getting litter mates
 and are now
in the process of getting a OES puppy  Here is my problem, I
fell in love with 2 of them, both males. My husband gave me the OK to get both but I've not heard real good things about getting litter mates. Does anyone out there have any experience good or bad with litter mates? Need an answer ASAP as we are going to pick up at least one next week. Thank you all. |
|
|
| I have always heard that it was very very hard to get littermates to bond with their human owners. I witnessed that this summer when a young woman at my dog park showed up with two adorable littermate puppies. Those two dogs are cute as can be but they do not pay attention to people at all. They are entirely focused on each other. When they arrive, I say "here come the clowns" because they are cute to watch but they are the least humanly-socialized puppies at the park.
I would recommend getting one and, if you want, get another next year. If you can't decide, let the breeder make the choice. |
| A colleague of my husband's actually has two male sheepdog puppies (probably a year by now). She says that they don't listen to anyone but each other and wishes she only got one at a a time. |
We had littermates growing up...brothers. They adored humans. They bonded quite well with my family. They listened to us as well as we trained them to 
We liked getting both together so they could play together grow up together. My sister and I were nine when we got the boys. They got along really well, especially as they got older. When they were younger there were occasional fights, but overall they were content. If I could have fit 2 dogs into my townhouse I would have gotten littermates again. Perhaps to "discourage" the 2 dogs against the world/humans position you could spend time with them seperate? That way they have time to bond with you on their own? Also socializing them with other dogs may also help to open them to a world beyond the two of them. |
| The only draw back of 2 litter mates is later 2 elderly dogs at the same time. Baby puppies the same age are expensive at that time with vaccinations etc then elderly at the same time and the problems associated with older age and bigger expenses there with veterinary costs.
I always like them a few years apart for that reason. And also I would hate to loose 2 close together as well. At the moment I have a friend dealing with 3 elderly litter mates. All coming up to 12 and having old age problems. |
| That's a really good point, Lisa. I never thought about it from the elderly perspective. I'd sure hate to lose both around the same time. |
| I am currently raising littermates: 8 month old Sophie and Sherman. I have previously raised 2 other OES, singly and am raising Sophie and Sherman with Archie, who is 7.
I expected 2 to be more work--twice as much, really. It's more like 10 times as much work in the beginning, by which I mean until they are housetrained which took a lot longer with Sophie and Sherman than with Merlin or Archie. The upside is that they were and are really entertaining to watch. Theyobviously love each other and are really attached to one another. Two puppies takes some of the puppy pressure off of 7 year old Archie, who is very good with the pups. But usually, older dogs get tired of puppy nonsense sometimes and so, t he puppies have always had each other. The puppies have bonded with all the humans in the family (and happily attempt bonding with any human they come into contact with) and with Archie. They are more closely bonded with each other, for good and for ill. When they were younger, if we called them in, Archie would come right away and so would ONE of the puppies. Until he (usually Sherman) noticed the other (usually Sophie) doing something else, at which point he'd decide whatever his sister was doing looked much more interesting than what I wanted him to do. Or sometimes, Sophie was distracted by Sherman, but really Sophie is much more independent. The puppies also do fight like siblings. No blood drawing stuff : mostly just roughhousing and jockeying for dominant position (Sophie is much smaller but much more dominant). Also, if one is corrected, however gently (usually Sophie), s/he will take the correction--and then take it out on his/her sibling. Not sure what to do about that. Working on it. Downside of having 3 dogs is (aside from managing 3 leashes in soon to be slippery weather) is that often, all 3 want to be petted at the same time, and I only have 2 hands. More food costs, more vet costs, more grooming. More fun, more love, more work, more trouble. Much more of everything. Would I do littermates again? No. Would I advise anyone to take on littermates? No, probably not. Is it workable? Yes. Is it work? Yes. Is it worth it? Sure. But I'm not doing it again. |
| Hi Dover Girl,
I have no experience with this so I'll let others answer. I jsut wanted to say I'm sorry for your recent loss, and to welcome you to the forum. I hope you have lots of happy posts to make with a pair of great Sheepies! |
| Wow, I am just catching up on this post. Very interesting, I would have never thought of the part about littermates not bonding with humans as well...
