your partner goes out of town. Also if he ever has to be boarded, or stay overnight at a vets. He will be under add stress.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the hint about two pups/kitten. We'll be delaying that, for sure. 



We're crate training. It does somewhat concern me about the alone time part. Right now, my partner will be working on his computer while the puppy lies next to him on his bed, or in a crate directly behind him. Then, during breaks, he takes the puppy out. Which means the pup's around him 24/7. It's gotten to the point where over the holidays, if I was supervising him and my partner leaves the room, he'd start whining and only recently has he stopped. Maybe he does need to be alone _not _in the office during workdays.



Regarding being home alone, my late cocker spaniel was able to be alone for most of the day without getting into trouble as an adult. V's are different, of course, but I'm curious if it's likely or feasible for our puppy in the future. Maybe it's not, and I'm ok with that.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Each dog is different. Some do well, lounging around the house when we're gone. Some always find someway to get in trouble. 
If a dog gets into things when your home, they will do it when your gone. Let your puppy mature into a dog, and then make the decision.


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

Rubicon,

i agree with your idea, that having you pup spending some time alone daily even when your partner is at home will help him longer term to cope better. You never know when you will have a situation down the road when he has to spend hours alone on a regular basis. The sooner he gets used to resting alone in his crate, the more chance to become a calm pet later on too. I found that leaving some low volume soothing music in the background is very helpful. 

I love the name Erdös (Forrester), did your breeder or yourself come up with it? Oh also, we love puppy pictures on this forum


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

It takes time, but yes, one day, your V will be able to be left alone. For mine it took about two years, maybe a little more, but they always had a designated "spot", large bed, on the floor that was theirs.
To be brutally honest, I think that at this stage you're better off with just the single puppy. Get this one all trained up and steady, then introduce another

Puppies, and dogs in general, sleep a lot. It's not uncommon for them to sleep 12- 14 hours a day. They can do it just as well in a crate, as on a bed by your side. A nice bed and chew toys, and they're more than set.
Keep up with the crate training. You will not regret it one bit.


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## rubicon (Dec 9, 2019)

Gabica,

Erdös is the name of a Hungarian mathematician and since we’re both mathematicians by training, thought we’d give our Magyar boy the name of our idol 🙂 

And thanks to everyone about their suggestions. We started leaving him alone for some hours even when we’re around. 

Maybe it’s also a function of him getting older, but we’ve already noticed an improvement to his ability to entertain himself constructively over the last couple of days. We crate him, he complains a bit, then settles down for a nap for play with his toys.

And lastly, some pics. I only have an iPhone camera haha. Not great at this.


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## rubicon (Dec 9, 2019)

gunnr said:


> It takes time, but yes, one day, your V will be able to be left alone. For mine it took about two years, maybe a little more,


Thanks for your experience. This reality helps me know what to expect 🙂


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

Erdös is very handsome. Keep us updated, they are smart and learn the routine, at the some times sometimes also manipulative if they don`t like a rule


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## rubicon (Dec 9, 2019)

Gabica said:


> Erdös is very handsome. Keep us updated, they are smart and learn the routine, at the some times sometimes also manipulative if they don`t like a rule


So here’s an update. Maybe this can help someone. Erdös can now be alone for up to two hours.

My partner is going on his two week trip soon and I wrangled my work into letting me do a combination of home office and half days. For my half days, dog sitter will be there four hours. This gives me confidence that he can handle it in between the sitter leaving and me commuting.

We started out developing a routine when leaving him. Get him to enter the crate, treat, leave, close the door then wait for a couple of seconds. Repeated many times. He didn’t freak out. 

Starting two weeks ago I convinced my SO to give him alone time everyday. We put him in the office, close the door and then my SO would go into the other room and quietly work on his computer. Monitored him through Webcam to make sure he wasn’t freaking out. 

Surprisingly, his first day he lasted for an hour. Never freaked out, but SO didn’t push it so he joined the dog again at one hour. We kept doing this, increased the time gradually. Finally, last Saturday we left the house for two hours. Webcam shows he complained towards the end, but not terribly loudly and didn’t freak out once. He mostly just slept or played with his toys.

