raising a brother and sister

[loverocksalot]

He plays like Rocky pushing with his head and all. She plays like a female. Biting at the neck and stuff. I tried adopting a pup who played like her biting at the neck and stuff. Rocky such a baby could not handle it so I did not adopt the pup. He just hated it and hid. They are sooo cute and play nice. Just dont let them hump each other if you can avoid it. Look liked zeus is getting ready for that. I also was waiting for that mirror to crash. I too would like to see this other dog in the mix video.

[sugar]

OMG, watching them play around that mirror like its a tunnel is beyond adorable!! Puppy fever is setting in!

[RealPitBull]

Just a couple things....I wouldn't let them play for hours at a time (if I read that right?) Teach them to take time outs, especially when the play gets too rough. Interrupt them (use a cue, then distract with a toy or treat, get them to sit, then allow them to interact again). Breaks with crate time as well.

As far as the behavior you described with the redirected aggression on the female, that is a big red flag to me and that WILL get worse and turn into outright aggression as he matures. He is getting worked up around other dogs, and that needs to be addressed with him separately. Second issue is he needs to be walked so that he doesn't have the opportunity to redirect onto his sister. That is going to make her edgey and defensive - she could end up associating other dogs with physical attacks and also end up resenting her brother, causing stress and fights in other situations.

Are you taking them to puppy k or plan on enrolling in a training class?

[zueszena]

they do have breaks in those hrs sessions,,,have command words and sounds for slowing down or stopping play,,,was just a one time incident but wanna be on top of things,,,training out here is on me and wife,,with our own buisness and a child just isn't time,,one of the reasons i use this site for guidance,,,place is great,, and as always appreciate all the input,,for the time being i'm halting play with others to work more one on one with them,,,really hard cause they have omg anxiety if not around each other,,,but hoping that will change with more time

[maryellen]

if they are starting to have anxiety when not around each other that means they are bonding toooo much with each other and not with you humans.... start now separate training time, they should still learn basic obedience like sit, come, heel, down, etc no matter who is training them. separate training time, separate eating time, they really need to bond with you humans more then each other as this could turn into a serious problem down the road

[RealPitBull]

I'm STRONG agreement with Maryellen here. They shouldn't have any anxiety at all at being separated. Make sure they are out of ear and eyeshot of each other on a daily basis. You and your wife should swap training duties with each, so they are both working with each of you, on their own.

What sort of socialization opps are they getting?

[michele5611]

Ditto what Maryellen and Mary said.

[zueszena]

note takin and we are all almost always around each other,,,seperate training time is tough and get maybe 30 mins in a day,,,they,the pups,eat sleep and go to work with us,one big family,,guess thats a bad thing???

[maryellen]

yep you need to separate them more.. 30 minutes a day for training each is not bad, but they really need to be able to be away from each other and not get anxious (this is why crates are so good as one can be crated and the other can be out and in training far away from the other and pup can have its own space for a bit..)

rotate each dog to go to work, one day zeus, one day zena.. if no one is home to supervise either pup while the other is at work with you and your wife the pup should be crated so they dont eat things they shouldnt ...



they also need more socialization, your house and your shop is not enough.. they need to see the outside world, different places, different stores, you need to really broaden their socialization or you will have another problem with undersocialized dogs on your hands..

make the time, even if it means getting up an hour earlier or going to sleep an hour later at night, make the time to train these pups in all aspects

[sugar]

No one is saying being one big family is a bad thing (far from it). I think the point that a lot of the posters are making is that it seems like your dogs are bonding closer to each other than to either your wife or you. And that can be a bad thing because they won't be looking up to you as "leader", and may not listen to you as much as you would like (or need) in the future when they are bigger and mature. They will be more in tune with each other than you (and with such a strong-willed breed its important that their sun rises and sets on you and your wife).
A friend of mine that this happen with two dogs she had (two mix breeds), they got closer to each other than to her. One day she tried to correct one of them for piddling in the house and the other dog attacked her (I guess "defending" the doggie's friend?), but things had to drastically change in that house.

[loverocksalot]

Maybe they could take turns going to work. Like half days or something. Like one stays home morning in crate and then switch. I think I remember you said your child is 12. So if that is a mature 12 then I would get child involved with training too. Like child could be in charge of feed time with rules. pup has to stay on pot until child releases pup to "eat". I had to do this with my son who was 10 at the time so that he was higher up then puppy Rocky who seemed to be wanting to be the bigger dog than the 10 year old. It worked. But that 10 year old is now 15 and still is the one who feeds most of the time. I also have a son who was 15 when we got Rocky he is now 20. So when Rocky feels like going through and testing anyone he still goes for testing you guessed it my youngest son.

[zueszena]

have not considered leaving one home,,,however while at work they get seperate walks ,together walks ,and socialize outside and inside with people and animals,,but i get your guys points,,and trust me cyn and i are still the leaders,,the boy well he is a work in progress like all 12 yr olds lol

[loverocksalot]

Feb 24, 2010 11:51:52 GMT -5 zueszena said:

have not considered leaving one home,,,however while at work they get seperate walks ,together walks ,and socialize outside and inside with people and animals,,but i get your guys points,,and trust me cyn and i are still the leaders,,the boy well he is a work in progress like all 12 yr olds lol

It never ends My 20 yr old still a work in progress. But love him. He works and goes to school all I can ask for at that age. And they grow up too damb fast. Cherish the 12 you wont believe how fast he will be in High School. Do all that fun child stuff as it is over tomorrow.

[zueszena]

neighbor came home for lunch let his out and zeus started again ,,,so seperate play time for now til i can work with him,,,,and that gives extra work time individually without them bein worried bout each other thanx again guys

[southweststacy]

I also have littermates and I am concerned about it. 1 male 1 female. they are 3.5 months old. I am not sure about being able to keep them at this point as I don't want my kids to be involved in any dog fights. I can however keep them in seperate crates and put a separation in the outside kennel. Is this going to help?

[adoptapitbull]

Stacy,

If your dogs do happen to get into a fight, advise the children never to go near them. Breaking up a dog fight is very dangerous as the dogs bite indiscriminately. They do not know if they are biting you, a child, or a dog. This does not mean that they are human aggressive if you happen to get bitten when breaking them up. Remember, dog aggression and human aggression are not related. Lots of dogs are DA.

You may end up having to crate and rotate with these two. It will not be too difficult once you get into a routine. Crate dog A while dog B is out. Switch every few hours or on a set schedule. This is not nearly as bad as it sounds and you'll find that many dog owners, not just Pit owners, have to do it. This doesn't mean that they can never interact, either. Some dogs who are crated and rotated can go on walks together, or be in the yard together (supervised). Don't feel hopeless! I'm sure you'll be fine

[zueszena]

yes it will,,and read more of the threads here,,,such as crate and rotate,,,also see greeting in new mem intro

[maryellen]

stacy, you might be better off with just one of the pups.. return the other one.

[michele5611]

Just to to reiterate what adopt a pitbull said please keep in mind dog aggression and human aggression are two different things and one does not lend itself to the other.
Stacy I am sure you have grown attached to the pups and while it can certainly be done -maintaining a multi-dog household def. requires an extra commitment and dedication on your part. If raising two pitbull pups is not something you can sign on for now than maybe at the present time your family is better suited as a single bully family!

[zueszena]

For those that asked video of the pups at play with others,,figured out today that zeus only does it with 3 of them not 4,,,tried it twice this evening,,,so guess gotta work the 3 thing or does that mean something i'm not getting,,thanx again all ,matt,cyn,zeus,zena
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