Here's my 2 cents, for what it's worth... My mom and I got littermates (They are now 2 1/2), and I am glad that we did; but I am glad that we did not live in the same house. Our girls love each other and I think they definitely know that they are sisters. When they were puppies, though, the puppy playing was out of control! They are just now getting over that. Whenever they were together, they were both always wet and matted from the playing and chewing on each other. And wherever they were playing was always covered with hair. You could just see the puppy hair flying around the room while they were roughhousing with each other. So I guess my input is that 2 puppies make bigger messes and are more difficult to keep cleaned and grooomed - at least in my experience. |
I can't speak from puppies, but we did adopt 2, 5 year old sisters when their owner died. Having two eased their transition to my doggie madhouse. However they never integrated into the pack, they had to be kept separate  One sister was humanize and snuggled nicely, the other would watch. When the snuggler died 2 years later, the standoffish one had a chance to blossom. She became a wonderful companion. I thought it sad she had to be 7 before she hand a human of her own.
So while I completely understand not being able to choose between the two boys, I personally would try very hard to get just one dog. susan |
| I will add my voice to the one at a time recommendation. In addition to bonding issues training a sheepie is lots of work which expands exponetially. To do it and do it well will require a lot of patience and time FOR JUST ONE!!! |
| I would think it could be very difficult raising littermates... for many reasons already posted, but housetraining would be a big concern I think. You'll probably have a hard time telling which on peed on the floor. Puppies seem to pee every five minutes, so having two wandering around having accidents means you can basically forget about accomplishing anything other than cleaning up puppy puddles all day long.
Crate training would help with this, however, a pup learns by routine. A pup will learn when the crate is opened it's time to pee. If you can manage to get both pups out very quickly you'd be ok I guess, but if you have to take one out at a time, the other may not be able to hold it once it has the stimulation of hearing the crate opened etc... Whatever you deicde I wish you the best of luck  |
| We have littermates, a boy and a girl. We picked out Madison when she was 3.5 weeks old. We visited each week and on the seventh week, the breeder had all 7 puppies out. My wife feel in love with a boy, who became Bailey. We took two home the next week.
There are no bonding issues at all. The are the biggest snugglebugs you could ever hope for! The first six months was very tough. They were and still are very concerned in what the other is doing. Training was tough. If you separate them, they listen. When they are together, it is a crap shoot, maybe they will, maybe not. They are 2-1/2 now and listen pretty well. Life is much better. They always seem to be in a contest to see who can pull the hardest when walking together. I am the only one who can walk both at the same time. I also have to do so with the prong collars, just in case. For what it is worth, I tried them out on myself and they don't hurt, they just are uncomfortable when snapped. I swore I would never use one, but we had no choice when walking them together. Vet says they help prevent collapsed tracheas as well. My wife and sixteen year old daughter have to walk them one at a time. While one dog is out, the other goes bonkers. Bailey just barks like crazy. Madison walks around the dining room table until Bailey is back in. Every one told us we should walk them separately some times and do different things with them. We tried and still do. They are much happier together though. They sleep in separate crates in the same room at night and during the day. While out, they lay around on other sides of the room, but if one moves suddenly the other is up. My original plan was to get Madison, wait a year or two and get another puppy. I would not change anything after having them both. I did think I was going crazy the first 6-8 months, but they did eventually calm down. They each have their side of the Futon they will come lie down on when I am there and it is wonderful having a sheepie on each side. I do think we would have been smarter waiting a year or two on the second dog, but I have not ever been the one to do the smart thing. Good luck in your decision, let me know if you have any questions. And yes, the vet bills do add up quicker. After the first year, it is not so bad though. Have a nice night, Eric |
| we lost our 16 year old mini doxie last march, and weren't going to get any other pets. now we have two littermates! they are easy to work with, and have bonded with everyone in the family. they sleep together in the same crate, which we were advised not to let them do. they eat out of the same bowl too. they are pretty well house trained already and are learning some tricks. we are going to take them to obedience training in January. they will be a little over 20 weeks old at that time. there is more expense with two, but they are a small breed so every thing cost less anyway. they puppy play for awhile then settle down and chew on their toys then take a nap. they love to be held and petted alot too. we have had two other dacshunds before so we are prejudice for this breed, but if you want a loyal loving dog, consider a dacshund. and if you want two, go for it. |
doxie lover wrote: we lost our 16 year old mini doxie last march, and weren't going to get any other pets. now we have two littermates! they are easy to work with, and have bonded with everyone in the family. they sleep together in the same crate, which we were advised not to let them do. they eat out of the same bowl too. they are pretty well house trained already and are learning some tricks. we are going to take them to obedience training in January. they will be a little over 20 weeks old at that time. there is more expense with two, but they are a small breed so every thing cost less anyway. they puppy play for awhile then settle down and chew on their toys then take a nap. they love to be held and petted alot too. we have had two other dacshunds before so we are prejudice for this breed, but if you want a loyal loving dog, consider a dacshund. and if you want two, go for it.
