alllyhoise Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Hi All, We are going to get 2 Cairn Terrier pups when we move into our new place. They will be indoor and outdoor dogs. Outdoor while during the week when we work and indoor when we're home. I understand that raising a pup is intense and me and my partner want to do a good job. Is there any advice from anyone about raising 2 dogs at the same time? We want to get 2 from the same litter, but open to suggestions! Thanks! Ally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parkeyre Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 either two boys, or one of each. no sisters. girls bitch like all hell. Hm... Can i also suggest you teach them alone time, as in; time without eachother and with a human instead.. you dont want them bonding closer with eachother then their humans. will you be sectioning off areas while they are young? I'd make sure I'm ready with gates, bowls, beds, crates etc before the arrival and read up big time on the breed, terriers and puppies. THere is a search button at the top of the DOL pages, that you can search information in the forums through; eg: Puppy's first night, or "feeding puppy 2meals vs 3" there's heaps to read. dont be afraid to ask questions, and we look forward to updates and hope you enjoy dol. I certinally do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badboyz Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 I would absolutely not recommend getting 2 pups together, but especially not siblings. Definately double trouble, especially when they hit puberty! If you want 2 dogs at about the same time, I would suggest you first look for a young adult around the 12mth age (breeders will often have dogs that have not worked out for showing), give him/her time to settle in and get to know you, then find a pup to be it's companion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lab lady Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 I with you badboyz i don't recommend getting 2 pups at the same time. It's blood hard work. I think unless you are very experienced dog owner you can end up with all sorts of behavioural issues. I think it is far better to wait a few months before getting the 2nd pup. 2 pups at the same time will bond with each other and one will tend to dominate the other. A lot of people say to me that they think it would be nice to have a pup grow up with its brother or sister but the dog doesn't see it like that to them it's just another dog. If you do a google search on raising 2 dogs you will get lots of articles good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Two pups sounds like VERY hard work It has,and can be done...however there are problems. pups will naturally look to each other.. instead of concentrating on their human. Two pups will devise really interesting games, resulting is destruction and noise The PLUS is that two pups will keep other company, and will entertain themselves.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Agree with all the others! I would get one pup then go back for another 12 or so months later. Hell would have to freeze over before I got two pups together Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacklabrador Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Don't do it. It might look cute but it's very difficult to train then when they are so attached that you can't separate them easily. They get up to twice as much naughtiness too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninahartland Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Agree.Don't do it!My son got his goldie and gsd pups at the same time and found it got too much when they were about 9 months old,which is why I now have his gsd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkySoaringMagpie Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 I have done it (two males from the same litter) and don't intend to do it again if I can avoid it. It is not the best way to go. It is HARD work as others have said, and there are some extra risks when you do it that way. It's all mostly manageable if you are experienced, but one of the things that creates the heavy workload is giving each puppy the space to become a fully rounded individual with a separate relationship with you. You will need to do separate obedience classes, separate socialisation etc. The only work you can really double up on is toilet training. Also, older well socialised dogs are useful when raising puppies as they teach them the rules of dog world. At least we had two older dogs, but they clearly found dealing with the boys tiresome because they were a deadly duo! If I were you I would get one puppy from this litter, and wait 12 to 18 months for the next puppy. Some breeders I know have a protocol of two years between homing puppies to the same home for the reasons people have set out in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacklabrador Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 I have done it (two males from the same litter) and don't intend to do it again if I can avoid it. It is not the best way to go.It is HARD work as others have said, and there are some extra risks when you do it that way. It's all mostly manageable if you are experienced, but one of the things that creates the heavy workload is giving each puppy the space to become a fully rounded individual with a separate relationship with you. You will need to do separate obedience classes, separate socialisation etc. The only work you can really double up on is toilet training. Also, older well socialised dogs are useful when raising puppies as they teach them the rules of dog world. At least we had two older dogs, but they clearly found dealing with the boys tiresome because they were a deadly duo! If I were you I would get one puppy from this litter, and wait 12 to 18 months for the next puppy. Some breeders I know have a protocol of two years between homing puppies to the same home for the reasons people have set out in this thread. beautifully explained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poochmad Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Besides a lot of hard work (think double trouble) it's also difficult to train both dogs consistenly - telling one off for doing the wrong thing, while the other is doing the right thing, can be confusing (who's right, who's wrong) to the pups. You can end up teaching them all the wrong things by accident. Another thing to be mindful of is the fact there is a good chance the two