Anyone raised two pups (litter mates) at once?

[jaminmd]

I promise, no puppy pictures!

We bought two GSD's last week. I purchased a female and the next day DH decided he wanted a male, too. I didn't day no, so I share in that decision. The second dog was an impulse and we did absolutely no research about having two from the same litter. We are responsible for that decision but honestly, we just didn't think. We thought it would be twice as hard but I feel like it is 10x as hard.

Here is my question: can we raise these two successfully? They have a lot of separation anxiety, IMO. They are being crate trained and when I take one out, the other whines. When they play, they have episodes of deep growling & biting, and sometimes someone winds up yelping. I can separate them now but I don't know what I'll do when they are 100 lbs. each. How will DD 12 do that? I don't want them to develop a pack mentality and turn on my kid!

Also, will they really bond with my family or just with each other? Did we make a terrible mistake?

Now, I know we were impulsive and didn't think this through. I accept full responsibility for that. But, what's done is done. We got two, it can't be changed, so how do we proceed?

I already feel terrible about this so any posts telling me how stupid I was will be ignored. If you can offer advice, I sincerely appreciate your help. Thanks.

 

[Green Tea]

My sister did this and swears she would never get a single dog again. It worked out beautifully. She got 2 boys though so that eliminates one issue. I don't think dogs know the social taboos we do.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

I posted about my experience in your other thread. We got female littermates as our first dogs many years ago. We didn't do much in the way of traing, so we got what we deserved. They were untrained, destructive to our house, and didn't listen very well. This got better as they got older. They didn't really suffer separation anxiety, but they did love to play together. My DH and I felt better that they weren't alone all day-they had each other. They did fight occasionally, but you could tell there was a boundary as to how bad the fight would be..never any blood. Looking back, we probably wouldn't do it again, but most of the problems were with my DH and I not training like we should have. BTW, they were labs, and they actually were great dogs! Scarlet and Melanie.

Don't beat yourself up for this, what's done is done. Your heart was just too big! You can do it, it will just take some work.

 

[jaminmd]

I posted about my experience in your other thread. We got female littermates as our first dogs many years ago. We didn't do much in the way of traing, so we got what we deserved. They were untrained, destructive to our house, and didn't listen very well. This got better as they got older. They didn't really suffer separation anxiety, but they did love to play together. My DH and I felt better that they weren't alone all day-they had each other. They did fight occasionally, but you could tell there was a boundary as to how bad the fight would be..never any blood. Looking back, we probably wouldn't do it again, but most of the problems were with my DH and I not training like we should have. BTW, they were labs, and they actually were great dogs! Scarlet and Melanie.

Don't beat yourself up for this, what's done is done. Your heart was just too big! You can do it, it will just take some work.

Thanks, I did read that. Pea-n-me also gave me great advice. I just need to hear from others, the good and the bad, so I can proceed with the best possible course of action. I feel like a moron. I'm never impulsive and always take forever to make an informed decision. I don't know where my head was with this decision!

 

[hoosll]

We bought 2 long-haired dachshunds from the same litter - it is a fascinating experience to watch puppies growing up together. Ours were both males. I strongly recommend that you read about dog packs, I like Cesar Milan and also Hidden Life of Dogs so that you can understand the pecking orsder that dogs establish - they play fight for a reason - they are learning dog social skills but also establishing dominance. It is very importatnt that you establish yourself as pack leaders.

Our two quickly established who was alpha male and it was actually the smaller dog. You can still watch that the beta dog always does things after the alpha, looks to the alpha for permission, beta initiates play, etc. BUT, it is also clear that at any time, the beat dog could try and take the alpha role. It is one of the things that Cesar stresses - dogs are always open to changes in the pack hierarchy but first you have to establish a pack ...

Don't be surprised if the female becomes the dominant dog.

 

[Disney Doll]

Remember they are puppies, so their play and such is going to be rough...think of how boys play..in general very rough and tumble.

The most important thing you need to do is establish yourselves (the people in the family) as the leaders of the pack. Especially with dogs that are going to grow to be big, like GSDs, they need to understand that the people are the boss. They will need a lot of training...your whole family should make a commitment to training and consistency. Everyone gives the same commands for things, everyone does the same routine for feeding...whatever you decide that routine is. Decide what the rules for the dogs are going to be, and then everyone in the household must follow them. Also, they need to practice their commands. When we got our dog we took him to obedience school and the guy said 2 or 3 times per day for 10-15 minutes each time we had to put the dog through the paces...heel, sit, stay, down.

GSDs are very smart, and they are guard dogs by nature, so they do like to "serve" their people, so to speak. Also, lots of exercise will get rid of the pent up energy in a positive fashion so they are not constantly "at" each other.

 

[Jynohn]

We once raised two Great Dane puppies at the same time, and would never do it again. In fact, we currently have a litter on the ground and we're having a hard time deciding which one of two females to keep. We would love to keep both of them, but our past experience taught us that we weren't able to give enough individual attention to two puppies at once.

