Raising two same age, same sex pups - Page 1

Hello all. Does anyone here have any experience raising two same age, same sex pups? What are the pros and cons of doing so? A friend of mine is thinking of doing it and I advised against it. I am just wondering what everyone here thinks. Thanks!

One point. Depends a lot on the breedings and genetics of the individual dogs. Rest can be filled in by others on the board.

To raise two pups as pets bad idea,in house trouble. As kennel dogs to train easy.For the serious sport dogs we always raise in kennel. Two pups in house will cause trouble and two badly trained pups. Best Regards

These dogs will be nothing but pets and only pets. They are also going to live in the house with the rest of the family.

Just because they are raised together does not mean no possibilty of fighting when mature.  It would be heartbreaking to later have to have to adopt one out, or start thinking of how you will keep them seperated. Also advise your friend to get some lessons on how to stop a dog fight and that they should practice in advance and have a medical kit at home. I have both sexes at home and I pitch in with my Moms bitch when they are out of town, or ill. My bitch and Mom's BITCH are good dogs and so is my daughters BITCH. I recently broke up a fight with mine and my daughters, was not fun.They have been playing together and never any signs of aggression, my daughters is just getting to the age of maturity, both girls are spayed. My bitch could coexist with another female, my Moms and my daughters, no way Two bitches in a fight are very serious about it. I would also ask your friend, if the doctor told her she was having twin babies, how she would feel about this. Are They going to spend one on one time, so the pups bond to them and not just to each other.  There is another thread here on the board that someone took home 3 pups, and reality of what they did kicked in. Someone here might be able to post that thread.

I don't let anyone but experienced dog trainers purchase two pups at one time from me.  The pups will never love nor respect their owners the way they would if they were raised seperately from other dogs.  They need to be kept seperated most of the time, at least until they are about 8 months old, even from other adult dogs in the household except for short periods where the owner supervises.  The pups or pup and dogs bond together very hard, and often one of the pup's natural personality is squashed by the more dominant pup.  The one who is spirutally squashed may actually have been the better companion, if not raised with his sibling.  The bonded pups exhibit destructive behavior when one is taken away and the other is left alone, like when one must go to the vet.  Also, with two pups, neither pup gets the attention it really needs, as it is split between the two of them.  One pup is plenty of work, a lot like a baby.  Veronica

 " If the pups are not handled, trained, socialised seperately, and are left together at all times, they will bond more strongly to each other than the human family. "

I agree with this. I had 2 Irish Setters (working line) a few years ago, 10 weeks old when I got them and I was contracted to keep and rear for 2 years, then send them back. I don't own kennels... all my dogs are house dogs, so when there outside they're loose. These two setters grown up together themselves were their own team of hunters. They didn't listen to me, didn't wanna come inside ... terrible. They were like glued with their own rules. I noticed the human seperation around 8 months. Actually these two dogs is the reason I fenced off a section of the back yard, I had to seperate them without a doubt for any kinda human control and pack order. It was hard, and really didn't get anywhere with them till I sent one to the cabin and the other stayed @ the house. It took a good month or so for them to forget the other while hunting .. by about 10 months old ... I could finally get them to listen to me and do commands. Wasn't easy with these two, but after the 2 years and sent back to the breeder .. the breeder was satisfied with the outcome. I never told him how crazy, unruley, pshchotic these puppies were the first 8 months ... I'll never house 2 pups of the same age again. Both male dogs and never fought. Petry won the AFC title within 3 months after going back. I think Cato is a companion hunter. So, I can only asume this was my fault and not of bad breeding,  Never again though.   Live and learn.

Here's a pix of the duo ..

MPD22,

I have to agree it's not the best situation.  Raising two dog's of the same age at the same time would be an enormous undertaking and extremely demanding.   Without the training forget it.   And I'm also not talking about litter mate's.

Litter mate's would bring a whole new set of rule's to the table.   Your friend would lose.

You did not specify GSD but that's what I am assuming you meant.   You did say indoor's.   Maybe a small breed something docile , but never an animal like a GSD or any other large breed with strong drive's and need's.

It would be a mistake.

Brent.

As Vikram said, a lot depends on the genetics and the breeding.  I purchased two males from the same litter and my brother bought a female.  I had hoped they would all grow up friends and playmates.  However, the bigger stronger male found out he was bigger and stronger and started doing "voodoo" on his brother; lots of stares, blocking him in the hall, etc.  It took a LOT of work to break this habit and I never got them to quit 100%.  If one brother let up, the other would decide to be a creep, etc.  Each one loves their sister though and if they ever heard something suspcious, they'd rally around her to protect her.

Had a few big fights, but fortunately the boys never put a mark on the other; just pinned to the ground.  They're 5 now and I got the larger one neutered a few years back and this did help his aggression level with his brother.  They sleep next to each other in crates and can see each other with no altercations which is a big deal, but they haven't played together since they were 1.  I have to do the whole rotation thing.   We purchased them from a "breeder" who was affiliated with our local GSD club and later found out the breeding shouldn't have taken place as the mother of the litter was a psycho and certainly shouldn't have been bred.  Unfortunately, they inherited their mother's aggression and dominance and because of this bad experience with the whole American lines, have switched to German lines as they are much more stable in temperament.  Its been a big pain because they're each very intelligent and easy to train; one just hates other dogs and the other has reactivity issues.  Before them we had owned two shepherds and never had this problem so I learned a very valuable lesson about researching lines and trusting no one; you have to do your own research and not rely on others even though they pretend to be "club" members who "care" about the breed.

A lot depends on the individual personalties of the dogs.  Our family (myself, my parents, and my brother) now all have shepherds from German lines that are very close in age.  They've grown up with each other, play with each other, walk with each other and we've worked really hard to make sure they get along.  We've had a few growing pains along the way, but in all, it's been fine.  They really like each other's company.  It's true that they do start bonding with each other and if you just let them out in the yard and don't interact with them, they can tune you out.  You just have to work with them and make sure that you're leading the games and determining when play starts and ends. 

I'd be a little wary of doing it again, but if it was a great litter, great lines, and reputable breeder, I'd probably do it again.  I'd just make sure I chose a breeder who really knew the individual personalties of the puppies and could steer me to who would get along best with who as that is key.