Pros and Cons of Raising Two Litter Mate Puppies

Upon visiting a breeder, prospective puppy owners at times may find it challenging to pick a puppy among the litter. At times, they may be debating on two puppies and may therefore come to the conclusion of ''what if I adopt both''?

This choice however, needs to be thoroughly evaluated as it is not easy as it may seem. Indeed, responsible breeders are mostly aware of the difficulties of raising two puppies at a time and therefore, they may categorically refuse to give two away. However, some breeders that enjoy the profit of giving two away at once, may not intercept with your decision.

Raising sibling dogs may have advantages and disadvantages.

• The biggest disadvantage is that it takes double the trouble. House training one puppy is unnerving enough that two may really make it really quite impossible. You may find yourself, correcting and cleaning up the mess of one pup while the other is soiling at another location. Because small pups may pee and poop every 3-4 hours, you will soon get the idea.
• Puppies may also need very close supervision, they need to be watched as they can easily get into trouble. You may find yourself correcting one pup that is chewing the couch while the other is right about to take care of your shoe.
• The idea of raising two sibling puppies is almost impossible if owners are at work half of the day. They require constant supervision, unless the owner will put up with cleaning up two soiled crates.
• One of the main issues that owners of sibling puppies must deal with is the disadvantage of the puppies bonding too much together. This often creates two dogs that feel better being among each other than with their owner. This creates problems that may intercept with the training and bonding process with the owner. Two pups raised together may not be able to flourish into complete dogs but as two half dogs that sleep, play and eat together for all day.
• For this reason it is recommended to keep the puppies separated for most of the day, scheduling only a couple of set play-times. This way the puppies will bond more with the owner and concentrate their energy in pleasing the owner in obedience training. Left to cater to each other on their own, the puppies will choose the easy way, which is to focus on carrying on their own lives.
• This is visible upon scolding the pups. If one should correct one puppy, often that puppy will not care much of the correction because it will forget all about it by playing with its brother a few seconds later. This teaches the puppy not to give much importance to the owner, because it has the opportunity to bond with its litter-mate.
• Keeping the puppies separated may be quite challenging because it often translates into dividing the chores in two. Owners therefore will find themselves, walking one puppy and then the other, feeding one and then the other, training one and then the other, doubling the time for just about everything. This can be time consuming and both mentally and physically draining.

However, raising two puppies together have some advantages.

• One of them is that they may be fun to watch. Two puppies may provide hours of entertainment. Owners often find themselves shutting off their television, just to watch them romp around.
• The puppies benefit from playing together as well, as they get to get rid of excess energy.
• They also get to polish their ''soft mouths'' skills. In other words, they correct each other when one bites too hard by squealing in pain, allowing themselves to learn how to bite softer. Often, such skills are retained when playing with the owner.

Most owners do not have the time and patience to accomplish this. This is why often those who give it a try often end up rehoming one puppy. However, those that are determined enough, have lots of patience and time on hand may be able to raise two well behaved puppies that may ultimately be able to grow to their full potential.