The title of this post is a bit strong, but I do want to caution people from adopting two dogs from the same litter because “it’s easier” to raise two at once (ask someone with twins if it’s easier than having one child) or “we don’t want our dog to be lonely.” (Because you might be if the dogs are so enchanted with each other that they ignore you).
I’m writing this now because we have gotten a number of questions about this issue lately: “Someone told me I shouldn’t adopt dogs from the same litter, is that true?” Far be it from me to say what you should or shouldn’t do, but there are a lot of red flags related to getting pups from the same batch. Before I say more, I should add that I’ve looked and asked around for any research on this issue and haven’t found a thing that supports (or disputes) what some people call “litter mate syndrome.” (If you are aware of any good research, please let us all know.) What I’m writing here is based on my experience and the anecdotes of others. I’d love it if someday someone did some good research on this to see if our beliefs are well-founded.
The most common reason given for not adopting two pups from the same litter is that they will “bond better” with each other than with you. This intuitively makes sense, in that the pups have already had the closest and most intimate experience with each other, and often during important phases of socialization. You’re already fighting the fact that you’re an alien (aka, another species) and are inherently confusing to your dog.
I’m not sure we know exactly how bonded these pups become with their human family (no doubt it varies tremendously), but functionally what I’ve seen is that the pups are simply harder to train. It’s just hard to get their attention. They are so busy playing with each other (or squabbling, more on that later), that you become the odd man out. I suspect this indeed does have to do with social bonding to some extent, but I have seen pups of a duo who clearly adored their humans. Adored them. They just didn’t listen to them. It seems harder to get their attention, harder to teach them emotional control and harder to teach them boundaries. I imagine that we humans become more like party poopers that interfere in their fun with their playmates, not to mention that we are more tiring, because they have to learn a foreign language in order to communicate with us.
The other problem I’ve seen with pups from the same litter relates to bullying or aggression between the dogs. It seems as though this happens more often with litter mates, but I wish we had some good, objective research on it. I simply can’t say definitely that this happens more with litter mates, but it does appear to. I have seen some nasty cases of bullying or outright aggression between dogs of the same litter, and it feels as though it is more common than between dogs who come into the family from different litters. (Or perhaps are adopted at different times? I’m not sure we can say exactly what the factors are yet.)
That said, I should add that there are numerous cases in which people have adopted litter mates without any problems at all. What happens on so many factors, including the temperament of the pups, their early experience, etc. etc. I would say though, that if you want all the odds on your side, you might hesitate before getting two pups from the same litter if you have a choice or can’t follow the suggestions below.
What if you already have litter mates? Perhaps you’re reading this while two pups from the same litter are playing on the floor beside you. Or perhaps you have working dogs and truly need to keep a number of pups from the same litter until you can evaluate who would be the best prospect. I think the standard advice is sound here: Don’t give the puppies free and constant access to each other. (I just heard from someone that her breeder recommended she never EVER let the dogs even see each other. Do I need to mention that I think that is a bit extreme?) Let them sleep in different areas (okay, make them sleep in different areas) and do lots of one-on-one training. Spend a lot of time playing with each pup by itself, and use play as an important part of your positive reinforcement. (This is also a great way to teach emotional control. See Play Together, Stay Together for more on this topic.)
If you’d like to read more about adopting littermates, I really like Pat Miller’s excellent article in Whole Dog Journal about it.) What about you? Have you ever had young pups from the same litter? What was your experience? I’d love to hear.
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Willie, Maggie and Tootsie are all sprawled out on the floor as I write this. Tootsie on a comfy rug, the BCs happy to be on the cool tile of the dining room floor. We’re all enjoying being home after spending two lovely days at the WWSDA Labor Day trial in Hudson, WI. The trial is run on a new (and much improved) course that is stunningly gorgeous (we were in Scotland?) and challenging, in the best of all possible ways. I wasn’t sure I’d run Willie after both his foreleg surgery and his coming up lame on a hind leg a few days before the trial, but he seemed sound for a few days before it so we gave it a go. We ran in the Pro-Novice class, one step down from Open, but the outrun was still very challenging. A long way away, with lots of hills and valleys where the dogs could lose sight of the sheep and get lost. How’d we do? In summary, Willie did pretty horribly his first run; he got boggled up finding the sheep and never settled (or listened) after that. It was not our finest hour. The second run was the opposite: His outrun was perfect, and the rest of the run was really good. He settled and listened and if I was a better handler would have done the fetch and drive perfectly. But the lines were good and we both had a great time. (Except for the last task, which was Maltese Cross instead of the usual pen. We’ve never even seen one before and acted like it I’m afraid.) However, overall it was a really good run. It began to pour as soon as Willie and I began our run, and everyone, even Jim, scurried away to close car windows, get dogs under cover etc. I’m calling it our phantom run, because no one but Willie and I saw it. Of course, isn’t that always the way? But I left the field very happy and proud of him.
Here are two photos of the Pro-Novice course. The first gives you some idea of the scope of the trial. The handler is on the right (you have to stay there until the last phase of the course), the sheep and dog are in front of the white panels in the center, having already been “lifted” by the dog and brought through the “fetch panels.
Here’s the same photo cropped, so that you can get a better sense of where the sheep were set out for the dog’s outrun. If you look carefully you can just barely see a person behind the fetch gates (Wendy, who set out all the sheep and did a brilliant job). That’s about where the sheep were held. You stand at the post and send your dog, in what you hope is a big, sweeping half circle to the other side of the sheep. I have to tell you that when your little dog does it right, and runs so far away from you that you can barely see him, settles behind the sheep and brings them to you in a well-controlled straight line, it makes your heart so big that sometimes I think it can barely be contained inside your chest.
Marijane Moss says
Wr have kept littermates from all 4 of ourAfghan Hound littters and have only had joy of it. They do get separate training and play time and do well in agility routines. Three times we have place multiple pups from a litter with an owner– all had had multiple dogs in their homes, but not littermates. All are having a grand time with few issues– usumal pup-raising stuff
It may be that since the sighthounds are more “pack” dogs that it is less problematic with them
Jim Priest says
This is interesting. We have a big lab mix mutt who gets along well with most other dogs. We have 2. He has his issues but overall he does OK.
We were once at a park and ran into his litter mate and they seemed happy to see each other for about 1 minute and then our dog snapped and growled at the other one and was very agressive. We of course were aghast but my daughter said – “He must not have like his brother very much” 🙂
rosalind ellwood says
What a timely post!!!! I put a deposit for 2 litter mates whom are 10 days old this weekend. I’ve been struggling with myself wondering if it’s right for them? This post is a though an angel, YOU, read my mind. I’ll transfer the deposit for second puppy to a future litter.
These are labradors so could you please indicate how old the first one should be prior to second puppy? I’ve heard all my life, 60 now, wait at least one year but can’t bear the thought of waiting so long. I’m also wondering how important it is to have opposite sexes if both are neutered? Would prefer 2 females as they are smaller.
Brings me to another Q? I’d prefer for her to have ovaroectomy(sp?) rather than hyserectomy(sp?) but hearing arguments for both sides from vets.
Value your opinion on both of these conundrums.
Faithful reader.
Roz
Sister Antonia says
I’m in the midst of raising my second “pair” of pups. Neither of my pairs were/are litter mates but in both cases were only two months apart in age. It’s possible I could do it again but I no longer think it is a good idea. They do a nice job on “energy drain” for each other but I am not too thrilled with the aggression potential that comes up in having two dogs so close in age. I just never had this when I had an adult dog and was raising a single pup… Both my pairs were a male/female pair and both were LGD breeds. As they start maturing at the same time, the working out of dominance issues is just undoubtedly uglier than anything I’ve seen in a adult/pup pair. Yesterday I spent the afternoon at the vet clinic getting a lacerated ear examined so needless to say, I’m feeling even more strongly about this topic than usual! In both situations we had just gotten a pup and then tragically lost our adult dog resulting in the decision to get a second pup. The juvenile phase in LGDs can be extra drawn-out so it makes for a very long and intense adolescent stage when it is multiplied by two… Our pups are separated all night and are worked with separately multiple times throughout the day and have different training regimens. One of our pups is a Pyr x Aussie mix and needs a lot more exercise and “cortex activities” than does our Kangal pup who almost always moves in slow motion and with great deliberation about whether he agrees with the request being made! I love them both but would probably never do two again if I could possibly avoid it. There is no question in my mind that it is twice as much work every day and I wear out long before they do!
