I had an acquaintance some time ago, a friend of a friend, that drove me crazy. On top of being kind of an arrogant jerk in general, they also managed to push all of my dog-trainer buttons. Let me clarify: I do not mean that they pushed some of my buttons, I really mean every last pet peeve.
They had a large family in a two bedroom apartment that they could barely keep up with and, in the chaos of it all, announced they were bringing home a backyard-bred blue heeler. While heelers in general are far from my first suggestion for a family dog with small children or for being an apartment dog, it was the fact that they went through whatever breeder would get them a puppy fastest that had a hive of concern buzzing in the back of my head.
I have a detailed article about why backyard breeding is a very real concern (not just a matter of opinion of adopt-don’t-shoppers), and possibly the biggest enemy to the future of dog ownership in the article, The Real Dangers of Backyard Breeding.
When the family came around to visit (not mentioning they were bringing their new puppy) they surprised everyone at the gathering by not just bringing the new heeler, but also bringing a second puppy, another backyard bred German Shepherd-Husky-Lab mix.
Two backyard bred large-breed working dogs being brought up closely together (as in, even crated together) in a two-bedroom apartment with four children. I practically had to physically hold my own mouth shut the entire time to not make a scene.
I wasn’t the only one. The elephant in the room that day was enormous.
The two puppies spent the afternoon roly-polying around a twenty-foot high raised porch barely supervised, and I spent that day blocking them from harassing my personal dogs, who were visibly uncomfortable. A mutual friend ended up donating a large part of her day to managing the puppies while one of their owners took a nap in a spare bedroom and the other bragged about how great and smart and special their new puppies were to anyone who would listen.
To a professional in the dog world, this was all a ticking time bomb, a disaster waiting to happen. But I don’t mean to come off harsh to dog owners in general: I realize that most dog owners wouldn’t look at this situation and see the potentially-catastrophic problem this situation posed.
In no way do I intend to, nor do I condone, shaming dog owners and clients for making those mistakes and seeking to better them.
But I do hope that this story, and the article that accompanies it, serves as a tale of caution or perhaps as a helpful guide to aid you navigating if you are already in a similar situation. This article will discuss what dog trainers and other canine professionals call “littermate syndrome,” the exact thing that unfortunately ended up happening to these two dogs, and what you can do to prevent it happening to you.
What is Littermate Syndrome?
Littermate syndrome is what can occur when two puppies of approximately the same age are brought up closely together. These behaviors include, but aren’t limited to, poor socialization skills with humans and other dogs, infighting and aggression, anxiety and panic attacks, severe codependence, difficulty learning basic obedience, and trouble housebreaking.
“Littermate” syndrome is a bit of a misnomer in that, while it can and does certainly happen to actual littermates raised together, the puppies do not necessarily need to be actual siblings for the littermate syndrome symptoms and behaviors to happen. Littermate syndrome can happen to any puppies raised together in a manner that facilitates codependence and hinders proper socialization and development.
It is worth mentioning that littermate syndrome does not always occur with all dogs that are brought up in the same household. Additionally, “littermate syndrome” is a strictly anecdotal term, and isn’t something that has been extensively researched on an academic or scientific scale.
However, it is common and severe enough that most canine professionals agree that dog owners should avoid whenever possible taking in two young puppies of a similar age at the same time, as the potential outcome can be disastrous.
In fact, littermate syndrome is common enough, and recognized by canine professionals so fully that more often than not any knowledgeable and reputable breeder will simply refuse to sell two siblings to the same family. A reputable breeder will typically also decline prospective buyers the sale of a puppy if they know the owner intends to purchase another puppy from a different litter at the same time.
Similarly, rescues and shelters with knowledgeable staff will often refuse adopting siblings out together because of the frequency of this behavior set occurring or progressing.
There are a whole host of behavior problems that repeatedly stem out from the severe codependence created by closely raising two puppies alongside one another.
One of those common behaviors is aggression, both between the two dogs and towards other parties, like other animals and humans. Food aggression between siblings is common, and can result in frequent infighting leading to the dogs potentially severely wounding each other and redirecting on anyone that tries to intervene.
