Littermates

Oliver, sibling to Murphy(below)

People often think it is a good idea to get two puppies at the same time, usually littermates. The following is usually people’s reasoning for getting two pups at the same time:
-They’ll keep each other company
-Both my kids want their own dog
-Two puppies is double the fun!

They’ll keep each other company
While this may be true some of the time, it is not always the case. An important question to ask yourself is, why do they need to keep each other company? Is it because you’re too busy to pay attention to them during the day? If so, maybe you should consider waiting to get a dog or dogs, until your life has calmed down a bit. Dogs require a lot of time and attention, especially when you first get them.

Murphy, sibling to Oliver(pictured above)

Both my kids want their own dog
It seems like a truly great idea, doesn’t it? Both your kids walking their dogs down the street, everyone the best of friends. But be honest with yourself – do you really think it will turn out that way? Often times, the kids will get bored with the dogs after a period of time and then the responsibility falls on the parents to take care of both animals. However, will your children be the ones housetraining two puppies, feeding them, bathing them, and most importantly, training them? Unless they’re very responsible teenagers, the answer is most likely “no”. That will be the responsibility of the parents.

Two puppies is double the fun!
That depends on your definition of fun. Cleaning up pee and poop from puppies that are still being housetrained, trying to watch both at the same time so they don’t soil in the house, eat your couch, and cause who knows what other trouble, is not really my definition of “fun”. In fact, to be honest, I don’t usually foster puppies because they are so much work. They stress me out which causes my health problems to get worse. Out of all the dogs I’ve fostered(29 as of 6/18/14) only 5 have been puppies, and every time I foster a puppy it reaffirms what I already know: puppies are a LOT of work. They chew, they gnaw on hands and arms, they pee and poop in the house, and they have an insane amount of energy. Sure, playtime with two puppies can be great, but do you really expect to spend all of your time playing with them? What will you do when you want to have some calm time but your puppies want to chew up the sofa?

Aggression is a serious issue that should not be taken lightly.

The real problems with littermates
The real problems with littermates. It’s not the extra work involved, or the extra cost, it’s the fighting. “The fighting?” you ask? Yes. It is a very common problem in littermates. Two dogs that were best friends in puppyhood often grow up and start to hate each other with a burning passion. It can happen any time after maturity. My parents had two sibling Dachshunds, and they didn’t start fighting until they were 7 years old. It began with just a little scuffle here and there, nothing serious and only when they were inside. For several months this continued, and it seemed to have plateaued. They would fight on occasion, but it was never serious and they always stopped. Then, they started fighting outside. It happened once, then again a couple months later. Then again a month later. Then a few weeks later…until eventually, they were fighting on a weekly basis. It was eventually decided that the best thing to do for these dogs, who spent all their time either outside or crated, and were never paid attention to, was to rehome them.
What would have happened if Oliver and Murphy were not rehomed? Their fighting would have continued to progress to the point where they would eventually try to kill each other every time they were together. This happens so often, and it’s devastating for the families who love their dogs. They’re then faced with a very difficult decision…rehoming one of the dogs, or attempting to keep them separate 24/7 so they do not have access to each other.

But I have littermates and they don’t fight, they love each other!
That’s great! Let’s hope it stays that way! Unfortunately, there’s a good chance it won’t. Fighting can start any time after maturity. Be prepared in case they do start to fight.

Help! I took in littermates not know the potential issues!
If this is the case, you need to immediately take action to give yourself the best possible chance at them getting along for the rest of their lives. One of the most important things to do is keep them separate. Not all the time, but a portion of it. Play with them separately, train them separately, walk them separately, and if you crate train, put their individual crates in separate parts of the house. Do not crate them together.

To learn more about the problems and solutions to raising littermates, check out this link. There are three pages, be sure to read them all.

In summary – while it might sound like a good idea to get two puppies at the same time, the potential for problems is overwhelming. If you are set on getting a puppy, it is best to wait at least a few months in between adopting them.
Also, Oliver found a fantastic home & Murphy is in a great foster home that may end up keeping him. Both are now indoor dogs and part of loving families. They’re very happy, that is what is important.