Any advice for raising littermates together ?

[KurtNYC]

I have wanted a golden / lab mix for years and was dogless after the loss of Truman (my boxer). Found a litter of golden / lab mixes and adopted 2. One female and one male. They are now 12 weeks old and doing great. Will get their 2nd shots this week and then they can be more social.


Julia

I have had dogs of my own and I have lived with other people's puppies but I have never raised littermates. It is going well and they are happy dogs. My concern is that they may be slow to socialize with humans since they are so into each other. It kind of reminds me of twins in the human world. They almost have their own language and protest wildly when separated. I worked with them one at a time on leash this morning and the other was crated. Both barked, cried, and generally freaked out when they were crated and the sibling went downstairs with me for 10 mins.

I don't want to waste the opportunity (or responsibility) to get them off on the right foot in this life. I am a little concerned that I am not giving them enough one on one time. And would love hear from anyone who has raised littermates.


Riley (male)

[triguy46]

1. those are two GOOD dogs! Can't help with rearing, but....

my last two dogs, a chocolate and black lab, were full brothers. I got them when they were 9 and they were one of the best things that has ever happened to me. They tended to not so much ignore the other, but since they knew each other so well, did not require much from the other. When were out in our large pasture they would each go their way for a few minutes, then come back, kind of locate the other, "yep still here" then go off again. When I had to put the chocolate down, the black was never really the same.

Do it! keep them both! It will be great.

[KurtNYC]

3. their personalities come across in photos I think

she is serious and more laid back.

he is energetic and more in your face.

enjoying it so far.

[triguy46]

4. They both look like they've had a full day and time to relax, good on ya'

[nolabear]

2. Just be very involved with them, and tell them what to do a LOT.

Since you have a little pack there, which is really lovely with siblings, just gently remain The Boss and let them work out their relationship beneath you in the pack order.

They're just gorgeous, btw. I can smell that puppy breath from here.

[riderinthestorm]

5. I have two right now that are just 5 months so I'm three months ahead of you

got them both at 12 weeks as well. Like yours, mine are completely immersed in each other - the playing and tussling and sleeping together is... uhm, well pretty extreme sometimes but cute. I live on a farm so they have a lot of room to be puppies, and since I work outside all day too, they are outside many many hours in a day. They are evolving into fairly outgoing dogs but it is taking more time than if they were solo. I have a lot of clients who are here daily so they get to do a lot of meeting and greeting, and they certainly have their favorites already so I'm not too fussed at their pace. They are social and friendly, that's all I care about even if they aren't effusive.

Right now they're sacked out on my bed as I type this, nose to nose....

I've found they acted the same being separated from each other as they did being separated from me at the start - crying and barking - pretty normal for a puppy. When I take one for a training session, we go far, far away from the other so we don't hear the other one complain which cuts down on the distraction level. It took a couple of tries but they now understand that they WILL be reunited and it's cool. Just like they need to behave when they aren't with you, they'll figure out how to behave when they aren't with each other.

I can't work them together as they always interfere with each other when I try that. If I have two dog treats and ask them to sit, they both sit but then one will jump up with impatience and cause the other one to wiggle and move. Sort of a crazy jack-in-the-box effect. The one pup is extremely good about lying down on command but he throws himself down so hard, he almost always knocks into his sister and she leaps to her feet to get out of the way, whereby he has to leap up too.... You get the drift. I figure if I continue to work them individually, pretty soon I'll be able to do it with them both without the drama but for now they have to be done one at a time. Unfortunately they make me laugh too much when they are together so that's another reason they have to be done separately for me, to maximize effectiveness.

What's really great though, is that if I call them, and one of them is a wee bit distracted and isn't "listening", almost always the other one IS listening and comes right away, dragging the reluctant one along. The male especially is quite attached to me and is pretty zeroed in on what I'm doing/asking.

Your pups are very cute! Mine are mutts through and through with impossible pedigrees to ascertain. Ah well.