LOL>..........I had a feeling you would be going this direction.....
...lol.
I have 2 pups of the same age. i said I would never do this again, but I think if I had 2 giant breeds it would have been much easier as giant breeds aren't nearly as hyper as terriers are.
I went thru the same problems you are considering. When we got them, they were already 6 mo old. We got them about 2 days before we moved from Ca to Mn. (well I moved to Mn, hubby came to IL). I was forced to live with my parents until hubby could find a job/house. What was supposed to be about 4 months turned into 1.5 yrs. My parents were not amused to say the least.........
....lol.
Nigel and Posey completely forgot they were housebroken we had to start from scratch. And with my parents large house, and b/c not everyone was on board with my "rules" it took over a year to completely house train them again. They also ruined an antique chair of my parents by chewing on the wooden base, depsite there being about 100 toys in the same room. Nigel also started marking in the home there which really put me in the doghouse. I don't think we would have had nearly the same problems if we only had 1 pup.
Okay, so bad things:
1) training. It is harder to train 2 at the same time. It can be done. I did all my training together, not seperately. yes, it can be harder to get their focus, but when one picks it up, the other is shortly to follow. Potty training was the hardest, b/c neither had to go at the same time, but I still had to take them out together, just to be sure.
2) bills. Yup, x2. And with 2 giant breeds, the cost will be significant.
3) you are in an apt. right now. I was lucky my parents lived on an acerage. Nothing was fenced in, so they couldn't go off leash for almost a year (until they had okay recall) but we had long lines for them and it was a large house with alot of room to run around (for small dogs). Will they be able to burn off puppy energy there? Is there a dog park nearby? (I know there is one in SF, so you can always drive down there until you move
)
4) bonding. in the beginning, yes the dogs will be very bonded to each other. I noticed that right off. But with training sessions and time spent with each, they will bond easily to you and your man. Nigel is more bonded to me, Posey to my husband (but that follows the general rules of males bond more with females and vice versa).
5) the end. It is my great concern that they will both go at the same time. Heck, Keiko and Gunther will grow old together despite their age differences and it scares me they could go close to each other (I hadn't figured that in when I got Gunther but realized it soon afterwards). But it is a risk one takes when getting siblings or dogs close in age........or in my case, one dog that's older and one that ages quickly and a second set that's the same age
.
6) If Gilly ends up being a dwarf, my main concern would be that he may get picked on by his sister. If she is alot bigger than him, dogs don't usually know the difference and may play quite rough with him. If he's a spitfire, he won't stand for it, but you just never know. Of course, in my case its the smaller dog thats more of a pest. Posey is only about 2/3 the size of Nigel and constantly picks on him and he has to look to me or Gunther for protection....
.....lol.
Now for the good:
1) 2 are better than one!......lol. why have one, when you can have 2? they will help to keep each other entertained, whether that be good or bad..........l
ol.
2) 1 for each. Now both you and your husband can have your own dog and you don't have to share.
Usually one dog will bond more with one person and the other with a different person. So it works out pretty well.
3) the future. Since you will be living on a large property soon, it is a great place to have 2 dogs to run around. Not that you would need 2 dogs, but why not?
you will have to weigh the good against the bad. not all the bad points are deal breakers for me, just things to consider. if you think you can handle it and afford it, I say go for it! Dogs always like having another dog friend around, and in my case, several dog friends.......
..lol.