Don't EVER! Buy Two Puppies

LITTERMATE SYNDROME: Today, Garret explains why getting 2 puppies at the same time is a mistake. - You already HAVE littermates? Find out how to minimize littermate syndrome, and raise 2 well-adjusted dogs!



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[PrayforMe]

We had two littermates and it was absolute hell. The separation anxiety was intense and so sad to witness. I’m a small gal with two 80lb GSM and could not walk them by myself together. I got dragged multiple times with injuries. The crying and anxiety when I switched to walking one was terrible. He speaks the truth.

[Dave_Wave]

We've trained littermates. We train separately, recommend feeding separately, even sleep in separate crates in separate rooms. This must be done from the beginning. They may NEVER be left home alone together. In my opinion is it's 8x harder.

[everythingsrt]

My wife and I are big boxer dog people (German working bloodlines) I have had 6 in my life. We got 2 puppies from the same litter we were getting one but we noticed when we would go to visit the puppy we were getting he was inseparable with his brother. So we asked if we could have both. Not one problem. Not one fight in 10 years they never so much as growled at each other once. They would share bones etc. they loved each other so much. We lost one at 10 years old to thyroid cancer we still have one of them. He is now 12. I understand it doesn’t always work out like that but we could see the bond right from 6 weeks when we would visit. The breeder told me they have never seen two brothers like that before. They were big really big Zeus was 110lbs and wore a 24” collar and not overweight a big frame and his brother was 85lbs they shared everything. We got a new puppy and same thing he learned it from manny. Both dogs were from boxers Von Bochbett. Which in my opinion are the best German working dog breeder in north America in my opinion. Maybe we just got lucky

[mdye]

We have two, 19 month old female border collie littermate’s, and it has been a lot of work. The breeder pushed back on us getting the two together, to her credit. We have made it work because we are home full time to train them. There were some “fights” along the way, but they never locked up. Otherwise they’re joined at the hip But they know that we are boss. A lot of work.

[hannahcourie]

I was really lucky, I got 2 puppies 2 months apart. We rescued our first in December 2017 at 8 weeks old and then our second in February 2018 at 16ish weeks old. We trained them together and thankfully never had any issues. They turn 7 this year and are very well trained good boys and best friends. I’m upset with myself that I did not educate myself about this prior to getting them but am very lucky and grateful it worked out for us, as it seems it is not very common. Thanks for the info!

[plumreid]

I hate to bring this up, but you don't want dogs that are the same age because taking care of two elderly dogs at the same time would be terrible.

[doubles]

There are experts who insist one should never get two puppies and there are experts that insist one should always get a bonded pair. I was fortunate to connect with a breeder who listed the advantages and disadvantages of both scenarios and let me decide for myself. I chose a bonded pair and they work very well together. Yes, it was a lot of work for me in the early days. But they are now a fantastic team who complement each other very well, but they can function independently if needed.

[amirkestin]

I had 2 puppies of working line GSD.
They were love of my life Elza&Eve
Sent them to training
Elza lived for 10 years
Eve lived 14.5 years.
Best dogs💜

[sharkfence]

I did this with two male Malinois...talk about having fun

[no_handlebars]

Ive watched you tom Davis and will for guidance on my journey with my german shepherd/ pyrenese mix and myselfs training since she was 8 weeks till now being almost two years old. She is as strong an an ox but as friendly as a catapillar. She pulled hard at first but with these clear instructions it has made a world of difference. Using the right tools properly any dog can become a saint. My dad watched a few of your videos today and was surprised by how fast good training can make a difference. He has taken my girl out maybe 5 times in these 19 months and he never uses the prong or e collar and never understood why what she had learned to be so behaved on a simple flat collar. And today he finally was understanding because of your guidance . He told me to watch your vids and i said lol why do you think she is so well off i do watch and learn from this. He learned some techniques of what he was doing wrong in the handful of times he has walked her and realized shes an almost perfect dog. I thank you from the heart for being here for dumb trainers like me who with your videos stand s chance to have a dog you can live in harmony with

[meredithcarroll]

We had two littermates. They were the only puppies that survived (9 were born total, but momma was a first time mommy and laid on 6 of them the first night). The third surviving puppy had been born sickly and ended up passing when she was about 2 months old. We wanted one from the start, but the second puppy had *no* interest. Literally no one wanted her. We made a concerted effort to keep them split up as much as possible. One pup became very attached to my husband, the other became very attached to me. It was still very hard on "my" dog when "his" dog died very suddenly when she was 2 & 1/2, but not nearly as bad as it would have been if we hadn't been so purposeful about not having them spend all day every day together.

[meld]

Omg... this is so true! I have 2 that are litter mates. I thought the litter mates thing was all bs, but it's so true and it's been hell at times! It's getting better but I don't recommend ever get 2 at the same time!
Ours are 2+ years old now. It sucks because they can never be off leash at the same time outside together. They will run when together and they don't hear you call them and they don't come back. It really sucks because they're the best dogs when separated or alone. We live in the country and we normally don't have to leash our dogs, but these 2 need to be leashed at all times. I will never get 2 pups at the same time again. I do not recommend it at all.

[JLSPiglet]

Makes sense. Thanks for all your advice and for sharing your knowledge! ❤

[kalikeleka]

I have two littermates, brothers. They just turned a year old in March. I have had no problems with them at all.

[bonitahugo]

I have two great Danes from the same litter that are now almost 7 years old. They have been such a joy and have no signs of littermate syndrome. They can be separated and do fine. They can be together and do fine. My daughter also has two great Danes from that same letter and she has no issues and I have even babysat, all four days at the same time with no issues so wild this could be an issue for some dogs. It’s not always the case.

[udowannun]

The best thing I did for my dog (she was a shelter dog, had been kept solely outside & neglected for her first few year, I admittedly had no idea how to begin with her) was take her to spend time & walks with an incredibly unbothered & well-trained dog.

[michaelreeves]

Usually love your videos and find them all to be pretty insightful. We were able to get one of our girl German shepherds at 12 weeks and the other at 24 weeks. They were littermates born 6 minutes apart and they do not have littermate syndrome. It is possible for them to not have littermate syndrome, but I will say it took a lot of work as my fiancé and I took the approach of putting all the training and development into a singular dog and with dividing and conquering not only do we each have a dog that looks at us as alphas but also we were very emphatic on everything being the humans not the dogs.

[varenikje]

I have 1 one year old “puppy” and that is stressful enough! And I STILL have people say “oh she’s only a puppy” so they think I am expecting a lot from her 🙄 but then they sure don’t want her jumping on THEM! Or sometimes they do think that’s okay.

[csc]

I walked my 3 dogs each over 80 lbs, one a CC, in my quite neighborhood all the time. They were gotten about one year apart.

[corahlorow]

I got two aussies and learned this the hard way

I’m glad I’m the other side of it but wish I would have been more mindful in beginning

We have been working on checking in with eyes more to help fix that