[goldensquared]

Bringing Two Puppies Home

Hi,

I just joined the forum and I'm not sure if this is the right sub-topic to post this under, so please correct/direct me in case it isn't.

My husband and I have recently put a deposit on two golden retriever pups from a litter at one of his colleague's homes. I've been doing some research online on puppy training, house training, crate training, etc, and almost everywhere I look people make it sound like it's the WORST decision of the millennium to get two puppies together. Like we're worse than decades old pond scum for making that choice. Is it really that bad?

Please forgive me if I sound naive. We haven't had a dog in a while, so puppies are a bit of a distant memory for us. But, my husband grew up with 17 dogs (his father was a breeder in his country) and so the responsibility of owning dogs is NOT alien to us.

About our demographic: We're in our mid-30s, my husband's a physician and I'm a homemaker and volunteer my time at places outside the house for a total of 12 or so hours a week, so the most I'm away from the house is a four-hour stretch. We do not have children yet, so I do, as a matter of fact, have time to devote. We also have two cats.

I'm beginning to feel a bit like someone about to climb Everest and everyone telling me the mountain will come crashing down about my ears.

Am looking for pointers, tips, suggestions (on books, dvds, anything), and yes, some good old fashioned encouragement would be nice, too.

Thank you for your time and patience,

goldensquared

 

[fostermom]

Two puppies are two times the work, but they are also two times the love! You will need to be able to devote one-on-one time to each one on a regular basis to keep them from bonding too closely to one another. You want them to be best friends, but you want to be their ultimate best friend. Good luck!

Welcome to GRF!

 

[MaxwellSmart]

I'd say it's very courageous of you! I, personally would not do it but I also don't have the patience. My best friend and her husband adopted 2 ten week old littermates last last year and they definitely had their work cut out for them but they survived (and so did the dogs haha they'll 1 year old on the 17th).
Since I've never experienced it I can only imagine what it would be like so, as for advice, i don't have much. Just the regular puppy advice. Baby gates will be your new best friend, start training immediately, crate train, do your best to keep a potty break schedule, etc...

This forum has been a life saver for me so don't be shy to ask any questions or brag about when your babies learn a trick!
The bond I see with my friend's dogs is incredible. True brotherly love! It's very cool.

 

[tippykayak]

I've always liked spacing them out, and even then, you need to devote time to the separately so they learn not to become obsessed with each other and so they can get real training time.

Two isn't impossible or totally inadvisable, especially if you go in with a training plan, enroll in separate puppy kindergarten classes, and have a clear idea of the schedule you'll use to train them individually. It'll be a lot of work, but it's totally doable, especially if you can devote all but 12 hours a week to them during puppyhood.

 

[Penny & Maggie's Mom]

Our Penny & Maggie are littermate sisters and it has been a wonderful experience. We did make sure they got (and still get) individual time and attention. Sure there's double the poop and zoomies, but also WAY more than twice the fun and love. While they are very bonded to one another, they are much more attached to US. I would do it again in a heartbeat. BTW, they just celebrated their 6th birthday and we can't imagine our family without them. Good luck....... it will be WONDERFUL!!!!

 

[goldensquared]

Phew... Thank you so much for responding and for your words of encouragement. I don't feel so alone anymore. Penny and Maggie's mom... did you crate train your two beauties and if so, did you get separate crates? Our littermates are brother and sister (and we plan to neuter and spay) and I want to be as prepared as I can be before I bring them home. They'll be with us early November. Also, how much individual time did you/do you give them in a day? Did you/Do you take them on walks together?

 

[Noey]

If I had to do it over I would get both at once. I have a 16 month and 6 month. I spent a good deal of time worrying the big guy would hurt the little guy by mistake.

I think two is great. Good luck and can't wait to see pictures!

 

[Nicole74]

I would absolutely love to have two puppies at a time. Bailey's sister was available, but it's not the right time for us right now to have two dogs. I will be getting another puppy in the future, but it will have to wait for a few years.

 

[Penny & Maggie's Mom]

Phew... Thank you so much for responding and for your words of encouragement. I don't feel so alone anymore. Penny and Maggie's mom... did you crate train your two beauties and if so, did you get separate crates? Our littermates are brother and sister (and we plan to neuter and spay) and I want to be as prepared as I can be before I bring them home. They'll be with us early November. Also, how much individual time did you/do you give them in a day? Did you/Do you take them on walks together?

Yes, two side by side crates in the family room from the time they first came home. When they were little I'd try to have a few minutes individual time with each morning and afternoon. We did individual walks and group walks when they were youngsters ( DH would have one and I would have one) and of course our training was done individually. Now I walk them together...... they are both on my left in heel position. Just like children... alike in so many ways but also so different. All that being said, I was like you in that I'm at home most of the time and had the time to devote.

 

[goldensquared]

didn't realize i could attach photos... here are the "two puppies" in question...

