Um. We may be getting one of Willow's litter mates joining us. He hasn't found a home yet - someone who had said they were going to have him have just pulled out (no deposit because they were friends). He's the one that we were torn between in the first place when we eventually chose Willow. I KNOW this is not necessarily a good idea, but he is so beautiful! He's a very, very pale yellow and with a lovely temperament. I know there's a couple of people on here who have litter mates, so any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated! Considerations I can think of: 1. Bonding. I'd heard that taking litter mates can cause an issue with them bonding more closely with each other than with you. But in this case, having had Willow alone for several weeks, we've clearly bonded to her already, so we'd just need to make sure we made an extra effort with puppy 2. 2. Training. Must be done separately, so time considerations. This isn't a real issue at the moment, because they're little so only have a few minutes of training at each session. I'd just crate one while the other was being trained. Ongoing, when training sessions are longer, it would be more of an issue, but I can see I'd end up doing sessions on alternate days, maybe, and hitting it harder at weekends. To be honest, they're not going to be working dogs or doing trials (nothing like that here), so I am training them solely for "pet" behaviour plus a little bit more where possible (dummy retrieves etc would be nice). 3. Walks. Not really an issue in that if you're walking one, you may as well walk two! There's very little lead walking done here, since the mountains are by our front door, so I don't have to worry about potentially two pullers. BUT, of course, I would still have to train on-lead walking for situations where we had to be on the lead. (I don't even know how this works; do you have one dog either side, or both on one side?!) 4. Finances. Food costs, vet bills etc obviously doubled. At the moment, this wouldn't cause any issue; hopefully our financial situation is pretty stable. 5. Space. Our home isn't massive and whilst they're in the mad adolescent months, things could feel a little cramped. Overcome partially with long walks in the mountains to tire them out (once they're old enough), so hopefully they sleep most of the rest of the time! 6. Company. Although I work from home, during the winter months, I ski at the weekends. I can pop home to give them a 40-minute or so walk at lunchtime, or I can get someone else in to walk them for me, but the mornings they would be alone 9-12ish (after a good walk) and then in the afternoon, 1-4ish, when they'd go out again. With a second puppy, Willow would have company. 7. ? What have I forgotten or not taken into account?
Re: Eeek! Another puppy?!?! Oh man ,Fiona,what a curve ball,,my eyes are closing and I've got a 5 Am drop off at the airport but I couldn't not reply xxxx I've skimmed your first paragraph and haven't read on detail but you are the girl to,do,this...you are committed,intuitive and disciplined in your training...however I'm the last person to advise you as I have little experience of one dog and zero of two....can't wait to wake up,in the morning and see what you have decided ....... Nnite x
Re: Eeek! Another puppy?!?! On a serious note ... It's very hard training one with the other in the crate. I tried it and it doesn't work. The one in the crate hates hearing the other one being trained and the one being trained is totally distracted by their noises. I do three things. 1. I train them side by side for short bursts several times a day. 2. I get Mr Boogie to take Tatze out while Gypsy has her 1-1 training (Tatze is 18 months so doesn't need it the same) 3. I do 3/4 of their walks separately, 'tho they adore going together I need to sort Gypsy's recall out without her relying on Tatze. Also - when they were both younger I needed to separate them when one was over tired as they 'over played' quite a bit. Not now 'tho, they are very rarely separated for that reason any more. Re: walking two dogs. When I walk my friend's dog, who is the same age as Tatze, I walk one either side on a split lead - it works really well
Re: Eeek! Another puppy?!?! Here he is at 6.5 weeks: [img width=600]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Rkvbhiw7jBo/VDp5vAKpA8I/AAAAAAAAI4Y/pCAomacLVrM/w1164-h776-no/DSC_5263.jpg[/img] And at 8 weeks: [img width=600]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-MSK8vlqYhj0/VDp7PcNmPjI/AAAAAAAAJRM/AmrXQ2hGdL4/w1164-h776-no/DSC_5467.jpg[/img]
Re: Eeek! Another puppy?!?! It'll be great fun but a major challenge. Two puppies together are more than twice the work I reckon. My two are only six months apart so I have had much of the same challenges you face. Absolutely great fun though they have a terrible habit of giving each other "The Naughty Glance" before setting off on some combined naughtiness escapade, but I wouldn't have it any other way. My two just walk together on my left, both on a slip lead. I did try a lead splitter but found a bit of pulling crept in - "I'm first" "No I'm first" type of thing. Lochan walks next to me now, Tarka outside her and it is fine. Looking forward to hearing your decision, looks like you are really giving it a lot of thought.
