We decided to offer this course after the publication of our blog, Spectacular Siblings brought to our attention how much misinformation and fear mongering was causing puppy owners significant distress.
This blog quickly became the most shared and read blog on the Clickety Split website and almost as quickly the emails requesting help raising siblings started to pour in.
We recognized the urgent need for sound advice on raising siblings and preventing some of the Commonly Discussed Pitfalls, of doing so while avoiding the unfounded “doom and gloom” often touted as unavoidable when raising littermates.
Raising siblings is nothing new for my family. We raised our first siblings, Fina and Frisco, over twenty five years ago and have raised more than 10 sibling and same age puppies since then.
Raising siblings is common among competition focused owners and breeders, and this demographic reports very few problems among their littermates - no greater really than the single dogs they raise.
Why is this? I wondered. Why do some owners have so few problems with siblings while others so many? Our investigation revealed fostering a sense of independence between siblings, recognizing tensions before escalation, and embracing management were all hallmarks of success.
Breeders like us were so used to this work that it became second nature - something we didn’t even realize we were doing.
I realized these protocols needed to spread from our home to the homes of the owner who was raising siblings. This spreading of knowledge would increase owner satisfaction with their dogs, and decrease some of the negative risks often associated with raising siblings, ultimately keeping more dogs happily situated in loving homes.
Through that realization this course was born, designed to move this knowledge from our family to yours.
This course will prepare you to raise two puppies at the same time and using techniques and protocols we will outline, help your puppies learn to be independent from each other, mannerly even when together, and to disengage from, or avoid, hyper aroused play. You will learn when to apply skills in Training, Management, and Confinement, and how to ensure the needs of each puppy are met fully.