Older Siblings

[Leviathan]

We’re getting two 5 month old Papillon puppies in a week time. By that time it’ll be the start of school holiday and both of my kids (16 and 9 yo) will get a chance to spoil the puppies or to set them on the right track to become valuable members of our family.

As the puppies' age is considerably higher than the usual age of puppies at which they join their new family we might encounter issues that are different or bigger or there are more of them than the new dog owners experience with 8-10 weeks old puppies.

We’re not first time dog owners but it’s our first experience both with the breed and having two dogs in the family. Hence the reason for this post is to get an advice from people well experienced with the breed and peculiarities of having two dogs.

Here are the questions I have got so far:

- do they need separate bedding and crates? The reason I’m asking is that we have got items left after our previous dog (he went over the rainbow bridge a month ago) and they are big enough to easily accommodate Papillons with plenty of room left.

- do we need to give the puppies some time to settle down before taking them to an obedience club. My concern is that moving into a new house and almost immediate commencing of training at an obedience club will be too much stress for them.

I’m certain that there will be more issues than I can think of now so it would be greatly appreciated if you can share with me your knowledge about matters relevant to our case (older sibling puppies) such as:

- Must do

- Watch out for

- Avoid

- Recommended

Both dogs are desexed males.

It’s my first post in those forums but somehow I have a feeling there will be more of my posts asking for advice.

[Teebs]

I am sure others will post more, but I believe in all pets having their own bedding, i would never crate two dogs together.

I make sure my 2 get time apart from each other, and lots of one on one with me

[luvsdogs]

I make sure my 2 get time apart from each other, and lots of one on one with me

This is the most important thing you can do for these puppies. It is not generally recommended to get 2 pups of the same age at the same time. So as much as you can, train & walk the pups separately so they don't become too dependant on each other & not you. Otherwise you'll have problems with one if the other one has to for e.g. go to the vet for a day or so.

Good luck & we can't wait to see pics. I have a soft spot for paps & would have got one if it weren't for my son's big dog.

[Dogsfevr]

When we rehome older pups dogs we stress to the owners to be patient,that also applies to visitors,going out & over doing it.

Each dog is different so your breeders & yourself i gather are well aware of each dogs nature & needs & the ease in which they should settle.

We generally suggest staying home for atleast a week & then if things have settled well go out & about in small doses & build up.

The main thing is these dogs need to trust you to deal with change & some do so very easily others take a tad longer .

We area multi dog household & dont make any attempts to seperate,when they have to be away then generally cope well because they are brought up to be themselves even with company,the only time we have issues is when there elderly but that is to be expected.

The key is for the kids bot to spoil them too much during the holidays because the dogs then need to deal with the >no kids"when they go back to school .

The key is talk to your breeder & understand there current routine & work from there

[Cosmolo]

What the others said plus- From a training point of view, while it can ge good to give yourself a little time to get to know the dogs before training, it is important to commence training soon, particularly if there are any 'teething problems'. 1-2 weeks settling in time should be plenty and you can then get to know your dog more through obedience and training when you commence.

Have the puppies been well socialised by the breeder?

[Leviathan]

Thank you to all those who replied. Your information gave some food for thought.

Here is some info in response to questions asked in response to my original post.

The puppies appear to be well socialized and we spent around two hours at the breeder's place talking about the puppies routine, observing the puppies, their interactions with each other and the mature dogs in the house. With all their running around I almost expected to see them at some point running on the walls or on the ceiling. :D

We were unanimous in our decision of which puppy we take (the one that fell asleep on my lap after running out of puff).

However, after we came back home we had quite a few long discussions about potential impact for both the dog and our household if such an energetic and intelligent dog becomes bored during daytime when all family members are at school/work.

Another issue is that the 'owner' of the puppy is our younger child. With her tendency to be a bit possessive and controlling about her things (we keep hearing at regular intervals about HER puppy) we thought that we needed some means to address that. So after considering all implications we could think of having second dog in the family we decided that it would be beneficial for both the dogs and for the human members of the family.

Now I'm thinking if getting two puppies was really such a good idea and whether by doing it we're going to get more issues than we thought we would resolve.

[Dogsfevr]

Now I'm thinking if getting two puppies was really such a good idea and whether by doing it we're going to get more issues than we thought we would resolve.

We sell many siblings to pet homes & in all the years we have never had issues.

You will hear about bonding & the likes but it still happens with a years difference.

When you have 2 dogs no matter what the age is & go to work & there home for that time common sense says they will enjoy each others company.

The greater amjority of our owners who take 2 do so for all the right reasons & the owners arent idiots nor is it a case of us trying to make an easy sell,we have abreed that homing is a giant waiting list.

Although i would be addressing the issue with your daughter because she could be sorely disappointed if the dog doesnt take to her due to being possessive ,often dogs finds these people off putting & tend to avoid them as they dont trust them .

[Cosmolo]

Have the puppies been socialised outside the home by the breeder? The amount of socialisation and experience these pups have had will influence how easy or difficult they may be.