[P4CDave]

We have four dogs and a cat.

Two of our dogs are adults; A German Shepard (4 years), and an Aussie mix (7 years). The other two are Aussie/Border Collie pups 11 weeks old.

We got the pups together from the same litter when they were 8 1/2 weeks old. They are very smart and already housebroken (as long as we remember to ask them to "pee/pottie" BEFORE we bring them into the house.

The past couple weeks has been all about establishing a routine for the house, and some socializing outside the yard (local coffee shops, and hardware stores). Both pups are very compliant and adventurous, but they do not readily pay us humans any attention. I am sure that this is due to them being "a pair" from the same litter.

I joined the forum hoping to gain some assistance with these two pups in this somewhat unique situation. When I brought my 4 year-old (then 8 weeks) home as a pup, she bonded with me immediatly and romped around with the older Aussie in the yard. If I took her for a walk around the block, she went willingly. We went through all the normal puppy stuff, and she is a great dog. Having these twins is different.

I will post more later.

P4CDave

 

[Crantastic]

Welcome! You're definitely right about the pups bonding more with each other than with you because they are littermates. Luckily, there are things you can do to fix this issue. You'll need to take them places separately, train them separately, feed them separately, crate them separately, basically make sure they get one-on-one time with you (and anyone else in your household) so that they bond with you. There's lots of info online if you search for "littermate syndrome." This page has some basic info. Here's a good video from Ian and Kelly Dunbar, as well (skip to 6 minutes for the breakdown):

 

[P4CDave]

Thank you so much for posting back so quickly. We are keeping these pups separate as much as possable, but they do spend much of their time together.

Mainly, we are noticing deficiancies in the Recall.

These pups just dont really need us humans for anything (as long as the food keeps comin').

They are placed on separate sides of our bed at night.
I have split the kennel into two sections. One section for big dogs and the other for pups. I have actually changed this so that the pups each take a section of the kennel and the big dogs run the yard. WE also have a large crate in the laundry room where one could stay during the day if were to isolate them ABSOLUTELY from eachother. That would be two big dogs in the kennel, one pup in an ajoining kennel and another pup in the laundry room crate: then the pups would rotate through on a scheduled weekly or daily basis.

We have not begun training yet, aside from some walking (flopping) on leash and pee/potty on command. The pee/potty is going nicely as long as we remember to do it before we bring the pups in. They do hold bladder through the night.

Almost all of the socializing has been done separatly. How early should The Recall be trained in our situation with littermates. It seemed natural when I brought my GSD pup home, but with littermates, I am not sure when to begin. I suppose the "how" will involve taking the pup out of its home environment and using a 'round-robin' technique with a long tether at a park.

We just did the first '7 series' puppy shot after completing three '5 series' shots. Only one more 7 series to go in three more weeks. I mention this because it should mean that we can take puppy to the park for our "recall lessons" by now.

Well, thats about the best I can think of, but it seems a bit extreme. I think they could have some play time together, but not to the exclusion of the Humans in thier lives.

 

[Crantastic]

It sounds like you're on the right track! I started training recall very early with my pup, just letting him know that coming to me meant tasty treats. I don't think it's ever too early to start that, really! I started in the house with no distractions and worked my way up to the yard and then out in a ballpark. I don't think Casper will ever be 100% (and so I always keep him leashed in unfenced areas), although he is much better now than he was.