# Taking home Littermates



## saptlp1606 (Oct 19, 2014)

Hello all,

Has anyone had experience in taking two littermates at the same time? 

What I have been reading is that although it is not recommended it can work if you keep the training separate. My wife and I are basically empty nesters and were looking for a dog to join us in our active lifestyle. Running etc..........We found a local breeder that had a litter in late September and went for a visit a couple of weeks ago and fell in love with two little boys.

We understand the time commitment and needed patience for training.


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

I wouldn't because the human to dog bond takes time. Two litter mates are already bonded and you will be the outsider.

My wife are and were empty-nesters when we got our two (at different times from different breeders).

Get one now and one next year would be what I recommend.

RBD
rebirddog.blogspot.com


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

There are breeders/pro trainers that do it with good results, but us commoners have a harder time of it.
All three of my dogs were bought at different times, and it still wasn't easy on some days. Crating or tying out one dog so I could work with the next one. Trying to get one to quite when you answer the door, and the other starts barking and jumping.
If I was considering having multiple puppies (even if not from the same litter) I know I would need to send them to a pro trainer. Good trainers aren't cheap, and I've seen people hold both dogs back because they couldn't afford to send both of them.

Vizsals are so time consuming. If you have haven't owned the breed, I could never in good conscious recommend getting two pups at one time. Enjoy your first one, and the decide if a second is in your future.


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

We only have one vizsla, but we do have two 7 month old lab pups, from the same litter - brother and sister. From experience, I'm not sure if I would do that again. With that said, they are both great dogs, but the work that I have had to put into them separately has worn me out - from potty training to field training, every training has to be done separately to increase your bond with the pup. 

As Texas Red said, the use of a professional trainer may be necessary. We did this and he separated them for field training. It helped us immensely once they got home. Now they aren't so dependent on each other. 

Another thing that I think helped was although they are littermates, they weren't the closest of the littermates. We kept a male and a female and it seems that all of the males had bonded and all of the females had bonded. 

If you have specific questions, feel free to PM me. My thoughts are - it can work, but it requires a TON of work on your part.


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## tknafox2 (Apr 2, 2013)

I have known several folks who have raised sibling pups... all with little success/ extensive work, training, and destruction.... from the get go they have each other to fall back to.
They feed off of each others bad behavior, no matter how good they try to be.
They don't need a person, because they have a litter mate. You become an object of disdain as opposed to the object they most want to please.
Competition usually is not much of an issue, because they form their own hierarchy early on, one will always be the leader, the other the follower. but beware what the two can think up on their own, and carry off as a duo. 
It is recommended to raise one pup, and introduce the second once you have established control of the first pup... what ever age that may be, usually close to the 1 yr mark.
GOOD LUCK... You could always be a trial case for this forum and keep us posted with day to day progress... WE would all LOVE it. ;D


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