Mary Weber says
Re: Adopting two dogs from the same litter
For me, most significant drawback is losing both within a year of one another. I adopted two brothers from a Bearded Collie rescue person who bred just one litter with her champion Honey. Granted, my adoptees were not puppies; they were four. And their personalities could not have been more different. One was smart and an athlete. The other was was the pretty boy, sweet, and not very bright. I lost the athlete at age 13; he was having seizures that terrified both of us. Lost the pretty boy just a year later.
Mike Koenig says
Many years ago on three separate occasions, we adopted two littermates at the same time.
The first time they were retriever-crosses: male+female; the other two times they were border collies: first, male+female, and then, male+male.
Each time the two pups learned and grew together very well. As a matter of fact they seemed to constantly challenge each other in their desire to be the first and quickest to learn anything new!!!
They were ALL successes for our family!
We experienced no bonding problems with any of the six dogs at any time. They related to us and to each other just as we had hoped that they would. Were we exceptional “dog people? Who knows. Were we just great dog trainers? [Yeah, right! ;))] We just did what we thought would work; we noticed what did work, and adjusted our positive training methods to achieve what we wanted for the welfare of our dogs.
(Until just a few years ago we raised and raced sleddogs. One of our mushing mentors, Lee Fishback, wrote: “You have to learn to think like a dog, because a dog cannot learn to think like you”. Thank you, Lee, for the great advice!!! It is amazing how many people do not realize or understand this; and then they are surprised that their dog(s) either wilfully constantly disobey them, or worse just ignore them!!!) [SIGH!]
We have always used that approach with our dogs [and our kids].
We have been blessed with great outcomes for both!
Far be it from me to recommend what others should do or not do…but it definitely worked for us.
Would we do it again?? In a heartbeat!!!
Mike
Racine, WI
Diane says
I don’t have direct experience, but my neighbor just gave up one of her dogs after 7 years.
She had brother and sister. Told me she was convinced by her son to get both as pups to keep each other company.
I watched them on occasion when my neighbor was not home, and although I enjoyed them, I have to admit they were a handful and challenge. They had marking issues in the home, and they also both pulled on the leash excessively to the point where they would choke. Once while watching them, I decided to walk one at a time to see if I could better control the pulling. As soon as I left the front door with the brother, the sister started screaming, not barking, screaming. I waited around the corner to see if the screaming would subside, and it did not. I decided this was beyond me – they were not mine – and I couldn’t let her scream like that, so I abandoned the idea and walked them both together. Some of their issues could be controlled. My neighbors doors were quite scratched up, but the dogs responded well when I would have them sit and wait until I got the door opened. I do think they required not just double work, but triple. One on one work and working with them both together for good all around communication. If having litter mates does have its unique problems, then I hope people can get fair warning. Now that my neighbor only has the female, it seems to be a happier and calmer home….I just hope the male is also happy.
Dachshunds Rule says
I agree that many people aren’t up for two dogs, especially puppies. But both your comments and Pat Miller’s article seem to be based on anecdotal evidence rather than actual studies. I’m sure that for every instance when it turned out to be a bad idea to adopt two dogs together, or two littermates, there is an instance when it worked out fabulously. Your and Ms. Miller’s recommendations such as training the puppies separately are great but to state that it is unwise or even strongly not recommended to adopt two dogs together seems unreasonable and not based on scientific evidence.
parallel says
Perhaps for some people having two dogs that are closely bonded might actually work better? If they don’t plan to show or work the dogs and just want to teach them basic obedience, then having two dogs that don’t require a lot of social attention because they have each other might actually work out better. I’m just thinking of the ‘average’ owner who might spend 6-8 hours at work, then has to cook/clean/get the kids to bed…wouldn’t it be better for the dogs’ sakes if they have a very close companion? I almost feel it would be a little selfish to want to be the star of the dog’s life in that type of situation.
em says
Congrats on Willie’s second run! I know almost nothing about herding trials, but the course looks gorgeous.
I’ve never adopted littermates myself, but if I can add an anecdote-by-proxy, I’ve learned through observation of bitter experience that yet another concern with littermates is health. Especially in touchy-health breeds like danes, there is a possibility that a person adopting puppies from the same litter will not get one case of genetically linked health issues, but two. Whether these issues are minor- like a tendency to a sensitive tummy, or major- like a tendency to heart problems, adopting two pups from the same litter logically must increase the chances of doubling down on health (and/0r temperament) problems.
Sumo's Mom says
Re the article “Adopting Littermates — (Don’t)” I have a related question. In June I purchased a French bulldog male puppy and also his 3 1/2 year old mother. A breeder friend of mine (Saints) advised having her with him would make the transition seamless along with housebreaking etc. Well, not so. The female is calm and for the most part housebroken although I suspect she is marking in the house at times perhaps because she is not always the center of attention? She was spayed a month ago so I’m hoping that may help with this. Her puppy is in the terrible two’s stage and loves nothing more than wrestling with his mom (hence the name, Sumo). Before I even read Patricia’s advice on potty training with treats I was doing this and exactly the way she described it. Sumo absolutely gets it — I have to be right there and wait until he is finished or he stops midstream when I say “good dog” because he knows he’ll get a treat. Here is my question: They are confined to our sunroom because of the accidents so I spend all of my at home time in that room with them. When Toast (the mom) gets tired of his constant pestering I let her into the main part of the house but I still try to stay with him as much as possible to be able to read his signals and get him outside in time. He is 5 months old now and NOT potty trained. What am I doing wrong?
Glenda says
(longtime reader coming out of lurk mode to respond!) We have two 7-yr old female littermates we adopted as puppies. All in all it’s worked out well having two from the same litter, and I wouldn’t hesitate to do the same thing again!
The only thing I would do differently next time around would be to make a point from the get-go of spending time away from home with them individually, in hopes of it helping each of them be more comfortable when separated from the other (when taking just one for a walk or to the vet, for example). Is that solely a littermate issue, or is it an issue which would exist if they were not littermates but were raised from a young age together? These are the first two dogs I’ve had of the same age which I’ve had from puppyhood, so I’m not sure of the answer to that question.
We did take them individually for some basic training classes as puppies and I found it much easier to work one-on-one away from the other, but I’m thinking that would be true of same-age puppies whether they were littermates or not.
We’ve never made them sleep apart, and that’s not something I would force at all, unless their personalities were such that I felt it was necessary. We have enough dog-sleeping beds/crates/areas throughout the house that it’s easy for them to sleep together or separately, as they so choose, and that works out well for them and for us — sometimes they sleep in the same bed/crate/room, other times they don’t. That’s not been an issue for us at all. (I work from home, so get a good look into how they spend their time throughout the days and evenings.)
When ours were puppies they played together quite a lot, but I didn’t find that it impacted their desire to play with us (or with the other, older dog we had at the time they were puppies). As they’ve gotten older, they play with each other much less — their personalities and styles of play are at opposite ends of the spectrum, and they both seem to prefer for me to play with them than to play with each other. But they do hang out together, and they seem to enjoy pal’ing around in the backyard together (they are indoor-outdoor dogs, and let themselves in/out via doggie doors).
As for aggression/bullying, they do snip at each other. But recalling my experience as a teen in a multi-dog household, and seeing what some of my current family and friends with multi-dog households experience, with none of the dogs in any of those situations being littermates, the snipping between our two littermates isn’t more than what I see happening with non-littermates (and is actually less than what I saw with our non-littermate dogs when I was a teen). I never worry about leaving the two of them alone at home together or about aggression being an issue if we’re not around — segregating them for sleeping or meals or whathaveyou has never been a concern.
Maybe the experience would be different if there were other dogs or pets in the household, or if we had three or more littermates?
Other than the separation anxiety they have when one leaves the house and the other is left home, we’ve not experienced anything negative from having two littermates. If, after these two pass away (hopefully many years down the road!), we opt to have dogs again, my first choice would be to have two puppy littermates.
Debra Moody says
Boy-o-boy!
One of the best decisions I’ve ever made was to bring male/female Lab littermates into my life in the year 2000. I wasn’t a certified professional dog trainer then but somehow, did all the “right” things. Perhaps I just got lucky…Each went to puppy and basic manners classes individually; each had opportunities for one-on-one time with both me and my husband; each got to go for a run/hike with just one of us in addition to running/hiking together as a family. Yes, they most definitely were incredibly bonded to each other, but their own individuality was able to shine through and beyond that familial connection.
I too, have recommended to clients to not adopt/purchase littermates. But as you have so eloquently posited in the past, it depends! It depends a whole lot on the time and attention that the guardian(s) can give to not only one dog, but two (never mind family, work and life commitments…whew!). It depends on the age/developmental period in which you adopted/purchased the pups. It depends on the environment in which they will live and the enrichment they will receive both together and individually. It just depends on a lot of factors that should be taken into consideration before choosing two. Sometimes listening to your heart is the right decision; sometimes it can be a disaster…Do your homework!