pups will bond to each other instead of to you...that in itself can cause a variety of issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alllyhoise Posted March 8, 2009 Author Share Posted March 8, 2009 Thanks for all of the feedback! Because it's me and my partner that will be raising the two pups, would that make much of a difference for training and the like or would that be another problem to overcome? Also, I was reading another thread: http://www.dolforums.com.au/lofiversion/in...hp/t124102.html about a similar topic and the feedback there was similar but also had alot of "It's worth it" comments. If anyone has any comments about this as well, that would be appreciated. Thirdly For those of you that have started a "doggy family" how did you go about doing it and what advice would give. Again, thanks to all of you who gave feedback, it's really helped me rethink why we were doing it in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Just to go against the flow. If I was to get a puppy again I would get two at once. I fostered two female pug pups that came into rescue at 7 weeks. I had them for 3 months. Yes it was double the poo & wees and double the food preperation but seriously these girls were no problem at all. They had eachother to snuggle and play with, and boy did they play. The ended up being adopted together and are a year old now and I would say are very well rounded gorgouse little girls. Yes the bigger girl probably couldn't live without her smaller sister, or another dog, but saying that my younger pug couldn't live without her older brother so what is the difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Our current doggy family started with a 10 week old male Australian Shepherd puppy....we got him settled into the family, taught him manners and took him to obedience classes and got him started on that. He bonded with all of us but particularly me as I'm the one who does just about everything for him. When he was around 6 months of age we started looking at getting him a play mate and I put my name down with some breeders for a black tri girl pup. She joined the family when Benson was 10 months old and fitted right in straight away. They have been together for a year now and are very dependant on each other but we make sure they have a bit of time apart each week. They both go to obedience classes (my daughter is the handler of the girl) and are both doing well at it. I used to have to listen to Dusty screaming for Benson from her class, but she's grown out of that, thank goodness. I think our way was a lot easier than bringing two pups home at the same time, as we were able to devote the time and energy we needed to each pup as it came into the family. And it was barely any time from getting one puppy to getting the next one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelpie-i Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 (edited) If you are first time dog owners, then I would highly recommend NOT going the 2 pups at once, regardless of whether there are 2 of you doing the training. Edited March 8, 2009 by Kelpie-i Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alllyhoise Posted March 8, 2009 Author Share Posted March 8, 2009 If you are first time dog owners, then I would highly recommend NOT going the 2 pups at once, regardless of whether there are 2 of you doing the training. We aren't first time dog owners, but this will be our first pet together, if that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDaz Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Having done this just over 12 months ago with two Staffy Sisters, I would say don’t do it, it is really hard. There are good points, no separation anxiety when you go to work as they have each other, no night time crying. You will have double the vet bills, one of our girls has had lots of issues, she made the top 10 customers at the vets last year. Luckily the other has not had the same issues. Training is really hard, you need to make a conscious effort to separate them for training, and separate them for long periods at other times as well. One of our girls will not leave the house without the other, I have to carry her to the car to go to the vet (it the sickly one), which is at least once a month. Luckily the loves the Vet's so when we get there she is fine. We could also have issues with aggression, having two females; we have not so far so hopefully it stays that way. I was also reading another thread earlier about two non-siblings having aggression issues, so I don’t think this is solely sibling related. Some people will reply that the dogs wont bond with you, we haven’t found this to be an issue. Everything is a contest, walking both at the same time; each wants to be in front. At training, separated, they are angels, get them out together they forget everything. Although it has been a struggle, we do have two slightly mal adjusted but extremely friendly loving Staffy's, hopefully it stays that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanglen Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 really good even post from Big Daz, It might be easier to get one pup and then another 12 months later, that way you can work out how you want to raise the pups and devote enough time to each. Personally I will not adopt out siblings to the same family, no questions asked. It can work and does but frequently their are issues which are not needed, getting a pup is hard enough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 One other thing to consider: Get two dogs together and chances are you may end up losing them close together also. Two very old dogs is just as much work as two very young ones. I'd put a gap between them.. the more the better. Based on personal experience I'd honestly recommend 5-6 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badboyz Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 The issues are not just about training the dogs. It is about natural sibling rivalry. Siblings, and pups of the similar age raised as siblings, can really love each other to the point of dependancy, but also, and at the same time, see themselves as complete rivals. If you have siblings yourself, though you may love them, could you really live with them peacefully. Sometimes it can work if you are fortunate enough to have 2 dogs of complementary natures, but more often than not it ends in tears (and sometimes bloodshed). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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