One or two puppies best???

[Trixie780]

Nice to hear that there may be some calm coming in our future!  Some days it feels like we may be forever pulling things out of his mouth (shoes, socks, pillows, books, the remote control, the telephone, my son's limbs........).   

[LinzHenz]

Nice to hear that there may be some calm coming in our future!  Some days it feels like we may be forever pulling things out of his mouth (shoes, socks, pillows, books, the remote control, the telephone, my son's limbs........).   

i think the sock thing might be permanent!!!

[Mudmagnets]

Nice to hear that there may be some calm coming in our future!  Some days it feels like we may be forever pulling things out of his mouth (shoes, socks, pillows, books, the remote control, the telephone, my son's limbs........).   

Certainly don't think I would consider another whilst pup #1 is like this  , But they are all different, Katie is 18 months and I still have to watch her on occassions (re chewing), while Smudge, once he got over the puppy naughtiness/cheekiness has been quite good really.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[vixen]

I did the unthinkable    got two litter sisters at 8 weeks. To begin with it was a nightmare    House training was awful, didn't know who had done what   When I cleaning up one accident, they thought it was great fun, walking through the wee and spreading it all around the house    I felt almost shell-shocked and I was constantly watching them and just couldn't relax at all. For the first month I really regretted it and if anyone had offered to have them I would have let them.    
Now over 2 years later I still have them   and I am SO glad I have.  They have turned into the most delightful, biddable, fun girls ever. they give me pleasure every single day
I do think I was very fortunate in that my girls' do come from a very biddable working line and after the house training they have been very easy.  When I work (part time) they keep each other company and when I return I have twice as many cuddles  
They are quite dependent on each other but not so much that they look to each other instead of me - I am their main focus.
Even though it worked for me I know I have been lucky but I would NEVER do it again and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else
Looking back, I do think I missed out on the pleasure of their early puppyhood as they were such hard work.
When I get another puppy, it will definitely be just the one  
 

[Rats and Dogs]

When we went to see Duggie, there were the 2 boys left. OH wanted to take both, but having worked with pups, I said no. However, I have lost count of the times that OH has said since that he wishes we had taken the other one, as Duggie is so good - but that is because he is out at work for almost 13 hours a day and only accompanies us on our weekend walks!

In a way, it would have been nice to have the 2 of them, but it wouldn't have been sensible.

[Mudmagnets]

When we went to see Duggie, there were the 2 boys left. OH wanted to take both, but having worked with pups, I said no. However, I have lost count of the times that OH has said since that he wishes we had taken the other one, as Duggie is so good - but that is because he is out at work for almost 13 hours a day and only accompanies us on our weekend walks!

In a way, it would have been nice to have the 2 of them, but it wouldn't have been sensible.

Could your body have coped with two ankle gnashers tho?

[Chocolatecoco]

Hi

I must be a fruit loop then lol as i have 2 cocker spaniels aged 8 months and a king charles cavalier aged 3 months, I have to say my bond with each of them is very strong, because i take the time to spend individual time playing, grooming and loving them. My dogs and i adore each other. But they love playing together too and its been lovely watching them grow up and seeing their individual personalities coming through, coco the one inthe picture at the bottom is gentle and quiet, chocolate the one in my avatar is more hyper and noisey - she likes the sound off her own bark lol, my little cav is boss though you would laugh to see her barking at the girls putting them in their place, the girls love her and are both gentle with her.


However, I would say for anyone considering 2 working cocker spaniels that not working full time is a must, My girls are great but need watching and walking lots. I wouldnt ever had got 2 if i had to work but am fortunate to not work and am able to spend lots of time with my babies.

I have learnt the hard way as many here probably have, Make sure everything is out of reach and dog treats are kept in steel lidded containers.


take care

Amanda

[chrisj1957]

My experience is the same as Vixen.We got 2 8 week old male puppies last April now 11 months old.The first few weeks were really tough trying to housetrain 2 was hard as one did it sraight away and the other one took longer.Feeding was a nightmare as Baxter was really greedy and would have both dinners so we had to seperate them.At first Baxter was really dominant but now its the other way and Angus rules the roost.Their personalities are oppsosite so that helps.They have calmed down a lot lately but still wrestle each other they do sometimes go too far and need seperated.We used to go to bed at night exhausted.We know now we made the right decision as they are a joy to have and are so loving .I read the pros and cons but this was right for us I suppose its everyone to their own and what lifestyle you have.

[black taz]

couldnt imagine having two pups at once - Taz seemed like 10 on his own

I know of a couple of people who had two pups at once - neither have had a particularly successful outcome.

[Rats and Dogs]

When we went to see Duggie, there were the 2 boys left. OH wanted to take both, but having worked with pups, I said no. However, I have lost count of the times that OH has said since that he wishes we had taken the other one, as Duggie is so good - but that is because he is out at work for almost 13 hours a day and only accompanies us on our weekend walks!

In a way, it would have been nice to have the 2 of them, but it wouldn't have been sensible.

Could your body have coped with two ankle gnashers tho?

It can hardly cope with one! But maybe they would have gnashed each others' ankles, although I doubt it. At least I would have had matching ankles...

He even gnashed my friend's ankles the other day, as he couldn't get to mine with my muck boots on!

[Mudmagnets]

When we went to see Duggie, there were the 2 boys left. OH wanted to take both, but having worked with pups, I said no. However, I have lost count of the times that OH has said since that he wishes we had taken the other one, as Duggie is so good - but that is because he is out at work for almost 13 hours a day and only accompanies us on our weekend walks!

In a way, it would have been nice to have the 2 of them, but it wouldn't have been sensible.

Could your body have coped with two ankle gnashers tho?

It can hardly cope with one! But maybe they would have gnashed each others' ankles, although I doubt it. At least I would have had matching ankles...

He even gnashed my friend's ankles the other day, as he couldn't get to mine with my muck boots on!

Ooh-er

[DTrubs]

We have two 9 month old brothers. I would never change the fact that we got two at the same time. Everyone has their own opinions about this topic but hey, it works for us. I'm sure i'll now have some really annoying people saying that 'oo they're only 9 months old, just wait until they're 'x' months old, they be complete terrors and you'll regret it / have to give one up' but seriously, they are 2 completely different dogs and we have never had any issues. Do what is best for you and what you want to do.

[Helen]

please don't refer to people as ' really annoying' because they share a different opinion on this - a lot speak from bitter experience 

[PennyB]

I foster puppies in 2s and am so glad I can hand them back! However, as a rescue we never rehome 2 pups together

[Lily Freya]

I have a 9 mth old male cocker.  Our vet once told us that cockers are social dogs and should be raised in pairs.  However, one pup is a handful!  Some people have told us that two would be easier (playmates).  Not sure about that.    

Guess we can only ever speak from personal experience.  And, it would seem that people have had very differing experiences.

Our experience has been great.  We have two boys (14 months, and 10 months). They are great  together, but still love their attention from us too.  We have been lucky.

I do think it is considerably harder to train two pups together though.  It has taken a lot of time and effort, as this has to be done separately.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.