One is not always the loneliest number that you’ll ever do; two can be as bad as one but it doesn’t have to be the loneliest number since the number one. My apologies to Mr. Nilsson for trashing his lyrics…!
Nic1 says
This struck a chord as I was pondering about this recently…
I had been chatting with a friend about reactivity in dogs and commented that some of the worse cases of on leash reactivity I had observed were from two dog households. On further analysis, 5 out of the 6 examples I could recall were dogs that were same breed and looked of a similar age. Two of these examples I knew for sure were dogs from the same litter. I was interested to observe that 4 out of these 6 households no longer walk both dogs together. I only ever see one dog at a time being walked. That is IF they still have the two dogs and haven’t rehomed one. One particularly reactive pair of GSDs would take out their frustration by fighting with each other whenever they saw another dog. One GSD was black the other white and I only ever see the black dog getting his walkies these days.
Why do some breeders allow people to adopt litter mates? Should this be a question on peoples’ checklists for potential breeders – ‘Would you allow me to purchase two puppies from your litter’? If they say yes, refer them here! Also, isn’t it important to note for some people that just because your dog lives alongside another dog, this will not automatically make him friendly towards other strange dogs, or even like other dogs? You still need to socialise them separately around other strange dogs.
I also wonder if bullying between dogs/siblings is actually being inadvertently encouraged in some households due to the pack structure and rank reduction strategy that some people still practice with unquestioning belief. ‘Spot is the dominant male, therefore he can put Rover in his place.’ etc. I saw an example of this problem on a TV show only this week ‘Dogs – Their Secret Lives’ Channel 4 (UK). The ‘problematic’ Great Dane was becoming increasingly dog aggressive and was a nervous wreck. Footage of hidden cameras in the house explained why – he was regularly getting ‘put in his place’ at home by the other dog.
http://dogs.channel4.com/aggressive-dogs/
Fortunately, this was a reason to interview Professor John Bradshaw, Athrozoologist at Bristol, to explain a bit about the biology and science of behaviour and to explain the flawed research and lack of evidence that continues to perpetuate this myth. I’m really encoraged to see TV programmes about behavioural issues with dogs using scientific methods and appropriately qualified people who present and are consulted. Hooray!
Jackie D says
I knew somebody who bought two lab pups from the same litter. One day, when she was out, one got stuck in the bathroom behind a wooden door. So they scrabbled a hole right through the door to reach each other…
More recently, I know experienced owners who came unstuck adopting two adult dogs at the same time that had become friends while at the rescue. These dogs were quite young but probably from a farm background and not very well socialised – they were returned to rescue because they related only to each other and not the new owners and were impossible to train. (They were later rehomed separately, I don’t know with what result.)
Melissa L. says
My sister adopted two littermates as puppies, a boy and a girl wire-haired fox terrier. She has experienced many of the problems you mention in your post, the most annoying being the constant bickering. They fight over everything–a spot on the couch, ice cubes, who goes through the door first, etc. etc. My sister thought it was the breed, but she has had various kinds of terriers over the years and never seen the same level of pugnacity and competitiveness of these two. I think your observation that they may adore you but not listen to you is also particularly apt and something I didn’t really connect with until I read your post. Overall, I think she has a much less peaceful home and has spent a lot more time training this pair than she ever expected.
em says
Reading people’s comments, I wonder if this isn’t another of those issues where a sort of ‘puppy triage’ effect can be found. Some dogs have such amiable temperaments that they are bound to be fine, no matter what (within reason). Some dogs are born with temperaments that make them bound to be trouble, no matter what (within reason). And some dogs are in the middle- they might be trouble, or they might be fine, depending on environmental factors.
If pups are members of the first group, growing up with a littermate may be no problem at all, while if they are in the second, trouble was bound to find them anyways- they’d likely have issues whether they live with a littermate or not.
It does seem to me, however, that at least some significant percentage of dogs are in the third group- and that dogs in that third group might have a better chance at a happy and stable life if they don’t grow up with a littermate.
Which is certainly NOT to say that dogs need to be solitary- just that their companions should not be precisely the same age and arrive in the home pre-bonded. I confess, I can see many potential risks in adopting two pups from the same litter, and several certain disadvantages to wrangling two puppies/adolescents at the same time, but the advantages are not as obvious to me. I am honestly curious- what is the potential benefit of raising siblings instead of raising pups one at a time? Why do it?
I guess one of the biggest concerns (aside from the risk of setting myself up for genetic health bombshells) I have about the practice of rearing littermates has to do with the gamble of raising puppies in the first place. It isn’t always possible to tell, faced with small puppies, whether they may grow up to be adults who don’t really do well in multi-dog households (for whatever reason). Getting one pup at a time gives me the chance to raise, train, and evaluate the dog as an adult before choosing a companion, IF I choose to add a companion. Two puppies at once removes that option. I’m now stuck with what I get, even if they are not a great match for one another (and unless they are both really chill and sweet, dogs who are too much alike can be just as bad (or worse!)a match as dogs who are too different.) If one of my pups has issues that would make it better for him to be a single dog, I’m now faced with the heartbreak of needing to rehome a dog or deal with a years of angst and stress managing dogs who would be happier apart in the same household.
I can easily see that adopting littermates often can and does work out just fine, but is it worth the risk?
Martha says
We adopted two golden retriever brothers at 8 weeks. As pups they put all of their energy into playing together plus wanted lap time with us. As adults they were only curious when meeting a new dog but played together ignoring other dogs. They were totally bonded to each other but adored us and interacted with us all the time. Goldens are a special loving breed I believe. The hardest part was they both died within a month of each other from cancer at age 10.
Jennay Hitesman says
We have two Border Collie brothers and it has been a hoot! They are inseparable! They play soccer, and when that wears them out they lay down and face bite each other until one falls asleep! They know they are brothers! The two brothers play soccer while the other Border Collie is the “ruffree” so funny to watch the brothers play!
Here is a youtube of all of the Border Collies playing soccer
Dieta says
I have not owned litter-mates before but I have puppy students who are litter-mates or came home together at a young age. The common issues are the aggression between puppies and how co-dependent they are with each other. It makes training the puppies separately really difficult and the puppy parent have to be very careful with resources (including food, toys and attention) because the puppies fight over those constantly. One of the case was really bad and the aggression with each other was never fully resolved, the fights were really bad resulting in vet visits. I’m sure there are wonderful experiences as well, but because of the nature of my profession, those who reach out to me usually have some level of behaviour challenges.
Robin Jackson says
This seems counterintuitive to me, especially without any data to back it up.
Historically, working dogs were generally kept as littermates, with some trading to prevent too much inbreeding. Even today, sled dogs and working farm dogs often include adult littermates. As well as multigenerational relatives. These dogs are bred for function, not looks, and cooperative work with dogs and humans is one of the traits most valued.
I can’t say what might happen with two dogs of an age left together for over half the day while no humans are around, as might happen in a typical suburban home where the people go off to the office.
But for working dogs who spend most of each day with people, I’ve never heard of littermate status leading to lack of attentiveness to people.
Doesn’t Kay Laurence train whole litters at a time? Might see what she has to say.
Robin J.
Karen Affeld says
My experiences have been mixed. When I was a teen we got two male Doberman pups that were littermates. They were both lovely dogs as individuals but they could not work out their dominance issues with each other and as they got older we were dealing with frequent, horrendous fights that were getting harder and harder to break up. It became evident that neither dog was going to concede and we placed one with a police K-9 training program.
I now have livestock guardian dogs and have occasional litters. I have a policy against placing littermates in the same home because of problems that other breeders have had, from aggression between the littermates to the pups bonding with each other instead of the livestock and roaming constantly away from the farm. On the other hand, I kept several pups from my first litter for purposes of evaluation and it went fine, for the most part. It did require greater attention to training and I separated them to give individual attention and training and moved them into different groupings to try to avoid really strong bonds between any two individuals. Eventually all but two went to new homes and all did well.
