I know there is a lot of controversy going around saying that litter mate syndrome hasn’t been proven, but I want to tell you what I have experienced personally teaching lots of siblings and why we no longer allow dogs who live together to attend group classes together.
I have seen that when someone gets two puppies together or two pups within a short period, less than a year apart, these pups form an extremely unhealthy bond. This is what I have noticed:
1. They are highly attached. Since dogs are social animals, it is natural for them to seek companionship, whether with other animals or humans. It is also naturally easier for dogs to bond with other dogs from a young age because they are dogs. When two puppies are brought together, they immediately connect and quickly become inseparable. They usually have separation anxiety and lack confidence when separated.
2. When we have two littermates together, you see that one is often more subdued, and the other is often a bully. This heightens when they are placed in social situations. One puppy will cope well, the other will crumble, and it takes ages to build their confidence as individuals.
3. We find that they are generally more challenging to train. Raising one puppy takes a lot of effort; raising two puppies is even more. Many people get two puppies at once so that they can ‘keep each other busy,’ not realising that it usually means double the potty accidents, double the destruction, and double the reactivity. Dogs are social learners as well, so when they see a dog doing something, they usually join in.
4. There is an increased risk of inter-dog aggression with litter mates. Many siblings start fighting with each other, especially when adolescence hits.
What I have found now that we no longer have pups who live together to join the same class together is
1. The humans become so much more bonded with the pups as individuals.
2. The humans realise that each pup has different needs and personalities. One pup might need a lot more attention on confidence building and socialisation, whereas the other pup needs to work on play biting and being calm.
3. The humans realise how much the pups have bonded and how hard they need to work at separation anxiety from each other.
4. Over the course, we see the pups flourish separately. Before I had this rule, I had never been able to confidently say that littermates had flourished in my class. I can see that they struggled with being placed on opposite sides of the class, and I can see them become protective of each other during playgroup. Or I will see the subdued pup never fully become confident. Now that we have separated the pups, I have seen much more improvement in their development and confidence.
Tips for raising two pups together
1. Enroll them in a force-free puppy class ASAP. Do not wait until they are four months old; start NOW with a school that is strict about vaccinations being up to date. Here is a link to the classes we offer: https://barkvader.co.za/our-classes/
2. Keep them apart often. Be strict about keeping training, feeding, walking, and enrichment separate, and build their confidence as individual dogs.
3. Work on separation anxiety soon. Just like we need them to feel okay being separated from us, they also need to be okay being alone and without the other pup. Sometimes, one of the pups might need to go to the vet, and your other pup has to be okay.
4. Make sure you treat them equally but acknowledge their differences. Make sure you spend enough alone time with them so that you know what issues they need to work on.
If you need any help with your littermates or housemates, please let us know, and we can come and help you. You can also follow us on Facebook, where we often post more tips and tricks to raise happy, healthy, and confident pups: https://www.facebook.com/barkvaderdogschool.