Keeping same litter puppies

[hippiebev]

Is it wise to keep 2 puppies from the same litter? Bulldog dad, a little aggressive but actually a dumb wimp. German Shepard mom, stray, true personality unknown but seems ok. We're keeping a female, not sure about a second pup.
Thanks for any advice!

[lv4dogs]

Raising 2 puppies at the same time can be quite tricky & tiresome. You have double the work & even one puppy can be a lot of work. You 2 energetic puppies that need to be housetrained, trained not to chew, teach manners to, double the vet care & food.

I always reccomend getting puppies at least a couple years apart. Usually when you have 2 puppies at the same time they seem to bond more with each other than to their owners.

You also have to think about them as they get older, caring for 2 geriatric pets can become quite expensive should any health problems occur. Can you handle loosing 2 dogs at about the same time? Thats too much heartache for some people.

[Pit Chick]

Ditto on everything lv4dogs said, plus having siblings can be the worst combo. They seem to fight with each other more than non related dogs because they're always fighting for higherarchy once they get older. You say the dad is an aggressive bulldog, well that can be a trait that he passed on to his pups and the last thing you need is two dogs with unstable personalities that you will have to PTS once it becomes too much of a liability to keep them alive.
Some breeds aren't always a good mix and this sounds like one of those mixes that could be trouble especially with the dad being aggressive. Even if the pups look cute, friendly, happy, that doesn't mean they will always be that way. An unstable temperament won't always be obvious in puppies, it usually pops up once the dog has matured and no amount of socialization or training can cure it.

[Dixieland Dancer]

My experience has been people who have litter mates have more difficulty bonding to the pups than if they are separated and then reintroduced at a later time. After 8 weeks the social skills that are taught in a litter are sufficient. Between 8 and 16 weeks the goal is too transform the dog into a home environment and to have it bond with you. This bonding goes on longer than 16 weeks but this is a critical time. If you have two littermates who only want to play with each other and not you, that bonding will never occur or severly hindered.

It doesn't matter if the dogs are siblings or not, when they reach a certain age if they have the dominant personality trait, they will try to establish pack leadership with any other dog who doesn't submit to their authority (sibling or not). Dusty, Dixie's son and 4 years younger tried my patience for about 4 months with his challenging for alpha status. It wasn't a real problem though because Dixie is alpha and put him in his place numerous times until he got it through his head he wasn't the boss.

[jesse_3]

Diddo to everything said!!

Steph and Jes

[woman1951]

I have a brother-sister combo, Lhasa Apso's. They will be three years old in September. It has worked out wonderfully. I would advocate always getting two at once from a litter if possible. They have bonded with my family with no trouble and are wonderful playmates with each other. The smaller of the two, Otis, the boy, is the more agressive but Gracie has learned not to back down if something means enough to her. Having always been together they seem to watch out for each other as well. Would do it again in a heart beat.

[Corinna]

If you have the mom the pups will always be sub severant to her and not reach thier possible potental. I must see pictures of this combo breeding.

[Dixieland Dancer]

Originally posted by woman1951
I have a brother-sister combo, Lhasa Apso's. They will be three years old in September. It has worked out wonderfully. I would advocate always getting two at once from a litter if possible. They have bonded with my family with no trouble and are wonderful playmates with each other. The smaller of the two, Otis, the boy, is the more agressive but Gracie has learned not to back down if something means enough to her. Having always been together they seem to watch out for each other as well. Would do it again in a heart beat.

I'm glad this worked out for you. Apparently you are a strong leader of the pack. This would be a necessary ingredient in raising littermates. Please note.... I am not saying not to do this. I am just saying in most cases it is better off not too. The breed of dog also makes the success of bonding easier or harder.

[lv4dogs]

Originally posted by Dixieland Dancer
I'm glad this worked out for you. Apparently you are a strong leader of the pack. This would be a necessary ingredient in raising littermates. Please note.... I am not saying not to do this. I am just saying in most cases it is better off not too. The breed of dog also makes the success of bonding easier or harder.

Ditto!

[k9krazee]

I have 3 year old littermates Micki and Mini. Things have always worked out fine, Mini is more dominant and Micki has always been submissive. I do not know what we were thinking taking them both and I don't really think I would ever do it again. When they were little it was twice the work, twice the chewing, twice the pottying in the house, twice the money etc. We have never had any aggression issues with the two of them and I am not looking forward to them growing old together. I think its different with brother and sister vs two pups of the same sex. I would never have gotten two female littermates or two males, I wish you luck in whatever you decide to do and we definately need some pictures :D

[Flatcoatluver]

I learned from puppy class that is bad to have two puppies from the same litter, becasue they end up bonding with the puppy and get attached more then with you, if people get 2 puppies from the same litter then to keep them seperate.

[bckrazy]

I would not take 2 littermates for ANYthing, honestly. :) Not only is it twice the trouble (maybe more, as they'll be getting into trouble together), its twice the costs, and as Dixieland said - if there are behavioral problems that show up when these two begin to mature, it will be twice the WORK and struggle for you! Unless you're home a lot, and you have tons and tons of time and experience, I'm guessing that no matter what sex they are these pups will bond to eachother. Just imagine taking 2 super-hyper puppies to Obedience together... :rolleyes:!

My advice would be to (1) keep the pups until AT LEAST 8 weeks of age, PLEASE! If not, their social skills with other dogs and people (especially because they're large dogs of unknown lines) will be severely affected. The future temperament and socialization of dogs in their adult stage is based heavily on the socialization they recieve from 8-16 weeks, the longer you keep them together, with mom, and around tons of people, kids, animals, and positive experiences (ideally until 12 weeks), the better adult dogs they will be. (2) Keep one puppy, unless you truly feel you can handle 2 pups and are willing to seperate them quite a bit for a few months so they can bond to you. (3) ONLY place these puppies in screened, loving, experienced homes with people that are fully willing to go through tons of socialization and puppy through adult Obedience classes. Adopt them out on a Spay/Neuter contract, FOR SURE! You do not want these puppies to be reproducing, as they are from stray and temperamentally unstable parents and they do carry those genes. On top of them not being even close to purebred or well-bred :). (4) If you cannot find suitable homes as described above, which does happen, find a very reputable (no-kill, screened adoption, foster home) rescue in your area/state. They will most likely take puppies from you gladly.

I do understand that some people have success with 2 sibling pups, but unlike k9krazee and woman, your dogs will be 80+ pounds... keeping 2 80-lb dogs in line is WAY different from keeping 2 Jacks or Lhasas in line.