 Barked: Mon Jan 16, '12 11:24am PST |
 | |  | | Right... To clarify, if I was unclear, it's not an inherently bad thing to adopt two puppies at once. If I wanted two dogs at once and found a really awesome breeder, I would consider doing it myself. It's just a TON of work. We discourage it because most people can not handle that work load - in fact, many people want two puppies at once because they believe it will be less work!
The reality is that if left to their own devices, one of two things typically happens:
The puppies bond with eachother to the point where they can not tolerate being away from eachother at all. Even being on leash on opposite sides of a room is intolerable. They live in their own world and don't care much about their human family. Their personalities are virtually indestinguable. They often get sick/die together because they can not handle the stress of being apart.
Or, the two had an iffy relationship to begin with, and as they mature they really start to get sick of the other always being in their space. Some of the most violent inter-household fighting I have seen is between littermates, specifically sisters.
Hopefully you already know all this, having worked with animals and done your research. I suppose I'm clarifying more for the benefit of lurkers who may be considering adding multipul dogs or adopting 2 puppies at once.
The way to prevent the two bad scenrios is to devote time to both puppies as individuals. Make individual vet appointments. Put them in separate puppy classes. Take one out to exercise while the other stays at home for alone time, then switch. In the end, it's almost more than double the work!
Then to add a one year old, who is still emotionally a puppy, did not have a good home to start, is not used to living with other dogs (Huskies are notorious resource guarders) and may not even remember what a tiny puppy is... It could potentially be 6 months before you can have all three dogs together, and even that may be on limited terms.
I do get it.
Ember was part of bad littermate scenerio #1. Her brother was hit by a car and killed, so she became so depressed, anxious and frustrated she was driving the humans insane. Much to Vance's chagrin, she immediately transferred all her neediness to him when they met. I could not leave them loose, alone together for over 9 months. But I also could not leave her alone without him nearby. It was a TON of work - and that's without even considering her health issues and dog aggression (also now thankfully cleared up). I tell people all the time, do not adopt a dog because you "have to," and do not adopt a dog sight unseen unless you are ready for anything.
When it was me and Vance on our own, living down the street from the training facility with all the time in the world... I was ready for anything. Now that Vances heath issues are dramatically worse and my boyfriend brought home a dog aggressive Husky (and got reamed for not being able to say "no") I am no longer ready for anything. I've turned away countless Huskies in need of homes, including a one-eye who was now healthy, but the owner thought he was ugly now, a one-year-old who just needed some exercise, a 13-year-old who was found wandering in the woods, blind, a middle-age girl who was basically perfect but her owners were military and moving... Part of working with animals is knowing when to say "no." |  |  | |  |
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