has anybody kept 2 staffy bitches (sisters) in the house as part of the family with a young child in the house??????all advice welcome:)

Hi Kes

Friends of mine who had been breeding Staffs for years kept two Bitch pups from their last litter and would never do it again!! For one thing it is harder to train two litter mates and the other thing one will try to be more dominant than the other and then you will have fights.

I would suggest not keeping two from the same litter.

Sorry to be negative but you have to be very careful with a young child in the house.

Dessie

No matter what breed I would not advice the keeping of 2 bitches of the same age, two dogs are bad enough, but two bitches, NO, not unless you have kennels to seperate than when they reach adulthood. Ja:)kie

I would also say no to getting two from the same litter, they are hard work to train and if out walking, you need to take them seperately at first, so they learn how to walk on the lead.
I have a pup of 4 months (B) and another of 9 months (D), never again, will I have two so close in age, and they are not from the same breeder, the older one has been a nightmare to train, he is so strong willed just beginning to settle better now. I would wait until one is properly house trained and is doing well at training classes before I would get another one, maybe leave a year in between or a year and a half.

How old are they?

10 weeks old

Hi i have litter sisters staffs and have nevr had any problems they get on fine together but like any one will advise never leave dogs and children alone in the same room and i would never leave 2 staffs together. If you have never had this breed before i would suggest just getting the one. as pups take up a lot of time and with small children about its very hard work all the best gwen

i all ready have the 2 pups 1 of them is very tolerant with the child and she can pick her up any time the other tends to growl when handled by her:( at the moment they share a large bed together and are nearly house trained :) it is the first time i have had this breed 1 of them is starting to show she is dominant bitch and the other tends to accept this were food is not concerned:) we do get the odd bit of fightin but it never lasts that long b4 the less dominat 1 submits they are other wise very close and when they are apart from each other they cry for there sister what i am lookin for is advice of ppl that have got older sisters and how they get on

thx in advance
kes

Growling at children and only 10weeks old!!! What is the breeding, reputable/researched or friend/advertised? The child is priority number 1, if you are not experienced with Staffords, two quarreling litter sisters is too much. For the sake of the child, and the breeds reputation, enough bad press, start looking for a good home for the puppy with the dodgy temprement.:(

I have three bitches, the mum (8+) and her two daughters, one from each of her two litters. They eat sleep and play together,
never have they fought each other! Am I just lucky or does their upbringing/breeding come into it? Probably a bit of both.

If you are in any way unsure of your abilities to train and influence the pups together, concentrate on the pup who is tolerant(?)
10 weeks is still very young, and separation at this age is not a problem, with the right training and socialisation you and your puppy
can enjoy each others company:) The other puppy will be just as happy in a good home elsewhere.

Why not speak with Staff welfare/rescue in your area? Ask your vet if unsure for contact numbers, or get from any Stafford site?

she only growls at the kid when she trys to handle her they were bought off a friend who has both parent both r fine with kids as he has young kids him self :) i was told to be very strict with them and keep on top of them at all times and they do respect myself and my partener when the kid trys to pick them up the pup growls ( might be the kid handling her wrong) but when this happens the pup is told off what i need to no now is what to look out for as they get older???? what problems i might come across?? and the best way to handle these things both pups r pretty close and slep together etc

I would stop the child picking the pup up for starters, unless she/he is old enough to do so safely. Children have to learn not to pester pups if the pup is to grow up liking and trusting children. the children should not try and handle the pup unsupervised, as then you can gauge if the pups reaction is reasonable (and tell child off) or tell the pup off for being stroppy to the child who after all has to be higher in the pack structure.

Glad to see you are going to take the easy route and keep the two :) Are they used to being handled by you and your partner, or is it just the kid picking them up? I would image with 10 week old puppies its everyone! Watch how the kid approaches the puppies, is it seen by the pup as a threat? Suprising them, standing over the pup, picking them up when tired. Be careful with telling the pup off after it has growled at the kid, It could associate a telling off and the kid and never build trust between them:( I would have thought at 10 weeks old she is not seeing herself as dominant over the kid?:EEK: Try building trust by bribing her, let the kid give her treats instead of you or your partner. It worked with my older bitch who was not great with my grand daughter :o just try to keep it positive, any praise have the kid there.

If one puppy is dominant and the other has accepted it, I do not think you have anything to worry about. They will sort it out, they are capable of settling disputes like any other breed without declaring war on each other.:) Just be sensible, always be observant, you can never trust any dog 100% together, being sisters does not make them less likely to squabble. Its cute seeing them curled up together but why not introduce crates now to head off any possible future disputes? My three have qiuetly changed ranks without any fuss, mum is allowed to be boss by the youngest who has over the last year gone from bottom to top of the pile:) They still sleep, eat and play together when I or my partner are in the house but are never left together when we are out, inviting trouble. Why risk it, one in each room for their own protection and to scare off any unwelcome visitors. Who am I kidding, the minute they see anyone those give away tails start wagging at 100mph:D Good luck, you wont need it;)

I would definately stop this now. You don't want an adult dog growling at your child. With your supervision have the child give her treats, feed her, even teach her the basic obedience (sit and downs)for starts, if she doesn't sit you make her but your child should be the one to praise her. She should if possible pet her feet, praise ect, to get your puppy being used to having your child handle her. Your pup may be seeing your child as a competitor (sibling to her), she's the more dominant pup if I read your post right. I was also wondering if you are able to take food, toys ect., from both pups, if not please start so they are use to it. My children and I can take anything from our dogs mouths with out a problem, it's really good to be able to do incase they have something that could hurt them.
Good luck with them :)

thx for the reply Happystaff a lot of things make sense now and the good advice will be acted upon:) we have tried various sites lookin for information from 1 who has experiance with these dogs:) now for the unwelcome visitors if they get past these 2 theres a big boy black lab waitin in the wings who dont like strangers but loves the 2 pups and they respect him and all 3 play happly together

thx again
kes

Read all the other replys, just thought i would add another. At 10 weeks your pup knows no better than to growl at your child when it picks the pup up. You have to teach the pup manners and also keep the child from picking pup up they do have a tendancy to squeeze puppies. I know lots of breeders that have kept 2 bitches from a litter some successful some not. Your next big hurdle is when they come into season Stafford bitches can be very hormonal!! Are they registered? and do you intend breeding? if not get them both spayed saves alot of hassle. You will always have one who is more dominant this is natural and they will sort it out for themselves. Also remember that Staffs are very vocal there will always be growling, talking when they are playing just keep an eye on them. I would only seperate when you leave them unattended,using cages. The more you seperate they will end up like strangers to each other and then you will have problems. Hope some of this helps jo