[peaches1149]

i got lulu and trixie at 8 weeks. i have been around dogs all my life, but they are the first two i started raising on my own. does anyone.have any advice for having 2 at the same time?
thanks

 

[momtolabs]

Look up litter mate syndrome. Make sure to crate them separately, train the separately, walk them separately.

 

[Rocky911]

Look up litter mate syndrome. Make sure to crate them separately, train the separately, walk them separately.

this. and more legit rescues and breeders I know would never sell two puppies to the same home.

Separate crates, separate training (away from the other), separate socialization (outings and such), separate training classes, etc. etc. etc. They need to spend as much time away from one another as possible (though you can allow them to play together).

 

[Abbylynn]

I explained my two littermates fairly extensively in this thread .... http://www.dogforums.com/first-time-dog-owner/114778-siblings-littermates.html

Blu Boy and Leeo are littermate Brothers and I acquired them at 12 weeks old as a gift (Leeo was mine and Blu Boy was my late Mother's dog .... but we lived in the same home)

EDIT: This one is better ... http://www.dogforums.com/first-time-dog-owner/112287-puppy-brothers-together-apart.html

 

[peaches1149]

oh wow...and here we thought they would be better off together. lulu was the runt but i see that trixie does shy away from us. but thats the only downside i see right now. is it too late to take them to separate trainings? they seem to enjoy walking together....should i walk them separately?

 

[momtolabs]

nope,not to late to start training them separately. Yes, start walking them separately. You want them to bond with YOU not each other.

 

[Abbylynn]

oh wow...and here we thought they would be better off together. lulu was the runt but i see that trixie does shy away from us. but thats the only downside i see right now. is it too late to take them to separate trainings? they seem to enjoy walking together....should i walk them separately?

Walk them separate for now. I used to walk them together once they were older.

Feed them together if possible ... but separate their bowls with a bowl of water between them. They do not have to be right on top of each other... as it makes potty training easier ... they eat at the same time ... they potty at the same time. Take them out to potty together if they do not get side tracked and want to play instead ... which could happen. If so ... take them potty separately.

Train them to share together by taking "turns" .... have them sit beside each other and say "This is for Lulu" ... give a treat ... then ... "This is for Trixie" ... then treat ... and repeat. Be sure to use their names when doing this.

You can teach them to share toys the same way. You can also teach them to play with toys together such as chasing a ball ... and if one becomes overly crazy about wanting to be the "ONE" to get it ... stop the game. You do not want one to become the bully and the other to become the outcast. Play separately with them if this occurs.

Sooner or later you will find what works "together" and what works "separate" ... as no two dogs are alike.

I allowed them to play tug together ... that they loved!

Now ... these are the things I did to train my Boy's ... but not every dog is the same ... this is just a general idea that you can tweak to fit your ideal and your own dogs personalities.

This is just a very very tiny amount of what all I did to begin training my dogs.

Obedience training was done separately.

Leeo was also the runt and took longer to potty train due to his possible smaller bladder.

 

[peaches1149]

thank you so much!! i crate them separately, feed and potty them together. i play tug a war with one while the other plays fetch. but i will def do separate walks now and get them in training.

 

[Abbylynn]

thank you so much!! i crate them separately, feed and potty them together. i play tug a war with one while the other plays fetch. but i will def do separate walks now and get them in training.

I wish you good luck!

Like I say ... either I did it correctly or my dogs were just a great match for siblings. Leeo was the one no one else wanted ... he turned out to be my heart dog and as smart as a whip! Lol!

 

[PatchworkRobot]

I have nothing to add that hasn't been said. I'm glad to see that you are accepting of the advice and willing to make changes in the best interest of your dogs (not everyone is). Best of luck!

 

[Leah00]

I've never had sibling puppies, but I have had two young dogs that bonded together very closely. Too closely.
Reese was about 7 months old when we brought home Rocky, he was about 12 weeks. Reese was already pretty bonded with us but Rocky took straight to her. We didn't know any better and just thought it was cute how he'd follow her around all the time. We had 3 dogs at the time and Puck was mine, Reese was my husband's, and Rocky was sort of just there. He was Reese's dog. If we took her anywhere, Rocky would whine and cry until she came back. If we tried to take him anywhere, he would whine and shake until we brought him back home with Reese.

Fast forward many years... We had to have Reese and Puck put to sleep last year. We knew that Rocky would miss her but we didn't realize how it would affect him. He started howling at night and walking around the house crying. We tried taking him places and spending lots of times with him but he would just shake and whine. He seemed to always be uncomfortable. We thought getting another dog would help. It didn't and he ended up hating Jasper. We got a female dog (Buttercup) but he hated her too. He started attacking the other dogs, not just snipping but pinning them down while they screamed. We took him to the vet and physically he was fine. Eventually he started biting my children (unprovoked bites to the face that drew blood). We finally gave up a few weeks ago (after my husband witnessed him walk up to my 1 year old daughter and bite her face) and had him put to sleep.

It was a lesson learned big time. We failed him. We didn't take the time to spend with him one on one when he was young and it was a big mistake.

 

[titiaamor]

I didn't know about Littermate Syndrome a year ago when I rescued 2 puppies from different litters. I became concerned when Sach really started bossing Bob around- too much.

Now we walk them separately, and make a point to do separate outings. I found this great Blog post:

http://paws4udogs.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/littermate-syndrome/

Have fun with your pups! It can be done, but it takes a lot of work.