obedience

chrisr

I have two 6 month old Springers. they are very well mannered and tempered when they are with me, but when someone else approaches them they freak out. One of them will even growl and bark. Is this normal for pups or should i be worried? What should i do? Both parents are of pure breaths and very well tempered.

Top Dog

Are they littermates?

chrisr

yes

Toulouse

Have you been socialising them with other people? Do they know these people who approach them or are they complete strangers?

chrisr

they are strangers but they freak out over little things. and i am introducing them to new surroundings and people. i just dont want to throw too much at them at once

Toulouse

Socalisation is something that should be started before they are 12 weeks old.

This might be of some use to you. http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/teach-your-puppy-and-respect-people

Have you thought about bringing them to classes?

Personally I don't think you've made things easy for yourself by getting littermates or even two pups at the same time for that matter. It's hard enough to train one dog properly without having to train two and getting two together can make it very difficult to train either. Maybe do some research on 'Littermate Syndrome' although I'd say lack of socialisation is the main problem here.