Two doodles? Help me decide

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

I just chose my first mini goldendoodle, he's six weeks old.
I've always thought I might want two. He has one sister left. Any thoughts,suggestions would be be appreciated about getting his sister now instead of waiting another year or so.

Pro and cons would be really appreciated.

Thanks

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Darling puppy.  I always enjoyed spacing my dogs - years- apart.  I like that the older dog is independent and I can concentrate on the puppy.  This however, is just my preference.  I have a 9 year old Springer Spaniel and two 5 year old doodles - we got the second doodle as an adult rescue when he was two.  It just so happens that he and Ned are the same age and share the same birthday.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Most trainers advise against getting littermates, for the resons discussed in the articles below. There are people here who have done it successfully, but I have always been advised against it. The articles have advice on what to do or not do if you decide to go ahead with it. 

Here are a few of good articles on "littermate syndrome":

http://paws4udogs.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/littermate-syndrome/

http://www.doglistener.co.uk/choosing/sibling-litter-puppies.shtml

http://www.canidae.com/blog/2010/01/challenges-of-raising-litter-ma...

http://www.caninedevelopment.com/Sibling.htm

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Leslie -- If you decide to do this I would definitely read these articles so that you are completely prepared.  The first one fits our situation to a T.  We got two at once because our plans were that we were going to do Pet Therapy with both girls as sort of our "retirement hobby".  As it turned out, just like mentioned in this first article, our Lucy at right around 8 months all of a sudden became somewhat shy.  We attempted to do some therapy work with her but she just never really enjoyed it.  Sophie loved it and was a wonderful therapy dog but we never took Lucy to be tested.  Now that we lost Sophie Lucy's personality seems to be changing a little bit.  It will be interesting to see if at some point she might start to enjoy the therapy work. 

[Lynda Kamrath]

I would wait.  Two dogs are great, but two puppies have their problems.  For one thing, the puppies tend to bond with each other rather than with you.  I always have two dogs, but preferably a few years apart.  Having two puppies is like having twins.  You can make it work, but it is not the easiest thing for either of you.

[jenn D]

A long time ago I had litter mates (different breed) and it ended up being pretty difficult because of their bond. They had a love/hate relationship and it really impeded training.

[Jennifer Tramell]

I try to take the puppy cuteness out of the equation - you need to plan for your life with an adult dog, not life with a  puppy.  With this in mind, what do you want out of your adult dog?  Do you want a best friend, a companion, a dog in tuned with your emotions, a canine mind reader?  Or do you want a dog to entertain you? 

It is more difficult to build a one-on-one relationship when a puppy has his own canine friend.  He doesn't need as much from you.  As an adult dog you may find that your dog loves you but you don't have that "connection".  If you've dreamed of "Lassie", I think you should stick with 1 puppy.

If you want a dog to brighten your home and entertain you with his antics.  Something to observe and love rather than be intricately involved with, bringing 2 pups might be your answer.  You can watch the pups play, learn from each other, and amuse you with their antics. 

I have 3 doodles, 4 1/2 yrs old, 3 yrs old, and 6 months old.  I want "Lassie" out of my dogs, and I worry about this with my puppy.  She gets more excited about seeing the other dogs then seeing me.  I don't have the one-on-one time with her without being very intentional.  My first dog was pre-kids, just my hubby, me and the dog.  This dog was amazing.  A whistle, a look, or a nod and Cody knew what we wanted.  I haven't been able to have this connection with another dog - other dogs and kids have always been around.  If you want this relationship, I recommend that you take the time to get to know one pup at a time :-)

[Enid Ferner]

Years ago I got 2 puppies at the same time. (not litter mates). I would NEVER do it again....the more submissive pup had trouble bonding to me as she was more inclined to bond to the other pup. This is the way she grew up, preferring the companionship of our other dog and not very affectionate to humans.
Get one pup now and enjoy it, later when that dog is older/trained then consider another dog if you're ready. Having two dogs is wonderful but one at a time is best....

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Plus, if you get the first one really well trained and then get the second one, training should be easy.  I swear AnnaBelle looks to Lucy to make every decision.  If Lucy does it AnnaBelle will do it.  Don't get me wrong AnnaBelle does make some decisions on her own, like steeling whatever bone Lucy has at the first opportunity, but she looks to Lucy for a lot of the command ones like "COME".  (Wish we had worked a little harder with Lucy on that one).

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

That's exactly how it was/is with Oscar and my Lucy. Monkey see, monkey do! Funny story, when Oscar was just a few months old I tried brushing his teeth for the first time and he wanted absolutely nothing to do with a toothbrush. When he saw how Lucy seemed to actually enjoy getting her teeth brushed, it became a real treat to him and wanted his! To this day when I say, "Do you want to brush your teeth?", he comes running!

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Thanks again for taking time to answer my question. Sounds like having two dogs is nice, just not two puppies. I want to have a really loving , well trained doodle. So it sounds like I have a better chance of that happening if I get the dogs at different times, waiting till one is an adult before getting our second doodle.

Thank you all

[Wendy]

Hello, I'm a new member of the group. I found DK while doing research on adding a second puppy. My Clyde has only been home 2 weeks when I stumbled across an opportunity to add a 15 week old Doodle to the family. Clyde loves other dogs, and cries for the neighbor dog to come out and play. But for me, I realized that I was reacting to my emotional impulse, and decided that I should wait until Clyde is about year old to add another dog. Another really sleepless night and day of puppy craziness made me realize that I had enough on my plate. But, each decision is personal. Good luck!

[Lisa & Greg]

Yes, it was an emotional impulse decision on our part too when we brought home two puppies instead of one this past July. Others on this site know my story. I would never get two puppies at the same time unless I could devote most of my day to them. I work from home and my two daughters (22 & 19) live at home with us, but even so we don't have time to devote to training etc. They are a lot of work. We had a Keeshond puppy, Ruby Blue, who passed last year at age 15 and she was very loving and calm and she listened to us. Our doodles only pay attention to each other (mostly tussling and chasing) and we are sad because we feel no love toward us or attachment to us from them. It also makes training them super difficult. Even if they got along, you have to separate them to teach them which is not as easy as it may sound.

I tried to rehome one of our doodles but couldn't find a suitable new owner, so we still have both. We have contracted with a trainer but I'm not sure I agree with his approach, so the whole situation is causing a lot of anxiety.

Bottom line, if I had really thought through all of the time and effort having two puppies would take, I would not have gotten two. I let my heart guide me.

We are giving both puppies a lot of love and care and I'm hopeful someday they will feel part of our family. Right now the situation is a source of a lot of frustration and upheaval for our family, which is the opposite of what having a dog has ever been for me.

I know every puppy is different and ours is only one situation, but no matter what, you'll have to train the puppies so think about if you have time to spend time with each one separately etc.