Norwegian Elkhounds - Raising Siblings Or Two Elkhounds

Two Elkhound Siblings - Female / Male - Tora and Jaegar - Different Litters

I often get asked about raising two Elkhounds together, are there benefits, is it easier, or harder, advantages disadvantages and so on.

I am going to lay out my experiences with raising multiple Elkhounds and try to relate it to some of the great pairs of sibling Elkhounds we have out with folks as well. I have selected some great images of the pairs, and will use lot's of material on the dogs I have here of course.

All of you know one Elkhound is truly awesome, there is no better companion than a great Elkhound. Having two is just a great opportunity to experience a slightly wider range of Elkhound fun. Two will be acting together many times, but they do have their own personalities and traits and it's incredible to experience the bonding you can get with an Elkhound more than one time. To have one dog really like you and want to be around and work for you is something no doubt about it, just multiply that with another and it's quite fascinating to experience.

Seeing breed characteristics follow from one to the next, and have these traits just show right up in the next dog is sometimes so amazing I find myself just in awe of how traits can be so concise, actions so predictable its hard to fathom. Sometimes a picture is the only way to describe the bond that two siblings can exhibit. Take a look at Tora and Jaegar. This is taken from my office, through the window. One day it was sunny on the North side, I look out and here these two sit. Just chilling. Not doing anything in particular, just sister and brother sitting enjoying the company of each other.

Elkhounds are ancient dogs, probably having closer behavior to the wolf than a person cares to admit, but the ancient breeds that have had singular focus breeding for thousands of years like these dogs have very deep rooted pack mentality. Pack mentality, family bonds, sibling bonds these are much stronger in Elkhounds than say, a new breed. This inherent instinctive behavior is what makes keeping two Elkhounds such a great thing. When I say new breed, I am literally speaking or referring to about 98% of the breeds as the new breeds, as only a very few breeds are as old as the Elkhound. So most people, with 98% of the other dog breeds can't ever begin to witness the bonds, the communication between siblings, the instinctive behaviors as those breeds are just not as genetically selective and precise for as long a period of time.

You can use the German Shepherd as a reference breed comparing it to the Elkhound. The history of GSD goes back roughly 130 to maybe 135 years, with a great deal of the "early founding dogs interbred" and moving forward from that time. The GSD is a popular dog, no doubt about it, everybody knows of that breed in one way or another, yet compared to the history of the Elkhound it's just a baby, a small speck of time in existence. So for most folks, who don't have an Elkhound, which is unfortunate, but as the Elkhound is not a well known dog outside it's native country, for most, they will never get to experience the ancient instinctive bonds these dogs have.

Raising siblings like Tora and Jaegar, for me, it's been one of the great things in life. These are truly magnificent dogs. Each is fully independent, truly rooted in skills they own and control in themselves, yet can come together as a unit like nothing you have ever seen. I can honestly say that as an individual dog both of these two are at the very height of what you could ever wish for individually. Combined, it's absolutely amazing what they are able to do as a team, as a pair working as one.

Here is a recent video of Jaegar and Tora just done in March of 2016

Two Elkhound Females Tekla and Tuva - Same Litter

Anyone who visits our site can see many pairs of great sibling Elkhounds, but a pair of sisters I want to highlight is of course, the twins, Tekla and Tuva. I believe that because of our location, our sheer solitude, lack of interaction with people, just the natural remoteness of this new home, these two females have developed as close to natural as all possible, without of course just being wild.

Tuva and Tekla have met very few people. They interact almost 100% with me alone, and the other dogs. It's very much a pack mentality surrounding them. There is a hierarchy for a fact, they know what position they are, they know who is above, who is in what order and have been allowed to develop as close to the natural dog order as possible. To watch these two day in and day out, is to see exactly what absolute true sibling instinctive behavior is. With as little environmental interference as humanly possible.

Day in and day out I watch these two. This particular picture could be taken over and over and over. It's like taking a picture of one dog, when in fact it's always two. You can find dogs that look alike, you can find dogs that will hang around each other, but to get perfectly matched symmetry in everything they do, every move, every second, this is only happening in ancient lineage Elkhounds my friends.

