Real-life experience: The pros and cons of raising miniature dachshund siblings
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2 min read
Why in the world would we consider getting two puppies at the same time? Siblings much less. We had heard about Littermate Syndrome. We knew there would be pros and cons, but how did it turn out for us? Read on to find out…
Our initial decision was biased from our previous experience with our Beloved Whitley (Beagle)
Whitley suffered tremendously from separation anxiety. It was very difficult to leave her or watch her be sad when we needed to run an errand. We had adopted Whitley at the age of 2, and she never fully recovered from her past trauma. She sure loved her people hard and we often wondered if she would have benefited from a puppy companion.
We knew we eventually wanted two dogs but hadn’t fully committed to getting the two together. As soon as our breeder contacted us with a litter available (that just happened to have exactly what we were looking for) we started considering the possibility of siblings. We weren’t naive to the decision and had researched the risks and pros/cons. Ultimately we went with our gut to decide after learning more about their personalities in discussion with the breeder.
Spoiler alert. We are very happy with our decision, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy and we’ve had second guesses along the way. We also fully recognize that it might not be the right decision for everyone in every circumstance. I hope that sharing our experience and outlining the Pros and Cons we’ve experienced in this journey will help you with your own!
Here are the Pros we’ve experienced:
- Comfort: Our dogs took to their crate on day 1. No tears, no whining. These pups have always had each other and find comfort in sleeping together. This made crate training a breeze. The boy/girl dynamic also plays in our favor. Bogey is more comfortable leading and Birdie is a strong follower, which keeps their comfort/trust levels high.
- Playtime: Yes, we do play with our dogs, but they also play a ton with each other and don’t require a ton of entertainment. Whether playing chase around the house or revisiting the ongoing wrestling match, these pups always have adventure time right next to each other.
- Even Numbers: The introduction of two dogs gelled perfectly with our family dynamics. Two parents. Two kids. Two dogs. Even numbers just work. No child or parent is ever left without a pup in their lap. It also helps to keep the chore duties “even” (one kid takes them up, the other brings them down) which means fewer overall arguments!
Here are the Cons we’ve experienced:
Nothing to see here…I have a nice ramp but jump on the coffee table anyway
- Potty Training: Dachshunds have a reputation for being difficult to train, and you shouldn’t be surprised that having two makes it even more difficult. We tried all the things. Bells, rewards, limited access space around the house. One would have an accident, and then the other one would follow suit. Even at the age of 1, they were still having somewhat frequent accidents. We’re turning a corner (but still…) this was much harder than anticipated.
- (Not) Listening: The aspect of littermate syndrome that I think impacts us the most. When the dogs are playing or “getting into trouble” – it’s clear they are aligned and on the same page, which means that I don’t have a lot of leverage to get them to pay attention. Like any good dachshund, I can easily break this spell by yelling “Treat!” – they will come immediately. However, they don’t necessarily view me as the leader when they are “in the zone – playing” (otherwise I’m their favorite human, and follow me around the house constantly).
- Double the poo: They eat, and sleep together, so that means they should poop together too, right?! No. they are on different schedules, which means we need to let them out twice as frequently to accommodate their different “schedules”. I underestimated the extra time needed to accommodate this nuance. I’ll clarify to say that we don’t have a fenced-in yard, which means we are often talking our dogs around the block to potty (which is usually great, except on rainy/snowy days).