Issues with aggression can be especially difficult when the puppies are of the same sex, and it’s been observed that female dogs with littermate syndrome especially can act aggressively towards and around each other, especially when they are in heat.
Difficulty with housebreaking and basic obedience are common in dogs with littermate syndrome as well. Dogs with littermate syndrome will often lack the basic focus and handler awareness required to learn new skills, making the training process tedious, difficult, and unreliable.
Another common issue is anxiety, especially separation anxiety. The obsessive-level bonding can cause serious anxiety problems, as it creates a relationship where the dogs can feel unequipped to handle being separated for any amount of time from the other. This can manifest as typical separation anxiety symptoms like noise, destructive behaviors, stress elimination/diarrhea, and escape attempts.
But it can also mean very real and intense panic attacks when separated, even for routine needs like vet visits. And if one of the dogs dies, this can be absolutely devastating to the other. In these instances, anxiety symptoms can go on for a long time with no way to ease them.
Poor social skills are one of the broader ways that dogs can suffer from developing littermate syndrome. This encompasses a complete lack of interest in humans (including listening to their handlers/owners), which adds to the friction trying to train these unwanted behaviors.
This fixation on one another can go so far that they won’t socialize with humans at all, and sometimes it extends to a refusal to socialize with other dogs, as well. When they do socialize with humans and other animals, they are, in a word, “rude,” having learned most of their social skills from interacting nearly exclusively with the other puppy.
That sad truth is that the set of difficult and often dangerous behaviors that end up referred to as “littermate syndrome” often results in the puppies later being abandoned (usually together) at a shelter or rescue. When this happens, adopting them back out can be very difficult.
Why Does Littermate Syndrome Happen?
Littermate syndrome usually starts to develop at key socialization periods between two and six months of age. As puppies develop together, much of what they learn about the world comes from the other puppy. When puppies do absolutely everything together, their dependence on one another ventures far past companionship and into obsession. In short, they can begin to see their world entirely within the context of “with the other dog.”
It’s believed that when puppies are brought up together, especially when they are so similar in size, age, and especially sex, this can cause issues with hierarchy. It can be difficult for them to identify their role, status, and identity within their living group and among other dogs. This is part of what leads into the potential squabbling and full-on aggressive behaviors that are commonly seen in littermate syndrome.
This extreme bonding between the dogs results in an excessive over-dependence on one another. The puppies eventually become adult dogs that are unable to be separated for any period of time without having extreme episodes of anxiety or even all-out panic attacks, and who are incredibly difficult to manage even when together.
This is especially true of poorly-bred dogs, another reason that combining backyard breeding with a multi-puppy household is a catastrophe waiting to happen.
How To Prevent Littermate Syndrome
Frankly, the best way to avoid littermate syndrome is to avoid littermates entirely.
In addition to greatly reducing the likelihood of all the potential behavioral problems that arise when puppies are raised together, taking in just one new dog at a time allows for more time and attention to the new animal. Giving a new arrival more hands-on time and training work can make a world of change, and be the difference between two behavioral disasters and one well-rounded dog.
That said, it’s true that not every set of puppies raised together develop littermate syndrome. Genetics are in fact a factor in how the behaviors progress, and the things that an owner does during this development stage is especially crucial.
In the event that you are already in possession of young puppies with no other option, there are things that can be done to minimize the behavioral problems that can develop in these situations.
Crate and Separate
If an activity can be done separately, it is most likely the best route.
This goes for “littermates” and for multi-dog households in general. In households with more than one dog, each dog should be receiving a certain amount of solo time as to reduce separation anxiety and over-dependence on the other dogs in the household. This solo time is even more important for puppies being brought up together.
The puppies should have their own crates, and ideally be crated in separate rooms if at all possible.
Play time should be largely separate from one another. Although it may be endearing to watch two puppies playing together, during this hugely developmental stage this can go a long way.
Training time should also be separate, and often.
Structured walks, separate.
Feeding, separate and ideally in their own respective crates.
