To get one or two new puppies?
My question is: would it be better to get one or two. The breeder has offered me a boy and girl. Thoughts? Thanks. |
|
|
Most will tell you that it's not good to get 2 from the same litter, the same time from my many years on this board. However, there are some on here that have and are happy w/their decision. Welcome to the board, and I hope you stay to tell us what you decide.  |
| Two at a time creates problems getting their attention to train. So far more difficult than one at a time. By going one on one, you can devote yourself to your pup and the pup to you so you are well bonded. Get the training: potty and obedience complete before bringing in the new pup. Looking at the other end of the life cycle, do you really want to old dogs together, lifting each up as their hips and back give out....OK, that's many many years in future, but something to remember.
I can fully understand wanting to "pupulate" the home with OES as quickly as possible, but if you can hold off........do so. (it's hard, I know) We need Tonks and Luna to chime in now............Tonks? Luna?...... |
We got two within 6 weeks of each other - in the winter  ALthough I worked hard at seperate times with them and seperate training etc and they really are bonded to me, I think it just made matters harder.
In addition t thinking about two the same age joining the household chances are they will leave at the same iem as well, which can be hard. Another thing to consider is two sets of puppy shots, tow puppy classes, two sets of bloodwork, two sets of OFA x rays etc etc etc I would get one this year and one in a year or so when this one is liveable
On the plus side, my two are bonded to each othewr and are built in playmates - not sure it balances out the negatives. |
| What Kerry said...
I have siblings, two sisters from a litter I bred. I won't say they're terribly bonded to each other - I think they both wish the other would go out and play in busy traffic. But they're polite about it at least. Usually. Add to that I got one of their brothers back and kept him. I had all three in for OFA x-rays a short while ago and as they were running amok around my vet's clinic (it was after hours) I mentioned that if I ever so much as thought about keeping more than one from a litter ever again she is to slap me 
It can be done. It's just A LOT of extra work. Much more than you'd imagine. If you have to do so, I suggest a boy and a girl since they're more likely to complement rather than compete with each other in the same way. One of my girls loves her brother and the feeling is mutual. The other sister is more attached to my older girls. Maybe she's trying to distance herself from her embarrassingly ill-behaved siblings 
Kristine |
Ditto what's been said 
Quote: embarrassingly ill-behaved siblings
This statement accurately describes many littermates!!
Our two female littermates are now 5 1/2 years old. We work at home so are there just about 24/7 to at least interact with them. These two have done well and enjoy each others company but I've read where others have not been so "lucky". Yup, I think we were simply lucky. Emma has a somewhat higher pack status than Darby. Darby's a goof so it's worked out fine between them. Littermates feed off each other's naughtiness  You need to train them separately as Kerry recommends. Forget about teaching them both in the same room for probably the first 2 years!
You need to crate them separately so they grow to be as much an individual as possible. And don't even consider not crating them... it's for their own safety. Just imagine the damage one puppy can do then x2 As far as housetraining, you get one that pees on the carpet so the other thinks, "That's a great idea... I'll pee there too!"... all the while you're trying to clean up the first puddle.
You need to take them out in public and on errands individually... and do it often. If you don't, they may bond too closely. They might fall apart when one is forced to go somewhere and the other is left behind. Or, heaven forbid, if one dies, the other has a difficult time coping. It can be a real challenge for some families especially as the littermates come of age. I'd go with just one puppy for now... start training this puppy as soon as he/she arrives then add another pup later. You'll eliminate a lot of frustration. |
| Welcome to the online OES community! |
SheepieBoss wrote: Looking at the other end of the life cycle, do you really want to old dogs together, lifting each up as their hips and back give out....OK, that's many many years in future, but something to remember.
Being that I'm "there" with one geriatric dog now and have two more who will age at the same time (1 year apart)....everyday I think how puppyhood is hard enough but elderly dog care is something else entirely and going through two at the same time might be more than I can take. I look at it like when we were first having kids and my husband kept wishing for twins and I kept going at his throat for the thought. It takes a special kind of person to handle multiples well. |
| One puppy is enough. Seriously. Sometimes one puppy is actually too much, lol. Most reputable breeders won't even consider selling littermates because of the possible difficulties involved. Can it be done? For some people, yes. For most normal people who just want to hang out and relax sometimes, no way! |
| I never recommend getting 2 puppies at the same time, whether they are littermates or not. I've seen puppies bond to each other too much even when very young.....too young to go to homes & leave the litter. My oldest 2 dogs were 18 months apart in age. Mariah came into the pack 2 years later. And José came in 5 years later. The pack order was well established with the oldest (a girl) being the pack leader & pretty much teaching the others as they came along & joined.
We had a litter of 6 one time where 2 girls left for seperate companion homes at 10 weeks of age. We held onto the remaining 4 (2 boys & 2 girls) hoping for show homes because they were just so very nice. At about 3 months of age I was going to take the one boy home for a few weeks to work with him. I really liked all 4 but for some reason I really was drawn to this particular boy. When I got up to my mentor's home for a visit, I ended up taking the other boy & 1 of the girls home for a few weeks! I watched them playing & told her that as much as I wanted to take Caleb home I really felt Zach needed to be away from Caleb to realize that his every breath didn't depend of Caleb. He was SO attached to him. So home they came with me for a few weeks of different types of socialization. Fortunately,at around 5-6 months of age we had 3 families who called for puppies & when they came to vist fell in love with one of the 4 & decided to take one of them rather than wait on our next litter! And yes, they all gave us show homes. The 4th one went to live with another family who already had one of our show dogs who decided they wanted another. |
| We have decided to go with one. The question now is gender. Our boy was amazing (very goofy). Thoughts on girls? |
mchfx wrote: We have decided to go with one. The question now is gender. Our boy was amazing (very goofy). Thoughts on girls?
From my experience, the boys tend to be very laid back & their sun rises & sets on their people. Sorta like "Oh, Hi Mom! I am SOOOOO happy to see you! What do you want me to do? Anything! I'll do what you want, no questions asked!" The girls, although just as affectionate, tend to "question" most things. It's sort of like when you say to them "Ok, lets get going here, I have to get to work!", you can read it in their eyes......."WHY?" Why do I have to hurry? Why do you have to go to work? What's going to happen if I move a bit slower? Is it worth it? I LOVE my boys. When it comes to showing in conformation they tend do whatever we want them to without question. When it comes to training in obedience, the boys do well but I find the girls are much quicker on the uptake & tend to want to "do it better than average". That is unless you end up getting a singleton..........then none of the above applies! |
| Laika and Langley are 3 years apart and I am very glad I couldn't even imagine the same age. He has learned lots from her from the good, takes his cookie to the doggie bed right after he gets it to the bad now they both corner the cats and bark at them. BLA! |
| One thing I noticed now that I have both is....
my female is more conscious of things, more nurturing, more nanny'ish, bossy, and more emotional. compared to our male is more serious (just the look), more affectionate, wants to be pet more ...than just sit next to you, and wants to play instead of be nanny. But you already have a male, so I'm sure it's the female side you're interested in hearing about. lol I personally never liked a male's pink thing. I like petting the entire stomach w/o getting hit with a wet pee pee. |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|