Jenny says
I adopted 2 lab puppies (one chocolate, one yellow) at 6 weeks old & never experienced anything negative. I adopted them together because I was single at the time & wanted them each to have a playmate while I was gone at work. They shared a crate when they were small & never spent any time apart or separated. I had my yellow lab for 12 years before he passed away & he was extremely bonded to me, as well as to his sister, who I still have now at nearly 15 years old. I actually found it easier to train them together, as one seemed to learn from the other, and I always had their attention whenever I commanded it. They were very connected & tuned in to me, and to each other. My experience adopting 2 puppies from the same litter was nothing but positive, and I would definitely encourage others to do the same.
vicky massey says
My experience with litter mates has been really good, but there is a reason for that. We had sled dogs, Alaskan Malamutes. When I first got into sledding with malamutes I heard horror stories of how much they like to fight, with each other and other teams. For my dogs I discovered 2 is company, 3 is a nightmare. I had several sets of males, some I left intact, others were neutered, depending on their breeding potential, but not because of aggression. They were kenneled in pairs, they lived together, ate together, slept together, played together and worked together, without issue. They also got house time and all (20) of them were housebroken, had “house manners.” I spent as much individual time with them as possible. I did some dogs shows with a few, some agility with a few others, and obedience. They were wonderful dogs. The problem comes when they get old at the same time. I have a friend now who lost one of her pair, they were litter mates, the surviving male is still howling at night, it’s been about 3 weeks.
Some people are equipped to handle two puppies, some people should not have any dogs. Some dogs are just easier. Low energy people will get frustrated with one high energy dog. Lots of factors to consider in this issue.
Amanda G says
I am currently training two small adolescents from the same litter. They do spend most of their time together but thankfully each teen child ‘has’ one dog for themselves and the teens do seem very involved. The dogs play very well together but I quickly told ‘mom’ she needed to get them separate crates!! One had frustration aggression to people outside but after utilizing the BAT protocol he is doing MUCH better :)) Both are high strung! I guess it’s hard to ‘turn off’ with a sibling always there and it’s their breed too. My big one year old dog and his bro are getting together for a play date tomorrow~they really enjoy playing together so far 🙂 (but they do not live together)
Robin Jackson says
One more thought: in the working dog situations I mentioned, the household almost always has multiple adult dogs as well. So it’s not just two puppies and some people who are gone a lot.
My own feeling is that for a pet dog in a typical suburban household where the people are gone a lot, any dogs, related or not, should ideally be 2 to 5 years apart in age.
But in working dog households where the people are with the dogs most of the day and there are multiple generations of dogs, I don’t see why littermate puppies would be any more trouble than unrelated puppies of the same age. Nor do I believe they will be less attentive to the humans than unrelated dogs of the same age.
So if the dog is intended as a pet in a situation where the people are gone a lot, I would agree with the advice to most people to introduce no more than one new puppy per year. But to me it has to do with social development, not genetic relation.
FWIW,
Robin J.
Liana M says
I live with multiple dogs in my home, six of whom are 3 yrs old but each from different litters. The youngest of our pack are sisters from the same litter who are a year and a half old. We also have their mother and their father. In the very beginning (1st couple months), yes the two puppies wrestled more with each other than with the other dogs. All of my dogs are way more bonded to me than they are to each other. They all get along with each other, but if they have a choice of playing among themselves or with me, they choose me 100% of the time. There had been three females in the litter that we had. The third sister does not live with us, but we remain in contact and the girls do get to see each other from time to time. The sisters all get along wonderfully when they see each other. In my experience I do not agree that having litter mates negatively affects the bond they can form with their their humans. I think that with any dog (as with human children), the time you spend with them and put into building the relationship, has a significantly larger effect. On a little side note, the two sisters that we have are so much better trained than any of my other dogs, and they listen and respond beautifully. This is in great due to the fact that I myself had a better understanding of how to properly teach them what I wanted and I worked hard with each of them individually. While I have worked hard at building the relationship and communication skills with all of my dogs, we as humans are limited by our own experiences, so each new fur child that enters our lives, benefits by what we have learned from those who we shared our lives with before them.
Lori Symmonds says
I have known pit bull rescues to advise against littermates, especially same sex. The explanation I heard was that the dogs generally reach maturity at the same age and all of a sudden (from a human perspective) vicious fights can break out as they try to work out their adult relationship. Perhaps these same puppies would have had similar experiences if adopted into multi dog households….but in groups of different ages, sizes, etc. they might have accepted a place in the pack more easily.
I personally think that its a great advantage to have an adult dog in the house to guide and teach the puppy what is appropriate. I try to stagger the ages of my dogs and keep them a couple years apart in age. 2 Pups would be too much for me!
I personally know of 3 separate people who adopted littermates and returned one of the two puppies within the first 6 months. In all cases it was just more work than they anticipated and too overwhelming.
Kelly says
I have male/female sibling 7 month Lab Shepard mix and it is great! They play good and wear each other out!! We work with them separately.
Diane says
I had littermates, BUT one was “returned” and we took him in, so they were 6 months old when we got the second boy. I always assumed that was one of the reasons we had none of the issues mentioned as far as training and bonding were concerned. They were gorgeous, male, golden/lab mixes with fantastic temperaments and perfectly matched to wrestle and play together and we rarely saw any bullying or arguing – less than I did with my own human siblings for sure! BUT, I still attributed that to one being in the house first, and the second being both a bit more submissive and so thankful to be in a good home after a not so ideal placement in his first home that he rolled with whatever situation came up. One thing to think about though…It was absolutely devastating to lose them both within 13 months of each other…
Melinda says
We got two male german shepherd pups at the same time. They were sired by the same father but two different mothers-only 2 months apart in age. They seemed to bond with us well but we had many aggression issues as they matured. That improved somewhat after they were neutered but still was an issue at times. They were also dog aggressive toward other dogs…most of which, I believe, was our fault for not socializing them well enough while they were young. I exercised them separately most of the time unless my husband and I both could go but they traveled with us, were smart and lived to be 12 and 14. They were great dogs and we learned a lot with them. I would not get 2 pups again at the same time…especially 2 males. The worst part is losing them so close together 🙁
Kellie says
7 years ago we rescued two sisters that were 6 months old…within two weeks the bullying and food aggression started… At that point we reached out for help from a training facility and our vet. We were told to keep them completely separate or rehome one. We ended up rehoming one and then was able to focus all our time and training on the reactive/anxious one. It was tough to do, but I think we did the best thing for both dogs. Along the way we gained a love of training and how smart our pups are.
Donna B. says
My experience with Irish Wolfhounds has been similar to the first poster, Marijane with her Afghans. I’ve bred a few litters, and have kept fro two to five puppies for their entire lives. I have had no problems at all with attachment or training. These puppies also had their mother, often grandmother and aunts and uncles to grow up with too. I felt they benefitted in their physical development by playing with each other in ways no human could duplicate.
I’ve also gotten several single puppies, usually when someone has used my male at stud and I then choose a puppy. Those puppies always seem more difficult to raise, although you never have to think about whose “turn” it is to do something or go somewhere!
But, would I sell someone two puppies from a litter? Probably not to the typical pet owner. To another breeder? Possibly, it would depend upon the circumstances.
Trisha says
I’m loving reading the comments, varying from “Never had a problem” to “Biggest mistake I’ve ever made….”. They all support my favorite answer to everything: “It depends.” I should add here that temperament is a critical issue that will have a huge influence on how the pups get along. Is one an “alpha wannabe?” Are they of a breed that is traditionally raised in packs, like many of the hound breeds? Will there be other dogs, or just the two together in the house with no other dogs around. (I wonder a lot if that has an influence. My gut says that it might.)
Re rosalin’s question about when is it right to bring in another young dog: All I can offer is an opinion, but I wouldn’t think you need to wait a year as long as you follow the suggestions in the blog. Two females may or may not get along, depending on temperament (spaying might make aggression less likely, but not necessarily). I don’t feel qualified to advise you about the method of spaying, sorry. It’s a great question, but I’d keep asking around. Perhaps have your vet talk to a veterinary behaviorist?
Trisha says
I’ll check back later and answer more of your comments (loving them), but I have to work on my talks for ADI in Denver and APDT in Hartford. However, I did want to add that I just added to the blog to make it clear that sometimes it works out beautifully to adopt litter mates. I meant to say that in the article but forgot to add it in yesterday when I originally wrote it. So thanks for the reminders that sometimes it works out great; it’s really an issue related to probability. Wish we had some good research!
owen passey says
I have 2 litter mates (a male and a female) and also had their mother until they were 6. It was hard work and I wouldn’t recommend it but we did agility to a high level with one and Flyball with the other. No fighting with eachother, no aggression over food, maybe the male was slightly more dominant over our attention but the female was more dominant in other areas. My only reservation is that it is difficult/time consuming to train two similarly aged dogs but this would be true with non-sibblings as well.
