Having just reared two puppies from different litters, but fairly close in age I can honestly say that in more than twenty years of dog owning this has been the hardest period of my life, training-wise. I don't think that it makes any difference if they are siblings or not, or even from different breeds, the work that is necessary to end up with well-mannered, well-socialised puppies is far, far more than it is if you have one puppy, train it properly, then have another one.

The thing is that they wouldn't be litter-mates. The situation would be that they would come from separate litters...1 Fcr and 1 golden retriever maybe. I cant even imagine that they would arrive here at exactly the same time but they might be a month or two apart in age. And why puppies do I hear someone wonder???? Well I love a challenge and adore positive reinforcement training and I have an 11 year old girl who has never known the joy of having a puppy( kittens...yes, pet rats...yes, guinea pigs...yes and chooks...yes) and a dogs life is far too short anyway...why not love em their WHOLE life if you can

I think, if the main reason you want to get two dogs, is so they will keep each other company, you would be far better getting a rescue (not a very young pup) and then get a pup of the breed you desire, when the Rescue has settled and trained.........so on.

This is what I did years ago. Adopted an old Yorkie boy (he was 9 and quite a little so-n-so but desperate for a home as his owner had died) but once he was trained and a lovely lad (took several months) we then got a Bichon bitch pup (I had wanted one for years) and it all worked out very well indeed with the two.

I haven't found it that hard (as some people are saying) to rear the two pups together but maybe it is because they are so tiny, perhaps, I don't know (and I have six other Chis) or maybe because their Mum is a fab Mummy that teaches them the rights and wrongs, so maybe she is doing some of the work for me It's a difficult one. I have to say, I do find having pups/dog/animals and all their care very rewarding and enjoyable, so maybe that's why I am not finding it a pain having two together. Would be happier if little Phoebe didn't leave the odd present around the house though

Please don't get two puppies close together in age, no matters whether they are related/same breed or not.

It will be hard word, not just the bonding together of the dogs, but if one is only slightly older than the other there's a very strong probability that the older will regress in behaviour.

Dogs do not need other dogs, their living in human homes is not a "natural"environs, however dogs have long adapted themselves to live with us, much to their & our benefits. If you want your daughter to enjoy having a puppy(& by doG it is enjoyable)then one at a time, so they can learn together & teach each other about the magical canine/human bond.

When the first puppy is grown up & in a good routine it will be so much easier to introduce another puppy, as it will then have a good role model for it's behaviour & training.

how will you toilet train, chew train, and obedience train puppies if no one is at home all day?
puppies need several small meals during the day.
how will you do this?

I have only ever had one dog at a time and I can assure you that he is anything but lonely!

I personally think it is much better, if you are going to leave a dog "all" day (by that I mean longer than 4 hours without a break) then it is better for the dog to have a doggy playmate/companion. Of course, if you are not around in the first few months for several hours a day, then it is best to get one trained up before you get the second dog, in my opinion.

I can say, without a doubt, my dogs love each other and would miss doggy company. Maybe it's just the way Chis are? I do find that most Chi Owners have more than one dog.

we had our 2 rescue dogs within a day of each other, its a bit different for us because although Betty was a puppy, Brinley was a year old, and well trained, in fact Betty has learned a lot of good behaviour from him. I think having 2 dogs together is fine, but as I said mine were not both young pups, so I haven't experienced that.They do enjoy each others company though, and love playing together. At the end of the day though I guess you will do what you think is right for you and your family, and good luck to you whatever you decide to do.

Hi
I had two border collie puppies within three days of each other. One was 10 weeks old when she came to me and a rescue, the other was just 6 weeks old. They were both bitches.
I worked, so they were left on their own together at least for 1 hour ever day but because my husband could sort his own hours out that was the minimum - once a fortnight they would be left for about 6 hours - I explain this because the trouble they got into was when they were on their own. - My (admittedly old) kitchen was destroyed - they got down to the bricks - I left them loads of toys and chews and they got through those too. These days you can find dog minders and that is a very good idea but this was about twenty years ago. They were very close friends and what one didn't think to try the other did. Training was great fun. My husband and I trained them together. They soon got to know their names and we'd have one sitting while the other lay. Or one would be staying while the other walked to heel. They took a lot of time but then all puppies do and I found that they learnt off each other so that when you praised one for for having done it right and then repeated the exercise the other one picked it up straight away.
Exercising them was a doddle - competition was fierce but friendly - they never fought over toys or meals. Throw one ball and they both raced like fury. They were far fitter than my one lone dog is now. She's never had the competition and so never the real impetus to get the ball.
When they got to 5 years old though they started to fight a bit. Very occassionally one didn't want to do what the other told her and there would be a rumpus. After one episode we decided to keep them in separate rooms when we were out and that worked well.
Still they were very close. Each had their own job to do. When they were out and a dog got too boistrous or annoying the Boss (the bigger of the two) would protect Tammy (the smaller one) by nudging the other dog out of the way. Tammy was the one who told us at night if one of them wanted to go out to toilet. If she came to me she herself wanted to go out but if she went to my husband then Boss wanted to go out.
I found with having two dogs that I had to be stricter with them than I am with one. That's basically because you have to have two under control when there can be frightening incidents - One on a lead is easier to keep hold of than two when you've got panicking dogs.
I hope this helps - personally I think two dogs are easier to manage than one - they keep each other occupied and a good long game of tug exhausts them without exhausting me.
You have to be aware of the problems and thats mainly: they will egg each other on - for good or bad.
Fights may occur - be ready and able to get between them - mine never bit me even when I strode in to break them up - then again they both knew I was pack leader. This happened about half a dozen times in their lives - they lived to 13 and 15 years old.
If you can spend the time in the first two years to keep on training, training, training then you will be well rewarded.
I would love to have two dogs again and I would get them together like I did 20 years ago.
The years of fun we had were priceless and they bonded to each other and to us.

Good luck whatever you decide.

I've only done this once...and there's a reason for that!! It is very hard work indeed - there were 6mths age difference between my two (a Rottie and a GSD).

Yes, the advantages are that the two of them play together,tire each other out and are company for one another. But, they can also set each other off being naughty ie: if one decides to bomb off after another dog the other will surely follow!! Keeping an eye on two dogs is much harder than one lol

Training takes twice as long - I had to set extra time aside to train each one on a one-to-one basis to give them them 'me' time. Each dog will have their own area that they need work on, so it's inevitable you cannot effectively train them together all the time.

Of course there are also extra on-costs - double verything - food bills, kennel fees, vaccinations, dog-fur, muddy paw-prints etc etc!!

I guess much of the work it causes does to some extent depend on the breeds of dog you choose. Pups from the working or gundog group would need more training than some other breeds who are more inactive. Of course something small breeds like Chihuahuas or pugs would not be anything like the work of my Rott & GSD!!