Keeping dogs from the same litter.

seasonalbiz

I'm about to buy two dogs and I seem to get conflicting information about whether its a good idea to have brothers from the same litter, or not.

Between info from friends and Google, there seems to be pitfalls to rearing two brothers from the same litter, and two males who are not related also.

The reason I am going to get two is so they keep each other company when I'm not home... that said, I want two Rottweilers so the last thing I want is them fighting with each other.

Any advise on the subject is much appreciated.

Fosterdog

There is no one answer, some littermates live together their whole lives with no problems, others hit maturity and want to kill each other. There is a much higher chance of this rivalry with littermates or two dogs the same age reaching maturity at the same time. Plus you have the added issues of not having time to train one dog fully before adding a second that learns from the first, they will pick up more bad habits from the each other.

Personally I would get one dog now and consider adding a second in a year to 18 months. I have yet to meet a reputable breeder who would let two dogs from the same litter go to the same home, it's usually something that is only allowed by puppy mills or backyard breeders. It make sure you know what you could be letting yourself in for with an unreputable source and make you're morally comfortable with what buying from such a breeder supports.

sheramber

Buying two of the same age can lead to fights over who is boss as both dogs reach maturity at the same time.

There may be no warning signs that there is a struggle going on until it erupts.

Can you face having to rehome one if that happens?

Having two dogs to train is double the work. You need to train them separately.

The pups will tend to bond with each other rather than with you. So they need to spend time apart getting one to one attention- individual training, individual walking. Do you have time for that?

I do someone who bought two pups but from different litters with very different personalities. he did successfully rear and train them but for the first 6 months they were trained and walked separately.

Saying you want two to keep each other company suggests there will not be somebody at home during the day. For housetraining how will you know which one has had an accident, who has chewed something etc?

Bringing up one pup is difficult. Bringing up two is not to be taken on lightly.