[Brooke&Ryan]

Here are some of the things people have said in the past re: keeping two or more littermates & having two or more puppies at the same time.....

Just to caution you, raising littermates is a daunting task for even the most experienced owner. You will have to train and walk them separately, or else they will bond to each other, not you. Also, it is quite common for them to have serious fights once they reach adulthood, especially same sex littermates.

My advice is opposite sexes but 2 YEARS apart in age. This way each one will get your full efort at training and socializing and the first will be very mannerly and educated when the second one comes along and will set a good example. Also when you have a pair near the same age you often get 1 that bonds with the humans and 1 that bonds more to the other puppy.

I think most importantly, it's not the work, but that possibly the pups will bond more closely with each other than with you. Dogs don't really care so much that they have other dogs as companions, it's our time that they need. If you do choose to get 2 pups at the same time, you'll need to spend alot of time with each one separately.

Take all the work you're prepared to put into two puppies and put it into one puppy. If you're doing things right, you'll raise a superb role model for the puppy you'll get in a couple of years' time. Don't worry about a singleton rottie needing company: that's what you're there for. They're not known as velcro dogs for nothing! Get one puppy - bring her/him up right and when s/he's about two years old, then start thinking about an opposite gender puppy. If nothing else, the amount of poo and pee you'll be dealing with will make you glad you're doing it one at a time! Another advantage of spacing the dogs out is that the puppy will learn from the older dog: instead of trying desperately to reinforce your rules onto two puppies who'd rather listen to each other than you, you've got an adult dog who knows the score and who will keep the little brat in line Cute as two puppies together may be, they can't hold a candle to the puppy madly chasing after keeping up with the big dog and copying everything s/he does...

IF one of you is home all day long so that you can rotate the pups individual time with you; work on training them both together and apart; work on housebreaking them together and apart; teach them manners and discipline both together and apart; take them places together and apart and do all you can to ensure that they grow up as two well trained and well socialized individuals instead of one melded entity then you can try it

Beyond the reasons given by everyone else (which is very sound advice the the way), there's something else to consider. Money!

Another thing is when they get older. Having two senior citizens can be very expensive and heartwrenching. In the home of a friend of mine, the majority of her pets were within a 4 year age difference. Suddenly, everyone got old. They all needed special care ($$$) and they all began passing away. Losing a pet is never easy - but when they're close together, it's devestating. Not that I think she would have done it any differently, but she had some very large emotional losses over a relatively short amount of time.

:)
Brooke