getting 2 puppies

[chickensandbees]

My mum is looking to get two puppies from a litter after her dog died recently. Would you have any advice on whether it makes any difference if you get two boys, two girls or one of each?

Definitely not two boys from the same litter as they will fight once they hit 18 months or so. AFAIK, it's not advisable to get littermates - lookup littermate syndrome and most responsible breeders wouldn't home a pair together.
Do you know why she wants a pair? Can you imagine the training with double trouble?!

Would not advise getting two litter mates.

I wouldn't recommend it all, and no decent breeder would let her buy two anyway

she's always had two dogs, but usually a few years between them, I'll look at littermate syndrome. We thought they would be good company for each other.

Two litter mates can work, with luck and dedicated ownership (separate walks and training etc), but it has a high risk of being an unmitigated disaster. I've read enough about it to know it's not something I would ever do.

Kittens are great in pairs. Puppies less so.

I've done it, its super hard though. Separate walks, meals, training and attention otherwise they won't leave each other and cry constantly and they won't learn properly together. It must be done from the get go as once they've bonded and refuse to leave each other it'll be extremely difficult to fix. I wouldn't suggest getting 2 from the same litter. It is not x2 work it is x10.

@LFQuery

Kittens are great in pairs. Puppies less so.

We had kittens as pairs when I was younger and that worked really well.

I wouldn't recommend it all, and no decent breeder would let her buy two anyway

This.
Apart from the risk of littermate syndrome, it’s also easy to forget just how much work and how stressful puppies are. Two at once is not a good idea in so many levels.

We had kittens as pairs when I was younger and that worked really well

Kittens are not puppies.

We had 2 dpuppies of different breeds together.. Would never have considered 2 from the same litter...

Litter mate syndrome doesn't only mean siblings, its puppies of a similar age. Doesn't matter if you get 2 different breeds or not, it can still go tits up

Please read this thread

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/pets/4250622-Rehoming-my-dog

It’s a MNer having to rehome one of their two dogs because of littermate syndrome.

Don't do it! I did, love them to pieces but never again

@Nightbear

Please read this thread

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/pets/4250622-Rehoming-my-dog

It’s a MNer having to rehome one of their two dogs because of littermate syndrome.

Thank you!

Look a thread in the doghouse where everyone agrees so it must be right.

Dont do it.

I also question the breeder that is happy to sell two puppies to one owner.

A relative by marriage got two male pups from the same litter - all very lovely and cute and bonded, friendly pups - they NEVER got recall nailed, "oh they are naughty boys" - the pups would just rely on each other and egg each other on. They did a bit of individual training - but clearly not enough. One or both of them would disappear for hours - last I heard these 5yr old males were now never allowed off lead on walks.

Awful idea - please don't do it.

I also wouldn't trust any breeder who allowed two puppies from the same litter to go together!

Please don't do it. And I would be surprised if any decent breeder would accept it, for all the reasons given by PPs.

Another one adding to the chorus of "don't do it!"

I have littermates. Would strongly advise against it. It's cute for about 5 minutes.

Absolutely not. Litter mate syndrome is a real thing.

And absolutely no reputable breeder would let you have two litter mates

My puppy is 15 weeks. One puppy is immensely hard work. Two??? That’s one of those ideas that’s sounds great, til you’re wiping up piss from one pup, so don’t see the other shit on your favourite rug.

It’s a firm ‘don’t do it’ from me.

We have 3 dogs in the same family,all from the same litter. We were told by a trainer that it'd be impossible to train them because of this,but they've been fine,no issues or fighting. They were 2 years old in March,two live together with their mother,ours is the third and spends a lot of his time with them,but is at home with us at night and if someone is home in the day. But,I will say that we live on a farm and they have the run of a huge farmyard all day,plus work and walks. Perhaps it works because they always have space to get away from each other if need be?

I’ve kept two from the same litter many times. Never been a problem.
I have two seven month old ones at present. They copy the older digs more than each other & spend every evening curled up on the sofa with me, no bonding problems. They’re both fully house trained & obedience is coming in in leaps & bounds. Hoping to show both once shows start up again.

RenownedCertified Applied Animal BehavioristsDr. Suzanne Hetts and Dr. Dan Estephave made this 5-minute videoto debunk the Littermate Syndrome Myth and to redirect the tidal wave of bad information out there. When littermates display behavioral problems that have nothing to do with being littermates, we do our pets a disservice by being distracted by this myth.
Video

honestly dont. Get one puppy and then if you want another dog a few years later, then do it then. Littermate syndrome is a bloody nightmare. Harder to train, more likely to be focussed on each other rather than you. End up being aggressive to other dogs usually too

If theres a tidalwave of this opinion out there, then maybe this is for a reason and not worth the risk