Hello from Koda and Rylee! Koda and Rylee are littermates that I started out as their foster mom when they were just 4/5 weeks old. Obviously, I became a foster failure and because a full time fur-mom. Koda is my fluffy yellow lab. He is very toy/play oriented. His life revolves around his toys. In the beginning, Koda was a very independent puppy. He despised cuddling and being held with a passion. He would growl and bark if anyone ever tried. As he's gotten older, he's learned that cuddling with mom is just about the best thing ever. He now refuses to go to sleep unless we are cuddling. Rylee is my sneaky little black lab. She is very cuddle oriented. In the beginning, the only way little puppy Rylee could go to sleep was if my mom would rock her to sleep in her arms. Needless to say, Rylee is spoiled and has no concept of personal space. She has no interest in chasing toys but will chase her brother around as he goes for the toy. It's funny how polar opposite they can be!
Hi and welcome, sounds like you have a busy household! How old are your two? I have a16 month old choc lab called Isla
Busy is certainly one way to describe it! Koda and Rylee are about 5 1/2 years old. But they’re still little puppies at heart.
I definitely aim to give them the best life ever! They sure are trying to turn my hair gray faster than it would naturally though. They get into tons of mischief. But I don’t think I’d have them be any other way.
Wonderful to read stories about successful litter mate families! Our two pups, sisters, will be with us in two weeks and I’m enjoying the forum. I’d read so many negative warnings about litter mates. Glad it’s going so well. Any top tips?
While Koda and Rylee were still little puppies, I read a ton of negative littermate warnings and stories. I was determined for them to not regress into the bad behavior that people described. The tips I have are things I still do to this day to make sure they stay loving siblings. I break up rough play when I see it’s about to go too far. I don’t feed them next to each other; usually a good few feet away so they don’t develop food aggression. Because they were so you when we got them, they stayed in the same crate at first but we slowly weaned them into staying in separate crates when we are gone for long periods of time. We make sure to give them as equal amount of attention as possible. I think those things really helped honestly.