He’s nearly 4 months old so I get he’s a bit behind other dogs his age in terms of time alone capabilities but he’s had a later start to that training. Needless to say we’re incredibly proud of our lad and thankful for all the advice here! I feel like we got our life back 😄


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

Every dog is different, so don`t let the `other dogs at this age` pressure corner you, i made that mistake and it is not helping your pup. It seems like you are doing great and making nice progress. I love the webcam, i set that up myself with Bende when he was the only pup and it helped me a lot to feel better. Actually one of the places where he went to daycare did the same and they had the version where they could talk to him over the phone microphone if they saw him freaking out, that always settled him. 
He is the type now who goes by himself to the crate with the door open and lays down if he wants to rest, i would have never thought it will happen after the rough start! Also as soon as he sees that you are getting ready to leave the house he goes to the crate, never protesting.

The only thing i am missing is the cute 4 month old puppy pictures from your post))


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## rubicon (Dec 9, 2019)

Oops! Here are the pics!


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## Bob Engelhardt (Feb 14, 2012)

Oh no ... I think that I'm getting puppy fever!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Bob Engelhardt said:


> Oh no ... I think that I'm getting puppy fever!


It happens to the best of us.
Having 4 in the house has kept mine in check, most days.


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## Bob Engelhardt (Feb 14, 2012)

texasred said:


> It happens to the best of us.
> Having 4 in the house has kept mine in check, most days.



Wait ... four? There's June and Shine, but who are the other two? Fosters?


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Bob Engelhardt said:


> Wait ... four? There's June and Shine, but who are the other two? Fosters?


Long term fosters (could be year, or longer) Jasper, and Hunter.
They have been with me since mid September.


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## fosterlisa (Jun 30, 2016)

Lucy is almost 4, & although she is usually ok to be home alone for 4 hours max....there are days, especially if my husband & I leave together that she gets so mad at us & will tear up anything she can get her paws onto! If we leave individually, she is almost always fine.


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## Boney (Feb 17, 2020)

When our V was 14 months old, we got another dog because he was going thru all the predictable separation anxiety issues to expect from a Vizsla. Smartest thing I ever did. Boney and Maggie became the best of friends. Was able to leave them in nice size kennel, crate, or in the house anytime we wanted. Was even able to leave either one alone inside eventually. Now I spent alot of time getting both use to all those situations. And having 5 acres helps alot having 2 very high energy dogs. I agree, every dog and situation is different. But our aussie is and will always be the smartest person in our house and good company to be around. There is a reason why we don't give her the password to the computer.


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## rubicon (Dec 9, 2019)

Boney said:


> When our V was 14 months old, we got another dog because he was going thru all the predictable separation anxiety issues to expect from a Vizsla. Smartest thing I ever did. Boney and Maggie became the best of friends. Was able to leave them in nice size kennel, crate, or in the house anytime we wanted. Was even able to leave either one alone inside eventually. Now I spent alot of time getting both use to all those situations. And having 5 acres helps alot having 2 very high energy dogs. I agree, every dog and situation is different. But our aussie is and will always be the smartest person in our house and good company to be around. There is a reason why we don't give her the password to the computer.


That’s adorable. erdös LOVES other dogs... as soon as he’s trained enough we’ll look into getting another one


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## 1stVizsla (Jun 22, 2016)

I have 2 dogs but I have to crate the GSD when gone as he’s an escape artist. Even if he didn’t I wouldn’t trust him alone with the V. 

Dogs that we have had and left home alone generally tolerated it extremely well; especially if they are getting enough exercise each day. I’ve been told dogs have little sense of lengths of time periods and having 2 dogs (who compete for my attention) has taught me that they can likely be equally happy solo as with a “pack” in my opinion.

When I leave my V alone in the warm months she has a porch she can sit on and see the entire yard and wildlife activity. In winter i put up bird suet feeders where she can watch cardinals, woodpeckers etc feed right by her window. She loves that! 

You can come up with lots of creative ideas to make his day pleasant and stimulating. Knowing what I know now I certainly would NOT buy a 2nd dog to stay with mine when I’m away at work.


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