Sandra G. says
Greetings,
I am wondering if you can give any advice to the retired-racing-greyhound adoption folks. The pups stay with their litter-mates for many months leading up to their arrival at the track (at around 16 months old). Some litter-mates are schooled for racing at the same kennel under the same trainer and staff, although the males and females are split up as they race intact. Retired dogs are 2-5 years in age when adopted out of the industry depending on their success and aptitude for racing. Many people seek out litter-mates to reunite the dogs or want a similar temperament to add to their pack. Greyhound people often take in more than one hound. This is called “chipping” among the adopters. They say greyhounds are like chips, you just can’t have one. Thanking you in advance for any insight as I too toy with the idea of adopting my current males full brother when his days of winning come to an end. PS. North America has an extremely high adoption rate for retired racing hounds (90% +). Gone are the days when they were euthanized. The adoption groups work very hard selecting good homes to make this happen for the dogs whether they are pro or anti racing.
Helen Corlew says
I have read many times about this topic and I guess for most people having two pups, whether from the same litter or not, may be a difficult thing to raise them. But I am a dog musher and I usually keep the entire litter! I have no issues with my dogs bonding more with each other than with me. They do not bully or are aggressive! Heck dogs I have rescued are the aggressive ones. My dogs worked together as a team and know their jobs. I would not hesitate at all keeping littermates.
Kevin says
I have two Shetland Sheepdogs that are brother and sister who just turned 6 years old. It was a wonderful experience raising them and although they aren’t perfect any issue that one of them has is not related to the other. For example my female Rylea is afraid of fireworks and similar noises and is okay to go lay on the bed until they stop. My male Trevor is a whiner when we go to the vet. I raised them in a blocked off space by my recliner in my living room. They had a play pen, toys to chew and my total supervision for the first to weeks with me. It bonded the three of us tremendously and they were so much fun to watch play and play with. This breed WILL BE YOUR SHADOW so get use to them following you everywhere. Never a fight, one serious growl from Rylea when Trevor came to her bowl while she was eating and Rylea seems to get aggressive in keeping Trevor back when she sees stuff outside and barks at it. He simply steps out of her way and ignores it. If she gets too aggressive he simply responds and puts her in her place. NEVER a fight or anything close to it though. I always make sure that each one gets the same anything as the other:treats, walks, petting, play etc. I have done this from day one and I love them equally and don’t play favorites. I truly believe it is in the way you chose to raise them or not raise them but leave them to themselves.
Mungobrick says
I can understand why people who have had success with this think it’s great, but I think an inexperienced dog owner doing this might be setting themselves up for disaster. If you know the breed, if you know what you’re doing, then I can see it, although personally as an experienced dog owner I find one puppy at a time is all I can handle. Plus if you wait a year or two to get the second, the older one really helps with the training!
On the other hand, kitten siblings are wonderful, especially if they are indoor cats – ours have kept us laughing for more than three years now!
eibhlin glennon says
I am one of those breeders who kept littermates – not once but twice. The first time I kept two males and the second time a male and a female. However, I would not place two puppy littermates with one owner. Having seen how closely littermates could bond, I vowed in both cases not to let that happen. As a result I took each pup to a different puppy/ obedience class; one pup went to Petco and the other to Petsmart. One did conformation; the other did therapy work. In summary, it is twice the work to raise littermates, since each one has to have private time with me and separate interests that we can do together without the other. And while in each case, the work paid off because my littermates were fine together and equally fine apart without aggression or dependence , in the first litter, the boys died 6 months apart. Losing two beloved dogs within 6 months of each other was so hard.
Jean says
I have a dog rescue in Kentucky and specialize in pregnant/nursing moms so I get a lot of litters through my rescue every year. I have, on occasion, placed littermates, but only to experienced homes and puppies who are already confident, independent pups. I agree that they bond more closely to each other than their owners, but mostly I don’t adopt out pairs because getting one puppy is more work than most people realize, getting two puppies at once is at least 3 times as much work! I recommend getting one puppy, then when the puppy is anywhere between 4-12 months and housetrained and through the chewing stage, add a second pup. They are still close enough in age that they will play, but the older pup can help train the younger rather than act as partners in crime!
Lynn McCain says
I have terriers and they are a different type of dog than any other group of dogs. These dogs were bred to kill – rats, otters, fox, badgers, groundhogs, etc. I have multiple dogs and I have successfully and unsuccessfully kept littermates and I have kept two puppies from different litters. It requires a lot of management to be successful. Housetraining is more difficult – you never know which one had the accident unless you see it happen. Destructive behaviors are more common – they feed on each other’s mischief. Barking is a greater issue as they encourage one another in their vocal communications – one starts and the other has to join in. When they hit young adulthood, there are much greater potentials for some serious fights and expensive vet bills, if you don’t manage them properly. Males fight for dominance. Usually, when one male gives up, the fight ends. However, if the males are equally matched, that may mean major damage and even death. Females often fight to kill off their competition and they don’t quit when the other surrenders.
Because of the potential for major issues, I do not place pairs of puppies nor do I place a single pup with someone who already has a pup. There are way too many problems that can arise. If someone has a pup, they can get a second one if their first grows up to be 2 years old and is very well mannered and under good vocal control. If not, they don’t need a 2nd dog – they need to train the one they have first. Otherwise, the older dog will teach the new pup all of its bad behaviors.
Sherron says
I adopted Golden/Lab mix littermates (both female) who were 3 months old back in 2008. Initially, I was going to just foster them, but I decided to keep them because I couldn’t bear the thought of them being separated…and I really thought they would not be able to bear it, either. They had been abandoned in a rural area and had apparently fended for themselves for a little while. They were not in particularly good health when I got them and one was terribly frantic and friendly, but standoffish. The other was gregarious and outgoing and whenever her sister would get frantic, she would playfully pounce on her, in what appeared to be an attempt to distract or appease her.
They are almost 7 years old now and get along beautifully. They’ve never been aggressive with each other. The only “littermate syndrome” I’ve experienced is the way they play with each other. For a few minutes when they first go outside (from their crates), they play with each other to the exclusion of anyone or anything else. One of my other dogs can try to play, too, and that’s okay, but they ignore the other dog. After a few minutes, they are happy to play with my other dogs and listen to me. This has gotten much better in the last year or so.
They both adore me and always have. I’ve never felt like I was an outsider in their world. And yes, they listen! Most of the time. Just like my other dogs.
Perhaps it helps that they’ve never been the only pets in the house? Or, it could have helped that I had to board them for a couple of months not long after I got them. They stayed in an environment where they were in day play most days of the week. They were crated together, though, and were still quite bonded when they finally came home.
I’m certainly no professional trainer, so I tend to think it’s not that I did “everything right.” I think it might have more to do with my dogs’ personalities and perhaps just a whole lotta luck.
If I hadn’t read Pat Miller’s article a while back and now your post, I would’ve said that adopting littermates was a good thing to do, based on my experience.
Now…having said that…I will say that raising two puppies is an AWFUL LOT of work, and not just in year one!
Johanna Solms says
I adopted lab husky littermates once, a male and a female. The female was much smarter and she became the alpha. They always got along, but definitely could be kind of a handful. They were however very codependent. The female became ill with kidney disease at age 9 and when she died the male who seemed otherwise perfectly healthy died a few days later. He just did not know what to do without her.
mary jo bradley says
There has been several times I have kept littermates. I have not had any problems with them not bonding with me. They do how ever, wear each other out. But they would rather have my attention, rather than their siblings. I think a lot of that is because of the training. When I train, I train individually, then we also have a group session. I would not recommend that a beginning dog person gets siblings, or two puppies at first. But if people take the time to train on a regular bases, there are no problems.
Rollin McIntosh says
I have had all of the problems you have stated with a pair of husky mixes I took in, At first I took in one and she was a great pup, then ended up with a second from the same litter. Almost immediately neither one would listen to anyone and it seemed if no one else was around but those two, no matter how much you called them the never seemed to notice. I did end up finding a home for one and the one I kept went right back to being a perfect pup. I always wondered if this was a common experience with litter mates. Thanks for the post now I know it usually is.
Deb Lesslie says
We kept both puppies from a litter of two last year and did experience difficulty. It was impossible to housebreak them, they would only play with each other, and began ignoring us and the other dogs. We separated them at about 8 mo of age by sending the male to a different home. He has now returned to us at 13 mo of age and they no longer have those same issues. At times I do let them hang out together and they love each other but I also mix it up and have them out with other dogs.
I would be interested on your opinion about raising singleton litters. I believe they are a breed of their own.
Robin Jackson says
@Jennay,
Loved your video! Great group play.
This is also exactly how I think of adolescent littermates in a multigenerational working group. The young un’s play/work together while an older “ruffaree” lies off to the side, watching and ready to intervene if the rules are broken. 😉
Barbara says
I have to agree that most of the time the clients I have worked with that have littermates are focused on the “they love each other, they love to play, they wear each other out” part of the equation. They just can’t imagine treating the duo as separate dogs. So of course they are joined at the hip and the poor owner can’t understand why she or he just isn’t very interesting. This is a people problem, not a dog problem most of the time. The exception can be the aggressive or bullying littermate, but I have not had many instances of those.
