How wise is it to get 2 puppies at once?

Hi

I was wondering how wise is it to get 2 puppies at once? They would be coming from different litters, and both from reputable breeders. Is there any drawback to this? Obviously they will be twice the trouble at first but twice the joy as well. I know some breeders dont sell 2 puppies from the same litter but I dunno if this applies to this scenario.

I have seen this asked on other sites and some people recommend and enjoy the experience, but the majority think it's not the best idea. Even one puppy is hard work and requires eyes in the back of your head sometimes. The main problems I see with with two of the same age are that they may tend to be closer to eachother than to you and you may not be able to give enough individual attention to each puppy.

I had Joly and Teddy only six months apart and, given the choice, would have left a larger gap; say 12 months. When Teddy arrived, Joly's training went backwards.

I'm going batty over here and I only have one little muchkin to chase around! :lpy: Definately give it some time, they need a year to grow up, learn some manners and learn to be somewhat independant, and then you can throw in a playmate! :lol:

Please re-think the idea of two pups at a time :flwr:

Each will need alot of time and attention for training and "getting to know you" time.

Give it at least a year and then look for a companion for the first. Let the first settle and mature a bit.

Make it easy on yourself!

Alison.

I recently adopted 2 together - they are not puppies but still had to be (and still are being) housetrained and taught basic commands, so pretty much the same as a puppy. It is very hard work as you can't train both together - they need to be separated, preferably in different rooms so there are no distractions (which is difficult in my case as my house is open plan). However, they do learn from each other and are great company.

Mine are older so are a bit quieter - I would imagine 2 puppies at one time would be quite a handful!

Good luck whatever you choose to do - you will have so much fun

I know many people say don't get 2 puppies at the same time, partly because of the extra work, difficulties dedicating training to the puppies, and because the puppies supposedly bond to each other and not their humans.

This however, has not been my experience. Over the years there have been several occasions where I have had 2 puppies together of the same age, and each of these dogs bonded with me in the exact same manner as the times when I have had only 1 puppy. The puppies & as they have turned into adult dogs have always sough my company first, and then the company of their mate if I am otherwise occupied.

Having said that, I don't think it is a good idea for someone who isn't an old hand at raising puppies. Indeed there is extra work; you need to be pretty laid back because 2 puppies really do disrupt the household for a while, and you do need to set aside plenty of time to dedicate to training each puppy individually.

On the other hand, you get the messy, destructive, & sleepless nights phase over & done with in one hit. Two puppies keep each other company and are less inclined to cry & pine if you are too busy to be playing with them all day and in winter the keep each other warm.

You've just got to weigh up the pros & cons in my opinion.

Speaking from experience (twin boys) not a great idea. Very much harder to train as one distracts the other even when seperated the other is usually crying due to being seperated and still puts them off.

I waited until Kosmo was a year to get Faith. it's been great. he's such a good example for her. He has gone backwards a bit (even at a year!) but it's been minimal and overall a pretty positive experience for us.

I have to tell you though that having 2 so close in age will likely translate to two elderly dogs at one time and some older dogs can cost a lot of money. Please keep this in mind :flwr:

If you are a first time dog owner and not familiar with training dogs I would STRONGLY advise not getting two puppies at the same time. If you are interested in a second dog, please give your new puppy your full attention for a year first then consider either a new puppy or a second adult.

You can read lots of professional opinoins on this question at the link below. Not ONE recommends two puppies at once unless you are a professional trainer. You can have very serious behaviour problems and if you aren't an experienced trainer, managing two can be overwhelming.

With all due respect to those who have done this -- whose dogs I haven;t met so this is no comment on any individual here! -- I have also found that many folks who find they personally had no problems with their two puppies and recommend it to others, actually have two adult dogs that are not very well trained and under control and are not very pleasant for other people to be around, but the owners don't see this. This is not always the case of course!! but this is probably the case more times than not. This isn't the fault of owners, it is just that inexperienced owners can find it challenging enough to give full attention to and train one puppy; two means neither are very well trained, they establsih ways of ignoring the people around them as they typically bond very closely, and as they often get away with murder as puppies, they continue to do so as adults.

I was an experienced dog person coming into getting my first and found one puppy incredibly demanding -- and I work from home where I can give almost full time care to a dog. Getting Leo when Jaspar was 10 months was STILL too early to have had two and Jaspar's training suffered as a consequence.

That is why many breeders will not hiome two puppies together, and why most recommend getting a second dog at 12-18 months, 18 being better than 12. I wished I had listened to that advice myself a little better! :lol:

Getting Two Puppies:

http://www.cavaliertalk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1956

Harvey was just over a year when we got Alfie. We have not had any problems. It is harder to train Alfie because Harvey buts in, when we say sit to Alfie Harvey is sitting straight up for all he is worth to get the treat and he will even push Alfie over so he is not sitting as well as him it is so funny to watch. I would imagine two pups together would be very hard work whereas two pups a year apart has been a treat.

Pepper was 19 months old when we added Milly to the family--who was 10 months old and being offered by Pepper's breeder who decided against keeping her. I had told her that I would love to give Pepper a sister but wasn't ready to take on another puppy quite yet, and she offered Milly to us. It has been a decidedly pleasant experience to have added our second dog this way!

Karlin and Caraline both make an excellent point about being an experienced dog person. I think someone who is experienced would be okay with two...I wouldn't!! No way no how!! I got Shelby when Jake was 17 months old and it was perfect. He was trained and in our routine...and she just followed along.

You might be interested in reading this from last year ... I asked the same question. I know better now thanks to reading training books and the like. Sounds tempting, though.

http://www.ckcsboard.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?t=7020&highlight=

I always thought it would be great to have two puppies at once; hated the thought of taking a single puppy away from all its littermates.

We've had Star the Wonder Dog for 4 1/2 weeks and love her to bits. However ... Hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah... okay, I think I've got myself under control now. However, one will do nicely, thank you.

Another point to bear in mind is that you will probably have two elderly dogs in the future with double the medical problems. I know this isn't necessarily so, as i've lost Izzy at nearly 10, when monty is fine at 11, but it is a possibility.

We got ours at the same time (within 3 weeks of each other) and while it was really labor intensive at the beginning, we think it was worth the extra effort.

The BIG question is??? Do you have the time, patience and commitment to deal with the needs of two individual pups at the same time. Some people are having issues with ONE pup. fwiw, Sandy

k thanks for the responses and opinons. It was kind of just a passing idea what it would be like if i got two, cause one of the other breeders I had contacted earlier said that they had an available puppy now and it was very tempting!! But Im not going to make any rash decisions, but thanks for your opinons!