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Adopted 2 Littermates...

Totò

Member
Need advice. First time with 2 puppies. Individually they are great and receptive to training (for 9 weeks old), but together it is pretty rough & tumble and short attention span theater. Do i need to formally separate them (difficult in our space) or is this just a phase? They have separate crates...Puppies.png
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
Have you done any reading on littermate syndrome? It's a real thing. I'm surprised a breeder would let you have to pups from the same litter. Most won't. Do some searching on littermate syndrome. Here's one article to get you started. Please come back with any specific problems you're having and just to give an update. And share more pictures. We like pictures.

https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/p...d-with-adopting-two-puppies-at-the-same-time/
 

marke

Well-Known Member
I have a different perspective , I've raised 2-3 pups simultaneously for near the last 30yrs , last time I kept one pup was 1992 ……. there were also always adult dogs around , i'm sure that helped , I've not seen a problem with it … definitely twice the cost on everything they need , which can be substantial when it comes to vet bills …. I've placed two pups together with folks I know , and knew they were proven successful homes and the pups were in a lifelong situation ……….. I do do stuff with individuals dogs/pups , taking them out with a solid adult I know helps a lot , I find it to be like cheating when it comes to teaching pups …… I've never separated them for more than an hour or so , or whatever it took to do what we had to do …….. i'm sure the adult dogs make a difference , but I personally have never seen a problem with it , and actually some advantages , pups exercising with same aged pups is the best safest exercise you could possibly give them , given a large yard and free range they will end up with better joint development than they would any other way ……… they do keep each other from getting bored and developing bad habits , the quicker one to pick up a behavior will help the slower one get it ………. confidence is different in a group , the boldest one will elevate the more timid one as long as your careful in new situations ……..
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
I was hoping you'd weigh in, Marke. I know you've successfully done this many times. I just don't know too many people that don't have some problem with it. I wonder if it's due to the individual pups?
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
I'd say this will ALWAYS be an issue...
You have to make training and the HUMAN more interesting than a wrestle match with the other puppy... that's a hard ticket to punch! But - as Marke attests to, it can be done.

I'd work each puppy separately every day - make sure they have a very good response (not recall) to you saying their name. The name should just be a "HEY - COMMAND COMING - HOLD FAST" command, basically to LOOK at you and WAIT for direction... do not use the name as a "come" command... I use a lot of hand signals... so you can say the "name" and hold your hand up in a "stop sign"... so they know to look at you, but not move... yet.

Then, work with them both together. Get good "Wait" commands for each separately, then work on "wait" and "come" together.
Make it all FUN - or you'll lose out to the wrestling again. :)

Keep us posted with LOTS of pictures, please!!!
 

Totò

Member
Ok I would like to thank everyone thus far for all of their input. I especially appreciate any responses that aren’t all doom and gloom, public shaming, finger wagging or scolding. In hindsight I probably wouldn’t do it again but my wife and daughter couldn’t make their minds up on a gender, let alone which puppy. I wasn’t much help, pretty much still wrapped up in my grief over the loss of my PERFECT Cane Corso; Gemma, a product of Zoe & Dom DeVita’s Italica program. Everybody convinced me that this would take my mind off of my sorrow and argued that there is no such thing as a “rebound” puppy. One thing is for certain, my mind has been occupied. Anyway the decision was made, for better or worse, and here we are; in for a penny, in for a pound.

OK, so here’s the update. My wife and I decided to split the pups for the lions share of the day and all night. This entails a bit of a separation for my wife and myself too. We are now keeping one pup in the main house and the other in the guest house (Insert shameless plug: PM me if interested in a Mastiff friendly 3BR 2 Bath short term rental in St Pete Beach). In addition to a small private yard, there is also a large common yard between them. Aside from the formal arranged daily time they spend together, inside and out, (depending on the weather), between 2-3 hour “visits”, they also bump into each other on potty runs, which for the most part was negating the purpose. Each pup spends 3 days in each location so no one dog gains “home rule”. My wife chose nights in the guest house and I have days. So we rotate between the pups and the places we interact with them.

Long story short, individually they are very well behaved (remember we are talking about 10+ week old puppies). We are able to more easily monitor each dogs food intake and there is a lot more napping going on, for both beast and man (fortunately we are retired). Today is the first day that we didn’t referee the Battle Royale. They chased, wrestled, bit, cried, slobbered each other for almost two hours straight. It actually occurred to us that although quite energetic, it was less violent fighting and more vigorous play. Eventually they took a rest, licked each other and napped for what felt like an eternity for them together, but was actually only 1/2 hour. It seems like we are putting in a lot of effort but based on what we are seeing I hope to be a reunited family soon.

