We have 2 ,7month old gsds 1,6month old gsd.Its not a full time job its a early morning till late evening job.You have to be with them all day.It helps that we live on a 120 acres.You have to watch there actions and change the way you handle them.For a while they did play together.Then we had to stop that.and start alternating them in and out of there pens seperatly.Now were starting to walk them together a lil.It is very time consuming and there is no breaks.But we love every one of them and don"t regreat a minute.The differance with us is my wife dosn"t work and I don"t work much in the winter.A very big plus.

For a while I was fostering my dogs', female littermate. I had her for about 3 mos and it was hard. It was so much fun to have them both, but training was hard, walking was near impossible and they got into so much trouble together. Once she was adopted out, my dog became a little angel again & regained the little training she had at the time. I won't ever get 2 puppies. JMO.

Hey all
i got myself 2 GSD puppies of 6wks old..at 1st they wre fine always lying with each other and playing, now they 11wks old and they slp 2gether fine but in the waking hours its difficult to keep them from fighting. Its a male and female(bro and sis).
the male is slightly bigger then the female and more dominant.
training isnt a hassle, they listen to me most of the time. even walking them is easy. the only time i have a problem is when i let them run lose without there leashes. they play ok and walk around but after a few minutes they will start attacking each other and fighting. some people tell me they just playing but it sound aggressive to me especially since sometimes 1 of them will yelp as if hurt.
when they get into this then they dont listen and dont stop. i have to physically pull them aprt and hold them. then as long as im standing there and with them they wont fight, but i turn my back and they at it again.
i need help as this is the first time i am rasing dogs myself, i used to have a white GSD when i was younger, but these 2 r my own responsibilty. and i didnt read enough b4 i got them. i read about how they grow and what to feed them and there common problems and how to make sure they healthy. but never about having more than 1 puppy at a time.
what do i do? is this going to last forever? do they ever accept each other?
my only worry is that they male is not allowing the female to eat. if i dont feed them on seperate corners and keep them tied down while they eat then the male will go over to the females bowl and bark at her then eat her food while she just sits there and moans. as soon as i noticed this i started feeding them seperately!Please help.

Hi Yusrie,

Do a search on this site and you'll find a lot of good information on how to raise 2 puppies together. There are definitely things you should and should not do when you have 2 dogs.

You'll also find Ed's advice on how to establish yourself as a good pack leader and how to raise & train puppies in general.

You have a lot of reading ahead of you...LOL...but I can tell you everything I learned on this site has been invaluable and it really works!

You are a braver person than I to take on 2 puppies at the same time (I'm exhausted just thinking about it)

You said the only time you have a problem is when you let them run loose without leashes. So keep the leashes on.

Good information on the Leerburg site in the form of articles and Q&A's here: http://www.leerburg.com/2dogs.htm

Also, as Sarah said, read up on pack leadership. Here's a Leerburg article: http://www.leerburg.com/puppygroundwork.htm

You may have to crate the pups and work with each one separately. One is in the crate while the other one is out.

 Quote: Sandy Moore

You may have to crate the pups and work with each one separately. One is in the crate while the other one is out.

Sandy's got it. Their attention needs to be on you, not each other. This is a perfect example of where a crate for each pup is a must-have.

Whoo-boy! Good luck to you. It makes me shudder to think of having two pups at the same time!

i joined this borad because i had a problem with 2 dogs. However i did have the same sex. i was emailing Ed directly with my problems and it got down to rehoming or 100% seperation. All dogs are different but in my opinion it takes a lot to have multiple dogs and honestly my lifestyle was not for it. I also did not think it was fair to the dogs to live in stress like that. Now i have one dog that gets all my time and it is wonderful. Just my experience on the issue.

Thanx...i reposted because i couldnt find the other post. and the last time i checked it there was no response to it...thank u i have read eds articles and i have all the e-books aswell...
all i wanted to really know, something i couldnt get clarity on was if the fighting was normal and if the aggression levels were normal for 12 week old pups. a friends of mine that has had dogs almost all her life says they are just playing but i feel its a bit rough. and i do step in a stop it. and i have read all about being a good pack leader, i have some of it down, like going through doors and gates first..the pups wait for me to go thru first before they go. and when it comes to feeding, i fill there bowls infront of them just on a higher level than what they can reach for now, but b4 i give it to them i used to ask them to sit, now they already go sit without me saying anything..and they sit on there respective sides and w8 till i say eat before they go for the bowls...
i used the growling technique for when it comes to them not listening and it worked although my throat hasnt been surviving it. lol...they also most of the time dont grab things out of my hands...expect when we have now gotten very excited and ran around and they are now in hyper drive then they tend to jump at my hands to grab whatever i have if im not fast enuf to put it in my pocket or somewhere they cant see it.
for the most of the situation they are briliant and havent been adifficult to handle and they listen to me and i feel like there pack leader. like i said the only problem i have is when i let them lose on the field area outside my house. they get to run like crazy and do what they want really bcoz i want them to have a bit of freedom in the day to be puppies. thats when it all starts. and they will b ok for a while but then the ramming and rolling and growling starts and i have been redirecting there energies into toys since this morning and i have noticed as long as they are busy with the toy they wont bite or get as aggreesive, i got a tug for the male and a rubber ball for the female since she doesnt have as strong a hold as he does and she doesnt seem interested in holding onto the tug either where as he holds on for dear life. but the moment i say give it then they release most of the time still getting used to it.
i even got them to start jumping off the ground all paws off the ground.
so to some it all up, they are great puppies and i could never give 1 away. i just have to put more effort into seperating them when they do fight. as for completely seperating them its gona be hard since they prefer to share a kennel. they have there own seperate sections of the yard but when i had them seperate they cry until i put them together.

 Quote: yusrie khondker

as for completely seperating them its gona be hard since they prefer to share a kennel. they have there own seperate sections of the yard but when i had them seperate they cry until i put them together.

It sounds as if they have already become "doggy." You said you already read the articles on raising two puppies, right? The dogs are learning that the other puppy is more fun than you. You're going to have a much harder time with training if they are that attached, IMO.

I know it seems sad to keep them apart, but that's just thinking like a human, not a dog. They'll get used to being apart. They'll come to prefer YOU if you do it right, and therefore you'll have more control over the dogs...essentially, they'll prefer pleasing you by not fighting than they will about following their own desires. You need to be able to make them stop the fighting, play or not, at any time.

 Quote: yusrie khondker

when they get into this then they dont listen and dont stop. i have to physically pull them aprt and hold them. then as long as im standing there and with them they wont fight, but i turn my back and they at it again.

Even if it's play now, at some point it could stop being play and by then they're huge and used to doing what they want and then you have a big situation on your hands!

I don't think the issue is whether it's play or not, too aggressive or not. Either way, it sounds like you think it's a problem behavior and the best way to stop that is to seperate them enough so that they're spending more time with you than they are with each other.

2 cents. Good luck

thank u...i have already started creating a second area for the other pup, they used to sleep together in the same kennel, but i have started contructing a seperate section on the opposite side of our yard...
since im seperating them and il be playing with them individually and training them seperately...they will obviously be feeling like they r the only one i give attention to, by what time or age or indication can i take them out and play with them together at the same time? or let them roam the yard freely together?