Frodo (l.) and Rosie (r.)

 

[fostermom]

Phew... Thank you so much for responding and for your words of encouragement. I don't feel so alone anymore. Penny and Maggie's mom... did you crate train your two beauties and if so, did you get separate crates? Our littermates are brother and sister (and we plan to neuter and spay) and I want to be as prepared as I can be before I bring them home. They'll be with us early November. Also, how much individual time did you/do you give them in a day? Did you/Do you take them on walks together?

I am not Penny and Maggie's Mom, but I will pipe in. I would crate them separately from the very beginning. That will help them to become a bit more independent of each other (or at least it should, lol). I only crate my very young (5-6 week old) foster puppies together because at that age, they should still be together. Once they hit 8 weeks I separate them into separate crates and then into separate foster homes.

You will have a lot of fun with them, I am sure. I do believe it's better that you are getting a boy and a girl, because in my experience, if two girls decide that they don't like each other, it usually lasts forever.

 

[Penny & Maggie's Mom]

Oh lookie....... they are DARLING!!!! I can almost smell the puppy breath from here.

 

[fostermom]

They are adorable and I love their names!

 

[goldensquared]

hehe... yes... i am a bit of a "Lord of the Rings" nerd. Full names to go on their records will be "Frodo Baggins" and "Rosie Cotton". Go ahead. Roll those eyes!

And please, any other suggestions, anyone, please pipe in. I'm going to be absolutely shameless and ask a gazillion questions anyway. I think that's the only way we learn.

 

[jwemt81]

They are both adorable! However, I would highly recommend just starting out with one puppy and waiting until that one is at least a year old and is out of the puppy stage of life before adding a second. Having two puppies, especially littermates, is tremendous amount of work. It can be much harder to train when you have two because they will usually be more interested in each other than they are in you. Therefore, it will be much harder to get their attention and they will require individual training sessions separately from each other, which takes a huge amount of time and patience. There is also always the chance that they will bond more with each other than they will with their human family. I personally would never take on more than one puppy at the same time. We won't be getting our second golden until Tucker is around 18 months old. Our breeder actually refuses to sell more than one puppy at once to the same person or family for all of those reasons. I'm sure that you'll find just one puppy to be a huge handful alone! :bowl:

 

[Loisiana]

I would try to spend at least twice as much time with each pup individually as they have with each other. The more often you can seperate them, the better. Especially when they're young. As they get older it isn't as big of a deal, but when they are young you want them to have that chance to bond to you.Many people will keep a puppy completely seperate from any other dogs in the house for the first couple of months. My own puppy was allowed about 15 minutes a day with my other dogs when he first came home. He's 4 months now and he gets about an hour a day. Once he gets older I won't care at all how much time he spends with the others as long as I'm still taking the time to train him on his own.As someone else said, I think if you are getting two it is great that you are getting male and female. Should definitely help curb future problems between the two.

 

[Penny & Maggie's Mom]

Although we did give individual time and they had different crates and training time, I would say our girls were together ( and with us since we work from home) most of the time. They learned that we were all their pack with us as their leaders. The two of them playing together not only expended alot of puppy energy, but also let them learn to get along with one another. Our girls have NEVER had a fight or even a snarl between them. All in all, worked great for us.

 

[montana]

Montana and Dubin

We also had doubts from what we had heard but picked up our 10 week old brothers from a litter of 5 who where born on 1/24/2008. We love our boys, the best decision ever.
We have the time to devote since we retired young and viewed their raising as an opportunity to enjoy a pair of beautiful, obedient and resposive family members.
Puppy Kindergarten, Basic Training go to separate classes (a mistake we made). Socializing, twice weekly in front of the local YMCA for a hour to greet and be greeted by everyone. Three times a week a 45 minute walk together in town dealing with traffic, stopping at Red lights, other dogs and many friendly people. Separate crates in the kitchen, not the bedroom (otherwise you will keep them up, etc) Confine to 2 adjoining rooms, wood floors, not the entire house to keep the damage to a minimum for 18 months, then gradually to the entire house.
Feed twice a day, one in crate, so they do not share food.
The best... Wayne...

 

[Finn's Fan]

Congratulations! You'll want them to be very comfortable on their own and not so overly bonded that one gets freaked if the other one's at the vet or has to be away from home. I have seen dogs who literally freak and fret if their sibling is not in the same room, so just be aware of the need for a certain degree of independence in the pups for their mental health. Otherwise, get loads of sleep before the little land sharks come home

 

[Willow52]

quote: <<<almost everywhere I look people make it sound like it's the WORST decision of the millennium to get two puppies together. Like we're worse than decades old pond scum for making that choice. Is it really that bad?>>

I don't think that at all, I just think you are very, very brave .

When Hank's brother is visiting it's nuts. I can't imagine it 24/7. I've had a dog and added a puppy but I've never had 'twins'.

They are beautiful.