New Puppies

Question
Hi! I'm adopting two 7 week old Siberian Husky's this weekend and have a couple questions. We will be crate training them, should we crate them together or in separate crates?
Also, at 7 weeks they are too young to crate. What should we do over night? Should we crate them even though they will probly pee?
Also, is it best to adopt two sisters or two pups from separate litters?
Thanks for your help!

Answer
Well, first off - Congratulations!  Here's some things to think about it, and feel free to to write back with more questions:

First, 7 weeks is somewhat young for pups to leave the litter (although my first was at this age, and she's fine).  Except some "mouthy" behavior and make sure you have a chewing outlet for them.  I had some thick leather gloves that they quickly learned to play with (Write back and I'll share that story with you).

Two pups at the same time is difficult, you have to make sure to train them separately so that praise is given to the right dog at the right time, as are corrections.

Crate training is a definite good idea.  Crate them separately, although we always made sure they were close together still - keeps the pack closeness.  The crates should just be large enough for the pups to lay in, no more.  They will inevitable make some messes, but that's alright.  Realize that the rule of thumb is the number of months old plus 1 hour - so an eight week old puppy should be able to hold their bladder for about 3 hours.  You need to make sure they are taken out at least that often so they have the chance not to eliminate in their crates.  If they do, use an enzymatic cleaner (e.g., Nature's Miracle) to clean it up, away from their view.  Over night, be prepared to get up every couple of hours to let them out.  If the dog cries/whines/etc to get out, take it outside, let it eliminate - if it does - praise it and maybe a treat - if not, take it back inside the crate.

As for separate litters - if you are already making the tough commitment to raise two at once, I don't see any issues with the same or different litters.  My best advice however, would be one at a time.  Spacing them out and getting one trained and learning from that experience makes the second one much, much easier.  They can still be close in age, but a few months is often an easier time.

Oh, one more thing - you may want to look at a male and a female - they often get along better than two of the same sex.