Lol. I think controlling two wiener dogs is a lot different that OES. They're so different I'm not sure you could even make a comparison! |
| I have two sisters, collie/retriever mix. Love them both but will never do
this again. They are five years now, and their aggressiveness to each other is worse than ever. Never drawn blood, but the dominant one is losing her battles now. They love other dogs and humans, but want to fight with each other if one gets any attention. I have to separate them when they eat(separate crates) and they spend fifteen minutes snarling before they eat. They are great at active games like catch, I tell one to sit and the other retrieves. They walk in tandem, connecting harnesses, no fighting as long as they are not still. I have done all the recommended behaivorial tricks, not interfering, petting the dominant one 1st, ect. They listen and come when called, eager to please. But just try teaching 2 dogs not to jump on you at the same time or to stay at the same time. Very difficult. I worry that eventually the submissive dog may hurt the other as her attacks are becoming more frequent and fierce, or that one will not make it without the other as they are basket cases if separated. Any advice anyone? |
| I am NOT a professional trainer... one should probably be consulted before this escalates. Below are a few things that we did... but ONLY a trainer can tell you if it's appropriate for your situation and dogs.
One thing we did with our two littermates was take them places separately so they didn't become too dependant on the other one. They have a tendency to draw off the other's naughty behavior and they work very well as a team... they are the best of playmates and they've never gotten into a fight. (It might just be these two dogs.) They do prefer to play together but it's not mandatory they do. Quote: I have to separate them when they eat(separate crates) and they spend fifteen minutes snarling before they eat. Have you considered placing their crates in separate rooms where they can't see each other, maybe closing a door? Maybe tell them to "kennel up", close the crate doors and then bring their food in. If they're too excited after eating, leave them crated for 15 or 20 minutes until the thrill of eating has subsided. Are all of your training sessions with both dogs? You might ask a trainer if leaving one in the house and working with them each individually for a while might help. Quote: but want to fight with each other if one gets any attention
If any of my dogs display any jealous behavior because of me, I immediately stand up and no one gets any attention. I'd suggest you carefully observe their body language and intervene with commands or distraction BEFORE it becomes a fight. Watch for the lowered head, glares or stiff or frozen stance. This is what we did when we were having an aggression problem in the pack... it can take time and a lot of supervision but it's too late if it gets to the fight stage. When we brought in a sheepie that had food aggression, I had to train the other members of the pack AND Panda. Four of the dogs in the pack eat in the kitchen... each has a corner and this includes Panda. The others were taught to stay away from her while she was eating. Breakfast and dinner are always supervised and food bowls are picked up almost as soon as they're empty. When a dog walks away from their dish, the others can approach without any fights but it took a lot of training. A funny side note that I JUST discovered the other day (we've had Panda since September 2005)... When we got Panda, she would hang over her bowl when she was finished. I was cautious because I thought she was showing possessiveness and might show aggression towards me if I reached for her bowl. I would always push her back behind me with my knee, tell her "leave-it" and pick up her bowl. It took me this long to FINALLY figure out what this behavior was... she was eagerly waiting for me to pick up the bowl to see if there was anything underneath it that she missed 
I also did one-on-one training with Panda because if food hit the floor she'd react in a negative way if another dog went after it. So in a separate room I'd drop food on the floor in front of her and tell her to leave it. If she went for it, I said "leave it" again and covered the food with my foot. I then said "look at me" and gave her a better treat than what was on the floor when she made eye contact. We did this several times a week just before we went to bed. It took several sessions. Maybe she was just eager for training but she did learn that even if another dog gets what is on the floor, there was always more if she just looks at me. Another thing we do is make them all sit for a treat. It teaches them all patience. We have had aggression with a couple of members in the pack... Meesha, our Schipperke-mix, is easy to set off with a pack-instinct attack... the other is our blind sheepie. When we couldn't figure out a solution, we brought in a professional trainer to help us. I think you need someone who has experience with aggression but teaches you to handle it with a humane approach. You might ask your vet or call around to see who is qualified to give you advice. But I do think you need help now before things get any worse. These two dogs sound like great girls... maybe a little help from a trainer will make things more peaceful for all of you. |
| We had two and have them at ten weeks old. Both female. Never have problem with them only occasional fight when they are playing. They have the same drinking bowl and separates food dish, sometimes they share in one dish.They are the most friendly pups in our neighborhood, to people or to other dogs. They hate the crate, so we never have them trained in the crate. They sleep in the laundry area now and put a gate.
The advantage of getting two, the puppy will never feel homesick with the mother and littermates, get adjusted fast and never get bored. All they do is play all day, a few nap here & there. Becasue they are tired playing all day, then you will have your night at peace. I never had a problem with them at night. They are such a good puppy... never regret i get two. |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|