How do you tell the good from the bad?

[ursula wilby]

Selling puppies is one thing, finding the right buyers, quite another.
How do YOU tell the good from the bad?
I think all breeders have come across buyers that seemed OK to begin with but turned into total nightmares.
So how do YOU choose?
And whom would you NOT sell a puppy to?

[Ilona & Gina]

Hi Ursula,

Thank you for your reply. You are right, two puppies are quite a handful!

We thought that two would not feel too sad when they have to leave their litter. And, in deed, they dig up our garden. However, we found a special corner for them, with their favourite tree. There we bury toys and even dig with them. It's fun and seems to work.
But training is challenging! We can hardly separate them, although all the clever books - and the breeder - swear that two dogs are easier to train - far from it.
The solution is to train them together. Surprise - it works (eh, sometimes...)
They know how to sit and stay and walk on heel and that is what we need to go for great walks.

We manage. Next thing is to join a puppy school after their last jab. And to go on the beach with them and ask heaps of questions on this site. So again, thank you so much for your reply, I can certainly do with heaps of information!


Ilona

[ursula wilby]

Training two puppies does mean that you should seprate!

For all training the puppy needs to make his own decissions and not "lean" on his littermate. That is what you normally end up with when you have two...
One puppy is dependent on the other and will find it hard to function on his own.
It normally needs someone very experianced to deal with this problem.
Yes, they love each other, and yes being seperated from the litter is easier for them right at the beginning, but it is certainly NOT easier for the owner.

Ok, whilst they are puppies, but far more difficult when they reach puberty.
I do wonder about the fact that you have been told (and read) that two puppies are supposed to be easier to train.
What are the reasons given for this?
I know that there are people on this site that will not agree with me on my "two-puppy-ban" but then we all have different goals for our dogs.
My main interest is training so I suppose that this influences my viewpoint.

I just hope you are more interested in long distance running than you are in gardening, Ilona! :-)

[Dee Rance]

I agree with all that I have read so far...and have had the same puppy buyers come to me for puppies. There was the man that wanted two as 'guard dogs' when I had finished laughing he was told to go to another breed and to get one at a time, I am in complete agreement with the One puppy option, Ilona are these puppies the same sex? I have found that people that get the same sex puppies often end up with sibling rivalry, I have even found that problem with litter brothers owned by different people. I had one man come and buy a puppy, I have to say that he was a very nice man, had read a lot and was obviously very knowledgeable about the breed, UNFORTUNATELY I didn't meet the wife....when I got the puppy back the next day, I found that the puppy had 'run into a wall' or something hard. Hitting his eye and had split the third eyelid it took me months to get the dog back to normal again, but he ended up in the most wonderful home and family that you could ever want, he had is own chair at the table and had lightly boiled eggs and toast soldiers for his breakfast, after he did his rounds with 'his dad' delivering Coal, it has to be the most difficult part of rearing puppies....finding the rite families for them, I am open to all the tips that there are. One thing I was always told was 'don't let the puppy have formal exercise until it is at least 6 months old...has anyone else heard that????

[Carmel Murphy]

Personally Dee I dont like to over exercise pups at all. I dont road walk them until 12 months and just do their training on grass at home or in a park. They exercise themselves with play time either with you, on their own or with other dogs(but I dont let them play for a very long time either) And like babies they need lots of naps during the day! They need slow developing! You wouldnt over exercise a small child, so pups are the same! Thats my method anyway!;o)

[Susan Stone]

Ilona, you may not like the idea of this but may I suggest you consider taking one puppy back to the breeder? Personally I would never keep two pups from the same litter. Same as Ursula I want them to bond with me, not with each other. Also it is almost impossible to keep an eye on two wicked pups aged 12 weeks - and yours look as if they could get up to all kinds of mischief! The older they get the more difficult it could be to manage them.

If however you are out all day and nobody is there to give company during the day, that would be the only case in which one puppy will benefit from having a companion.

Keeping two pups really does entitle taking each one out on his/her own at least once a day and separating them at times during the day. If you wish them to bond with you it will mean lost of hard work. Maybe your partner can take one and you the other? You should take each one to an individual puppy school so each can learn to cope without the backing of his mate. Ours have their first jab at 8 weeks and have sufficient protection to go to puppy school at 9-10 weeks. We do not wait until the second jab has been done. You loose too much valuable time.

Good luck to you and your little devils:-))
Susan
PS they won't stick to that one corner of the garden...

[Carmel Murphy]

I agree also that two pups are difficult, but it can be done if you put a lot of time and effort into training seperately! I did it with Milo and Megan, even taking them to different training sessions and they rarely went to shows together etc. They love each other but dont depend on each other.and both have bonded with me (but perhaps that is because I bred them!?) Digging was a problem especially as two can dig so fast as a team!! But they grew out of that(I scolded them every time they were caught in the act) Milo and Megan also slept in crates seperated by a solid screen so they knew each was there but there was no eye contact! That seemed to help too! Never any silly messing at night!

[Ilona & Gina]

Hi Ursula,

I am just overwhelmed by all the replies! Actually, we had our first walk on the beach this morning, and they were great- they even walked heel and did their sits and stays. They did not jump and were fine on their leads.
You all scared me a bit. My partner and I enjoy the two so much and they seem to enjoy us, too. Actually, they are with us all the time. We work from home, and they stay either with Tina or with me. They do not beg at the table, they do not jump, they love their daily grooming, and the garden still looks terrific. I don't want to be scared - and I couldn't imagine to give one of them away. Both of them are so much part of our family. And with all our needs and questions, we can always ask Sandy, the breeder. The idea with separating them is something we want to take on. That's why we want to go to puppy school with them!
If we didn't have enough time for them or a poky appartment, we would never have got dogs in the first place. So we are prepared to to what ever we can to cater for their (and our) needs.

Ilona

[Carmel Murphy]

Sounds like you are doing everything just right if you have well adjusted,well behaved and happy puppies!! ;o) I too work at home and love the company of my 5 dogs! Enjoy them!

[amandapyman]

hi, llona, they sound like they are very lucky puppies. i have two puppies of different breed, one alfie a irish setter and holly a hungarian vizsla, they are so much fun and like you i could not be without either one of them. good luck and enjoy them.

amanda

[Susan Stone]

Hi Ilona,

I did not intend to scare you - just make you aware...sorry if I sounded extreme but I could not tell what your situation was from your posts. It looks as if you are doing all the right things and are aware of possible pitfalls;-))

Enjoy them and keep up the good work!

Susan

[Catherine Carter]

yes I have two at the moment from the same litter(brother and sister!) see my page...I did have the advantage that I had their mother with them until earlier this year and a lot of the basic training was done by her...Also they did get individual training for shows and they both have different personalities so they learn at a different pace! I suppose it is as much work as you want to put into it! I am rather dedicated and passionate about my dogs . Having Irish Setter is very much a way of life for me, it may not suit everybody! As for bonding, well these two would be glued to me if they got the chance!

[Ilona & Gina]

Hi Catherine,

Thank you, I really need some encouragement. Our two (boy and girl) are attached to us, they follow us wherever we go and do not leave us. When I work, Gina streches out under my table, and that for hours. Anton is more Tina's dog, so we got preferences there. Anton is more physically lazy and placid and a little less mature. Tina trains and grooms Anton, and I am with Gina. It seems to work. I don't know how it is going to be when they grow older, of course. The Gina-Ilona duo are more sporty and love activity-loving. In the evenings, when the two puppies play in the garden, we often watch them and forget everything else around us, or we simply play with them. They really enrich our lives, they are our life. I simply hope we four will have a good life in future. Catherine, I will have a look at your page. Thank you!