Lisa says
I adopted 2 black labs(male/female) from the same litter. I got them at 2 months of age, they are now 18 months. I love them dearly, and wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world. With that being said, I would never recommend it to anyone. IT IS A LOT OF WORK!!! We called 2 local vets before making the decision of getting 2 from the same litter, and both said they didn’t think it would be a problem, as long as we spent time with each one separately. I don’t separate them much, but I don’t feel like that is a problem. They play with each other(if they get too rough, I break it up), but they also love being with us, and they are very lovable. They sleep together in a pen in my room, and when we are not home,they are in side by side crates in the kitchen.They still bond with their human family just fine. My problem is walking them, I can’t walk them together, they are too strong for me, and pull on the leashes. I do not have time to walk each one separately each day, so I am going to get them trained professionally. Also training them on the basics takes longer, but they are doing pretty good with that. The male is extremely hyper. We are trying to work on getting him to calm down when company comes, but then the female ends up following his lead, and I have to hold back 2 strong dogs. It is a work in progress. I watch The Dog Whisperer, to try and learn how to properly train them, and teach them manners. They get along fine with other dogs, as they have spent time with others, but they are too hyper to be around young children. Luckily, my children are grown , and at this point we don’t have small children around(if we see any on a walk, I don’t let the dogs get too close). I think, a lot of these issues are just young labs, and they will eventually calm down, but with 2 being the same age, it’s double the WORK, and double the fun!!
Trisha says
Several people have made the comment, and I have been thinking about this all day: How much of a difference does it make if you keep 2 pups from the same litter but have other dogs? I can imagine that is a very different situation than having only 2 dogs in the house, both litter mates. Food for thought…
Shalise Keating CPDT-KA says
What I tell people and what I think is best for me regarding 2 pups at the same time is, don’t do it. Wait to get another pup until the puppy you have now is behaving how you would like your adult dog to behave. I have a German Shorthaired Pointer pup who is now 2 years and 3 months. I think I’m ready to start having foster dogs in the house again but before I have another pup of my own in the house there are still a few things I would want him to be better at and I know that it is too difficult for me to train 2 dogs at a time. I personally like to get a puppy when my youngest dog is between 5 and 7 years old. That also keeps me at a very reasonable 2 or 3 dogs at a time. Also you have to remember that old dogs cost a lot of money in vet care and time too and I once ended up with 4 very old dogs all at the same time.
JL Sellers says
NONSENSE. Dogs will go along with what the owner teaches them. It is harder to train 2 or more dogs at once, any age, mixed ages or same age or same litter, because there are two animals needing the socialization and training on their own and together.
Let me be very clear: it is more work, it is not easier, but it is doable and the results are well worth it. It does require the owner to put in large amount of quality time for EACH dog to put in the training time. I have 4 littermates, beautifully behaved to my training and with themselves; they are superb in public and private in any combination of numbers, AND I require of them good behavior as well as good training. Behavior and training are not the same, and dogs can amend and change behaviors with consistent expectations that include training. With any dog, prepare to put in endless constant training/conditioning, so the expectations are consistently met.
Kelly says
We adopted two (rescue) sister GSD/Akita mix puppies and got them when they were 9 weeks old March of 2013. Yes, they were a challenge, and yes, they sometimes compete for attention and yes, they bicker. But what children don’t? At any age?
They have different personalities, but they’re both a joy and we love them to pieces.
I personally feel that if you have not ACTUALLY had littermates, and have not ACTUALLY put in the time and effort to rear them properly, then you should probably keep your opinions to yourself. 🙂
Carmelite says
I have pretty strong feelings about this issue. Problems with litter mates is what first got me involved in dog training. When I was 12, my family got female boxer litter mates. They played constantly for the fist 18 months, and we thought all was well. Then the fights began. They got into little spats at first, that quickly escalated into horrible battles that would leave them lacerated and bloody and me in tears. If you’ve ever had to break up a bull dog fight, you know what I mean. We tried all kinds of training and behavior routines, but ended up having to re home one of the dogs.
Having worked in training for about 10 years now, I’ve heard this same story more times than I can tell from clients. Of course, sometimes unrelated dogs within a household develop aggression towards one another too. I have to say, though, that the percentage of times this happens with litter mates seems MUCH higher. Same sex litter mates seem worse, and two females worste of all. I wish someone would conduct some research on this. Solid numbers to back these observations, which I have heard from many trainers, would be awesome.
I’d say this: getting litter mates should be a very carefully considered decision. Some dog breeds have very little dog aggression (hounds bred to run in packs, for instance), and are probably a lot safer choice. I’ve seen large family groups of hounds living together with almost no troubles. Breeds that have been bred FOR some kind of animal aggression (terriers and bull breeds top the list) are a much greater risk. I would also encourage separating litter mates as much as possible if you do get them, and regulating rough play. My dad and I don’t live together, but we recently got standar poodle sisters from the same litter. The sisters saw each other pretty often, and I placed a few crucial rules on their play sessions. I didn’t allow any play fighting. Tug of war and chase were encouraged (I tried to redIf play got too rough or someone got too tired, the game was ende and the girls were separated. Happy to say that they are getting along just fine!
Kate says
I breed Australian Shepherds and will never sell two pups to people for exactly the reasons you listed above! In fact I advise people strongly against getting a second pup until the first is at least 18 months old. That way the new pup learns ‘the ropes’ off the older dog who has been invested in the training and education to understand how the human is keen to have the dog/human relationship working.
Those of us with many dogs know how powerful that is – the young pups can have next to no training and yet know how the daily routines operate and what is expected. Two young dogs are too busy making sense of life together and the human becomes a little ‘optional’
When I want to keep two pups from a litter I will ask friends to take one or the other for 6 to 8 weeks. They then get to develop their own identity and set of experiences. Then when they return home they are not allowed to spend long periods unsupervised with the littermate. This way they have a mature mentor for guidance rather than another juvenile.
Louise says
We have two sister BC’s from a litter of only two. I chose the breeder one because he is a life long family friend and two because his dogs have the most wonderful temperaments, prior to my husband I came from a family of cats so these were my first ever dogs. I heavily researched into their needs as dogs because I was nervous about it. I didn’t research about litter mates and I haven’t had any problems to date. They sleep together in our room, they play & walk together, they eat and we also train them at the same time. The only slight issues we had were when they were young puppies establishing their own hierarchy, we couldn’t easily tell who the dominant one was but got there eventually. They are wonderful obedient fun and loving dogs and After this experience I would have litter mates again!!
Lynn Whinery says
I’ve bred Australian Shepherds for 20+ years and kept litter mates once. We already had a pack of dogs so I don’t know if they bonded more with each other or not. I ended up petting out the male when he was about a year old. While I discourage people from getting litter mates, I have sold 2 pups to one house. I always stress to the puppy families to keep the pups crated separately, and to be sure and take the dogs out separately as much as possible to ensure the dogs are used to being separated, and so they get a lot of ‘one on one’ time with their owners.
Juliet Whitfield says
Great article Patricia! Brave too! Any dog trainer will recommend to not adopt litter mates because we know that it’s hard enough for most families with one puppy. Of course there are always people who have success and this is great. Loved to hear about the sheep trials. Wow, truly amazing how much distance you are working from your dog. As always, thanks for the good info and all you do.
Lydia says
Yes, we adopted 2 Pyrs a brother and sister 13 yrs ago. Two different personalities yet a lot the same. Died within 6 mos of each other. One at 11 and 1/2 yrs and the other at 12 yrs. That’s the only downfall for us but they were pyrs.
PD says
Very interesting that the “hound” anecdotes are positive–mine too! I adopted two litter sisters at age 2 from whippet rescue, and followed the rescue coordinator’s advice to take them out and about and to train them separately. It was A LOT of work to double up on training classes, socialization opportunities, vet visits, etc., but they are now happy hounds more focused on people than each other, but still love to cuddle up on the couch together and share their frisbee. I wonder though if given their temperament, they would have been just fine with less one-on-one time at the outset. All that being said, I’ll do one dog at a time if that is possible the next time–I know that neither of them got a full measure of training, and am very lucky they are so sweet-natured.
Gayla says
I haven’t (personally) actually kept and reared litter-mates. But I still feel confident that I’m giving sound advice when I discourage clients from doing it. Why? Because it’s not the experienced dog people who seek my services, it’s novice owners And I believe that Pat Miller’s article, and Trisha’s comments, are directed at that general target group.
