2 puppies?

[brooke1]

I'm asking on behalf of my friend Claire who recently lost her dog in tragic circumstances, she has been to see some lab/rottie pups and her husband is insisting they get 2 rather than just one, she has read that 2 pups wouldn't bond as well with humans and could have separation anxiety - I'd be interested to see what anyone else thinks.And if she gets 2 puppies what sex should she go for given the choice?

[Nettie]

Go for one first, add another a year down the line if they still want two, will have 2 better adjusted dogs.

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[andywillow]

Over the years I have come across several people who have taken on littermates and had a nightmare with them, One lady had 2 border collie bitches and had to rehome one as they fought, someone else had 2 Spanish water dogs and admitted that together they were a nightmare and had to walk them separately, I agree with Nettie.

[lurcherlot]

A huge mistake to start off with 2 pups, particularly litter sisters/brothers, for a variety of reasons. The main reason is that it is impossible to train two at the same time - as Nettie suggests, get one first and add another at a later date.

[brooke1]

Thank you for your replies, hopefully she will be able to persuade her husband against 2 puppies!

[sharonhigh45]

I was wondering how your friend Claire was doing after her sad loss,I would agree that one pup is the way to go, hope she gets on okay.

[brooke1]

Oct 14, 2014 2:47:55 GMT -5 sharonhigh45 said:

I was wondering how your friend Claire was doing after her sad loss,I would agree that one pup is the way to go, hope she gets on okay.

Thank you for thinking of her, to be honest she is still not coping very well, still missing Tye very much and blaming herself even though I keep telling her it was just a tragic accident. I was hoping she could find it in her heart to take on another rescue and when the time is right I'm sure she will.

[Letty's Mum]

Agree with the others
Massive no no in my opinion. Ten times harder to train two litter mates, they tend to focus on each other and not let their humans in so much.

[2tuxedos]

I've had greyhound littermates but they came home around 2 yrs so I got to skip the puppy & terrible teen phase.

Puppy blues posts are very common on pet/dog forums so raising just one pup isn't easy & finding time to train & socialise 2 individually & together would be awful lot of work, also sometimes littermates fight & fall out as they mature at same time.

If really want 2 dogs its likely easier to take on mature bonded pair from rescue, it seems to be frequently recommended to leave at least a 2 yr gap between puppies so can establish first fully, though could possibly add a steady adult dog earlier.

[gvgeam]

As I understand it, 2 puppies at once is not recommended for all the reason already given. One of my friends wanted to get two collie puppies together and is now really glad I persuaded them not to! BTW, lab x rottie sounds like a nice mix - I knew a rottie x Golden retriever some years ago who was a great dog with a fantastic temperament.

[Ted]

Never ever get two of the same sex, as they will be fighting who is the Alpha and who is the Beta, this can change many times. When I was with the UK Wolf Conservation Trust we had two females from the same litter from Woburn Safari Park. They were for ever changing who thought they were the Alpha, even after one died at the age of 10 years, the other one was then transfered to live on the site with another female of a completely different litter. But she was still the Alpha of that pairing as the other one was very happy about this.

I have four Hounds all from different areas and litters. The elderly male is boss dog (11 in May), the elderly female (10 in March) is accepted to be looked after by the pack as she now is blind, but even before there was no problem being a completely different breed . The other two one male (8 in Jan) and one female (8 in Feb) are very bonded together.