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Pupforum presents your training questions answered by professional dog trainers.
Lynne has been training dogs since 1985. She has worked as head trainer for two facilities, a studio trainer (print ads, commercials and television) and as a continuing ed and certification rep for what was then the largest dog training company in the US. Lynne is a member of the IACP and keeps her training techniques current by attending various seminars and reading books. She currently competes in the sport of schutzhund, has a registered therapy dog, and has started her young Papillion in agility. Lynne owns and runs Blazing Trails K9 Academy in Santa Clarita/Antelope valley California.
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11/14/2006
I am in a tough situation and don't know what to
do. My husband and I adopted two male 6-month-old Maltese-poodle puppies from the same litter about two months ago. They were the last two of the litter and we felt bad about separating them and thought maybe we could raise them together so they could keep each other company. I really wish I had researched this before we made that decision because now I am reading so much information on why it's a bad idea. It has been a lot more work than we
anticipated but the thing I am most worried about is
the over-dependence my dogs have with each other.
Training has been difficult because I cannot
separate the two of them for any length of time
without the other one getting distraught and barking
and crying. And this goes on for hours even when I
don't give in to them and put them back together to
see each other or bring them in the same room.
I feel
more bonded to one - the less dominant puppy - more
so than the other. The more dominant puppy is very
headstrong and seems to be independent and doesn't
seem to want to respond to any commands or our
authority. I feel like I am doing a great detriment
to both of them because I am unable to give them
both the training that they need as long as I have
both of them. I am considering contacting a rescue
organization to help me place one of the puppies in
a good home but I'm not sure if this is the right
thing to do.
They are both great dogs, no aggression
problems, good temperaments and good with kids and
other dogs. It's just that I'm concerned about how
dependent they've become with each other and don't
know what I should do. Thanks for your help.
(monica_m, California)
You HAVE gotten yourself into a tough situation here.
I think most trainers see this a lot however. I cannot
make your decision for you (whether or not you should
keep your dog/s) but can only tell you how I would
handle it if you were to keep them. It is up to you to
decide if it is worth the work in the long run or not.
I think SOME of the equation in this case would depend
on the gender of the dogs. Are they both male? Female?
Or one of each? Are they spayed/neutered? Sometimes as
the dogs in these situations get older there is some
sibling rivalry that starts to occur and that can
create even more problems.
If you decide to keep both
of them, you should take that into consideration and
prepare for it now. Read up on how to
be a fair and
consistent pack leader (one of my previous articles
titled "Who's Leading Who" covers this briefly). And
don't feel overly inclined to support the underdog as
this can create even more tension. The more dominant
dog will begin to "punish" the more submissive dog for
asserting himself when you're around.
Part of what you are describing is what I call the
"twin syndrome". Meaning, these dogs gain all sense of
"self" from each other. When separated, they don't
know who they are or how to behave. They feed off each
other’s behaviors. In order to break this cycle, they
need to be separated and allowed to go through the
stress period long enough for them to learn to stand
on their own "four paws".
With some clients with this
particular issue I've recommended placing one or the
other in a kennel environment for a week. Make sure
the kennel understands what is going on and be sure to
find a good place for that dog to stay. Work with
the dog at home on obedience exercises (my suggestion
would be the more dominant of the pups stays home and
gets worked with since that is the one with the
training issues). Work on leadership and confidence
building exercises. Basically control the dog’s entire
environment. He/She should be on a leash when in the
house, and under control. Then you might even consider
switching and putting that one in the kennel and
keeping the other one at home and working with that
dog. Or putting them both in kennel for a week or two.
The goal is just to provide one on one training to
both dogs without the support of the "sibling". Then
bring them home but don't allow them to hang together
too much initially. Enforce obedience commands when
they are around each other (any good trainer worth
his/her weight in gold can help you with this if you
need it). If you use crates, or play pens, make sure
you have separate ones for both of them. Take them on
separate walks. Be a strong and consistent pack
leader. And most of all, DONT give in.
This would be my advice if you want to keep both dogs.
Maybe the best answer would be to try it and see, and
if it doesn't work out, THEN consider rehoming.
For others reading this article I would suggest that
before you purchase two littermates together (or even
non-littermates of the same age) you thoroughly
research how this can best be done. It IS hard to
develop two individual dogs when you're raising both
of them together.
Hope this helps!
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