For almost the whole first year neither of these two females knew that they each had a separate name, they I am positive each thought their name was Tekla/Tuva . It was over a year before I could tell them apart at a distance, so I always called them both. There was no reason calling one, still isn't, I can rarely, and I mean rarely get one to come alone, even though today they do know they have individual names.

These two Norwegian Elkhound sisters are the height of what can be stated as amazingly close behaviors. At no time, and I will repeat that, At NO Time did I think I was training two dogs. Nor, did I act differently to either dog, nor did I at anytime think I needed to teach either dog. I simply was training and working with two dogs that acted like one dog. I never thought once that I should teach Tekla to sit, and then Tuva, or teach Tuva something and then Tekla. I simply had to do exactly what I would have done with one. In fact probably less than I would have done with one if I really was to be factual. I actually think I can train, or work with a pair, faster and easier than one myself.

Many people will not be able to comprehend that, they will just normally associate other breeds of dogs, and random mental behaviors that other dogs have and not be able to know of the vast difference a closely related, tight knit thought process instinctive difference the Elkhound has. Please don't compare unstable, mental midget screwed up crossbred goofball dogs with Elkhounds, huge mistake.

Tekla and Tuva function in the pack exactly like all the other dogs, they know who is above them in rank, they follow the rank order. I have an incredible bond with both of them. They never get aggressive, yet play hard. They can sit and wait in amongst the group, watch pups each two feet away for 20 minutes, sitting content. They can visit other people, or they can guard the yard. They can hike offleash with the very best of my dogs. Absolutely stellar dogs. Never an issue with these two. I want them to pay attention, THEY PAY ATTENTION. I have them in among all the dogs every day. Every day we are working as a team, as a group, yet I still work them by themselves, or with Kamp, or just Kai, or just Takoda. Or I take Tekla, or I take Tuva and some other dog. But when they are working with me together, they are in unison. I could not want for a better experience working a dog than I get with those two.

What is very interesting is that I have just basically completed the Desna training program with Bane and Havoc. Two Elkhound brothers. These two siblings were born December 9th 2015 and have been here getting the training program before heading home on April 2/3 2016.

What I found out by having these two young boys here is the exact same concept of training can be applied to them as I did to Tekla and Tuva, for all but the "Individuality part" I can train two as one. Sure I had the boys on individual work sessions but that is a very limited amount of time required for that, almost all the work was done as a team, treating them as one dog. For anyone contemplating getting two dogs at one time, it's going to be basically training one, even though two dogs are there. When I say one, I don't mean focus on one, but focus as one. You will need to do your individuality work, your socialization, your behaviour and rank training, everything you would do with a pup if you only had one, but training two is not going to be twice as hard. In my experience over the last ten years, it's much easier working multiple dogs.

Here is a video of Bane and Havoc out doing some offleash training.

Two Elkhound Males Kona and Bruin - Same Litter

The two awesome young pups looking at you here on the green grass are our first set of siblings we had go to a new home. This is Kona and Bruin, two older brothers to Jaegar and full brothers, same litter to Tora. These are some really great Elkhound males, they are up with Russ and Holly in MacKenzie BC.

With two brothers and or with two sisters, especially those out of the same litter you will have dogs that are extremely close. You can still get this exact closeness with siblings from different litters, there just comes into play the slight age difference if selected from different litters. Also a different training method will almost always be utilized when they are from different litters, rather than together.

The two brothers Kona and Bruin allow for companionship, play time, camaraderie that they just can't gain from us. They still as a pair get all the interaction and association with us, but its those times where they are out scouting around, or simply sitting on the grass that you really get a chance to see it's such a great thing for them to have a pal to share this with. There are a lot of things that two dogs have a much easier time with, but suffice to say, every minute of time they are on their own away from us is easier for them as a pair, than if they were away from us alone.

Elkhounds have work ethics as an integral part of the dna. So it's only a natural thing for them to be alert focused dogs, basically 100% of the time. With siblings the ability to relax is easier for them. They know they can count on each other, that they have some back up, some one to assist and share the watch with. I personally believe that pairs of dogs allow for a more relaxed life for the dogs. I know from watching pairs of dogs play, there is no way I could exercise them to the extent that they do themselves when playing. This full out play is essential for them to burn off that energy, that work drive. The speed at which they chase each other, and burn around after each other, and up and play fighting and wrestling, it would be impossible for me to come anywhere close to that level of workout, and it would be impossible for me to give them that close bond and friendship they get the remainder of the time they spend alone.

