Recently I had the pleasure of hosting Duke and Daisy; a brother/sister from the same littler, adopted together at the tail end of Covid. Duke and Daisy have been together since the day they were born, adopted by the gentlest of souls with the best of intentions. My client, we will name her Claire, said she had always had dogs, always was able to train them. But not these two. “These two are too much”, she told me. I agree with her. Duke and Daisy are very athletic dogs, mutts through and through, they we born to run. Specially Daisy, who looks like a cross between a ridge back and a lab. This girl was born to work, wicked smart, quick and ready to please. She, the more forward moving of the two. Duke does not lag behind in the category of born to run, but has a more laid back attitude. Not so quick to grasp rules or boundaries, he will simply follow his sister blindly wherever she chooses to go or whatever she chooses to do. Herein is where Claire’s problems started: these two formed their own pack and simply relied on each other. They did not count on Claire for protection and direction, therefore they did not understand the need to follow her rules or accept her boundaries. That, in a nutshell, is what a bonded pair is: dogs that form a ‘mini pack’ within the larger pack. And because they already feel balanced in their mini pack, the tendency is for these dogs to not fully trust or respect the human, leading to a lot of headaches.
Bonded pairs can be formed in a myriad of ways. One of them is by purchasing two dogs from the same litter. Usually with the idea of having siblings that can keep each other company so the one pup doesn’t have to be alone. I am here to tell you, don’t do it. Or, if you really want to do it, then read on and make an educated decision. Getting two puppies at the same time means exactly that, double the potty training, double the resources, double the responsibility. Raising a puppy is not an easy task. If someone tells you it is, they most likely never really done it. So why, in heavens name, would one willingly double their trouble? Furthermore, since the puppies will be doing everything together, they start forming the ‘mini pack’, they become a unit. It is natural process of creating brotherhood (isn’t that what the military does? ). It starts with the dogs never being separated and progresses, rather quickly, to them not being able to be separated. If one is not in sight, the other starts acting out. If one is doing something, the other has to be there doing the same thing. Anything else besides or beyond the relationship is secondary. Owners start having behavioral problems that they can’t quite pinpoint, the reason being that the connection with the dogs is simply not there. The owner becomes secondary to the mini pack. My suggestion when getting a dog will always be to start with one puppy, teaching them the rules and boundaries of your household, and then, if the itch for a second dog is still there, get one after six or seven months. The older pup will start teaching the new one the rules that she has picked up already, making it a partnership between human and dogs. The entire pack working together.
Another very common way of bonded pair formation is rescuing two dogs that are deemed a bonded pair. I have worked for many years with rescue organizations. I admire and respect the work that these amazing people do. Nevertheless, whenever I see a rescue use the term bonded pair, I have to take a very deep breath and let the weight of that statement go. It is an admirable thing to try to keep two friends together, however, when dealing with animals, one has to always, always consider instinct first. The bonded pair has already established a pack. Small or not. The chances that they will trust and respect the new adoptive pack greatly diminishes if they are kept as a unit. Unless there is considerable effort, work and practice on the part of the human in teaching these two dogs separately for part of the time, the behavioral issues are bound to come up. The decision to adopt a dog should be, in my opinion, for the betterment of the adoptee. If that is our intention, separating a bonded pair is the first step in achieving that goal. It sets up both dogs and new families for better chances of success.
If you happen to have two dogs from different litters, that you acquired at different times, but are still seeing traces of unwanted behavior when they are separated, I would strongly suggest training. These dogs need more structure from the human in order to be best of version of themselves. If, for example, one of your dogs goes crazy if you walk the other one by herself, then it is time for training. Practice doing separate activities with each of the dogs. Practice walking one dog, for example, while the other has to stay calmly in their crate or bed. That will start teaching them that the human is the one to follow and surrender to. On the other hand, if the decision is to send your dogs to training, then I would scatter their starting days for about 10 days. That will give the household time to understand the energy of the one dog by herself. While also allowing the dog in training to get their sea legs under them by themselves. Without the influence of their bonded sibling. The dogs will go through the process of training together, but each within their time frame. With the human being able to practice the wanted behaviors for a bit with one dog before the second one arrives. That is what Claire did with Duke and Daisy. Daisy went home 10 days before Duke, by the time he arrived, Claire had grasped all the ins and outs of what was needed to be successful and Daisy helped her to teach Duke. A win, win, win for the entire pack.