My biggest advice to you is to make sure that both puppies get time with you and the family alone. If they are with each other constantly, then they bond closely to each other instead of with you. It's also more difficult to get their attention while training when they have another playmate to distract them. I would keep one crated while you have the other out playing, doing training sessions, etc. and then switch them. You have a long road ahead of you, but it does get easier eventually. Good luck!!

 

[daisax]

It can be done, but it is a lot more work than most people want to put into it. Please don't do it half way -- these dogs are too powerful to slack on training. I'd start puppy kindergarten ASAP (each of you takes a puppy to class). Obviously things are going to be twice as expensive, and the first year of a dog's life can cost you many, many hundreds of dollars in vet bills, so brace yourselves. It will never be easier to rehome the pup than when it's really young, so be honest with yourselves and if it's not working out in the next month, contact your local GSD rescue and explain the situation. They may have a home available that's ideal for the pup. Do not expect the money back for him, however. I would also not advise you to return the pup to the breeder, because a conscientious breeder wouldn't have let you take two pups from the litter, and might not do a better job placing the pup in the future.

Puppies growl and snarl and generally play quite aggressively with one another -- and yelps are how they communicate that the other pup has gone "too far." (You can use this to your advantage and yelp the same way if the pup bites your hand - the pup should pull away and stop immediately). If you're not sure whether this is normal play or not, a good puppy kindergarten (not Petsmart or Petco, but a training facility where trainers are very dog savvy -- not just cashiers who took a 3 week course) will be a good place to find out, because the instructors will have an open play period for the pups to all mingle and play safely, and show the owners what's good play and what's bad play. Assuming these are 8-10 week old dogs, I would assume that they're probably just roughhousing. But it's always good to know for sure.

 

[WL Fan]

We have two St. Bernard males that are litter mates, they're almost 2 years old now. We got the second one, too, on impulse, and I think it's a mixed bag. They're not lonely, they've always got each other, so we don't feel so bad when we're gone all afternoon. They know they're at the bottom of the pecking order, but St. Bernard's are pretty laid back dogs, anyway. On the other hand, we can't trust them to stay in the yard, they get to playing and one takes off, the other right behind him. I don't like to have to keep them penned up, but we can't trust them to stay put.

The other bad thing, is that when one does something wrong, unless you catch them in the act, you pretty much have to scold both of them, because you don't know who the guilty party is!

They're fun, but a lot of work.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Here is my question: can we raise these two successfully?

Sure you can.

They have a lot of separation anxiety, IMO. They are being crate trained and when I take one out, the other whines.

This is, in part, the nature of the GSD. They want to be part of the action with their families (pack), and don't like it when they can't be. This is what makes them such great watchdogs and family dogs. It's not a bad thing for them to learn patience.

When they play, they have episodes of deep growling & biting, and sometimes someone winds up yelping. I can separate them now but I don't know what I'll do when they are 100 lbs. each.

You are going to be working on training NOW, keeping them on a leash when they're in the house, putting them through their paces of sit, down, stay, etc, and enrolling in a class asap. By the time they're physically matured, they should have the basics of training down pat and they will have lost some of that young pup craziness. It's really important to keep up with that training now, as I know you're doing.

I can related to how overwhelming it feels, though, having a puppy (or in this case two), and saying, "What have we done?" Even though I only had one puppy last time, the timing couldn't have been much worse, and as I mentioned before, I totally remember feeling the way you're feeling now. Completely overwhelmed. (Which wasn't the case at all when I had the two before her.) I was in the midst of cancer treatment, had just finished eight rounds of chemo and was completely wiped out, still had to travel to radiation every day for six weeks, had six year old twins to care for, was working as much as I could in my job as a nurse, and also had an elderly dog who couldn't walk and needed to be cared for physically as well. Then we added the high maintenance puppy to the mix. I distinctly remember thinking, "What have we done?" too. But you know what, we took one day at a time, did what we had to do, and today, she's my best bud and I couldn't imagine my life without her.

How will DD 12 do that?

She will work with you in learning to train the dogs. They need to learn to respect her. They will also love her to pieces. My kids participated in training our dog when she was a pup and beyond. They are now 12 also and quite adept at handling her. She's jello in their hands, actually. They dress her up and do all kinds of silly things with her. She loves it.

I don't want them to develop a pack mentality and turn on my kid!

I hope you didn't think that's what I meant by that in the other thread. That will not happen with your child. Those dogs will totally love your child (and protect her with their lives). When you need to be concerned with pack mentality is when you are out with them, or when they are together unsupervised, say if they get out of the yard, etc. If one dog motions to go after someone or something, the other dog can join in and it can escalate in a way it might not if the dogs were alone, ie like a bar room brawl. But it doesn't mean they'll turn on you or your DD, so you don't need to worry about that. GSDs are extremely devoted to their families.

Also, will they really bond with my family or just with each other?

Both.

Did we make a terrible mistake?

Answered above, but I think you are just in a tough phase right now. My advice would be to keep on the path you're on, reading those books and working on training.