Two Elkhound Siblings - Male / Female Koda and Kijsa - Same Litter

Koda and Kijsa, the two tremendous Elkhounds shown here are down in Utah. Robert and Janet have an incredible pair of Elkhounds from Takoda and GAEDA. These two are full siblings, same litter. These are the dark of the moon pups, absolutely awesome dogs. It doesn't have to be two males, or two females, you can have the terrific companionship with each gender like this pair, same as Jaegar and Tora shown at the top.

These are both really great dogs, Kijsa was a very large female, so basically these two are very closely matched in size, stride, weight, etc. I find it neat that Koda he took a fair bit of the looks from Takoda and fitting for Kijsa to pull a bit more from GAEDA. I really like these two dogs and for Robert and Janet, they have the ideal pair.

 Two Elkhound Sisters - Nikeeta and Teeka - Different Litter

Outside of Tora and Jaegar, all the pairs I mentioned above have been from the same litter. This particular pair is Nikeeta and Teeka. John and Denise have this beautiful pair of females down in Calgary and this is a stunning pair of Elkhounds. What is really neat about getting pairs is they don't need to be from the same litter to be extremely close. We have seen this quite a few times now where the second sibling is from the next litter.

John sends in regular updates on these two females, one thing that does occur is that there will be some very easy training with a trained dog already, and there will be some areas that potentially need a bit of one on one work, with the new pup I mean. John sometimes has his hands full with Nikeeta, the younger of the two if they go off leash. I know from my own experience that it can be very tough to find that time alone with a young pup to instill some special training if you have two dogs. Normally, you simply take both. John is finding that Teeka, being the first pup, she is very skilled at recall and off leash work, Nikeeta, as the new pup is good, but needs a little individual work to bring her up to Teeka's level. This is one thing you will need to remember is that when you have one skilled dog, the young pup is going to gain a huge amount of knowledge from the skilled dog, but you will still need to spend some individual time with the younger one to allow her to flourish and become as skilled as the older dog.

The bonds and companionship though begin almost from day one. John has shared a lot of feedback on the two females and always talks about how easy it was to have them work together and how Teeka was always there to assist and help, and play and mentor the younger sister.

Denise and John are also quick to point out that both girls have the individuality but have traits that are unmistakable and identical. Siblings like these two which come from different litters, the difference in the behavior is only age related. All character traits are so closely matched you would rarely know they were not the same litter. Once the young pup reaches that 2 years of age or so mark, then the dogs are basically once again on a par age wise for many years and will operate in tandem, you would be very hard pressed to know they were different litters.

Here is a video of Jaegar and Teeka playing when they both were roughly six months old. Playing totally silent, just having a great time. Jaegar is an Uncle to Teeka, as he is a brother to Tora, who is the mother of Teeka.

Two Elkhound Sisters - Scout and Kaia - Different Litter

I am so proud of all the Elkhounds we have out with great families and this particular pair of course I really like to talk about. Paula and Steve have two of the nicest Elkhound females in the USA. They are down in Colorado with these two awesome females, Kaia was the first female they had, and then they came back and got another sister for a pal, young Scout.

We know from feedback on these two from Paula that they are both close to each of them, but that they do still have some small bit of bond with one handler just a wee bit different from the other. It's easier for me to illustrate using their Mother Tora, she would always listen exclusively to anyone in our family, but she would ultimately end up over by me for a little tussle before a photoshoot. Just some little thing that each dog might do as a bond with a handler, something the dog would use to show that difference in affection. It's a very neat thing with two siblings for a couple to have, basically both people get to have two beautiful dogs, yet each can have an individual time and unique relationship with either dog as well.

Two Elkhound Brothers - Torsten and Gunnar - Different Litter

These two big boys are out with Brian and Lindsay. I have a great write-up on the day Brian and Lindsay came up to pick up Gunnar. Kathy and Blaine came up with Bram, the father of these boys and we had a very nice day with quite a few Elkhounds around that day.

