Puppies – The Problem With Raising Multiple Puppies of the Same Age

Submitted By: Kelly Marshall

When looking for a new puppy and trying 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 multiple puppies that are the same age.

Choosing multiple puppies may be more trouble than it's worth

When you raise multiple puppies that are the same age and from the same litter, there will be a natural hierarchy which will eventually develop and one of the dogs will grow up to be more dominant and bossy than the other. Trust me; I know firsthand what its like to raise a dominant and bossy dog. This means that the more obedient puppy may grow up without the right social skills needed to be self-confident.

The domineering dog may grow increasingly aggressive towards the other dog when it comes to being the leader in all instances. This leadership role, while a natural part of nature, can unfortunately reduce your other dog's ability to cope with certain situations and possibly develop stress related mental problems. Additionally, both dogs will suffer from separation anxiety when they are apart from one another. Its like separating human twins during childhood or any sibling.

Be prepared for some serious dog fighting

As they grow older, the multiple dogs will eventually establish their roles with one another and you will rarely have to be overly concerned 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 fight physically with each other 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 multiple puppies may hold back their training and behavior progress

This is a very important aspect of bringing multiple or more puppies into your home that many dog owners do not take this into consideration at all. Your multiple 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; this is why it is so important to think about what you are getting into with multiple dogs.

While this may not seem like such a horrible situation to get your self into, consider what happens when you are trying to train your puppies with the basic commands and rules of your home.

The job will be much more difficult and extremely stressful on you, family members because their attention is understandably preoccupied by each other's company, and not your commands.