To be honest, when John and Kate got two GSDs I was scared for them. I thought there'd be too much chaos in their home to work with these dogs (as well as lack of attention and ineducation) so they'd become good members of society, lol. But in later episodes where the dogs were fully grown, they seemed like they were really great. See if you can catch some of these episodes, it might help you feel better. If they can do it, I imagine you can, too!

Now, I know we were impulsive and didn't think this through. I accept full responsibility for that. But, what's done is done. We got two, it can't be changed, so how do we proceed?

Feeling guilty or stupid isn't going to help much right now. You probably need to make a decision what you're going to do. You could see if the breeder would take one dog back if you think you'll be ok with that decision. But I would work on this soon if I was going to go that route while the pup is still young.

I already feel terrible about this so any posts telling me how stupid I was will be ignored. If you can offer advice, I sincerely appreciate your help. Thanks.

All I can say is don't be too hard on yourself. Think it through, then do what is best for your family. PM me any time if I can be of any help.

 

[MickeyCrazedMom]

We raised two female litter mates together successfully. When we decided to get a dog, DH was adament that we have 2 so that they could keep each other company during the day while we were at work. They were American Eskimos.

They played very agressively with each other but it was all in fun. It was like 2 brothers wrestling, sometimes 1 went too far, but they were always just playing. They bonded with each other and with us. At the time, we didn't have kids, so we each had our own lap dog. The only downsides of their bonding were that they did not like other dogs at all, and when the first one got sick and died, the 2nd one become very mean and depressed, until she passed a year later. I am still convinced it was because she didn't know how to live without her sister.

That said, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[2Kds2K9]

Mine aren't litter mates, they are half siblings and I got them at the same time. I will NEVER have a single dog again. The training was just as easy/difficult with two as it was with one. BUT, I did not have near the chewing disasters with the two as I did with one earlier. (When we got them, my DH looked at me and stated, "It's twice the amount of poop!" I turned around and asked him when was the last time he scooped. He quickly shut up and we got two dogs!)

I have Shar-Pei who can be very head strong. We, the humans, are the pack leaders and they know that. Also, the alpha-beta thing goes back and forth. They seem to share that title on a daily and hourly basis.

If you put the time and effort into training them and working with them, I'm sure you will have two wonderful pets!

Enjoy!

ETA - Their names are Mushu and Mulan!

 

[WDWBarb]

Raised two German Shepherd litter-mates (brother and sister). It was wonderful. They learned together and played together (sometimes too rough, but they figured it out over time).

I'd do it again.

 

[CDoobee]

We have two sister dogs. I'd never again get only one dog. They love each other so much, but love all of us, too. One is definitely the alpha dog.

They roughhoused a lot more when they were young than now. They are now old ladies of 11 1/2. It helps that they are not large dogs, though. They are mutts. Their father was a Chihuahua and their mother was 1/2 Yorkie and nobody knows what her other 1/2 was!

They are spoiled rotten, but we love them. The only thing destructive they have ever done is that one of them eats metal. She has eaten snaps and zippers off of several items of clothing, as well as earrings. I blame the owners of the items, as she's done this for years and they should know to keep their things out of her reach! Luckily, she's never had anything get stuck, need surgery, etc.

I dread the day one dies. I really don't think the other will last long. I've already been thinking about getting another puppy asap when one goes. But then I'll have that puppy alone when the older one dies! It's an ongoing circle! I guess I'll have to get 2 puppies when one of my old ladies dies. Then the one left behind won't be lonely and when she's gone, the puppies will have each other.

Okay, so I have no advice. Just that it works well with my small (16 pound) dogs and I'd never want a singleton again.

Good luck with whatever you decide!!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Just wondering how it's going, jamin?

 

[npmommie]

We raised two sisters.......it was fine and I would do it again.........although we did have a rough spell, when they reached "adolescence" and they really had not fully established an alpha role between the two of them yet, so there were some challenges made, lots of fights, blood was spilled, but once they established the alpha dog role, they were fine, they loved each other so much, and us too. devoted to each other and the family.

one passed away two years ago, and I swear the other still misses her. the sister we still have is 12 yo and is a large dog 100+ pounds as was her sister.

good luck! My dh wants to get a german shephard puppy

 

[mdezot]

We adopted 2 mixed breed litter mates ( male and female) because they were the last two...like you said, it was a bit of an impulse not wanting to leave one behind. We also thought that they would be able to keep each other company while we were at work. This worked great. They were a bit high maintenance at first, but the puppy stage only lasts so long. They were even fine when we introduced a third dog ( male ) into the mix. They had a definite pecking order...Lady was in charge. They we started having kids and we never had a problem with any of them with the kids.

Our biggest downfall, was that they age together. Like someone else posted, when one dies, the other can become lost. We lost Lady in July and Champ in September. The third, Trevor, died last May. So we have gone from a house with 3 large dogs to none in 15 months or so. Now we are a little lost. But DS has said, with wisdom beyond his years, that maybe we should wait until school is out in the summer to get a new puppy so that we can all spend a lot of time training it- or them. I was so impressed.

It all comes down to the time you invest.