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Post by twoboyzmom on Mar 20, 2015 23:32:51 GMT
Get over the training at one time he says. They'll be each other's company he says.
I think in my mind "double vet bills, double accidents, double chewing. ...etc"
I don't think I want to do this!?
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Post by gailoh on Mar 20, 2015 23:54:39 GMT
be certain that this is what you truly want...puppies / kitties/ any animal are part of your family and it should be for their whole life as well...
and you are right, they are expensive just like children over their life time...good luck in the decision you decide with...
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 26, 2024 14:19:14 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2015 23:59:54 GMT
We had two Labrador Retrievers that we got at 8 weeks old each, 1 month apart, so they were virtually trained, etc. at the same time.
I sometimes regretted getting any dogs at that stage in our life, but I never, ever regretted getting two.
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Post by twoboyzmom on Mar 21, 2015 0:07:17 GMT
Some may not have seen my posy few weeks ago. We lost our 8 yr old dog last month. Was heart breaking. We had already been talking about getting another one...but zoe was totally trained and very easy. I just worry about the puppy part X2!
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Post by yoursweetwhimsy on Mar 21, 2015 0:21:15 GMT
One thing you have to be aware of is littermate syndrome..this is where they bond with each other and not the family. With fostering, I do find that 2 puppies are easier than one because they entertain each other to a point, but the bonding is an issue. There is a lot of info about it on the web.
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chamadog
Junior Member
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Post by chamadog on Mar 21, 2015 1:23:36 GMT
We brought home two littermates at six weeks old, a black and yellow lab. Sisters. That was almost 13 years ago. I started to list my pros and cons, but all of the pros of having a dog are doubled with having two and I think they're kind of obvious, so I'm only going to list my cons: They did indeed bond with each other more than they bonded with us (as a PP noted). Having said that, we exerted a lot of "alpha" stuff. Nothing in their lives was free-they had to do something in order to get anything. Sit before a treat. Sit before eating. We went through the door before they did. Obedience before any sort of reward was the rule and it worked. We were the stars of our little dog show and it seemed to overcome the over-bond they may have had with each other. A good obedience trainer can help you with this. Figuring out the alpha. I had read that one reason dogs in a household fight is because they are asserting their position for YOU. Everytime you try to make things "fair" in their world, they have reassert their position for you. So, when our black lab exhibited the alpha role, we went with it. She got fed first, treats first, etc. If you can get that, then you will greatly eliminate competition. Double the destruction. If one got into something, so did the other. I had a beautiful back yard before the puppies came. Now it looks like Sanford & Son lives here. You have to be doubly vigilant about what they can get into, because one will lead the other. The two of them once got a 2-lb box of chocolates from See's off the bottom shelf of a cupboard and ate the whole thing. The only thing that saved them was their size and the fact that they had to split it. Double puppy-hood. Puppies are a blast. They are hilarious. They are amazing. They are also disgusting. You get 2x the gross and house training with two puppies. 2x the chewing, 2x the accidents, 2x the dirt and grime. Having said all of that, I don't know that I wouldn't do it again. They always had a buddy, they always had each other. We got all of the puppy stuff out in one swoop. They each had their own personalities and we loved them both as a pair and as separate dogs. The first six months was a ton of work and frustration, but we got two puppies so that they wouldn't be alone and the pros far outweighed my cons above. Almost 13 years later, I don't regret it. I'm not overly keen to jump into it again, but as I said, I'm not completely opposed. Best of luck! Ann    |
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Post by crazy4scraps on Mar 21, 2015 3:01:13 GMT
The bad part about having two the same age / same breed is that they will also get old and die around the same time.  DH had been staggering his by about 4 years for that reason. It's heartbreaking enough to lose one but when you end up losing both in close proximity it really won't be good. When his last dog died, we ended up taking in a third dog that is only six months younger than our other lab and now they're both getting old, and our little 14 year old terrier is obviously getting senile, blind and deaf. We're going to be dealing with this ourselves at some point in the not so distant future with all three of ours. It's really going to suck, especially for our kid who hasn't known life without them. |
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Post by 950nancy on Mar 21, 2015 3:18:55 GMT
Two puppies would make me doubly happy, but they are a lot of work. Mine are six years apart and I love how they keep each other company.
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Post by omarakbt on Mar 21, 2015 7:56:45 GMT
I personally like 3-5 years between my dogs. I like to train one up, bond with ME, get that one house trained, obedience trained and reliable before bringing in a new dog. The older dog helps train some behaviors, takes the lead in simple things.
Also you don't then have 2 senior dogs at the same time with the attendant potential problems, and expenses.
But that's me. I like the dog to be my dog, not the other dogs companion but my companion
Diane
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Post by Patter on Mar 21, 2015 10:08:02 GMT
We have a 10 week old rough collie. We want another one but have read alot about littermate syndrome and also talked to our behaviorist who is helping us with training. We just discussed it again yesterday, and she highly recommends you wait a year between dogs. So, because of what I have read and discussed with her, that's what we will do though. Right now he goes to day camp to play with lots of other dogs, and he LOVES it.  |
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Post by 950nancy on Mar 21, 2015 22:56:00 GMT
We have a 10 week old rough collie. We want another one but have read alot about littermate syndrome and also talked to our behaviorist who is helping us with training. We just discussed it again yesterday, and she highly recommends you wait a year between dogs. So, because of what I have read and discussed with her, that's what we will do though. Right now he goes to day camp to play with lots of other dogs, and he LOVES it. Is your baby brilliant? Maybe a little too early to tell. We've had shelties and I swear they are the best behaved dog that can read your mind. Both have been 40-50 pounds, so they were pretty large for a sheltie, but rough collies just have that same sweet look about them. |
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Post by Patter on Mar 21, 2015 23:04:49 GMT
950Nancy, he truly is the smartest dog we have ever owned. And we have owned 8 in 25+ years. Anyway, tomorrow he will be 11 weeks old, and we will have had him for 3 weeks. In that time, he has learned to ring the bell to go outside for his business, he knows sit and down, and knows he doesn't come out of his crate if he is jumping (he must sit), and there is so much more. We are blown away by how smart he is. We will definitely get another rough collie next year. And BTW, we had a Sheltie years and years ago. He unfortunately died at age 6 from pancreatitis. He also was a larger sheltie. |
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DH had been staggering his by about 4 years for that reason. It's heartbreaking enough to lose one but when you end up losing both in close proximity it really won't be good. When his last dog died, we ended up taking in a third dog that is only six months younger than our other lab and now they're both getting old, and our little 14 year old terrier is obviously getting senile, blind and deaf. We're going to be dealing with this ourselves at some point in the not so distant future with all three of ours. It's really going to suck, especially for our kid who hasn't known life without them.
