Old Trainer: My dog hates to be alone when I am at work. Is a second dog a good option?

Dear Old Trainer: Queenie, our 4-year-old Corgi is full of life when we’re home, but when my husband and I leave for work she looks so sad I feel bad. We put a security cam in the living room and she just lays there and looks out the window all day while we’re gone. It worries me she misses us so much. A friend suggested getting a second dog to keep her company. Will that help cheer her up?

Ariel, Odessa, Texas

A: Yes. Canines are pack animals. The bigger the pack, the happier the dog. You and your husband are Queenie’s pack—the only thing in the world that matters to her—and she knows it will be hours until she sees you again so her sadness is real.

A second dog will provide company and a sense of security while you are gone, but there are other benefits as well. One is more exercise. Corgis have more energy than most dogs and Queenie will burn more energy in five minutes playing with a second dog than she does walking a mile on a leash.

Adding a second dog also doubles your enjoyment—few things are more fun than watching your dogs play and seeing the endless games they invent to get your attention—but your work load only increases 1 percent. That’s because the old dog shows the new arrival the ropes, shows her how to behave. A new dog picks up the commands as you give them to Queenie. All you do is add a finishing touch.

When it comes to dogs, I agree with Texas blues man and guitar whiz Robert Earl Keen, who said, “A man needs all the dogs and all the guitars he can get.” I only have one guitar, but I have eight dogs. I can get by with just one guitar, but I can’t make it with just one dog.

Of course dogs are master manipulators so when you add a second dog they’ll both look heartbroken when you leave. When that happens you can add a third dog.

Dear Old Trainer: We adopted Shady, a Brittany mix puppy, two years ago. This spring she started eating grass when we go to the dog park or for a walk. She doesn’t suffer any ill effects, but why is she doing it?

James, Ft Smith, Arkansas

A: There are a lot of theories—it provides fiber, they are bored, they use it to cure an upset stomach, it provides minerals they need—but no one knows for sure why dogs eat grass.

I used to wonder if maybe my Border Collies’ ancestors watched sheep enjoy eating grass for so many generations they decided to give it a try. I finally decided they probably just like the taste. And they don’t pick it at random. My pack will ignore grass for half a mile, then all run over for a snack when a batch catches their attention.

Dogs eat anything that interests them and throw up what doesn’t work. An efficient evolutionary adaptation for an animal that is both predator and scavenger.

As long as Shady doesn’t eat grass treated with toxic chemicals or herbicides it’s not dangerous, so unless you see negative effects enjoy your walks and don’t worry. Shady is just being a dog.

The Old Trainer has been a trainer for three decades and has rescued, loved, and placed more than 4,000 dogs. Send questions to: theoldtrainer@gmail.com