I don't think there's one "right" answer. I guess a lot depends on why you want another Golden. Some questions to ask yourself/things to think about:
1. Will getting another puppy reduce the attention your current dog needs right now? Puppies are a LOT of work. Your current dog is about to hit adolescence... A time when you may need to revisit your training with him. Do you want to be trying to both train him AND trying to raise a new puppy.
2. If you want to "do" something with the dogs (agility, hunting, etc.), will you have the time to train and compete with both at once?
3. Two dogs close in age may mean a lot of heartache when they reach the end of their lives. Are you prepared to care for two seniors and lose them both around the same time?

I personally like trying to put 5-6 years between my dogs. At that age, the older dog is settled and not in need of much training/management, but still young enough to enjoy having a younger "sibling." It's also unlikely that both will die within the same year or so...

 

I want to wait until my dog is at least two years before getting another one but I never thought about having to Potentially cope with them passing away around the same time. Thanks for bringing that up it’s a really good point.

 

She’s very cute! My golden just turned 2, and I got a Newfie puppy in June. There is no set “right time”, so if you feel ready and can can devote your time to the the new puppy and your current dog, I would say go for it!

 

My older Golden is 2, and our puppy is 13 weeks. I had originally wanted to wait until our first was 3 or 4 to get a puppy, but the circumstances changed and we decided to go for it. Like Pawsnpaca said, I’m already dreading potentially losing them close together when they get older....

Denver (our older dog) is SUPER mellow, he’s had a ton of training and is just overall a very easy going, relaxed uncomplicated dog, so it made the decision easier. If we still had a dog that needed constant supervision or more training the decision would have been different.

Addie (our puppy) LOVES Denver. They are great together and his relaxed energy has been great to teach her to be calm. They also play on and off all day which tires the puppy out for us! We’ve had no problems with the two of them. The one thing I will say.....we totally forgot how much work puppies are because Denver has been so great and reliable for so long. The first 3 weeks or so felt like ONLY work and not a lot of fun to be honest, even though Addie has been a great puppy. After the first 3 weeks we got into the routine and the puppy also was able to hold her bladder better, understood her name, walking on a leash, and basic commands like no and leave it.

I love seeing my dogs play together and I know they’ll be the best of friends as they grow up. If you are prepared, I say go for it. Golden duos are the best!!

 

Beautiful pups! I’m wanting to do at least a two year age gap so this is wonderful to hear

 

Mostly it's about the relationship you have built with your first dog. Do you have good obedience? Does he come when he's called no matter what is going on outside? Does he "leave" anything you've dropped on the floor if you tell him not to get it? Will he obey if you tell him to get off of a piece of furniture or out of a favorite sleeping spot? Just some basic things that let you know he is ready for you to focus your attention on training a new puppy. He will still need attention to training and following the rules but when he comes when called no matter what and obeys, it's a sign you won't be neglecting his education to train a new puppy. You don't want your current puppy regressing and teaching your new puppy bad habits or having them feed off of each other when they're being naughty. Most people's dogs take a good two years or so, even if you're a consistent trainer, to be pretty solid - but it depends on the household and the dog.

The other thing to keep in mind, it seems crazy at this point, but in 10 years, if you are lucky enough to still have Piper, you don't want to be dealing with the added expenses of TWO senior dogs. You don't want to have the emotional burden of losing two senior dogs in the same year. Obviously there are no guarantees in life, but spacing out your dogs a few years helps balance the financial and emotional burdens. It happens quicker than you think.

I personally will always have two dogs if I possibly can. But they will be a few years apart. My dogs are currently 7 and 9 and I already find myself worrying about losing one. They are great and play together but they also play with visiting puppies and I think you will find that Piper will also even if you wait a couple of years. Just don't rush into it until you've enjoyed your girl fully.

 

Just don't rush into it until you've enjoyed your girl fully.

THIS^

 

Welcome!

Your girl is really cute, pretty girl.

I prefer to have mine at least 2 years apart.
My current boy is 11, will be 12 in March.

I've always had two at a time until recent years.
Something you want to keep in mind, when they become Srs. you could be dealing with some health issues and you may even lose them close together if they are about the same age such as a year apart.

 

We waited until our first dog was 3.5 and I think that was a great age to get a puppy. He was still young enough to just absolutely adore her and be willing to play basically all the time, but not so young that he was still a puppy himself. It was perfect for us. There will probably be another 3.5-4 years between our second one and our third one. Our boy will 7-8 by then, so still young enough to play, but not so old that he’ll be grumpy with a puppy.

 

Edit: I should have added I want to wait until she is at least two. I’ve never had two dogs at the same time so was curious if anyone has preferences for a certain age gap and why

Hello! I currently have a field bred golden who is 7 months. I eventually want to get a second golden and am wondering if anyone has advise on how old my current golden should be when we add our second one. I just don’t want to add our second when our first is too young. She is probably the most well behaved golden I have ever had and plays extremely gentle with other dogs. My husband and I don’t have any kids and we work opposite schedules so our dog is usually never left alone. Our backyard is half an acre so we have lots of space for them to play. Thanks!

