# Raising two puppies at the same time, same litter.



## Amoun (Mar 30, 2010)

Hello everyone,

I have two Cane Corso puppies (11 weeks of age). A boy and a girl. They are really great pups. They are almost house broken (an accident here and there but not a "I pee where-ever I want" case). 

I have been reading a lot of material on raising two puppies. I had one Corso before, never had a problem, love the breed.

The material, however, is extremely different. I would say 50% say its a terrible idea, but if you choose to, they have to be crated separately, trained separately, fed separately, played with separately, etc etc. Then the other 50% say they never ever had a problem with two puppies (owners and breeders). Now, I wanted to talk to people who had first had experience raising two dogs. 

These two Corsos will eventually be guard dogs, so not exactly family pets or indoor animals (they are going to have their own run, warm climate so no bad approaches there).

I train them, they know how to fetch, come, sit down, and so on. I establish their position and mine as an alpha (ie: I can put the food down and unless I let them they do not eat and do not enter the house unless I tell them it's ok) so all in all they are well behaved and I am working out little kinks here and there in training, but as we all know its a process.

SO, my question is, what are you opinions and suggestions when it comes to raising two dogs from the same litter? I am very curious to see what people say.

Thank you for reading.


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## Tofu_pup (Dec 8, 2008)

You have multiple bad ideas in this post. Raising two puppies from the same litter is only one of them.


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## Amoun (Mar 30, 2010)

Although I really do appreciate your reply, saying that there might be something wrong or it being a bad idea is what I have said in my own post. This would be equivalent of me saying "I need help with me car" and then a mechanic saying "well....hmm...I can definitely tell there is something wrong with your car. Again, sincerely appreciate your reply, but pointing out what I have said my self is...well...pointless and not constructive. But I would gladly like to hear about your experiences.


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

I think what you will need with working dogs who will not be kept together is a lot different from what pet dogs need. I think the biggest consideration is that each dog gets one on one time and that they are not allowed to raise each other. Of course, hopefully you will also at least spay the female. Because fences can become a non-issue when sis is in season. So, will your guard dogs also be getting training and enrichment as adults? As Cane Corsos are not a traditonal LGD breed, what will they be guarding?


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## BlackShadowCaneCorso (Feb 3, 2011)

Raising 2 puppies together is not easy at the best of times. We have done it with 2 male rotties and are currently doing it with 2 corsi puppies that are being held back from the litter we just had (actually there are 4 here at the moment so I guess we are raising 4 at a time) and it is one of the hardest things I have had to do. 

Not only are the increase in expenses there but you also need to make sure that each puppy gets their own individual time so they develop independently of each other. If raised together you can have a dog that is more dependent on the other more dominant dog to do the work and they just come into play if required. The will also tend to bond more to each other than to you and if something should happen to the other dog you could end up losing the other shortly after if there bond is deep enough (we are dealing with this on the remaining rottie we have right now, lost his brother last year and so we put the female in with him (she is fixed) but she has just passed so we are taking each day at a time but in the past 10 months he has lost 2 kennel mates)

I also don't think these dogs do well on their own. They want to be with the family and be part of it, they are not a breed that is meant to be outside guarding something all the time with little or no human contact. Ours are in runs during the day as we have no other option, we must work to support them  but when we are home they are in the home with us and that is where they are happiest. If you were looking for a guarding dog I think a different breed that doesn't require a lot of human contact would have been a better bet and I hope in the end that these dogs don't end up with some temperament issues that will have us on the BSL radar much faster then we hope for. 

PS as was mentioned above if they are different genders please make sure the female is fixed so there is no accidental matings.


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## Amoun (Mar 30, 2010)

@Pawzk9
Thank you for your reply. I completely agree and I am doing exactly that. I am spending one on one time with the pups. If they play together and something gets out of control (not psycho fights but they get loud to each other for example) I step in and they listen right away. So they do understand if they do something bad and I am not happy (and its not a scared body language, so I hope I did not give off that vibe). The female will be spayed for sure, there is not question about it. I do not want any accidental pregnancies (especially from the male of the same litter) nor, exactly as you said, heat problems. I will see whether to fix or not to fix the male depending on how he behaves. My previous male was not fixed and was fine, never any aggressive or crazy behavior (then again, he was one dog)
As for training, my previous corso did not get guard training for I was thinking about it. I do not want to teach the dogs to attack or destroy anything that moves, I would only (or at least) want to train the dogs to stop on command if they do go into attack mode. I am not planning to raise out of control, free run, no discipline guard dogs, at all. The "guard dog" ascept will be that they will not be a "family pet" dog. Basically they will not go to every human they see, flip on their backs and expect treats. As for what they will be guarding, is a 1 acre property, a home. 

@BlackShadowCaneCorso
Thank you for the reply as well! I am glad you had took the time to read the post. I really value your input as you are raising the same breed.
The dogs will not be left alone at ALL. I would actually feel guilty if I were to leave them alone for the whole day with just a bowl of water and food and they can do what they want, hehe. I will be around them all the time, if not me, then my family member (which are, of course, involved in raising the pups) will be there. The most these puppies will be alone is MAYBE a couple of hours if we decide to go somewhere, etc. Other than that, constant family contact.

Thanks again to both of you for replies. I really appreciate them.


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