Getting a new dog after one dies?

I have been reading about people getting new dogs after one dies, and wondering if it is easier to replace (edited to add 'let another into your life' cos i dont think replace was what i meant!) a loved pet if they werent the only dog you had.

I have no experience so have no idea how i will feel when the awful day comes, but reading experiences from a few forums it seems that if you are left with another dog, you dont feel the loss of your other dog any less, but maybe the process of getting another dog is more easily decided.

I have no opinion on right or wrong either way and hope not to have for many a year, but just wondered what people thought.

I have always had 2 dogs, sometime more, so I actually start thinking about getting a new dog in before the old/ill one has passed so the remaining dog isn't left on their own.

I lost my Morse in August last year and as he was going down hill I was already deciding what dog to get next, as Ozzy would hate being on his own for long. We got our new pup in January this year.

So I guess for me getting a new dog is simply a matter of course. You can never replace the one that has gone, that is an impossibility.

I could never be without a dog, and after my old spaniel died, I adopted another special needs dog right away. It didn't make me grieve any less for Patches, but Zoe helped me focus my attention, and kept me out of the very serious depression I was heading towards. She was not meant to replace, but to be a companion of a different kind.

Patches was my childhood dog, my best friend, I had her from the time I was 7 'till I was nearly 22. We had another dog in that time, that passed 9 months before Patches did... I was in bad shape. Zoe kept my head above water, but I still miss Patchie every day, Zoe didn't change that.

You can never ever replace a dog, you can however let another into your life. Ive never been able to bring another in following the loss of Rosie in June last year. No matter how many dogs you have the feeling of emptiness, sorrow & pain at the loss of a much loved family companion is devastating.

I have edited mine, cos i think the word replace is not right, i really already feel that no one could replace mine but like you say it is 'to let another into your life' and i also maybe think that this now might even depend on the dog that died and the dog if any that is left.

Speaking from experience the loss of one dog is in no way mitigated by the fact that you may have an other(s).

The same way that the loss of a child is not mitigated by its siblings.

Its still hard losing your best friend but I usually liked to have two at a time so they have other doggie company while im sleeping, cooking, ect ( basically not giving full attention) and I have found that the other benefit of bringing a new dog in either almost straight away or before the passing is you just have to hold yourself together for the sake of the new arrival and the integration between your old dog if you have another.

Hope this makes some sense It helped me anyway.x

It does seem that way for some people, the people losing their only dog seem to find it harder to share their life with another dog, but the ones who have at least one left although not feeling the loss any less, seem to want to find another dog quicker, and as you say need the distraction of another dog to focus on.

When Zac died I was devastated - he left such a big gap. Even though I still had another younger beautiful flatcoat bitch left who was related to him, she is not him. It has now been 2 years since he went. In my eyes Zac was the best dog I ever had and I have had dogs for over 45 years, so have seen a few come and go. He was something really special - impossible to describe - but the empathy we had was amazing.
Now he is gone I have not been able to let a new dog into my life. I think I am scared. I know I can't replace him - and I also know I have turned him into some sort of a paragon in my mind.
My flatcoat bitch is now 9 and is becoming an old lady. I am totally undecided as to whether I should wait until she has gone and then start all over again, or should I take the plunge this year and get another flatcoat male pup. I have even considered a completely different breed, but ......
I know am such a ninny, but the decision is a very important one. Because of our age, the next big dog will probably be the last one we have from a pup; so I just sit on the fence doing nothing. Am I stupid or what?

I think it doesn't matter if you have one, two or a whole pack of them. Each loss is as keenly felt and the grief as unbearable as the last.