Adopting littermates
I am fortunate enough to spend a lot of time working with puppies and their owners and often, I am asked by prospective puppy parents about adopting two puppies from the same litter. Many cite the fact that the puppies will be able to keep each other company or that training two at the same time makes sense but whilst it may seem like a good idea, adopting littermates actually makes life a lot more complicated.
Littermate Syndrome
Littermate syndrome is a term which describes unwanted behaviours between sibling dogs. Most commonly, these behaviours are aggression and intense attachment between the littermates. Littermate syndrome can also form between young, unrelated dogs in the same household.
Littermate syndrome occurs when two (or more) puppies do not correctly learn to interact with other people and dogs. Pups who have developed littermate syndrome form such a strong attachment that they become highly dependent on each other, at the expense of other relationships (both human and canine). This happens because the littermates bond so intensely with each other that they do not form proper connections with their human family.
Littermate syndrome can form if puppies are kept in the same household, beyond the usual period of between 8 – 12 weeks.
Signs of Littermate Syndrome
- Fearfulness when presented with unfamiliar people, things, places and environmental stimuli (e.g. strange noises)
- High anxiety if separated from their littermate
- Unwillingness to eat without their sibling present
- Reluctancy to play when separated from their sibling
- Struggling with basic training and commands
- Aggression between the littermates
Challenges of Littermate Syndrome
- Puppies with littermate syndrome form hyper-attachments with each other. This can mean they fail to learn to play and communicate with other dogs, which in turn can result in fear & aggression towards other dogs.
- As littermates are often so focused on each other, they may also fail to learn to engage correctly with humans
- You triple your workload in terms of training; the puppies must be trained separately and together
- Attacks between littermates are more common than between unrelated dogs in the same household
Preventing Littermate Syndrome
- The easiest way to prevent littermate syndrome, is not to adopt two puppies from the same litter – or to have two dogs under the age of 1 in the same household.
- Treat the dogs as individuals. Spend time with each dog independently each day, playing, training and exercising.
- Train the dogs together as well. Teach them to listen to you in each other’s company.
- Gradually separate the puppies – use separate crates, feed them in separate rooms, take them outside at different times.
- Socialise them well with other dogs, animals and people during the crucial socialisation period.
This does not mean that you should not adopt puppies from the same litter but be aware of the challenges and prepared to spend the time preventing littermate syndrome from developing.
It is also really important to note that adopting a brother and sister from the same litter presents an additional challenge when the dogs reach sexual maturity. Depending on breed, a bitch can have her first season as young as 5 months of age. She will need to be kept entirely separate from her brother at this point, as dogs do not follow the same patterns as humans and she will mate with her brother. Neutering is not an option that should be taken lightly, as there are significant dangers to heath (both physical and mental) associated with early neutering (early neutering is generally considered to be any neutering done before 18 months of age).
Many breeders will not allow two puppies to go to one household and so if a breeder does not mention littermate syndrome and question your preparedness to prevent it, then this is a red flag.
If you are considering bringing home littermates and would like advice on preventing it or if you think your dogs might be exhibiting signs of littermate syndrome, then click here to get in touch.
