When looking for a new puppy and attempting to decide which pick of the litter is best for you, there may be a time when you can’t choose just one. However, you may want to consider the pros and cons of raising two puppies that are the same age.
Choosing two puppies may be more trouble than it’s worth
When you raise two puppies that are the same age and from the same litter, there will be a natural hierarchy which develops and one of the dogs will grow up to be more dominant and bossy than the other. This means that the more submissive puppy may grow up without the proper social skills needed to be self-confident.
The dominant dog may grow increasingly aggressive towards the other dog when it comes to being the leader in all situations. This leadership role, while a natural part of nature, can unfortunately diminish your other dog’s ability to cope with certain situations and possibly develop stress related mental conditions. And in addition, both dogs will suffer from separation anxiety when they are apart from one another.
Be prepared for some dog fighting
As they grow older, the two dogs will eventually establish their roles with one another and you will rarely have to worry about your adult dogs fighting. On the other hand, in the beginning, when these puppies are young, both of them will have a natural tendency to physically fight with one another when it comes to competition. Such competitive situations would include getting more attention than the other, feeding times, and of course dominance over toys.
This situation will call for firm behavioral training and conditioning. If left unchecked, your puppies can hurt one another and the one dog who becomes the non-leader (submissive) may develop deep anxiety issues when he becomes an adult. All of these concerns become amplified if your dogs are of the same sex.
Having two puppies may hinder their training and behavior progress
This is an important aspect of bringing two or more puppies into the house that many dog owners do not take into consideration. Your two puppies will be so preoccupied with one another that they may not be drawn to needing your attention as much as you would like, or need for training purposes.
While this may not seem like such a bad thing, consider what happens when you are trying to train your puppies with the basic commands and rules of the house. The job will be much harder and stressful on you because their attention is understandably occupied by each other’s company, and not your commands.