Is it norml to feel guilty when you get a second dog

After Christmas i thought i would look at getting a new puppy, a play mate for Hector. I think i will look in the dog homes as i am sure there will uwanted presents.

Anyway, i am already feeling little pangs of "what if i like the new one more than Hector" or "will Hector be ok with a new dog".
Is this normal to feel like this, as Hec is like my baby, and i dont want to upset him.

I can't say I've ever felt like that but personally I would wait a little longer until Hector is about 18 mths old before getting another dog, that way he would have gone through all the teenager stuff and out the other side before he teaches the new pup all the wrong things!
Becky

I think its absolutely normal, I remember when I just had Indy and was getting Benjamin, I felt SO guilty and kept on thinking she would hate him. Well it turned out fantastically, she adores him and has benefited hugely from having him around (and since then Malachi too), they are a proper little doggy family and are so great together. I truly believe that dogs thrive on the companionship of their own species.

Good advice, thank you. I guess you are right, i would hate for him to teach bad, well, naughty ways lol.

This time next year then i suppose.

Im ok with two, its 3 or more & you havent got enough hands to stroke them all at the same time!

Most definately.

Skye was only 6 months or so when we got Fingal and they were best buddies straight away.

It was a different story earlier this year when we got Breagh. By then Skye and Fingal were 8 years old and I did honsestly feel guilty. Although they played with her, I sometimes thought they were wondering what the hell I'd done. Not only did I worry that i'd ruined the relationship the two of them had with us and each other, I also worried that they thought I'd got bored with them and got a new model.

Because of this guilt I initially held back a bit from getting too close to Breagh.

It was quite strange but now a few months down the line the three of them get on really well and I just treat them all the same.

Would the general consensus be to wait a year until getting a new dog, seeing as Hector is only 5 moths old.

As I said - Skye was 6 months when we got Fingal and they were best buddies straight away.

Different people will have different views based on their own experiences. A lot will depend on the individual dog's characters and obviously how you 'keep' them I guess.

Storm was ten months when we got Jake, and Storm was a horrid dog at that age, but Jake was a calming influence on him. I think it depends on the dogs, the owners and what the circumstances are. Like all things in the dog world nothing is set in stone and only you will know if the times right.

With regards to guilt, I have felt it everytime we have had a new pup, whether its the pup is being a pain to the older dog or you take the pup out while the olders left home. I also feel I leave the pup out if i spend time with the older and vice versa But it soon passes

My experience for what it is worth that with dachies I would wait till your little one is around a year old and then bring home a little friend. With larger breeds who take longer to mature I would say wait till your first one is aroung 14 to 16months before getting another puppy.

As others have said it is a very personal thing,