Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - get puppies in pairs? (shepherd, vets, breeder)

[blakeas]

So we wanting to get a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy for our family. we read somewhere recently if there are 2 puppies that they do better together. Is that true? is that specific to this breed? We are open to the idea of 2 puppies but wanted to know if that is the case or not.

[twelvepaw]

Not true.
Get one puppy and get it trained.
If you still want another puppy, wait until the first is about 2 years old.
Getting two puppies at a time of any breed isn't recommended- they will have a tendency to bond to each other more than to you. As well, you will still need to train them separately and spend quality time with each of them. Having two puppies at the same time doesn't mean you get to do things once for both pups, but rather that you work, play, and train each individually.

[Regina14]

A friend of mine, many years ago, had two littermate puppies. One at least bonded very closely to her, the other (the female) loved her as well, but wasn't quite as close to her. She was very good at training them. But she is an extremely patient and well-organized and determined person.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend getting two puppies at the same time. Housebreaking alone could be extra difficult.

[maggiekate]

a breeder will not let 2 go together why they bond. Also this breed has many health problems so research a quality dog is not cheap

[Dashdog]

I agree with the do not get two puppies together. Get one and get it trained and if you still want a 2nd dog get another after the first one is trained. Puppies are a lot of work. As stated in an earlier post you also risk them bonding more to each other then to you.

When Jazz was 2 and well trained was when I added Dash who was a1 yr old. They were close enough in age to play well together but having her well trained helped train him as he learned from her as well as from me. One other downside to having dogs close to the same age is when they get old you now have two old dogs at the same time so can get some hefty vets bills. It also might mean saying good bye to two dogs rather close together too. I lost Dash first then Jazz the next year and sadly enough Phoenix the following year and it was rough loosing 3 dogs in 3 yrs. And no none of their deaths were related to one another they were 3 old dogs each with their own issues.

[phxone]

Two littermates is always a bad idea.

[hiero2]

Originally Posted by twelvepaw

Not true.
Get one puppy and get it trained.
If you still want another puppy, wait until the first is about 2 years old.
Getting two puppies at a time of any breed isn't recommended- they will have a tendency to bond to each other more than to you. As well, you will still need to train them separately and spend quality time with each of them. Having two puppies at the same time doesn't mean you get to do things once for both pups, but rather that you work, play, and train each individually.

I pretty much agree with this. Here is my experience - I have a sis/bro combo English shepherd rescues. Smart dogs - thinking dogs. Got them August last year ('15). They were 2 3/4 yrs old then. One of the reasons we got them was because they were great at playing with each other and dealing with each other.

Brought them home, and soon realized that something about this training was not going according to plan. We've had rescues for years and years, and trained them all, at least for basic civility and manners.

So I did a little research. Contacted some rescue people. Contacted some breed people. Contacted some people who train and live with collie-type herding dogs - so you could say I found some work-type specific people.

Everybody agreed - training siblings is a problem. The most accurate opinion expressed, based on my experience, was that training siblings can be done, but it is difficult. A couple of people downright dismissed any idea that it was even do-able.

That accurate opinion said things like "they keep each other immature", and "they distract each other". In my case, this was accurate. It wasn't so much that they "bonded" to each other instead of bonding to humans - it was that they could distract each other, and the two of them could create a more rewarding play-state than I could provide with my training treats.

I can see these two would have been easier to train to do more if they were not together. But this has also been a learning experience for me - and I am a much better dog-trainer for working with these guys than I was before. (And my last two dogs got regular compliments on their good behavior. )

They have a special relationship, and we like that. They are also becoming very well-behaved dogs, and we like that. It is taking a lot of work - EVERY day we do something - even if it is only a couple of commands and a couple of minutes. They have to earn everything they do that they WANT to do. And, they have to respond to individual commands. E.g. #1 "sit. And Stay". #2 "come". Etc. They don't eat, unless we do some individual and self-calming, command practice before eating. They have to learn to control themselves, and not respond automatically because the sibling did.

So, now, 8 months later, and I've begun relaxing just a little. But I can't relax much, because they will quickly take advantage.

Now, I have two problems, really. I have smart, thinking dogs. AND they are siblings. Other dogs, other breeds - well - dogs are like people. Each one is an individual, right? Maybe two spaniels would be easier, and maybe they would be harder. You can't predict.

But what you can predict, is that training two siblings together is a harder road than training them singly. All the experienced people I talked to said the same. They used different words from each other, but pretty much the same message. And I can readily believe that I would get better results from these two as individuals if I were able to completely separate them.

But, I can't, and I won't. And they have bonded to their humans quite well. And, they are learning to be good enough for our family. Ultimately, isn't that the bottom line for every dog owner? Can you train the dog to be good enough for you and your life? And these guys are doing that. So, I'm happy!

[gentlearts]

It is my feeling that this is BS. When two puppies (or kittens) are raised together, they are less likely to form a bond with the humans in the family.

[Ohky0815]

one puppy AT A TIME

[blakeas]

so I went with 1 puppy - thx all who responded!