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Tips for Having Two Puppies Together
Scotty Valadao – Friends of the Dog
I have heard it said that two pups are double the fun, and although there may be little that seems cuter and a great idea, more like double the trouble and double the work on many occasions!
It is all very well saying that people should never get two pups at the same time - this is something I would never advocate, and the reasons for this are numerous and main points listed below, however, in the case where the owner does have two pups, rather we provide them with some information as to how to handle the two pups, avoid problems in the future, and have them grow up to be well adjusted, independent dogs. To this end, I have given you some tips on how to get the best out of this situation.
Why having two pups at the same time is not a good idea
Tips for two pups
Alone Time Training
In order that the dogs gain confidence and get used to spending time alone, they should, several times a day, especially when pups, spend time away from one another. This is easily achieved by presenting chew toys such as Kong’s, and each pup is put away from the other pup and allowed to chew happily. Instead of being alone viewed as a stressful event, it becomes one that is a positive occurrence for the pups, and they also get some nice quiet time.
Walking and playing alone
The pups should be walked separately and if they cannot cope with being alone, then you can start with the exercise for Alone Time to get them habituated to this.
Separate the pups, or have two people working with them separately and also teach them how to retrieve balls separately.
Settle time to avoid over excitement
At times it may seem that all the pups do is run around and play and then eventually just collapse and fall asleep. By giving them regular intervals of ‘settle’ time and doing this before the excitement levels get too high, you will be teaching the pups a valuable lesson of learning how to sit quietly and self control.
The above also helps in the home situation whereby you can have two pups lying quietly and chewing rather than running around the home causing havoc.
Avoiding resource guarding
Dogs are natural resource guarders, in their natural environment they would have to be or they would not survive.
In addition to training the pups not to resource guard, bring in the following as it can keep stress levels down and in my eyes, prevention is always better than cure.
If you are just thinking about getting two pups at same time, rather don’t. Spend at least 6 months with your existing pup – build up a good bond and good behaviour – ensure the pup is well socialized – then when you are ready, do your homework as to what breeds get on well together and where to get another pup from, and most importantly, locate a top notch breeder, or else support your local shelter – good luck.
It is all very well saying that people should never get two pups at the same time - this is something I would never advocate, and the reasons for this are numerous and main points listed below, however, in the case where the owner does have two pups, rather we provide them with some information as to how to handle the two pups, avoid problems in the future, and have them grow up to be well adjusted, independent dogs. To this end, I have given you some tips on how to get the best out of this situation.
Why having two pups at the same time is not a good idea
- Double trouble - two pups together, especially as they get older, can be a real handful, and that is not taking into account the adolescent stage, when most dogs seem to have forgotten all they have learnt, and very often their behaviour towards other dogs in general will change.
- Two dogs to be walked, fed, played with, and in today’s world there does not always seem to be the time for one dog in many instances, especially when it comes to daily walks.
- Double vet bills – this is the annual vaccinations, tic and fleas control, de-worming and sterilization – not taking into account the emergency visits that can, and often do occur.
- Two pups at puppy school and further training. Ideally you would want the pups to go to different classes, so that they learnt to be independent of one another - more time commitment and training two pups.
- Two pups tend to become dependent on one another and if they are separated often do not cope, so a lot of work to help them to become independent needs to be done with the early weeks and months.
- They tend to bond more with one another than with the owner/s and make their own little mini pack, often ignoring the owner/s, when requests are made of them.
- One pup tends to be more confident and the other pup tends to be less confident, hesitant, even fearful.
- It often occurs that one pup will be the one that will take control of toys etc and not allow the other pup to play at all.
- Seldom that both pups grow to their full potential. and it is not unusual for one pup to 'bully' the less confident pup, making the situation worse.
- Fighting more likely to break out, especially in the adolescent period where it becomes important for the pup to determine its own place in the hierarchy. If the pups are females, this can even end up in one pup being rehomed as the fighting can become very severe - your ideal match is male and female and definitely not two females (breed personality does come into this, however not something I would recommend).
- Many people think that the dogs will entertain themselves, and to an extent this does happen, however problems often manifest between the pups
Tips for two pups
Alone Time Training
In order that the dogs gain confidence and get used to spending time alone, they should, several times a day, especially when pups, spend time away from one another. This is easily achieved by presenting chew toys such as Kong’s, and each pup is put away from the other pup and allowed to chew happily. Instead of being alone viewed as a stressful event, it becomes one that is a positive occurrence for the pups, and they also get some nice quiet time.
Walking and playing alone
The pups should be walked separately and if they cannot cope with being alone, then you can start with the exercise for Alone Time to get them habituated to this.
Separate the pups, or have two people working with them separately and also teach them how to retrieve balls separately.
Settle time to avoid over excitement
At times it may seem that all the pups do is run around and play and then eventually just collapse and fall asleep. By giving them regular intervals of ‘settle’ time and doing this before the excitement levels get too high, you will be teaching the pups a valuable lesson of learning how to sit quietly and self control.
The above also helps in the home situation whereby you can have two pups lying quietly and chewing rather than running around the home causing havoc.
Avoiding resource guarding
Dogs are natural resource guarders, in their natural environment they would have to be or they would not survive.
In addition to training the pups not to resource guard, bring in the following as it can keep stress levels down and in my eyes, prevention is always better than cure.
- Keep food bowls in separate areas and allow the pups to eat totally alone and in peace.
- Don’t have high value toys around if there is likely to be problems between the pups
- Teach the Swap and Leave exercises.
- Bite Inhibition is normally taught at Puppy School and this is something that should be maintained for life.
If you are just thinking about getting two pups at same time, rather don’t. Spend at least 6 months with your existing pup – build up a good bond and good behaviour – ensure the pup is well socialized – then when you are ready, do your homework as to what breeds get on well together and where to get another pup from, and most importantly, locate a top notch breeder, or else support your local shelter – good luck.
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