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Mine are 18 months apart. And when we decided to get the puppy (10 months next Thursday), I had a 17 month old and almost 14 yo. It was also the last litter of my girls’ mom. And the personality of the puppies from mom/dad are simply fantastic. We made the decision and two weeks later we lost our lab.

As to age...it doesn’t matter if you lose a dog 5 years apart or 2 years apart. The heartache is exactly the same: loss. I lost my almost 11 yo Golden May 2018 and my almost 14 yo lab December 2019. I took the lab super hard. I wouldn’t have traded the almost 11/14 years I had with both of them if I knew they’d die within less than 2 years of each other.

I will say that my oldest (2) is very behaved and obedient. We do rally. If she wasn’t as good as she was (and her personality naturally is very obedient/calm) by 17 months...I probably wouldn’t have considered a sibling. Lol. But I can tell you this much...the puppy that came home...she’s my sidekick. And the two girls are like glue to each other.

 

My dogs are almost 11, 9 1/2, 5, and 3. I was having a really rough year when I got the oldest one. I lost my dad, my German Shepherd, and my Miniature Poodle within 6 months of each other and needed a little cuddly dog. She was perfect for that! The 9 1/2 yo was when I wanted to get back into training. She's great at obedience as long as no one tries to touch her. My 5 yo was my first golden. I wanted a a dog I had a real chance at obedience with. The 3 yo was an offer I couldn't refuse and quite frankly, the best dog I've ever owned. At this point I have no desire to have a puppy. I want to space future dogs at about 5 years apart. Having 2 seniors to worry about at the same time is no fun.

 

I like right around 3. Maggie will be 2 next month so we have about another year before I really start wanting another
Jules

 

Two years between mine is what seems to work well for me.

 

Your Piper looks EXACTLY like my Willow! So cute!

My old dogs were three years apart and that worked really well. The older was still playful but trained. Sadly, we lost them within two years of each other, so that did suck. It's really surreal to go from two dogs to zero. But...you'll have to deal with that eventually anyway. They do say they like to have a buddy!

 

Mine are spaced out by 2 years.

Lily, turns 5 in December
Charlie, turns 3 in November
Monty, turns 1 in October

 

I have 7 years between Duke and Moe which is a little to long. Duke was just starting the I want to lay by the fireplace stage and along came this wild puppy. Moe was and is an absolute ball of energy. He is full bore from the time he knows your awake until he finally figures out it's time to go to sleep. He also tries Duke every time he's given a chance. I have 2 years almost exactly between Moe and Cruz. I probably would have spaced them one more year apart ideally, but I had my reasons.

Duke is sick and needs to be able to just enjoy life with no expectations Moe for some crazy reason took immediately to my husband and blows me off during training. I'm not great at just sitting on the sidelines being a cheerleader so I got another puppy to train. I swear that Duke has a direct line to my heart and he loves my new puppy Cruz every bit as much as I do. Duke has taught Cruz so many little things that I feel like I'll be able to keep a part of Duke forever. Moe and the puppy have a big time playing and Duke gets to hang out with me and watch. Duke and Moe respect one another but never bonded like Duke and Cruz have.

It's all personal preference but people always say it's not any harder to have two then one, I sort of believe that. When you add a third your entering different territory. I also am just crazy enough to have 3 intact males. Like everyone else has mentioned I hope and pray my younger two both stay healthy for a long time and don't leave me too close together. I went through that some time back. I lost a 16 year old Irish Setter and a 13 year old Golden within months of each other.

 

I agree with the 3-6 year age range, we got a puppy when our previous one was about 8 and we ended up getting another puppy to entertain that one because we thought they were annoying the older dog too much, but having a one year old right now I want him to be a bit more mature before I bring another one in. There is no wrong answer though, just my experience!

 

Just browsing past and stopped to smile when I saw that face. Pretty little girl. <B

To answer your question....

IF I'd seen it a few years ago, that thump-thump sound would be me throwing my weight around and saying 3 years between is the most PERFECT gap between.

However, as of today - I have an 8 year old, 2 year old, and 1 year old... and while the two youngest (EXACTLY 12 months apart) are a hectic circus a good portion of the time.... OMG, I just love watching them. They are so active, happy, and close. And the playtime between the two is way different than playtime between a pup and a 3 year old. I love it.

Would I do it again? Probably not immediately since I'm at my personal cap with dogs (3) and hope/pray/expect to have the same crew for another 5 years at least, however down the road? YES.

If you have dogs that close in age, you still need to train them separately, take each out for special one-on-one outings, and do special things with each all the time and every time so they bond with YOU vs just with each other. But if you can do it - it's so worth it.

 

Our Golden’s are a year apart, but we got our 1st as a pup and then when he turned 4, we were lucky and found a 3 year old to adopt. They complement each other beautifully.

 

I say 5-7 years! We learned the hard way. I had two wonderful Goldens that were 2+ years apart. I lost them both last year, one in January and one in October both to cancer. It was devastating on us....

Our current Golden is 7 and we have a new boy who is now 10 months...