What makes littermates so challenging?

Many professional trainers discourage people from acquiring littermates because it is very difficult to raise littermates together successfully. Our trainer has extensive experience working with littermates. We have often observed behavioral problems in littermates including:

Separation anxiety - owners of littermates often do not separate them enough. The pups often become extremely anxious if separated from each other. Some pet owners do not see how this is a serious problem until it is too late. There are many situations where dogs will need to be separated for instance for medical procedures, travel or should one dog become ill or die (we have worked with several cases where this happened with a young dog, and the remaining dog was severely stressed).
Aggressive behavior - it can be hard to imagine when pups are young, but when dogs mature, they may not always get along as well as they did when they were young. This is especially common when the pups are the same gender and can be extremely serious in some cases. Usually fighting does not start until the dogs are between the ages of 1-2.
Fearful behavior-because it is so much work to raise two pups, owners are often overwhelmed and have difficulty meeting the dog's socialization needs. Littermates are often undersocialized to people and dogs.
Persistent house soiling - house training requires constance vigilance, this is very difficult to do when there are two puppies.
Training challenges- littermates often bond more closely to each other than to their owner. They then take cues from each other on how to behave and ignore the owner.

We generally recommend waiting until the youngest dog in the home is closer to 2 before acquiring another puppy. This does not mean that owners who have already committed to getting littermates should "give up" and assume they will have dogs with behavioral problems. Owners should be prepared to put in some extra work including:

• Separating puppies both when they are at home and taking them on separate walks, separate play sessions, separate crate time, separate training lessons, so forth.
• Enrolling each pup in training classes- littermates usually need more than just basic training.
• Socializing each puppy individually so the pup develops confidence with people, dogs and in new environments.
• Supervising interactions to prevent fights and guide the pups to appropriate play.

If you have adult dog littermates and are having problems it is not too late to get help. Guidance from a qualified professional can help you improve your dogs' behavior and quality of life.

Read more about littermates:

http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/livingwlittermates.html

http://www.caninedevelopment.com/Sibling.htm

http://buddyschance.typepad.com/positive_dog_training_blo/2007/04/adopting_litter.html

 

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