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I agree with your boyfriend. My 2 dogs are young and energetic. We exercise them daily but they can also entertain each other in the evenings.
Cute lab.
Great, now it looks like we are going to have to get another dog! I really don't mind though, I love our pup. I just wasn't sure if we should get another young one while ours is young (so they are around the same age) or wait, but it seems like the majority of you say wait until Ammo is fully trained, so we probably will.
Ps. I don't know HOW you guys with like 6-10 dogs can do it, that is just insane!! Two would definately be our maximum.
My wife and I got our boys from the same litter (black lab and yellow lab.) It was difficult to train them because they lost focus and just wanted to play with each other. With a lot of hard work and even more patience (oh the things they can chew!) they became great dogs and they are best buds! You probably want to wait until Ammo (very cute btw!) gets at least his basic training done.
I also recommend a shelter dog - there are plenty labs that are in need of good homes and it sounds like he/she would get one with you!! We adopted our 3rd lab(ok, she's a lab mix of sorts but hey she's chocolate colored!) a little over a year ago and she fit in perfectly. Our first 2 will be 6 this year and she has brought some puppiness back to them! And honestly, going from 2 to 3 dogs was a piece of cake!
One other thought to consider about having two puppies is the fact they will be close in age and should both live to be old dogs as we all hope ours will you then have two old dogs which can mean some expensive vets bills. My dogs have been healthy dogs but last year when both dogs developed different cancers my vets bills sky rocketed. Also with that chances are with two old ones the deaths could be nearer together then some people can handle, so consider the future too. It is hard watching two vibrant dogs get old,but over all two dogs is just as easy as one.
good points dash..vet bills, if you take proper care of your pets, can be horrid. Pet insurance might help but I have no idea how much that would be.
Small dogs live longer usually, esp chi-chis. One other thing; make sure you have dogs of similar sizes. In other words, if you bring home a very small breed dog and you already have a large one, the puppy might see the larger one as a mother figure...nuzzling, nipping etc.
OR, if the newer dog is the larger one, it could hurt the smaller one. Unintentional of course but it happens all the time.
We started out with one chi chi, then added another, then added a sheltie. No problem for us except we had to keep close watch on the sheltie til she got old enough to LISTEN to our commands. The larger of the two chi chis was quick to put her in her place and they never did see eye to eye...so to speak.
That was fifteen years ago; both chi chis have since died of old age. Last year, we decided it was time to get another puppy and added another chi chi, Bitsie, to the mix. She was a toy and loved trying to climb on wendi's back to play. This was our down fall. She tried it outside on the concrete patio and before I could get to them, she fell off when wendi stood up. Needless to say, we were totally devastated. I still see it in my mind and it's going to take a long time to get that image out of my mind. My mistake can serve as warning to other pet owners or I'd not even mention it.
I'll be the spoiler here but I think it is mostly laziness that compels folks to get their dog a "playmate". That just is another way of saying that I don't have time to give my original dog the attention it deserves. Then it is so much easier to shrug your shoulders at the bad behavior the dogs have acquired (the only thing I don't like is the marking of the territory!? WTF?) -"What are you gonna do?" "That's just the way dogs are." Uhh..., well you can train dogs, and then they tend to actually behave in a manner that is much more acceptable for everyone.
I am just talking about those folks. Not those who take training very seriously and put in the effort required for every animal to attempt to achieve a harmonious environment, unfortunately as we all know these folks are few and far between.
It is inevitably the multi-dog owners at my dog park who's animals are always crapping while the owner is busy chatting with a friend or watching another dog-and they are the same people who vociferously argue that "Oh no!, it's not me who is not picking up after my dogs, I always do!" Well, you don't.
No, my dog isn't perfect (but he has never had an "accident", never digs, never runs away, never gets in the trash, wouldn't dare eat people food-even cookies or meat left on a plate on the couch he is on, even if no one is there, walks correctly and knows about a dozen hand signals to guide him through the day to keep him happy by doing good-and he didn't come that way) That takes a hell of a lot of work and time though he just happens to be that nature anyway so I wouldn't expect a more rambunctious breed to behave or be able to be trained the same, but now I have a fun, well behaved companion for years. I am amazed with what other people consider perfectly normal and acceptable behavior from their dogs- and typically the more dogs you have the worst behavior they exhibit. And no I'm not shrieking in horror at all your dogs jumping up on me or trying to steal my sandwich when I'm visiting you- I love dogs and will always greet and play with them when appropriate-(and I live in the city so living in the country is different) but I secretly shake my head knowing the reasons why the dogs would be a pain to live with, its because you are lazy.
If one is almost too much, then you may want to put off getting another until this one is older. An older dog can help keep a young puppy in line. And if you time it right, you can have one older, one younger dog, so you're never suddenly alone.
One other thought to consider about having two puppies is the fact they will be close in age and should both live to be old dogs as we all hope ours will you then have two old dogs which can mean some expensive vets bills. My dogs have been healthy dogs but last year when both dogs developed different cancers my vets bills sky rocketed. Also with that chances are with two old ones the deaths could be nearer together then some people can handle, so consider the future too. It is hard watching two vibrant dogs get old,but over all two dogs is just as easy as one.
Yep, that's what I was trying to say. I would not want two old dogs at the same time. It was a lot of work taking care of my old girl later in life. I loved her so much, but she was very frail at the end and so much more afraid of things such as noises and even the dark.
Well we have decided that IF we want to get another one some day it is going to be a lot further in our future. One is a lot, I don't think we need to add another any time soon Thanks
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I really don't mind though, I love our pup. 
I just wasn't sure if we should get another young one while ours is young (so they are around the same age) or wait, but it seems like the majority of you say wait until Ammo is fully trained, so we probably will.
Thanks
