I have heard a lot of people say that getting 2 puppies together is a definite no no... i was wondering why?
Has anyone had 2 together?
Im not very experienced, but thought they might be happier and less bored when im not there if they had a playmate?

thanks for any help!

Personally I wouldn't sell two together for various reasons, unless in exceptional circumstances.

Puppies are very dependant on us, and part of that is a good thing because you can use it to your advantage; recall, attention, impulse control work, lead walking, etc. If they're interested in you and have a good bond with you it makes training them much easier. With another puppy, they tend to attach themselves to them instead of you. This can bring a host of problems, not in the least because they will probably be more likely to chase and play with their brother than come back to you when asked. But it can also mean that bad behaviours take longer to eradicate and curb because if one does it, the other will surely pick it up.
It can be done; but you must crate them seperately and do everything you do with a puppy (which is a lot of work) twice over, because it can't be done with them both together. They have to learn how to walk, sleep, eat, and train without their friend there with them, and learn confidence too. This means seperate walks (with puppies this tends to mean four times a day as for socialising reasons two short walks per puppy are recommended), seperate training sessions a few times a day, someone to come with you and handle the other puppy at training classes, and seperate bonding sessions. All in all, it's much easier to get one puppy and then get another a year or so later if you'd still want one.

It can work, but you need to be experienced with dogs and make sure that the pups spend more time apart and with you than with each other. Their main bond must be with you. They both need to be treated as individual puppies as well as a pair, so that means where two walks a day would be enough for one puppy, you need to do two walks with puppy 1 on his own, two walks with puppy 2 on his own, and later on, when they're good on the lead, 2 walks with both puppies together. You need to do more than twice the work of a single puppy - anything less isn't fair on them.

I've had two together myself, having had several single puppies over the years, and being used to a multi-dog household. It wasn't till they were about 5 years old that they reached the level of training that I'd get by one year of age with a single puppy. And that was when I was at home full time.

Everything jeangenie said!  I've done two pups - it was ruddy hard work, and I didn't get them together - I got them 2.5 months apart so I was already a fair way into training Remy when Opi arrived.  But it still involved lots of separate walks for lead training and recall, I was walking them separately for recall til they were past 2 years old!

I wouldn't do it again now unless it was absolutely necessary (which for me, means some sort of rescue emergency so even then it wouldn't be for long).

I would say definitely NO , I won't sell 2 puppies if anyone asks , as I have had experience in the past.
We rescued two spinone x pointer pups and never managed to even housebreak them properly , one died age 7 with kidney failure , I still have Zola who is 12 and has accidents all the time. I have 4 other dogs all perfectly trained but I put the others down to not knowing who had done what . We tried to train seperately but they howled and howled for each other. They didn't need us as long as they were together.
If you were wanting two young dogs to grow together I'd advise one puppy , house break , get to know the pup and maybe 10 months or so consider another   , this has worked for a couple who wanted 2 puppies from me which I refused , they then chose a completely different breed and they get on so well together :) .

> I have heard a lot of people say that getting 2 puppies together is a definite no no... i was wondering why?
> Has anyone had 2 together?
> Im not very experienced, but thought they might be happier and less bored when im not there if they had a playmate?
>
> thanks for any help!

one dog is a dog.  trainable generally without too much skill being required.
two dogs is a pack-  a pack is not for a beginer! far far harder to train.

I wouldn't advise it tbh, I did it with my first two dogs, similar breeds but from different breeders. Like you I thought it would be nice for them to have company while I was at work (5 minutes from my house and home every lunchtime, before everyone jumps in about full time workers). It did make training, including housetraining, more difficult. And as they were so similar in size, age and status, it caused huge problems later on when I added a bitch to the 2 dogs. It's certainly nice to have more than one dog, but I will be keeping my ages spread out from now on. :-)

it can work, but as people have said, only if you have much experience and time to devote to them. It usually doesn't work, even if you have experience and time - I know several experienced people who regret taking on (or keeping) two pups at a time.  I briefly kept 3 small dogs from a litter - not really out of choice as I wanted to keep a bitch, but the dog pup attracted me and a home fell through for another bitch - and it was a nightmare, not helped by everyone getting kennel cough when I needed to get them out and about, but was hard without that.  I now have just the original bitch I wanted to keep and she's happier and the other two have settled well into new homes and are also happier.

