Congratulations on having the strength to listen to advice you probably didn't want to hear :-D

Once you have your new baby boy you will realise that what everyone has been advising you has been correct.

Hope you enjoy him and he gives you what you want from a new member to the family.

Jayne

Well done, Sarah, I'm sure you've made the right decision. Don't feel guilty about having only one dog - like children, they love one-to-one attention! Your dog will so enjoy having your time exclusively for him - apart from the fact that your children need attention, too, of course....;) ;) :) :) :)
(From one who had 2 Cavalier litter brothers 22 years ago - hard work? I was going around like a zombie! I did it to avoid jealousy with my 2 children - but I ended up with all the work...and they were adorable but SO noisy!!!!!- the dogs, not the children.....)
Cathy.

There are times when the head needs to rule the heart, Sarah, and this was one of them ! So glad you've been big enough to listen and take heed of all the advice.

Hope the new pup brings you lots of happiness :)

Joyce

I think this is probably one of the best threads I have seen on here for all sorts of reasons - Sarah it must have been hard but you have made the right decision ;)

Best wishes
Lindsay

I am also a lone parent of two. I got my first dog when my daughter was a year old, and I worked with ex hubby doing shifts. When we split I was home full time, and expecting my second child, and boy was she hard work, and by this time she was two years old (this was a Belgianshepherd). When she died sadly young I decided to get a less highly strung breed. The kids were 14 months and 4 years old, and I wasn't going for a pup, but a retired brood/show bitch or older pup.

As luck would have it there were no older ones to hafe but an 11 week old bitch becme available. the rest is history.

I have been hom ful time since I had my second dog as a pup, and it was still very hard work, and she was no trouble really, chewed very few things, and I had already trained one to walk with the pushchair, so this time walking the new pup, pushchair and 4 year old wasn't too bad, and by the time pup needed really long walks the older one was at school.

There is absolutely no way I could ever have managed two pups when the kids were younger. It was hard enough trying to train one when the kids were rtunning around with their friends, most exciting for the pup.

When I had my second puppy my son had just started school, and I started taking my friends Golden Retriever out. she was five years old and still as loopy as hell.

Two Golden retrievers to walk together is a lot of dog, especially when the same age going in opposite directions.

I can walk up to five Elkhounds at once, but it only looks easy as they are all well trained mature adults of diffferent ages, so never more than one naughty one at once.

you will have years of work before your dog (singular) is really reliably trained and sensible. The hardest is the first, year if you have worked at it, then then towards the end of the second year things are getting there, and finally at around four the dog is fully mature, and after this it is plain sailing, assuming no awful habits have become ingrained.

As for the breeder (being one occasionally myself) being entirely selfish here. I would never contemplate letting two go together, as almost inevitably one or both will be returned as real yobs needing a lot of retraining beofre a suitable home could be found for them. My ideal situation for my pups is an experienced dog owner, preferably with a dog still in situ, as then I have reasonable expectations of them knowing what owning a dog is really like. I do of course sell pups to various types of faamilies, and some need more support than others, and one in 10 aproximately still end up coming back for rehoming, and no breeder wants to increase those chances of puppy coming unstuck, unless of course they are the kind who have no further interest in the pups future after it leaves them.

Has the breeder assured you that they will ahve either or both pups back if you can't cope???? It is not in the pups or a reputable breeders interest to put pups in a situation where the homing is likely to fail

The breeder may of course be reputable and inexperienced,a dn maybe naive. I have never had a problem with homing pups with young families, as I coped, so assumed that others would cope equally well, but people are different, and I have had to rehome pups from such well meaning homes.

Also you deserve to enjoy dog ownership. It is hard bringing up kids alone, working and being all things to all. Can you really find an extrea four hours a day to train and walk the pups. Also the one that you leave at home while taking the other out will be going crackers.

I have great friends who work full time and have always had several dogs. this worked well, as the first went to work with one of them in first six months, until it got to warm to take her in the van on her delliveries. they then got her a companion, an older pup someone had tired of. they kept each other company while the couple work

they were taken out at 5 or 6am every day for an hour at least. and the same on their return. for a while she did this alone while he worked abroad, and by this time she had four so it was two walks in the evening, and the morning walk she loaded all four in the van to the country park, where fortunately no one else was about.

