Litter Mates-- Double the Joy; Triple the Time

[Ashley, Sadie and Coal]

Hello doodle friends.  I am thinking I should try to keep a journal of sorts here on DK, so that friends who are thinking about getting litter mates can make an informed decision or at least have an an idea about one crazy family's experience.  Most importantly, I don't want to forget all of the little milestones and stories about our puppies, and I am sure I will with the hectic life of having three human children and two fur babies. By blogging here on DK, maybe we can help someone else, keep a journal of their lives and get much-needed advice all at the same time.  

Entry 1:

We decided on December 26, 2013 that it was time for a puppy.  We wanted a doodle because I have allergies, and I was able to live with toy poodles as a child.  My boys wanted a larger breed, we love the personalities of labs and goldens, and we knew of a breeder of golden doodles nearby.  At the school where I work, many families have doodle pups from this breeder, and we were impressed with each one we have met.  Researching the breed convinced me that this was the way to go. What I did not research, was "raising two puppies at the same time." More on that later...  

We went to visit the breeder that very day.  We were impressed with her clean, organized dog quarters, and the well-behaved, intelligent adult dogs on site.  We met the parents of the litter, then met the pups, and we knew right away that Sadie was our girl.  The pups were very young, but we only had to wait a week to bring them home.  As we are preparing to leave, I hear my husband say, "I really think we should get two."  Our three children and the breeder all lit up like Christmas trees.  The breeder said something like it will be harder, but if you are consistent and work together, it can be done.  I however, after recovering my voice, replied, "Don't you think we should get one now and come back sometime down the road?"  His response was along the lines of they will keep each other company and with three kids, no one will be left out.  That sounded reasonable, but I still thought two was more than I had bargained for.

As we rode home, I told the kids not to get their hopes up, that I was sure we could get one puppy, but two seemed like a lot.  Of course the replies were all about how they were going to do so much for these puppies and they would never get tired of them, blah, blah, blah...  When we stopped by to see my mother-in-law (aka the animal whisperer--for real), she surprised me by agreeing that the two dogs would be best. I trust her... all animals and people love her.  I remained unsure, but allowed myself to entertain the idea.  We reserved a boy from the same litter, so that we could have first pick, just in case we decided to get two.  

We went home, and I spent the next seven days researching goldendoodles and how to prepare for a puppy.  We went to the pet store to get supplies for a puppy or two.  We got one crate with a divider, and the other things on the "bringing home your puppy" list.  My husband said he firmly believed we should get two.  At some point during the week, I fell so in love with goldenddoodles that I said okay. What I really fell into was the the trap of cute and cuddly, the excitement of new puppies and the idea of how could it not be wonderful with more to love... I can hear you groaning... ;)

On January 2, we brought home our TWO puppies, from the SAME litter a day earlier than we had expected.  They were five weeks old.  I now know that wasn't the best timing.  We were given the advice to keep them separate as often as possible, especially when we are at home with them.  We were instructed to keep them in their crates, with us on a leash or in an exercise pen. Being the diligent OCD type people that we are, we followed instructions to the letter and our experience got off to a great start.

Sometime during the first week, I began to notice that Coal was unhappy when separated from Sadie, thus began my research on "raising two puppies together."   Little did I know that I was about to discover:  

Number 1:  Never ever get two puppies at the same time.  

Number 2:  There is a thing called "Litter Mate Syndrome,"  and we were at great risk of having to deal with that for the next 10 or 12 years. The web has a lot of info on LMS.  And 90% of it is not positive.

Number 3:  The best thing to do is to re-home one of the puppies.  Well, it might have been a mistake, but my family nor myself were able to choose a puppy, nor did we even consider getting rid of one. Too many pups need rescuing.  I was not about to add to that issue if I could help it.

Number 4:  There are things you can do to minimize this risk, if by chance you have already been dumb enough to bring two puppies from the same litter home.

Hmmm. You might be thinking that it sounds like a lot of work.  It is. You might also be thinking that this lady should have done her research before biting off more than she could chew.  You are right.  As I frequently tell my students and my children, we have to accept responsibility for our actions, both positive and negative.  We are.  What we know for sure is that we have to do this, and we have to do our best to create doodles who are happy, obedient well-adjusted family members.

Next time, I will record our triumphs and trials over the first few weeks of having litter mates.  For now, we are exhausted (in a look what we have accomplished kind of way), we are in love with Sadie and Coal, and we are completely sold on goldendoodles. 

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

 The worst thing that I read here is taking puppies from their litter mates at five weeks. Whoever your breeder is could not be recommended. This is a big red flag issue. Puppies learn so much between 5-8 weeks, bite inhibition being one very important thing. I look forward to hearing more.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I will follow your blog with interest.