honest opinions and experiences re having a 2nd dog

I have Charlie he is 5 in Jan, got him at 14 months old, along with a whole heap of fear related issues. He is much better than he was, but he does not like dogs going into his face and will react by barking and growling at them (he does not bite them). He has been known to bite us but this hasn't happened for ages, as we manage his environment and make sure the issues that stress him are presented in a positive way, and have done lots of clicker work to get him here. He is not often very affectionate and rarely sits on knees etc he is quite territorial and possessive of toys and food.
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My question is this would a second dog affect his beahvaiour in a negative way, I would really love a pup, and also would his behaviour have a negative impact on a puppy?
Sorry for the long post.
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Personally I think dogs like another of their own species - for company if nothing else. Puppies are a pest (sorry!) but they do grow out of it! I`d go ahead - provided it`s YOU that wants another dog.
I`ve never (touch wood) had trouble intorucing another dog to the one alreadythere.

I must admit I'd be slightly worried about getting a pup because he almost certainly will learn from Charlie, including any bad traits.

But I woudn't rule out another dog altogether. Perhaps a sensible bitch who isn't going to be 'in his face' when they first meet? once introduced, most male dogs will let a female get away with anything. At least an older girl is less likely to follow his lead (e.g. being stressed about certain things)

TBH if I had a dog that was by the sounds of it fearful of other dogs, I would feel a bit tight on it to bring another dog into his space, his home is possibly the place he feels safe, and that may be taken away from him,if you are going to have another? I agree with Halli maybe a calm bitch from a rescue, have them meet up before deciding, or maybe take one on foster to see how they get on first.

mo

hi
in my experience this is not the case,
for example,one of my dogs has a real fear of halal butchers i walk this dog and my youngest dog past these butchers once every day(long story) my youngest dog takes no notice of him being scared at all,although the very same dog has taught him alot of positive things,he has never fed off of his fear.

I agree, pups are so full on and i know at times Ours really tested the patients of our patient pair, i would go for an older gentle dog and with a proper introduction i think it would be fine.

to be fair though, thats just one point in your day, the dog in question has multi fears/problems, eg dogs, hes bitten people hes food and toy possesive or aggressive and territorial so its not a once a day type thing, its an on going every day thing,

I personally find having two dogs a lot more of a handful than having only one. My dogs are not very similar and so you tend to have two different ways of doing things, two different sets of problems to deal with. They kind of wind each other up a bit going out altogether and the excitability level is far greater than it is taking out just one.

I have not found that they copy each other though and the more recent dog who was quite young when he came has not adopted the older ones bad habits and vice versa.

Also, the older dog does not care too much for other dogs outside but he was absolutely fine about having a live in companion. Obviously they had their spats but they got less and less and they get on great now.

It's difficult to predict how Charlie would react to a new dog in his house but I think he would get used to it.

But it is harder work having two than one I would say.

I agree 2 is harder work than 1 if one of them has issues
I also found I was spending so much time on Mias problems that Bens behaviour was not as good as it had been

But they have grown to love each other and Mia has made Bens life better
Too many days on walks I just dont see another dog - but he always has a playmate to do zoomies with
Thankfully he hasnt picked up any of Mias fear problems - infact in the back of the car if she is having a freak out he just lies down and lets her bounce all over him with his long suffering look

A foster is a great idea - then if things dont work out you have helped a dog lots and if they do - great

i agree with the fostering idea, you could pick an older dog you like and if it works out then you can give the dog a permanent home.