Well, taking on two puppies has gotten quite interesting already. We’ve learned that each puppy is an individual and must be treated separately as often as possible. This means separate walks, separate training sessions, and separate one-on-one playtime whenever possible. We were also told to crate them separately (in separate rooms, far from each other), but this didn’t work out the first time we tried it. After several hours of crying and screaming by both puppies long into the night, we gave up for the night and put them together. Asleep they went, quickly and comfortably. I guess, since they’re littermates and have been together since birth, sleeping together is all they’ve known.

We had our first vet appointment last night, so I brought this up and they can be crated together overnight, no problem. This was quite a relief for us. But they should have plenty of time apart from each other as well, so they can grow and develop as individuals. And we have to get them around as many different people as possible during the first few months to socialize them. We have a pen for them, in our living room, that they sleep in. Their potty pad is in there as well, and they’re getting more and more trained to only pee and poo on the pad.

Whenever we’re home, they get to run around the rest of the house, but we’ve found it a bit much to control all-at-once, so we’re blocking off access to other rooms as much as possible at times. Shadow seems to be the most curious one. He’ll explore every room and steal pieces of clothing whenever he gets a chance, just to see us react I think. He gives them up easily enough. He’ll grab underwear or a sock from a laundry basket and run across the house with it whenever he can, and he even snuck into the bathroom and grabbed the end of the toilet paper roll and ran down the hall and into the living room with it, nearly unrolling the entire spool. He’s a real stinker that one.

But overall things are doing good. They tolerated their first set of shots last night pretty well, and are getting comfortable going in and out of their pen to do their business, rest and play. I also take them out on the backyard once a day, even in the cold, just to start getting them used to it. They’re pretty much just cold, and maybe a just little curious right now, for a few minutes, then they beg to go back in and try to jump up on me so they can get warm again. It’s only for a few minutes a day, and I’ll slowly increase their outside time so we can start training them to go potty outside as the weather warms up. All of the staff at the vet seemed glad to have them, and one staff member said “I think we’re going to have to keep them here for observation for a year or two just to keep an eye on them!” We thought that was pretty funny. They’re both almost exactly the same weight, 3.5 lbs each. After we finished with the doctor, Shadow and Tiger were passed around to each of the office staff members to socialize, which was very nice, and they both seemed to enjoy the visit overall, they were just a little scared because everything is new, and they’ve rarely been outside of the house up until now.