2 puppies...how hard is it???

Hi All! In the not too distant future, it will be time to enjoy the thrills and frustrations of a puppy or 2 in our home after the sad loss of our only dog. We really want two dogs as we hope they will keep each other company when us humans are at work and school. The question is...what is the best way to do this? We aleady know that the two dogs will be of opposite sexes and be two different breeds but of similar size but we are sort of expecting that they will be of similar age as dogs tend to go on heat around the same time(dont they??).I would love to hear from people who have experienced the trials and tribulations of a 2 puppy house, and whether having 2 pups of very similar age is a good or not so good thing.

Don't do it! Have 1 and then another at least 12 months(preferably 2 years) later!

Thanks for the reply Archer. Can you tell me why you think thats the way to go. I'm abit worried about "only dog' lonliness!!

I think the two main reasons why people say not to get two pups at the same time are
(1) they bond more with each other than they do with you
(2) training one pup is hard enough work - trying to teach two at the same time requires near super-human grit and dedication.

There are people who have done it successfully, but getting two pups is definitely not the easy option.

Have you ever considered a rescue dog? I see you are in Australia, but I presume you have rescue/rehoming centres there just the same? Sometimes you will find pairs of dogs needing a new home together - just a thought.

Good luck with whatever you decide

Thanks for the advice. To be honest I have my heart set on one of the dogs being a Fcr and am in the process of investigating this breed and their availability here further. I have always had x-breeds before and mostly of the kelpie x variety as they are the most common x-breeds around here. Great dogs but the rescue puppy we got 15 years ago was very sick for a long time due, I think, to the unsafe practice of de-sexing very young pups before putting them up for sale to the public. I guess I'm alittle gun-shy about going through that experience again!

It is hard work, when I bought Fiji I also bought the litter brother Jengo (for my daughter) and they were reared together, I enjoyed the experience but having said that my daughter and her partner did all of the puppy classes and training.

I then had a litter and kept them all (apart from the one that my daughter had to keep Jengo company) so I then had three puppies together, it took all of my time, and I had help with puppy classes as I could only handle one at a time. I was also careful to take them out on their own as well as together so that they didn't get separation anxiety.

I wouldn't say that my dogs are more bonded to each other than us humans, but having said that it isn't something to take on lightly, your life is not your own until they get older. It is a huge commitment.

Don't do it!

Perhaps you might find this article useful http://www.caninedevelopment.com/Sibling.htm

Well, I have two pups that my own girl Krystal had in December. Three months now. I can only give my own view of the situation when you have two pups together but it differs from the advice already given.

The only difficult thing I have found is the housetraining. When I brought my other Chis home, they were housetrained in a matter of days. However, it has been more difficult this time and the girl is still having accidents. I'm not sure if it is because of the two of them together or whether the girl would have been like this anyway. She's almost there but she will still occasionally do her business where she shouldn't but I think that it's because it's cold outside (her Mum is a bit of a Princess so maybe like her )

As for not bonding with humans because they have each other. Absolutely not true in my case. The girl is constantly with me. Completely attached to me emotionally. Even though she has her brother and her Mum here. The little boy loves a cuddle and kiss and follows me about but he's also happy to lay with him Mum for a nap.

They are completely happy and have each other to play with when penned, so I don't think it is a problem.

However, I bred these puppies, so maybe my case is different to going out and getting two pups from a breeder, I really don't know

Interesting article, but I wonder how much of this is relevent where the pups are NOT from the same litter?

the OP has made it clear that they will be different breeds, so this must mean that she does not intend to get litter mates.

I would certainly not do it - especially as you state that the pups will be used to keep each other comapany a lot of the time.
This gives an indication that they will habve a lot of alone time. Even if they are not from the same litter I would suggest that they are very likely to form close bonds with each other that could make seperating and training them difficult.

Dogs are very adaptable, if you got one now and trained it then another in 12-18months you will have a much easier time and the help of the older one to keep the younger in line.

Good luck