That said, I’m enjoying the conversation and appreciate hearing opinions that don’t mirror my own. It would get awfully quiet in here otherwise…
Kelly says
When my Aussie was 9 months old, one of her male litter-mates was returned to the breeder and my (at the time) live-in partner decided to adopt him. Both Aussies were exercised seperately, and only allowed together for a few hours a day. And I don’t know if it was because they were simply the same age, or if they knew they were siblings, but they were nuts together. Couldn’t be allowed off-leash together, we were constantly interfering with their play as it got too rough or too loud. My girl maintained her focus pretty well (we had already started obedience and agility work) but it took a long time for the male to understand that paying attention to people got him good things, as there wasn’t really anything that was better than playing with his sister. I had a labrador who was 4 at the time, and he was completely ignored by both Aussies, except when they slammed into him or stepped on him. To be honest it was quite a relief when my partner moved out and took his dog with him.
I would never get dogs closer in age than 2 years again, and would not recommend it to others.
Lauren Wojcik says
A few things come to mind for me while reading the post and the comments. I don’t see separation anxiety listed here as a potential reason to NOT adopt littermates, nor do I see a huge emphasis on how much extra work it is to adopt 2 puppies at once. It’s not just double the work… it’s much more than that.
My parents always had (and still have) Irish Setters growing up. At one point we got brothers from the same litter, they were 10months old. Everything was great until at the age of 5 one of them was diagnosed with inoperable bone cancer and had to be put down. The remaining brother was so depressed that he had to be put on medication until my parents were able to find another dog that was a suitable match for him.
When you get two pups… each aspect of training has to be completed with both pups, plus some. Separation training becomes more complicated (It’s no longer just crate training or divider training to teach that being away from humans is okay, but also to be away from the other pup, to be calm while the other pup is being worked with or walked, or is at the vet undergoing a procedure, etc).
I also see too often that owners specifically decide to get two pups so that the pups have company “so that they can entertain each other and tire each other out”. This is the WRONG reason to get two pups from the same litter, as that mentality accompanies behavior that is less beneficial for the pups – less training, less walks, less human interaction, greater predisposition for behavior issues (less training, less walks, less human interaction), and then you have behavior problems for not just ONE dog, but TWO dogs. I can’t remember the study, but I do remember reading that dogs do need us for social companionship but do not need dog-dog interaction in the same way. If anyone else also read that and can remember the source, I’d love to look at it again.
In short, many dog owners (especially first time dog owners) are not equipped to properly handle and provide good welfare for two puppies. It is easier to recommend, as a broad generalization, that people do NOT make a habit of getting two pups at once due to the higher level of work and commitment involved. That being said, I’ve worked with clients who got two pups, were super committed, did all the work, and they have great dogs. I’ve also worked with clients who have done all the work and the dogs still have separation anxiety from each other. And I’ve met owners who have done zero work and have two happy, well behaved sibling pups.
Rita Rice says
As a breeder of 20 years experience, I’d like to say that all of this depends on the breed, the breeder, how the pups are socialized, how active the new owners intend to be in the pups’ lives (4 hours a day out of a crate doesn’t cut it), and how well the owners read body language/how experienced they are with dogs.
Slacker-owners are going to have more trouble with two, because they probably shouldn’t have even one puppy in the first place (go adopt a well socialized adult – you aren’t cut out for dealing with a puppy or a dog with baggage – you want a couch potato to hang with you and watch TV! That’s ok – but puppies aren’t for you!)
Sighthound litter mates generally do very well in pairs. Many herding breeds won’t. Working breeds can go either way, sporting dogs will listen after they’re tired out. Toys – if you can’t make a 4 pound dog mind you, don’t get two of them – they’re very opinionated. Terriers – it’s them against the world, man! But one terrier wasn’t going to listen to you, either, so two are a heck of a lot more fun to watch.
Do your homework. Don’t listen to anecdotal evidence like this article or all the comments following. Find a reputable breeder of the breed you want and discuss it with her/him. S/he will give you tons more info than “the guy down the street.” Listen, and if your gut tells you to go elsewhere, then start your research over again. A good breeder is a free veterinary and training hotline rolled into one, at no additional charge.
If you want to listen to people on the internet and follow their advice over an individual with a lifetime of experience working with puppies of your breed and bloodlines, well, go to the pound and adopt two of whatever – you can always return one if it doesn’t work out 🙁
Sara Watson says
As a responsible breeder of basset hounds, I have known bonded pairs that are extremely compatible, easy to manage and very attached to each other. With the right placement and training, the right littermates would be a lovely pairing.
Abby Harrison CPDT-KA says
I have seen it done really successfully once. I had an awesome family where each parent took one kid and each parent team ignored the other team in class. It was as if the other team did not exist. They even came in separate cars. In fact, I looked around for one of them, could not see them and asked the other where the missing team was. They looked too, shrugged their shoulders and said something about how they must have gone home.
Most pairs do not do well in the same class because one dog seems ready to learn while the other spends most of the time trying to find the other dog or play. I find if that dog can wait out for the next class series, it will often have matured enough to do better in a class setting.
Georgia Denham says
I have had two sets of sibling, brother and sister border collies. We never had any problem whatsoever they are very dependant on each other, but we are their no 1 and there has never been any issue with fighting, aggressive behaviour, just been a wonderful journey for all of us. This last time we introduced another border collie pup, and they love him , no issues except to put him in his place when he needs it. They are totally devoted to us, and so loving . We do train them in obedience and agility, and they all get a turn seperately training with us and they love it. We try and take them out seperately for a run, which they like, but they like to run as a pack, and stay close to us at all times. Lots of herding, who’s herding who. Haha. I think it comes down to just being with your dog. We put a lot of effort into them , and it pays off.
Robin Jackson says
Trisha,
Are you familiar with the concept in social psychology of superordinate goals? Simply put, it says that individuals or groups that are highly competitive with each other, even hostile, will reduce hostility if presented with a necessary goal that requires them to work together.
The concept is a Hollywood staple for lost-on-an-island and Enemy Mine type dramas. The individuals start out hating each other but develop a type of friendship through the cooperation necessary to survive.
I would argue that the whole approach of “separate the puppies and train them individually” overlooks the power of superordinate goals, and is a reflection of the artificiality of the canine suburban lifestyle. As several people have said, that approach vastly increases both the time and energy it takes to train two dogs.
Instead, I suspect that dogs who are expected to have real jobs when they grow up that involve cooperative work, whether it’s mushing or herding or hunting, are trained by their elders, both canine and human, with the awareness of superordinate goals.
Sure, there will always be some individual sessions as needed. But when you have a group goal, it shapes both training and relationships. And I suspect it is likely to greatly reduce potential hostility.
So back to the usual “it depends.” But I don’t think success in raising two puppies together depends very much on the dogs themselves, genetic relationships or natural temperament. Instead I’d guess it depends mostly on the household’s lifestyle, and in particular the presence or absence of superordinate goals.
Just a thought.
Robin J.
Link to classic studies on superordinate goals:
http://www1.appstate.edu/~beckhp/competitioncooperation.htm
Debbi says
I personally have raised a set of littermates (male and female) from 6 weeks old and they are currently 2 years old. I agree with Kelly. It was hard raising 2 puppies at the same time but made sure they each had their own time and their own training. My two have been the best for each other. They both play very well and I have had no issues with aggression or behavioral issues. They each have their own independence and love each other very much and I love have both of them. I couldn’t imagine having it any other way.
Jeff Stallings says
I ran into this quite a bit and wrote an article to be published in Bark Magazine this Winter. In it I interviewed Dr. Ian Dunbar and Nicole Wilde, among others. When I posted it as a blog, it went viral many times. Littermates MAY turn out okay, but the general consensus among professionals is that it’s not worth the risk.
Pact says
My mother had Lab /husky mix dogs-brother & sister. They were adored by us all and well trained. I had 2 lab sisters. My husband and I each worked with one dog and they were dear, well mannered dogs. We loved these dogs and they lived to be 16.
What they also did that was horrifying was fight each other until my house looked like a bloody crime scene. One had a split ear and both had a few scars on their faces. We learned how to stop bad dog fights. I learned how to stop them alone when my husband traveled and only my children were home. The last one was when they were about 12 and arthritic! We spent thousands patching them up. There was no pattern to the fights. It could be food or nothing and we would go for months, even years between. They slept together and were good companions to one another. I loved “my dog” more than any other dog I’ve had. My children adored them both.
I am 50/50. We adored both those sets of littermates. I have wondered since if knowing what I know now I would have been able to read their body language better and had improved training techniques in my toolbox. I would say be very careful, but I would not say never have litter mates.