Re: Eeek! Another puppy?!?! I think it's madness but from what I have read you post on here you really know what you doing. If anyone can, you can. Imagine double the cuddles and love. Go for it! I have had to leave Rolo in his crate whilst I have a very rare night out and I feel so guilty leaving him if you had two they would be company for each other. I'm saying this but I couldn't have 2 I can hardly cope with 1. :-[
Re: Eeek! Another puppy?!?! I`ve had two pups together, same litter and they were terriers so a massive challenge and hard work but I loved every moment ( well , most moments ) . I do think it depends on the type of person taking them on and you do seem to be confident and making a blinkin good job with Willow , plus he is gorgeous , have a good think, write down the pros and cons, good luck
Re: Eeek! Another puppy?!?! Of course you can do it - if you really want to. Lots of people do and make it work. But - I'd say you'd be more realistic about the challenges if your pup was a teenager. Training does get a lot harder....so long as you can imagine that, and still want to do it, go for it. I don't think skiing at the weekend is a big deal. It's only a couple of days a week for part of the year.
Re: Eeek! Another puppy?!?! Yes, the teenage part is probably the most concerning bit for me. It's not something I've ever experienced and it sounds like Hard Work with just one, let alone two! I suppose there's always the consideration that it doesn't last forever, but I imagine it feels like it does at the time! Argh, what to do! John suggested we have both of them right at the very beginning and it was me that put the sensible head on and said no. Then they found this home for him and I was SO disappointed. When I heard today that he was back "on the market", my heart leapt. Heart or head, people?! ARGH!
Re: Eeek! Another puppy?!?! I think you are quite bonkers to even consider it! ;D ;D But I can't think of many people who would be better prepared or committed. It is a joy having 2 dogs, no doubt about it, wouldn't now have it any other way We quite early on had sort of agreed that we would have another, older labrador. Our reasoning was that we didn't really want to manage 2 older (same age) dogs, and all that entailed emotionally.
Re: Eeek! Another puppy?!?! I have to say that after reading all the advice saying not to get litter mates AFTER getting Jack and Barney we were really worried, but we shouldn't have been. They are an absolute delight, they have bonded with each other and with all of us (me OH and our 22 year old twin sons) equally. We train them together and they are doing fantastically well. The only issue we have is walking them together, as Jack suddenly turns into a nutter, like he cant believe his brother is walking with him, and jumps back on hind legs and throws his front paws round Barney! They were ok to start with,but now pull a lot, so we walk them separately and they are a dream. We plan to take different routes to the field and let them off together, then walk back different routes again. They have never been a problem in their crate, they get in, snuggle up and go to sleep. We take them to training classes together and they were more distracted by other noisy pups than each other. There are definitely financial aspects, but we had two dogs and always intended having another two so were prepared for that. We actually save on food as we but in bulk lol. They play together for hours in the garden, and there's none of the issue of the older dog getting bored and coming in, when one wants to play, so does the other. They are currently laid in the floor playing bitey face round my feet ;D This week has been particularly endearing as Barney is petrified of fireworks and has been reluctant to come out of his crate, never mind go outside, Jack has joined him In The crate, licking him and snuggling him, often wrapping his paw round him and cuddling him to sleep!! It is challenging at times, like when they do the wall of death round the room...but the pros far outweigh any cons. I would say that 90% of the time they are just delightful, and 10% they are little mischiefs, but they are 5 month old labs and that's to be expected. There's nothing like the feeling of two puppies asleep snuggled up at either side of you ;D Lou x
Re: Eeek! Another puppy?!?! Normally I'd never say to anyone to get two pups from the one litter, but I think you'd do a fine job with two - you know what you are doing in your training and you're not naive about the challenges. You're in a good environment for dog walking and doggy entertainment. It sounds to me like you'd regret not doing it.
