Raising 2 Yorkie Puppies Together
 

Hi Everyone!

Unfortunately I recently lost my 13 year old Yorkie, Matilda. Although I'm not ready to bring another puppy into my home yet, I hope I will be ready in a couple of months. In the meantime, I've been researching various options.

One option I 'was' mulling over was to get 2 puppies and raise them together. I would only get a male and female and then neuter and spay them as soon as our vet says it's okay. My rationale behind getting 2 puppies was to provide 'same species' companionship.

When I was investigating this option, I came across a website authored by Ed Leerburg <leerburg.com>. He was very adamantly discouraging raising more than 1 dog at a time. His arguments were: (1) they are pack animals and may look to each other instead of their owner for leadership, (2) rank issues may develop with more than one dog in the house, (3) they will be more difficult to train because they will bond with each other instead of their owner. He goes on to say that dogs don't need companionship because they sleep 12-15 hours per day. He indicated that people who think dogs need companionship are Anthropomorphic. So after investigating his site, I realized that I should only get one puppy.

Then I read several postings and threads on YorkieTalk.com about people who have more than one Yorkie. So what is really best? I would like to hear from those of you who have successfully raised more than one Yorkie and those who have been unsuccessful. Perhaps I should raise just one....but I want to know why I shouldn't raise 2?

Sorry this post is was so long.

Thank you
V1204

I am certainly no expert on this but we raised our two babies as puppies at the same time (boy and girl litter mates). We also read similar warnings on line about what a terrible idea it was to raise two pups at the same time. We read this AFTER we got our pups. :eek:

They are about 21 months now. It was a lot of work to have two puppies at once but we are glad now that we did. We don't see any of the problems that we were warned about.

I don't know if it is a good idea or not but it has worked out well for us.

Someone recently did the same thing and I think they said they'd do it again, because things were going well. You just need a lot of stamina!:D I imagine what one wouldn't think of, the other would!:p

My first Yorkie had separation anxiety...we got another Yorkie as a friend for her...(six months age difference)...best thing we ever did. I've read (can't remember where) it's the raising of multiple puppies from the same litter/same age is where they pack more and less likely to let the human be the pack leader, thus it was okay to get puppies from different litters and a few months in between, and let the natural order of things (dominance,etc) run its course. The first Yorkie is the dominant one, the second submissive (both its their personalities, not really their age) but I'm clearly the pack leader to both. So multiple puppies work but I wouldn't get two from the same litter.
Kendra

I'm so sorry about the loss of your Matilda. You two had a lot of great years together.

I know you'll get a lot of great responses to your question.

I think its wonderful to get two at the same time so they have a buddy and so forth...having said that best of luck to you! Most likely it can't be that much different right? Would love to hear about how training went from someone who has done this. I adopted my Princess and Elvis together (they even came from Texas to California on the same flight...but Elvis was 2yrs and Princess was 9 weeks, so it wasn't really the same as getting two pups together. I have noticed with general training around my house I sometimes have to separate my dogs so I have more control and they have less distraction- I have to still walk Scoobers and Princess at different times as they feed off each other being naughty barking at other dogs and pulling, walked separately neither has an issue at all, but they are not Yorkies who compete for being center of attention by doing whatever it takes such as behaving LOL

In general, it's recommended to wait to get a second dog until the first is trained. But I know some people have done it and had perfectly fine results. It's just not something I would personally do! One puppy is hard enough! Lol. I like to have an older trained dog first to teach the youngin'. Although I still only have one dog myself, I plan to add another in the future at some point.

No-one told me you shouldn't get two puppies together back in 1984:)
I got my first Yorkie Penni and a few weeks later I got her "niece" Tuppence. There was only a month's difference in their ages. Never had any problems.

Well I did not read his article but I did read one int Dog.com magazine. It just said that raising 2 was twice the joy but also twice the work. He was right on both accounts. My 2 are 3 weeks apart in age. They are 90 percent pee pad trained. If I take them outside 15 minutes or so after they eat then they do their business outside. They do play together but I do things with them separately also. When I go to the store only one goes; out for a walk only one at a time, etc. That seems to have kept me being the one "in charge".

Good luck.

