So, there are several ‘Do this or Do that’ issues within Separation Anxiety. One of them is this:

 

Do we get another dog to keep them company?

 

Seems pretty straight forward, doesn’t it? The dog is lonely, get her a pal, she’ll be fine.  As with all things in life, it’s not as simple as that.

 

My Grandad smoked 30 cigarettes  a day for 60 years and died at 80 quietly in his sleep. So there you go, that’s proof that cigarettes are safe. Isn’t it?

 

You will find plenty of people on Faceweb telling you that getting another dog cured their pooch’s SA overnight. Maybe it did, good luck to them. But it’s anecdotal. There is no tested controlled research to say that a second dog works. It may well help some dogs, but we know for sure it doesn’t help most dogs because we’re there treating them.

 

 

Whilst keeping our fingers crossed that a friend may possibly help, let’s consider these factors.

• Double food bill, double vet bill, double insurance bill.
• Your ‘new dog’ may have other conditions which you now have to deal with alongside the SA.
• Approximately 20% of dogs develop SA. (More for rescues) What if your new dog is a 1 in 5 pooch? Now you have 2 SA dogs. One thing we can tell you for sure is that they cannot sooth and calm each other.

 

The time to bring a second dog into your home is when your home and your family is ready for a second dog and all that comes with it. If that’s at the same time as dealing with SA, great. Two dogs are simply amazing. A second dog should always be a friend and companion for a first dog but never a cure.