[lucia11]

We lost out 2 Bichon last year within 5 months of each other and we feel the need to find a puppy to love. There are 3 adults in our family. Husband, daughter and me. we have the opportunity to the 1st two picks from an upcoming litter of Cavachons. We’ve had more than one canine pet at the same time throughout our lives but not 2 puppies at the same time. I would appreciate any input from fellow dog lovers. Thank you.

 

[parus]

My advice is to get one puppy, and once that puppy is at least 18 months old, get another one if you want two dogs. Two puppies are three times the work. Plus, do a search for "littermate syndrome" - there are some undesirable behaviors that commonly arise when pups are raised together. And maybe this is grim - sorry - but I don't know that I would want two Cav mixes from the same litter, given all the health problems Cavs commonly have. It's placing all eggs in one basket genetically, and if they do have issues they'll likely develop those issues around the same times as they're the same age, which could be super expensive and heartbreaking.

 

[lucia11]

Thank you. You have certainly given me food for thought.

 

[LeoRose]

Two puppies aren't twice the work, they are more like four times the work.

And I agree with the assessment of the health issues associated with this particular cross. A lot of them are inherited, and quite frankly, most people breeding designer mixes do a lousy job of screening their breeding dogs, or else flat out lie to people and say that mixed breeds don't have any of the health issues of their parent breeds.

 

[lucia11]

Thanks LeoRose. I appreciate your input. We’ve decided to pass on the Cavachons and stick with 1 Bichon pup for now. Eventually we will add a Havanese to our family. 🐶

 

[3GSD4IPO]

Any breeder that would sell you two puppies from the same litter is likely not reputable.

One puppy. Train that puppy and work with it. Enjoy that dog. When the dog is 4 or 5 get a next dog.. that way you create a bond with your dog and then you can do the same with the next dog.

An advantage of having the dogs this far apart in age is that when the older dog becomes infirm and/or passes, you still have a dog that is young.. and at that time you may want another puppy.

 

[Crantastic]

We’ve decided to pass on the Cavachons and stick with 1 Bichon pup for now. Eventually we will add a Havanese to our family. 🐶

This is an excellent choice. Like others have mentioned, two pups is at least three times the work as you need to train, play with, socialize, and walk each separately as well as both together to attempt to prevent littermate syndrome. It's so much easier and better to stick with one pup. Once it's a couple years old and trained up the way you like, you can add a pup and it'll learn some good behaviors from the dog.

Post pics of your bichon pup when you get it!