They look so calm and docile, don't they? But in reality they only look like this after a half hour of outdoor chaos. They don't yet know how to walk on a leash and they have the collective attention span of a gnat. Walking them is not actually walking them… they tend to either be running at full speed and pulling against the leashes like it's a personal challenge; or flinging themselves at each other, the guinea fowl, the leaves, Wiley, me, random sounds… you get the picture. They tangle themselves up in the leashes in nanoseconds and once I get one untangled, the other one is on the verge of breaking a leg trying to fling himself over his brother while somehow having gotten himself wrapped up in BOTH leashes.
It all sounds fun and cute when I write it, but there is a serious side to all this. I'll try to summarize. I posted on Facebook a few photos of the puppies announcing that Aaron and I had adopted them. In came all the obligatory Ooohs and Aaahs and "oh SOOO cute!"s. But there was one voice of reason and sanity in the crowd, my Aunt Rebecca. She has been working for the guide dogs for the blind in Northern California for decades now and has a degree in Animal Husbandry. (If I'm remembering that correctly) Anyway, the point is that she's got the experience, the expertise, and the insight to speak knowledgeably about raising dogs. She, along with her sister Shanti, were exceptionally helpful when Wiley's behavioral issues first started coming to the surface. Her comment on the Facebook feed was basically, 'yeah they're cute no doubt, but raising siblings is different and a challenge.' So when a pro like her says something like that, I sit up and start to do research. It took all of 5 minutes for me to read enough online to make me feel like a colossal idiot for not doing this simple research before. Or at least contacting Rebecca and saying, "Hey, you're a smart cookie! Whatcha think about this idea Aaron and I have?"
Well, the truth is that it's a foolish thing to try and raise siblings or even two puppies of the same age together in the same household. What concerns me the most is how these two pups will develop as adult dogs. Here's a quote I found on a trainer's website:
"Dogs MUST be allowed to develop as individuals. At seven weeks of age, they are ready to look to the outside world for bonding and individuality. They are ready to leave the pack and move on. Pups at seven weeks bond easily to the human UNLESS they do not leave their litter. Maintaining siblings from the same litter interferes with this transfer."
There is, of course, much more to it and I encourage you to do a simple google search on raising sibling puppies together. The long and short of it is that I had to make the hard decision and re-home Sawyer. I could not ask my brother to re-home his dog Atticus. Plus, of the two puppies, Atticus is the more submissive one and I thought that would be a better fit in the long run for Wiley. I talked it over with Aaron and though neither of us liked the idea, we knew in our hearts that it was in the best interest for all three dogs. So we reached out to a friend who started helping us spread the word about needing a good home for Sawyer. We also decided that if a good home wasn't found quickly, we could take him back to the shelter where we knew he would not have to wait long to be adopted. A lot of people were interested but none could take him so we did end up having to take him back to the shelter. It was an extremely difficult day for me. I sobbed and sobbed and Aaron was stoic for me. The people at the shelter understood the dilemma and were not harsh or judgmental towards us.
Atticus took it well. He whimpered when we got home and looked around like he was missing something but Aaron spent a lot of time playing with him and taking him for walks around the farm. Very quickly they have bonded and Atticus now only whimpers when he needs to be walked. I'm actually astounded at the transformation that Atticus has taken. Before, with his big brother, he was a meek shadow dog and I couldn't get a fix on his personality. Now we are really getting to know him and he's blossoming into a sweet, fun, inquisitive dog. He's great with Wiley- very respectful and idolizes him in a way. He wants whatever Wiley has and does what Wiley does. If Wiley lies down to sleep, so will Atticus! And the bond between Aaron and Atticus is getting so strong. Atticus likes me and is friendly and cuddly with me, but it's clear that Aaron is the center of his universe.
So that's the puppy story. It's a bittersweet one, but might have a double happy ending. We just heard from our friend Kathleen that someone was interested in Sawyer. Even though he's back at the shelter, we will do what we can to help this person adopt Sawyer. I just hope for them it's not too late. He's a wonderful dog and will be a loving member of any family who is lucky enough to get him.
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