When she became ill with glandular fever I walked her dogs two at a time for 3 months!

She had lost various dogs over the years, and has one very old one now on her lastr legs. she now has two ypung ones at 6 and 18 months. they both have to be taken out seperately again, as they are two young to manage two together, so it is out at 5 am to do two walks morning, and hubby soes the evening stint!

Work and dogs can work, but it is vry hard work, and you need to have other people involved. I go in and feed the pups when they are on several meals a day, and have socialised most of them for her in last 6 years, doing school run etc.

Hi Sarah,

Its good to hear that you are having a rethink.

I would be very wary about this breeder, does sound like she is pushing you into have two pups, personally, hard though it will be, id walk away right now.

Yes, with two pups, you will HAVE to train them seperately, and together. With Dill, from the day i got him, he was having little 5 minutes clicker training sessions several times throughout the day. With two pups, not only will you need to make sure they are trained to various commands seperately, but also you need to be sure they will behave and respond to YOU when they are together.

I dont know who has told you that house training two pups is the same as one, whoever that is is either a super dog trainer, or more likely, a liar!
With one pup, its still very difficult to learn their needs, the signs they make when they are about to go. Multiply that by two, and you will need to have eyes in the back of your head!
Couple that with the fact that you are going to be out all day, and i suspect you will, if you go ahead with this plan, have two dogs who wont be clean in the house for months! (im still fighting the housetraining battle with Dill, for various reasons, hes 10 months now, and still not reliable).
Just because the two pups are the same breed and are litter mates, does not mean they are identical.
They will have different personalities, and so could need different training methods. One may be clean very quickly, but if the other one isnt, it will just encourage them both to mess in the house.

I can see that it would indeed be very sweet to have two puppies playing together, but the reality is very different.
Either, they will become so bonded that they will not respond to you when they are together, and will be very upset when they are seperated, OR, one will dominate the other, and make his life a misery.

There are very few animals who are designed to stay together from birth, right through to adult hood, and dogs are not one of them, especially males.
It is entirely natural for them to leave the litter, eventually (albeit not quite as early as 8 weeks), and to force two males from the same litter to stay together will inevitably bring trouble!

I used to look after an Old English sheepdog, called Dennis, whose owners worked split shifts, and were out at strange hours of the day and night. He also lived in a house that had no garden, just a small yard. But, she took a month off work, when they bought him, and paid special attention to teaching him to cope on his own, which he does very well.
If they are not htere, he watches tv, and sleeps all day, he gets walked 3 times a day, for roughly an hour to 2 hours at a time.
Even when he was a pup, and couldnt walk that far, he still had someone coming in for 2 hours in the middle of his owners shift, and had plenty of play time during the day.

I would definately say, you are better off getting one pup trained, happy, used to being alone, and wait until its at least two years old, beofre you add another one. Its MUCH easier this way, and often, the second time round, if the older dog is well trained, and happy, he will help to train the pup!

Em

Sarah
can I ask how the breeder reacted when you mailed her ?
Believe me when you have the one pup and you realise the hard work ( and the fun of course ) you will breathe a HUGE sigh of relief that you dont have two to deal with at once . Especially when you have two young children as well .
It is far better to introduce one at a later date when you have at least one trained dog .
Dogs dont need doggy company so much - they love to be pampered and spoiled by people more .
Two dogs dont always get on either even if they are litter brothers . One will always want to be top dog and if they fight or get jealous of your attention you will feel terrible especially if as someone has already mentioned it reaches a point where you have to rehome one .
Honestly I'm glad you took the advice .
In a few weeks when pup is home with you, you will understand why
Good luck Sarah:D
Lel
Lel

I haven't had a reply yet but she normally emails me in the evening. I'll let you know, but I'm sure she'll be fine about it.

S.

Whew! :) Having just read this thread I am so pleased that you have changed your mind, Sarah. Hats off to you for having had the courage to make what must have been a very difficult decision. I am sure that you won't regret it, no matter what the breeder says.

Roll on the 28th; do let us know how you get on. And will it be Ollie or Jake? Ollie gets my vote! :D

It's going to be Ollie...:)

This forum is fab, I've spent most of the day on and off here, but don't tell my boss...;)

Sarah,

I am glad you made the choice for one, happy walkies with Ollie :)

Karen