I'd advise getting one, then getting another for company 18months/2years down the line.

I agree with everyone else, I wouldn't do it again :-)  I like to have 2 or 3 years between dogs so that a new puppy (hopefully) only has good examples to copy.

I think a lot depends on the breed. For example I couldn't imagine having 2 collie pups together as they require so much training and interaction as youngsters, but 2 easy going sighthounds are generally easier and most of my friends keep 2 from a litter.

Having said that dogs are great company for each other, If you do want 2 why not rescue an older dog first then in a month or so if the rescue has settled in ok and doesn't have any problems to work on then you can get a puppy :-)

I wouldn't for all of the good advice given so far. Within four months got two (cousins 12 months between them, a very well known breeder told us 'its easier with two & was more than willing to sell us two pups!!).  G-d I was virulent green!  A steep steep learning curve & not fair on the dogs, especially when the younger turned out have major probs. They have always got on very well,  have been fortunate to have been at home with them, initially spending time working individually with both, but you loose that precious time with a pup on it's own. I don't necessarily regret it but would never do it again, and on the down side I'm not looking forward to loosing them around the same time. In future I would always have two-three years between them.

Suppose like most things canine it does differ with breeds and with individuals but I don't think anyone should add a puppy until the first is trained to the owners requirements and has gone through the teenage stage. This will mean that some breeds may be ready for an additional pup when the youngest is about 15 months with other it is 3 years or more, my own breed I reckon it works best if the youngest in the pack is between 3 and 4 years when a pup is added then it works well they will teach to pup the domestic rules, where to pee and poo, how to treat each member of the household be they human or canine and manners.

Although having adult dogs means house training is much easier you do still need to teach to other things like lead walking, social skills outside the home, recall and all about traffic and how to greet people the pup does not know.

I think I have probably more experience than anyone else here on this subject as this is what I have:
Arnie & Matilda, crossbreed littermates aged 10 years
Rio & Z, Malinois littermates aged 6
Roxie & Rocco, Malinois littermates aged 3
Dot, Fame & Rona, Malinois littermates aged 16 months
Molly & Harry, Papillon littermates aged 10 months

and not ONE of these cases was by choice, it was always circumstances i.e. having to keep an extra pup when no suitable home appeared.

Each case is different but in a nutshell, having two puppies take away ALL the fun. It is not enjoyable AT ALL. You have to work twice as hard, as you have to eveyrhtign twice, You CANNOT take both to training classes together, as it simply doesn't work -they need to be split up. You have to walk them separately so they don't get too dependent on each other, and you cannot lead train two at the same time. And the bond between them never, ever breaks -I am absolutely DREADING the day I first have one die as I don't know how the survivor would cope, having been so close for life.

It CAN be done, of course it can, but it's not something I'd ever choose. And my examples above show pretty well how it works, as each one is different to the other:

Arnie and Matilda even at 10 years of age are totally dependent on each other, and even now, you cannot really walk them together as they forget about everything else but each other -they turn blind and deaf to anything else. On their own, they are very obedient. I once let both off on a tarmac lane and they were so keen to race each other that when they stopped suddenly, Arnie sheared the skin off all his paws and couldn't walk properly for weeks. Siblings ALWAYS want to compete -and of course if of the same sex, this can eventually lead to fights.

Rio and Z are no problems whatsoever! Reason: I only kept Rio as a pup, Z wet to another home then came back aged 20 months. So they spent all that time apart and therefore did NOT develop the sibling bond -the time apart was enough.