Obviously this Ed Lerrburg has never seen my dogs cudde together, romp in the yard together, love each other, cry if one has to go to the vet and they stay home....all that and each one still loves people attention and are the biggest love bugs you have ever seen! Yorkies are people dogs -- I don't think it would matter how many you had, they are still going to crave human companionship and loving. Some of what he says may be true -- rank issues do develop. My Ben is the boss of all the dogs and he tries to be of me at times. ;) But it is not a problem. The others seem to accept that Ben gets his way. I do not believe it is harder to train them with more than one -- maybe even easier as they seem to learn from each other too. The only thing that is harder is knowing who pottied in the house. But you still keep training the same if one has an accident, so it doesn't really matter who did it.

I think they do need companionship! Maybe not all the time and a single dog can definately deal with being alone during a work day for example. But I think they are happier with another dog for company. Mine do cry when left alone. They do not cry when left with each other. But then mine have had each other so they are used to that. Others may get used to being alone too. I think either way can work, but I KNOW my dogs enjoy each other and are still wonderful pets for me.

The 3 I have now are different ages, but when I got Ben, I got a female Sadie about a week or two later. So, I did train them at the same time.

It can be done
 

Raised 2 puppies- Female littermates- Had from birth. I own mom. It takes a village but it can be done. I was also lucky. Mom and golden showed the puppies what to do. Bred x2 litters- Done for a least the next year or so. Puppies were started on the road to housebreak- ie. no wee pads- by time I sold them at 3-5mo. of age unless on kept. 1 stated his pup never had an accident- 3mon at time of purchase and a year later purchase a 2nd puppy from me.

You could get the 2 puppies from different breeders at the same time or a few months apart. Get #1 started on training before getting #2.

So sorry about your Matilda:(...I'm old enough, that I've been through that several times, and the pain is deep...I'm glad you are considering another pup(s), as I've found this is the best way to fill the void left in your heart...They don't replace, but they fill the space, w/all the love you have to give...

I didn't raise my two yorkies, together...I got my little boy @ 4 months old, when my little girl was a year old...Oh, btw, I'm anthropomorphic, and couldn't give a flip about what anybody thinks...I think we make better mommies and daddies :D...I don't know about others, w/two, but I'm the alpha, around here, and they all (I have a chorkie too, so that makes three) look up to me, as the leader of the pack...They love to play with each, and steal each others' bully sticks, but when it's time, for bed, they all want to be the one, closest to me, not each other...As far as training, they're housebroken, settle down on the bed, when I tell them to, and that's about it lol...I love to see well trained pups, and admire their owners, but it's not my focal point...My "kidz" (told you I was anthropomorphic) are for me to care for and love...If my lap is available, they prefer to do that, rather than play w/each other...But, omg'sh, you gotta have at least two, if you want them to have lots of fun, running and playing...They are so entertaining, and keep me smiling, all day...The intereaction between the three is hilarious...

So, in answer to your question, I'd, totally, recommend two, and I'd find a new author to read, if it were me...I think a yorkie must have pooped in his porridge lol...:p

Professional trainers discourage getting two puppies at the same time. Puppies need separate training, socialization, etc. so it's a lot of work. Since puppies are like kids and tend to pick up bad habits from each other, training can be difficult. Yorkies are notoriously hard to housebreak anyway, training two at the same time can be very challenging.

Two Puppies or One? - VeterinaryPartner.com - a VIN company!

Trainers generally recommend waiting until the first one is at least a year old and fully trained before bringing another puppy home. Then the older one can set a good example.

This is so true! I had Barney and Daisy as puppies together and it was double the trouble and twice the fun or whatever that saying is. We signed up for puppy classes and advanced classes - we each handled one dog in class. Ours did fine but we did work very hard at obedience training and still do to this day. If only Teddy would graduate puppy class, we'd feel like we were successful. He's been to 4 puppy classes and two advanced classes and so far, he can sit and shake paw. He is smart, just "different"

Ed is a little dated and I think, incorrect. Temple Grandin wrote recently that dogs are not pack animals but they are family units and I thought that was an interesting theory. She said that rather than looking at people as their "alpha" or "leader" dogs look at us as their "parents."

I would agree with Ed that people do tend to anthropomorphize their dogs, however, it is widely known and observed that dogs have complex social orders, dogs grieve, dogs play, and many other things that make Ed's theory fail the laugh test.

As for not bonding with owners with more than one dog in the house, that is simply not true as many of us here know. My dog Barney will much prefer to curl up with me than be with the other two dogs. Teddy would rather be with the dogs. Daisy just wants a warm denning area. So they are all different and individual as dogs are.