Re: Eeek! Another puppy?!?! My two are only six months apart as well. Its quite a lot of work for the first few years, but I loved having two young uns, I'm single mind you so that probably made it a bit more full on.... For the first year I walked them both together for their long walks in the morning, then most days their second shorter walk was separate and they did their own training during it. I played with them one to one then as well. I still take them out for a short walk and training and a game separately three or four times a week at the grand old ages of 2.5 and 3. They both love it, and anyway have different training needs...they are great pals and lying snuggled up together as I type, but are both strongly bonded to me as well, there was no issue around them overbonding with each other. I originally trained them to both walk on my left, now I find it easier to have one on either side, so we are retraining flexibilty as they both want to walk on the left...one thing though, the older pyp developed some dog fear issues and it was harder to work with with both of them around, luckily the other is extremely laid back but had he not been it might have been tricky...
Re: Eeek! Another puppy?!?! It's weird because last night I was lying awake thinking "if only we'd said we'd take him before the others did". And then, this news today. It feels like fate. I have no idea what I'm doing, to be honest; Willow is my first ever puppy, but I research a lot and like to think I have a bit of common sense ... although John would probably disagree with me on that one. Book smarts, yes, street smarts not so much BUT, despite the initial "ohmagerd" that having a puppy was actually a lot harder than I had anticipated, I've settled down and am enjoying it so much. Even when she's driving me crazy, I still see how well she's doing and she makes me proud. I think I'm up to the challenge of another one, but I may just be being naive. Still, I think, what's the worst that can happen? I end up with two dogs that have reasonable training, instead of one that's (hopefully) excellent at what I'm after. Already, Willow is trained better than any other dog I have met out here (no word of a lie), so we're ahead of the game! But then, I read that back and it's obvious I'm talking myself into it. I'm trying to be objective but when your heart is telling you to go for it, that's kinda tough
Re: Eeek! Another puppy?!?! You sound like your mind is made up. Best of luck with it, I know you'll make it a success. You seem like a person who will dig deep and find the resources to cope through the tough bits. No doubt double the puppy joy will help with that and it'll all be worth it. [quote author=snowbunny link=topic=8666.msg122478#msg122478 date=1415484522] Already, Willow is trained better than any other dog I have met out here (no word of a lie), so we're ahead of the game! [/quote] mmm.....I think I can remember saying that about Charlie pup...before he turned into a complete hooligan. ;D ;D ;D
Re: Eeek! Another puppy?!?! He is totally ADORABLE! You have to get him! (sorry I know that's not constructive advice!) I think it sounds like you've really thought this through carefully and seem to know so much about having a puppy already. I didn't realise Willow is your first pup... you sound so experienced on your posts. Have a good sit down and a chat about it with your hubby in the cold light of day. Personally from what you've said I think you'd regret not getting him. Are you thinking of names already???? Call him Bob!!!!! xx
Re: Eeek! Another puppy?!?! When you've got two teenagers rampaging round your house together you can blame us for encouraging you to do it ;D
Re: Eeek! Another puppy?!?! [quote author=Oberon link=topic=8666.msg122484#msg122484 date=1415485336] When you've got two teenagers rampaging round your house together you can blame us for encouraging you to do it ;D [/quote] Scuse my ignorance but when do they become teenagers?! Just so I can prepare myself.... lol!