These two boys get along great, of course, there is going to be a few squabbles to sort out over bones and so on, but it's going to work out fine. Brian drops me a note now and then on these rascals and they are doing great. Brothers can run together for years. You can keep males together, and folks in the old country have done it for centuries, using males as hunting companions, hiking and trapping, sometimes in sled work and more. There is nothing like running two big males in the wilderness setting in Northern Alberta like these two big fellas run in.

Two Elkhound Sisters - Nika and Kari - Different Litters

 I have always liked this photo. I got this from Shelly and Brett, back in 2011 and it was such a great photo. That young couple was just having a great day out with family and friends, and the two big females, Nika and Kari, you can just tell they are just as happy, just having a great day as well. You will be a long time finding a photo that just plain shows happy like this one.

Those two big females have been favorites of mine since forever, no doubt. Unfortunately, Nika, the beautiful female on the left has passed on. Shelly and Brett had a difficult time with that, and so did Kari. Shelly has shared with me that Kari is coming back to her old self and things are moving forward now. She is a sled puller that Kari, so she is busy pulling the young son Brett and Shelly have, and also they have a new daughter soon to be sitting in that sled as well.

These girls are daughters of Takoda. Super personal, full of abilities, the same but unique. The big tall females like these two are old ancient girls with heritage going back to the very earliest of times. These are dogs that love to work, they pour their heart into what you want them to do, and they love to do it. They are also the most personable of all the Elkhound llineages. They bond incredibly well with the handler and families.

It's an incredibly tough break they had to lose Nika, but at the same time, they got to experience what so very very few people in Canada, and for that matter in the world get to experience, two magnificent female Elkhounds, ancient lineage no less, these my friends are some serious Elkhound siblings.

Young Elkhound Male Joins Mature Elkhound Male

Two Young Males, Different Breeders, Raised Together

George and Jackie had one of the big boys from Tora and Bram, Kage. Soon after they got another Male named Loki as a pal for Kage to play with and be a companion. They have been solid companions for years, but George just contacted me recently, unfortunately Loki went missing and has not returned. Losing a great dog, accident, tragedy to an unforeseen health issue, or suspected foul play as in this case, is always a heartbreaker. George has asked us if we could get him a new companion for Kage in one of the litters if things work out. We are working on it, maybe Kage's youngest sister, Kai can step up and provide that big fella for them, that would be neat. Who knows, maybe that sister of Tora's, Nola gets a litter going this summer with Bram, Kage's Dad. That would be pretty cool, basically a full brother six years later.

Storm meet Havoc - Older Sister Gets Younger Half Brother

I get such a kick out of this pair of siblings. As you know young Mr. Havoc is here doing the Desna program with me while I am writing this. He goes home in a couple days, as Todd and Jen are coming up to get him, bringing along The Storm herself. She will be letting her mom Kamp know that she is looking after things down Seattle way, and meeting her sisters, Tekla and Tuva. As well she will visit with all her other compadres, aunt Tora, Kai, Kalia, GAEDA and grandpa Takoda. Her dad Jaegar just left back to Kamloops for a while to rest up. She won't get to see him.

Two Great Sisters - Elkhounds Lexi and Shasta - Look After Young Payton

Lynn and Lawrence have a young daughter, Payton. The first Elkhound female we ever raised went up to them to be a pal to the great older female Norwegian Elkhound they had named Kelsey.

Now over time Kelsey passed on, and Lynn's young daughter Payton was born. It was now up to Lexi to assist Lynn with the day to day activities, and take watch duty over Payton in the yard and while playing. She was exceptional. Tragically she was hit by a moron driver on a subdivision road while speeding through a family neighborhood. Takoda wanted some alone time in the garage with the doors locked with that moron for sure. Lynn and Lawrence waited a while but felt empty space in their life where a great Elkhound should be.

They contacted us to see if we could help with a great female. We looked to Mia and Takoda once more, they had stepped up to the plate the first time around, and sure enough, once more, the only female in the litter, out comes this little fireball Elkhound, Shasta. Shasta has been a blessing for them.

I have lot's of material on the site from Lynn, about Shasta, Lexi, life in northern Alberta, it's a real honor for me to provide awesome dogs to truly awesome families like all of those illustrated above.