Sibling puppy bonding

[Adey]

Hi.

Brand new to here.

More questions to follow, for now though.....

We're committed to two sibling girls but have been, retrospectively, advised against this as they would bond together as opposed to us ( me and my wife) with regards to training.

Any thoughts?

I can see the logic but hoping some individual work, mix and match, and single pup walks/play/training will counter any issues.

 

[dogmatize]

I know that other people will have their own ideas about whether this is a good idea or not but for what it's worth here's what i've found.

We have kept siblings from our own litters 5 times. Usually we've kept 2,but we have kept 3.

Maybe because they are whippets - other breeds may be different- they choose themselves which humans in the household they like best. I don't know that they bond any more with their siblings than they do with other dogs in the household to whom they are not related.

My "own" dog lived with 2 of his siblings for their whole lives but he has always been more bonded to me than anyone else, human or canine.

Some years ago we sold 2 siblings together , a male and a female. The female bonded to the man of the house, the male to his wife, even though the wife was at home all day with the dogs.

I think if the dogs are to be left on their own often that it may be easier for them to cope with company. I would expect them to settle more quickly into new surroundings.

 

[gypsysmum2]

I would never buy litter sisters. If you really, really must buy litter mates get a brother and sister. Best of all get a puppy, rear it to how you like it and then, when it is trained and settled, consider getting another dog. One puppy is hard enough to raise properly, let alone two! We tend to think that our dogs like another dog for company but they live with us and most find that that sufficient company. Some dogs resent sharing their owner with another dog. That is before they have to share toys and beds etc

Bitches of the same breed will often fight because they can be extremely territorial. It all goes back to reducing the gene pool when they lived in the wild. Mothers would drive their daughters away and litters sisters would drive their siblings away. Once they fall out then there is very rarely anything, other than rehoming one, that can be done. Other forms of aggression are treatable. Bitch to bitch aggression is almost always intractable.

If the breeds are completely different then you have a better chance of bitches co habiting in peace. Much better to be safe and mix the sexes.