Soon-to-be owner of 2 pug puppies!

[Monie009]

Hello everyone!

In a few days, I get to pick up my little pug babies. I intended on getting only a girl at first, but when she was delivered by her breeder, I was told she came with her brother (who was going to be sold). Rather than breaking up the siblings, I decided to take them both!!

Henrietta & Gus are 10 weeks old.

I am very nervous as I have never trained a puppy before - let alone 2!!!! Luckily, my husband had a beautiful chocolate lab before we met, who he successfully trained so I hope to have his help in training my new puppies! And I am curious if the puppies will learn from our lab (our lab is 5 years old - and an absolute sweetheart)

I am sure I will be incessantly posting once the puppies are home.

I heard 2 pugs are better than 1... so I hope we made the right decision! And I hope our 5-year old chocolate lab loves the new additions as well.

I have been reading article on the Forum the past few months in preparation of adding a pug to our family. Thank you all in advance for your help & advice!!!!

[puglover22]

oh boy you are gonna have your hands full.....one puppy is hell on wheels and you're getting double trouble!
what does that mean "she came with her brother"?
when you have 2 puppies from the same litter you run the risk that they will bond with each other more than they will bond with you. You will need to spend time seperately with each one to try to bond with them individually. It would be a good idea to take them to obedience class, you with one and your husband with the other one, and switch off training with them. Classes are a great way to socialize them.

[tall grass pugs]

Remember that puppies love to bedevil older dogs and two puppies more than one. It is terribly important that the lab not be made their baby sitter, and is given time to be alone in peace. A solid hard plastic baby gate and a crate are important to the puppies' future.

[Rosiepug]

Welcome to the Village.

OMG, you're brave LOL
It takes longer to train two puppies than one.
It's a good idea to do some one on one training with each of them, for a short period of time each day.

If they are not already, I would definitely crate train them so you have a safe place to put them when you go out, or go go bed.
There is a sticky in the Training thread that explains how to go about it.

I would be careful how you introduce the Labrador and make sure that the puppies don't get too excited nipping at him/her, I mean playing but as you are going to find out playing for a puppy means hanging off your trousers, could easily be your Labs ears. Many puppies bite! Watch for too boisterous play and give your Labbie a lot of attention so he doesn't get jealous.

Can't wait for the photo's

[Monie009]

Thank you all for these initial responses! I am still trying to figure out how to "reply" to these posts!!

Ok so to answer a few questions: We are picking up the puppies from essentially a "puppy broker" - it's a client of my dad's (and my family has used him to get their last dog). So the puppy broker reaches out to breeders he knows, to find people dogs. The dogs are then shipped to his "store" and can be picked up only after their personnel has reviewed their papers, and their vets have examined the puppies, etc. I "ordered" a female pug puppy. When she arrived last week to the store, the vet tech told me that the breeder sent them 2 pugs from the same litter instead of one (the brother). The broker said that they would find another owner for the boy pup. Boy this sounds sketchy - I mean to establish - we are not getting the pups from a pet store - they are coming from a breeder.

Hearing that "the brother" pug came in, we figured perhaps it is best to not split the siblings, and take them both. If we are already training one puppy, what's one more?! (It's a lot of work, I am sure - but rather than training one now - and then in 6 more months getting another pug and starting the training process again - we thought doing 2 at once is best). We have a large home, a nice fenced in back yard - AND VERY BIG HEARTS WHEN IT COMES TO DOGS! I work 5 miles from my home so coming home from work at lunch to play with them is not an issue. And this way, the little pups can be together during the day. The thing with our labbie is that we share custody with my husband's ex wife (can u believe that?!!!!!!!) we only have our labbie 2 weeks out of every month :( hopefully this 1/2 a month custody will end in the future.

We intend to crate train the pups (I have been reading the posts in the Forum). I go visit them at the "store" daily. The pups have been sharing a crate at the store the past week that they arrived in NJ. I assumed I would continue to do that (share a crate). They are also teething because they bite me like crazy!!! I presume they would nip at the lab - - but we don't intend to let the little guys have full run of the house/direct contact with the lab until they are a bit older. We bought a huge baby gate "superyard" which would allow them to run around in while we are home - - and this way our lab can walk up and sniff them (and vice versa) thru the gates when he is with us. We can also take the baby gate/pen outside and give them a little space to roam around in outside until we are comfortable giving them free run of the yard. We also plan to ween them off the food they are currently on and start them on Blue Buffalo which I read about in posts - and fortunately found at a local pet store. I also bought a bunch of "teething" toys for the pups.

So from what I am reading so far (THANK U ALL AGAIN, SO SO MUCH!) we have to ensure that we bond with each pup separately. We already realize that we need to make sure our labbie (Bosco) isn't made to feel neglected, etc. when he is with us.

If anyone HONESTLY thinks this is not a good idea (taking the brother too) - PLEASE TELL ME!!

[bumble]

from Chicago! I can't give advice, because I've never raised puppies; just wanted to say hello, and remember, we need pictures so we can watch those babies grow up.

[puglover22]

sorry to tell you this, but most "puppy brokers" are getting their pups from puppy mills.
what kind of "store" does the broker have?

[Charlie Baby]

Congrats on your upcoming additions...we have had our puppy for just over 2 months and he's a handful - I believe Jacqueline mentioned the biting of the ears, be mindful of that - a lot of older dogs aren't overly interested in playing with puppies, as we've learned from our friends dogs....so expose your lab in small doses to get him used to the little ones.

Other than that I wish you lots of luck!

[Monie009]

oh my goodness, I did not know that - nor did I THINK that I would getting a puppy mill pup. I am an attorney and the broker is a client of my father (who is also an attorney) - - I honestly did not even contemplate that he may be acquiring puppy mill pups for me (considering the professional relationship he has with my father).

Here is the website to the broker's "store": Best in Breed Kennels - Welcome to our Website - 201-261-7877

How would I know if I am getting puppy mill pups? What do I look for in their paperwork?? Aside from the paperwork that I will be given on Thursday when I have to sign the contracts and pick up the pups - - is there anything else I can do to find out if they are puppy mill pups?

[Snifter]

Their website states they do not buy from puppy mills, but from responsible breeders. Hmmmm. The worry is that no reputable breeder who breeds for the betterment of the breed that I have ever come across would be even remotely prepared to consider selling to a broker instead of taking an active interest in the home their puppies will go to.

I would be most interested to see what provisions there are for the breeder taking back the puppies if there is a problem or if the owner ever cannot keep them.

Both my boys came with a requirement that they be returned to the breeder if ever I cannot keep them (that is not actually legally enforceable over here, I don't think, but the point is they actively WANT to know what happens to their pups and are prepared to be responsible for them their whole lives if push comes to shove).