Puppy socials, training classes, and visits to the park, separate.
Schedule your vet visits separately. The minor inconvenience of two appointments is definitely worth the long-term gains of stable dogs.
I’m sure you’re sensing a theme, here.
The puppies can begin doing things together as they get closer to adulthood (starting to involve them more in joint activities can begin with occasional structured walks), but while they are developing socially, this solo time is incredibly important. And even as adults, it is always a good idea to make time for one-on-one work with your dog to encourage independence.
Inexperienced owners, or those who are not specifically dedicated, are inevitably going to see the highest risk to having puppies develop littermate syndrome. When it comes to avoiding potential catastrophe, owner intervention is key.
Obedience and Structure
Early training is going to have a huge impact on how all puppies turn out in adulthood, but especially so for puppies at risk of developing littermate syndrome. Physical and mental stimulation are both important for growing puppies, and owner engagement is going to provide a great focus during this developmental stage that helps in adulthood (learn to focus on owner) rather than hinder it (focus only on other puppy).
Teaching the basics is a great place to start. We have a detailed list of the main skills every dog should have on our article, The Only Commands Your Dog Needs To Know. These are the commands at the core of our own training programs at Lugaru K9 Training, but they are also skills that are easy to start puppies out on with short sessions and lots of reward.
While working on drills for these commands and skills, it’s also helpful to incorporate hand feeding. In this context, hand-feeding means that the puppy’s daily meals are used for rewards during training. Doing this helps the puppy learn to focus on you, and can help avoid issues with resource guarding (because the resource in this instance comes from the handler, and is earned, not owned by the dog and guarded).
As with all puppies, dedicated time and effort into proper socialization and confidence building is going to help in absolutely every area of behavior. Some examples of socialization and confidence building work is luring (with the daily food, toys, or other motivators) onto objects, under objects, through things, and more.
I’m particularly fond of bottle pools for confidence building; bottle pools are fun and cheap tools made up of a kiddie pool and clean empty bottles that can be great for both desensitizing to sounds and surfaces, but also engaging the nose and building confidence.
Rehoming
The dreaded question: “Should I rehome my dog?”
I’ve said it already: the best way to avoid littermate syndrome is to avoid raising littermates. For new dog owners, this can be a difficult choice and can bring a lot of heartache for those who didn’t know better when they first brought the puppies home.
But for new dog owners, raising two puppies is tough work on its own; nevermind the idea of putting in the time and appropriate training to raise them both up separately. While it does pay off, it really is an absolute ton of work.
There are certainly times when rehoming one of the puppies is the best option not only for the family, but for the puppies’ wellbeing as well.
The most difficult part about making this decision is this: the earlier the decision is made, the better off everyone will be. If you are confident that you can manage two puppies separately and dedicate the time and effort to train them as they develop, it’s important to commit to that and not look back. If putting in the time and work is realistically too much for you, it is better to make that decision before littermate syndrome develops and the dogs become difficult to rehome.
Littermate Syndrome is Serious
Littermate syndrome is an incredibly difficult set of behaviors that is seen over and over again in young puppies brought up close together. Unfortunately, though, it’s not really a commonly-known occurrence to everyday dog owners, and so we continue to see it develop over and over again.
When at all avoidable, I no longer associate with the people written about earlier in this article (see: “kind of an arrogant jerk in general”). However, I occasionally hear updates on the puppies through the mutual friends we still have.
Unfortunately, a year and a half later, the dogs ended up about where I expected meeting them that summer afternoon. The cattle dog, especially, sounds to have become a particular behavioral nightmare, while the GSD-Husky-Lab has been described as “huge and out of control.” When they visited our mutual friends last, their dogs (and only their dogs) had to be banished to the back yard due to their uncontrollable behavior.
I tell this story, again, not as an I-told-you-so or to be pleased at my own cleverness. I tell this story, deeply frustrated, because the dogs deserved better than they got, and maybe could have flourished under better choices. My hope is not to treat my ego to a spa day, but to hopefully prevent the same thing from happening to other dogs and other families.