If you saw the picture from my original post, the smaller female, Ava weighed in at 20lbs and the Male, Bruno, tipped the scales at 26 pounds. You would think Bruno has the advantage, and he does use his weight well, but he is hardly ready for the persistent flying leaps of little Ava. I don’t know if 20lbs is a runt at 10+ weeks or if 26lbs is a big pup either. I am just waiting for one or the other to make a statement and settle the dominance issue. I have also included a few more pictures as requested.

So please, keep the suggestions coming. Our vet recommends not taking the dogs out in public until the next set of shots, so although we do “walk” our pups on the property, we haven’t really been off the compound. We are looking forward to burning off a little of that youthful steam walking them around the neighborhood, socializing a bit and teaching them some good doggie manners. I truly believe that although we may be inconvenienced and have to put in a little harder work than normal now, we will reap the benefits of having two healthy pups growing up together in a harmonious household later.
 

Totò

Member
Ava Sleeping Eyes Open.png Ava Sleeping Eyes Open.png Ava Sleeping Tongue Out.png
 

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Totò

Member
why do you keep them separate ?
It was total mayhem! Non-stop rough play. Crash, bang, boom! No break. No peace. Individually they give clues to go out. Together they would stop fighting just long enough to squat and go. There was no order. Can’t train or enjoy pups when they are a single tumbleweed. It has been getting better though. We will continually increase their time together as they continue to increasingly behave, listen and co-habitats. Trust me; the sooner, the better. It’s a work in progress. The good news is there is progress.
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
Look at those puppies! Thank you for the pictures. Please post more whenever you want. I never get tired of looking.

And wow. I was going to suggest separation meaning crates in different rooms. Training each dog separately as well as together. Individual walks as well as joint walks. I do think it's important to ensure that both dogs are comfortable being alone. If one presents with a more needy temperament than the other, that dog can really suffer if something happens to their house mate. I know that from experience. So while I think working with each dog individually is necessary, I think that if what you're currently doing is difficult to maintain - and of course it must be - then you could scale it down.

I truly admire the dedication you're showing. Honestly, it's not what I was expecting. More often people just want at quick fix. Please stick around and keep updating. It would be nice to watch a new set of pups grow up.
 

marke

Well-Known Member
the only truly safe way that I've trusted in introducing dogs not raised together as pups , has been introducing pups to adults , something about that works …….. the adults see no threats , and the pups respect the adults , that becomes a way of life ……… I've brought in some outside adults here , they were always kenneled when no one was home , i'd never leave them loose with the house dogs with no one around ……just an opinion , but I think sharing and figuring thing out as pups is the best time for it … a lot of stuff is getting settled from that puppy play that won't need settled when they're big enough to do real damage ……teaching them stuff shouldn't be an issue , I have had no problem being more interesting to them than each other...… probably good for them as far as learning to block out distractions . I've always , until the last 5-6 years , had kennel dogs and house dogs , they saw each other every day , they knew who was who , those fights had a way different intention …… I see folks get a pup and then get another before that first pup is mature , my thought is they would have been better served just getting two pups the first time …….. might be different for other dogs , but I've always kept gangs of dog aggressive dogs , you get a very different behavior from a group of dogs than you do from an individual …….
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
This is an awesome post!
The things we do for our dogs! You have taken that quite a few notches above! :D

I hope the rotation schedule keeps getting better, with more "together time" every day. I look forward to reading your "re-united" post soon. :)
 

Elizabeth Balcomb

Well-Known Member
It was total mayhem! Non-stop rough play. Crash, bang, boom! No break. No peace. Individually they give clues to go out. Together they would stop fighting just long enough to squat and go. There was no order. Can’t train or enjoy pups when they are a single tumbleweed. It has been getting better though. We will continually increase their time together as they continue to increasingly behave, listen and co-habitats. Trust me; the sooner, the better. It’s a work in progress. The good news is there is progress.
I would love to know how it's going? Have you had a chance to socialize them in the big world with the surprise of lockdown? When my boy was a pup, the vet also suggested we keep him inside our property until all his parvo shots were done.. I spoke with a behaviorist and she said more dogs are euthanized because of lack of socialization as a pup than die of parvo virus.. it's such a hard one as a puppy owner. Very stressful!