We adopted a 6 month old husky/GSD mix (73% husky/27% GSD) from the shelter back in September. We’re not new to husky mixes so we were fully prepared for the physical and mental needs. He has been an absolute angel. He steals the occasional sock or shoe but learned drop it and leave it in a few days and listens so it’s not a huge deal. He is crate trained and loves his little “den” where he hides his toys and will bury treats for later in his crate blankets.
We go on 2+ hours of total walks a day alternating casual sniff-only time, exercise walks, training walks, and potty only walks. He gets food puzzles, lick mats, stuffed kongs, and plenty of toys and chews. He’s extremely chill in cars and new places. The ONLY issue we’ve had with him is he thinks every single dog outside wants to play with him and so he play bows at every single dog we cross paths with on walks. If he’s not allowed to play with the dog, he will start play attacking me instead. He’s gotten much better at it over the last three months since we started bringing a toy with on walks for him to release the energy that way and has become less play reactive to dogs as he gets older. He also will only be play reactive outdoors. If we are at the pet supply store inside he won’t do it.
He’s now almost 10 months and we stopped by the shelter he grew up in to drop off holiday donations and his twin brother was there. He was returned after getting c. diff and his family was scared he would infect their other dog so they asked to quarantine him there. He quarantined in the shelter for 6 weeks and when he was all better, his family decided they weren’t coming back for him so he went up for adoption.
The shelter asked if we wanted them to re-unite and play for a few minutes before we left and so we did. They played wonderful together so of course we couldn’t leave him there. The plan was always to get a second dog eventually anyway.
I know we lucked out with the first one being so chill so wasn’t expecting his brother to be the same. His brother is the same. Eager to learn and picks up on new commands in 2-3 tries. Settles himself down. Neither one howls. They are wonderful by themselves though, and have only been in play mode together.
So far, we’ve kept them completely separate. Separate crates in separate rooms. They both walk 2+ hours a day separately, separate training, separate feeding, they take turns free roaming while the other is crated.
I’ve never had two puppies at once, yet alone litter mates. They were abandoned by a breeder at 12 weeks old at the shelter and were kept separate at the shelter as well besides a few play sessions with all 5 siblings before they got adopted. Both our original guy and his brother were adopted out and returned before they ended up with us.
My question is, how long do I keep them separate to prevent littermate syndrome? I was planning for at least 2 more months until they are one year but some things I am reading suggest 18 months or even 2 years. Our first guy has been sleeping in our bed for a few months now so it’s part of his nightly routine. His brother sleeps in his crate in another room but we’d like eventually to have them both in our room. I’ve been reading some horror stories about having two same age puppies and I don’t want to go backwards in the progress we’ve made with both of them. Some things are saying not to let them both sleep in our bed because it can create territory issues.
How have other people handled having two same age puppies with integrating their lives back together once they are ready?
submitted by /u/shanc0n
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