Rocco and Roxie are problem dogs both of them, have had to have a lot of specialist training etc, but I have recently come to the conclusion I have to give up on them and realise they will never get better than they are now. They have fear issues, they don't come back when called, all sorts, and we did everything right with them from day one as we knew we had to. It still didn't work. So neither can be shown or worked and certainly never, ever bred from.

Dot, Fame, and Rona are the mad triplets. Spend all day playing and as soon as they see you, they launch themselves at you -three Malinois running at you and grabbing your arms (thankfully they have surprisingly soft mouths!) is quite something. Here it all HAS worked, but boy it has been hard work and still is, and because of them, I am delaying having another litter for an extra 2 years to what I normally would do, as these 3 need so much time still. I kept Fame, Dot didn't get sold, so had two. My husband helped a lot and we went to 3 different training classes, walked them separately etc etc, took them everywhere, and although they love each other and play a lot etc they are NOT as dependent on each other as the older siblings are -we learnt by our mistakes and realised we had to triple the efforts which believe me was very hard work indeed!! (And NO fun!) Then aged 14 months Rona came back to us so suddenly we had 3. Now as she had been away for a year that helped a lot, she'd had the individual attention, but as she was still so young when she came back, she also instantly reverted back to being in the litter, the dogs knew instantly who she was and the 3 of them are now inseparable and do eveyrhtign together just as if they were still 8 weeks old. And it truly is mad, and as they are still young enough to need a lot of training it's made it difficult as there are only two of us that can train but there are 3 dogs needing it!

Molly and Harry actually are no major problem being toydogs and an easier breed -but still they had to go to separate training classes (Harry to general training, Molly to ringcraft), have separate walks etc.

It's SO nice to have ONE puppy, to train it and get to know it. It's so NOT nice to have two.

>It's SO nice to have ONE puppy, to train it and get to know it. It's so NOT nice to have two.

I agree - one at a time is so much more fun, as well as being better for the pup.

As with the others - it takes puppy ownership from being fun if hard work.. to being pure hard work.

The thing I think you have to ask yourself is, 'If I need to have two puppies to keep one another company... do I really have time for a puppy at all? '

The answer really is, particularly for an inexperienced owner, no. And two puppies is three times the work of one (because you have to do everything separately AND then train everything together as well, or they behave nicely when apart and revert to lunatics when together), so if you are not sure you have time for one, and are considering a second to keep th efirst company, you absolutely do NOT have time for two!

I know very few people who would choose to do it more than once, and these are all people for whom the dogs remained friends - what can ALSO happen is that as they  mature, they grow apart and hate one another and that is a heck of a thing to live with. Most people don't and one has to be rehomed where, as a pup who hasn't received the training they needed, has spent their formative months or years in an unhealthy, needy, dependent relationship with their sibling which then turned sour, they stand very little chance of finding a new home easily.

> I am absolutely DREADING the day I first have one die as I don't know how the survivor would cope, having been so close for life.

We had littermates (dog & bitch) when I was growing up. The male died first, the female lived another 4 years. From the day her brother died (never returned from the vets in an emergency visit) the female would go out into the garden, sit on the patio and watch out into the distance as if she was looking & waiting for him, she'd spend a couple of hours doing that at first, it gradually dwindeled to half an hour, but she did that EVERY single day for the rest of her life :(

I have a pair of litter brothers and I have to keep them completly seperate as they HATE each other. I would never ever have litter mates again.

I did it once, and describe it as one of the most wonderful times in my life, i loved it, but i had the time to spend on each pup individualy. however i would not recomend two unless the owner was experienced and obviously not two from the same litter. 

I am absolutely DREADING the day I first have one die as I don't know how the survivor would cope, having been so close for life.[url=][/url]

My friend had mother and son, both very elderly and had spent their whole lives together. son pts about two months ago, mum went downhill and was pts a few weeks later. together now forever.

I've done it, it works for me and I would do it again.

Thank you all for your help and knowledge!
After everyone's useful insight i will definitely take you guys advice and just get one dog and then consider another maybe 2yrs down the line.