companion dog

[gking]

We have a 13 month goldie called Barney
He is going through the terrible teens at the moment and is hard work!!! i am very lucky to have a personal trainer for him that is working on his recall problems and walking on a lead without pulling my arms out of their sockets She is a retriever owner herself (her bitch is Barneys grandma) so she reasures me that this is normal behaviour for a juvenile goldie and in the weeks we have been going his behaviour is improved dramatically.
We combine heelwork with some agility work which he ADORES he'll never beat a border collie but its good fun and keeps us both on our toes
Once a month or so we have a group class (no more than 4 in the class) and i have found that his behaviour is so much better in company On daily walks he is very sociably and loves racing around with other dogs

my question is.....

am i mad to take on another retriever when i am still working on him and is there an ideal time to introduce another dog. Ideally i would like to take on a 3-4 year old retriever who would be a calming influence but i want to be fair to both dogs There is usuallly someone home during the day so they won't be left alone for too long to cause havoc

advice please

geri

[lenny]

My advise would be to not get a new one quite yet, Barney needs to settle down first, but I must stress that Jan should always be the first one who you should talk to, in all maters like this, as our advise may not be the right advise. Jan has so much knowledge and experience, a talk on the phone to her would be the best thing to do.

[Hel_Pen]

Hello.

As Lenny has said Jan is the best person to ask. It really depends on the dogs themselves, personality etc. It always changes the dynamics when you add another dog to the family. I have done it twice but have been blessed because my Jazz is so laid back and takes everything in her stride. Also my dogs were both puppies.

It is great to hear that you want to give another Golden a loving home and wish you all the best with it.

Helen.