You are right...We did not do our research about getting a second dog, and I wasn't thrilled of the idea of having a second dog to begin with. And as far as my outlook on fighting...I dont want them to fight, but we cant keep them separated all day long. Also, please let me say that I don't have a "throw away" attitude..I am just trying to be realistic on what would be best for the puppies. We are just two inexperience people with two cute puppies who are looking for some people that may have had a similar experience that would be willing to give some advice.

You should have done all your research and thinking before you accepted responsibility for two lives.

If you aren't able to keep them seperated all day long, that means you cannot properly care for your dogs, and you should not have either of them.

Find them both new homes, with more informed and responsible owners.

 Quote: GenoBonnalie

but we cant keep them separated all day long. \

But you can though
Trust me, I have 7 dogs here and all are kept separate unless I am there to supervise. Some cannot be together at all with some of the others or I do have dogfights.

Crates are a wonderful thing. And, it allows the dog to have a space of their own to go to as well. My dogs will go to their crates when in the house if they get sick of the others or if they are tired and just want to get away.

Just as a point of reference about me, I am on my third puppy in 4 years, one of them is 4 and is an absolute joy, the middle pup was lost at a yr old to a tragic accident and the third pup turns 1 next month and has been the most difficult but rewarding dog I have even loved.

Without this place I shudder to think about where he and I would be right now with training and socializing and behavior.
You have come to the right place for straightforward honest and well informed help with your dogs. But they wont sugar coat anything!

If you crate train you absolutely can keep them separated all day long at this point....and housebreak them much more quickly in the process.

If you choose to let them interact it should be on a limited basis and only under direct hands on supervision.

Toys, food, affection..all of the good things in a pups life should never be done in a situation where they might feel like there is competition and the need to begin resource gaurding.

at 11 and 9 weeks old the most important thing is consistency, routine, and gentle firmness. And you, you are the single most important thing in that dogs life, he needs to bond with you not another puppy!!!

Dont set your puppies up to fail by putting them in a situation they are too youmg and inexperienced to handle.

more info...The dogs are left unsupervised from 10:00AM til noon and 1:00PM-4:00PM

Our backyard is pretty indestructable (if that matters)there is nothing to get into, and there are no cracks in the fences...(once again, I dont know if this matters)

Before we got the second puppy we were doing great with the first one. We had him potty trained in about 2 days, he sits and shakes, and is very loving.

He was 11 weeks when we got him...13 weeks now, making the younger one about 11 weeks.

I would recommend rehoming the second pup.
If you want to keep pup #1, it's time to start doing some serious learning (you already found the right place).

Where do you live, perhaps someone here can help finding a home for pup #2?

Im sorry but he is not physically able to be potty trained at 12 or 13 weeks, not reliably.

He is too young to be loose in the backyard unsupervised, no back yard is foolproof! And they are not protected from danger even in a fence, another dog could find a way in, a bad person could steal or hurt them, any number of things could potentially happen.
A pup that age needs to be supervised and kept safe just a toddler would be.

They should be in their own crate when not being directly supervised and each pup needs lots of one on one time with you.

Those few hours a in the morning and afternoon would be a perfect amount of time to be safely resting in their crates while no one is home.

where does he sleep at night?
Where does the other pup sleep at night?

Here are some article links to get you started:

Ed's Philosophy

Groundwork to becoming Puppies Pack Leader

Raising Two Pups at the Same Time

Theory of Motivation

It may seem as though we are being harsh, but we are not. Most of us here have been through making the mistakes or know someone who has and that is what drives us to help others and be pretty direct when offering advice.

I would not keep these pups outside. What if someone were to steal them? What if someone let them out and they were hit by a car or something? Do you know what plants are in your backyard? If they are toxic to animals or not?

You could put up a pen for them outside if needed, that way they do not have the whole run of the backyard. I would still keep them separate unless you are there to supervise though. That is major in being able to train the dog. Keeping dogs together when young only allows their bond to become stronger to each other than with you and they will not want to train with you all that bad, but rather, play together.

My one GSD puppy that I got back in March was a handful, and I work from home so I was *always* around. If I had to go to a job all day, I don't think I would have been able to give him the attention and training he needed. And I couldn't even imagine dealing with two of them.

One of the things Ed mentions in his DVD's is that if you allow your puppy to play with other dogs, he will very quickly realize that other dogs are more fun than you. This means you will NOT be the center of his attention and will have a very difficult time training the dog. If you want 2 puppies, you need to keep them separated, do not allow them to play together, and train them separately. You need to be the center of the dog's world, and he needs to look to you for all of his entertainment.

Now that my GSD is 9 months old, I allow him to play lightly with *certain* other dogs, and only supervised. I made the mistake of letting him play with a friend's dog when he was about 4 months old, and it seemed like he forgot all of his training commands for a week.

Getting a dog a "buddy" did nothing for the dog, and will likely inhibit your ability to properly train him.

I work from home as well and dont know what I would have done with my current handful If that wasnt the case.

But we would have made due because when we get a dog it is for life and we take the necessary steps to make that happen!