Tracy Bassett says
My last litter, for various reasons one of the pups stayed with us until 12 weeks of age before going to his new home. I was therefore raising the pup I had kept, plus him. As he was going to be a therapy dog, I wanted to make sure he was going to have the best start possible. This is the first time I have raised two young pups of the same age together (past the 8 -9 week mark when my pups usually go to new homes). It was a LOT of work to ensure that they had one on one time. They slept in different crates at night, and though side by side, were in different dog runs when unsupervised. They went separately to different puppy socialisation classes and were taken separately on outings. Let me tell you I was exhausted! There is so much temptation to cut corners and just let them play together to ‘keep them busy’. It is not something I would ever take on lightly.
I do have friends that have also raised multiple pups successfully. Generally however, these are ‘dog savvy’ people – often couples – who both take equal responsibility for the pups and are usually in charge of one pup each. Thus the pups each get the same amount of attention to care and training as they would if there were only one. They also generally have the facilities/set up to be able to separate dogs as required.
As a trainer and as an ex groomer I have also seen many cases of ‘average’ pet owners with littermates where this has definitely caused issues. Separation anxiety in particular seems to be an issue which I have seen cause problems, for example if one needs to stay at the vet, or if one dies before the other (I will never forget one poodle that was inconsoleable when her littermate died. It was heartbreaking and incredibly stressful for the dog – who refused to eat for weeks – as well as being stressful for the owner). In my classes, if families bring littermates they often find it very hard to get the dogs concentrating on them rather than the other dog (I often recommend they take separate classes as even separating them in the same class sees them constantly looking for their mate). In puppy classes I have found it interesting to watch littermates interact mostly with each other rather than interacting with ‘strange’ pups (another reason for recommending separate classes). I have also seen a number of cases where littermates, once they reach adolescence, no longer get on at all and have to be separated. This seems to be particularly the case with same sex littermates though I have seen at least one case of M/F too.
Barbara Bellows-TerraNova says
I was recently looking to adopt a dachshund and found, to my delight, that there were two 3-month-old puppies that had been rescued from a bad situation and were looking for homes. I found out that particular rescue group was going to be at a Petsmart that very morning, so I grab my daughter and husband and off we went. It turned out that there were multiple people interested in adopting one of the puppies, so the puppies were not brought to Petsmart, and those interested were advised to fill out the 3 page application. A few days later I was surprised to hear that decision-makers had gone with giving both puppies to the same home. I found that both very irritating and illogical. First, that meant they deprived a household of the joy of adopting one of these darling little boys, showing little concern for the humans involved and their reputation as a rescue group. Second, it didn’t even make sense to keep them together; it wasn’t as if they’d been together for years — they were just slightly older than most puppies leaving their litter. And third, as you’ve said, they are more likely to attend to each other than they will to the humans in their lives. Ultimately, that is also more likely to result in a less-than-committed relationship, many frustrations, potential neglect or abuse, and adult dogs needing new homes. This was the first time in four decades that I had actually wanted to have a specific breed, because of how much we enjoyed a dachshund we rescued a dozen years ago, but I didn’t want to go against the adopting I’d been doing for so long. But after this experience, I gave up. Young dachshunds rarely are available for adoption, making this all the more frustrating. So, I turned to the local classifieds and had a 3/4 Mini Dachshund, 1/4 Yorkshire Terrior mix puppy in hours — “Neville Longbottom”. He’s wonderful, and it’s quite wonderful to see how the Yorkie is showing up, particularly in the wayward and multi-directional ears. Anyway, it all worked out well, but I’ve learned that not everyone in the vast animal rescue community, as large as it is here in Utah, knows what is best for the dog/people relationships. Thank you for confirming what my heart felt.
Elizabeth says
The common thread in all the comments here are time & experience. It seems as having litter mates can work out but typically only if you have a lot of time & energy to make it a success. I work very hard with my puppies to develop a strong bond & work ethic & to ensure they are well socialized as I lay the foundation for their performance careers. For myself, I can’t imagine doing that with more than one puppy. I can see how for dogs that participate in pack activities like sledding or hunting it might be different. I’m curious, are there any performance folks out there who do train litter mates, and if so, what is the advantage?
Twosox says
This may be true, somewhat, I imagine each breed and case varies greatly.
I currently have 2 litter mates of wufdog/white GSx, brother and sister. They get along fine, female is the Alpha 2 and Kohanna is the Omega of the whole pack including the bassets, he is the one to get the games going.
It may be because they did not start out together, he originally started out with my daughter, until she realized she could not raise a baby human and a baby dog at the same time. So starting at probably 7-8 months, he would come here, and then go for a week or 2, then during hunting he always came here to be kenneled. He still remembers who his *family* is, and sometimes when I watch him while he is watching his *family* drive away, I feel real bad for him, as he knows that is his family, but he is mellow and just accepts it. But he is happy here in this pack of dogs also.
As far as them fighting, if they do, it is always because Ono ( like OH NO I got another dog!) is now called Fat Louie and she is a food monger. Interestingly enough, it did not start till Kohanna came here to live full time, it is like she tries to eat all the food so he can’t have any.
He is long, tall and lean, she is more husky, short, squatty , fat.
I have been thinking of going full time Rv’ing now that I am retired and other than the hair issue, I would consider both of them in a motor home without trouble.
I am not sure Kohanna could handle that tho, as he is much more active than Fat Louie is very content to just lay around.
I would get litter mates again.
OMG, I almost forgot, I had litter mates before too, with my last round of wd’s, I raised one and ended up adopting her brother off of a 6′ chain tied to a tree, I drove past this dog for 5 years and never knew he was there. He again was a male, much bigger, like double Twosox’s size, and again, she was the Alpha2, as I am always Alpha1.
So yes, come to think of it, I have had litter mates twice, both were raised separately early on, but ended up together and I would do it again. Never had fighting or aggression issues with the mates, it was always with the female GS with Twosox, and Ono is just now starting to try and steal food from old Alpha Basset, just because she thinks it is time for him to be old an forgotten. When he loses his Alpha status of the pack, he will die. I have watched that before also.
Seems when old dogs lose their Alpha Status, that is their signal they are not far away from Rainbow Bridge, I had a 15 1/2 year old Malamute when I got Twosox, I replaced her before she died, because she was older than my kids and I knew it was going to kill me, she maintained her Alpha for about 2 yrs, and the day her and Twosox got in a fight and she lost, I could see the life go right out of her eyes, from that time on she pretty much slept her life away.
Pack life is very interesting, almost as interesting as horse hierarchy, except horses switch up hierarchy depending on what other horses they may be around at the time, it is quite interesting. I used to have 6 horses and I swear their herd status changed every other day! lol
Interesting subject, I guess I never really thought of it before. I guess in my experience I would never NOT do it, as they ARE brother an sister and groom each other and stuff just like you see in the wild. They take care of each other personally!
Sheri Warren says
I could see this ringing true, overall. However, dogs are individuals, and I think how they relate to YOU as their master, and other dogs in the household is completely up to you. The issue I could see (and have faced with two dogs close in age but from different bloodlines), is that it is very difficult to train them both, without spending time with them separately. They can be very distracting to one another, and it can be difficult to focus training on one or the other.
I have two female American Pit Bull Terriers, about 2 months apart in age. Adopted them when they were about 6 months old. Despite being females, and a so-called “aggressive” breed (which is complete crap), they get along FABULOUSLY. They’re both 5 years old now, and we have yet to have any aggressive behavior out of either one.
I think this is because they have complimentary personalities, and they have a lot of structure in their lives.
Best dogs ever. Such good girls. It was a challenge getting them trained up, being so close in age, but we have been rewarded with excellently behaved and mannered dogs.
Dr. Carol Stuart says
First off, I don’t adopt dogs. I either buy my dogs from a purebred dog breeder who health and temperament tests the parents and posts the results to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) or I buy my pets from a shelter or rescue. There is a price either way.
I have twice adopted three litter mates. Once in the 1990’s and just recently in 2013. Both experiences were wonderful for both the dogs and for me. The dogs were easy to house train, responded wonderfully to obedience training as there was a gentle competition to be “good” and get the treats. They all went on to participate individually in performance events and all were successful in achieving titles.
The second time was just a successful and I am enjoying the relationship between the dogs as well as watching them develop their own likes and dislikes. All are participating in performance events that allow them to hone their talents and give them an outlet for all that puppy energy.
If you have the time and patience to treat each dog as an individual as well as allow them to form their own pack you will achieve great success. Training the individual as well as the pack is of paramount importance.
I don’t recommend this for an inexperienced owner. Or a busy person. Or an impatient person. The owner really needs to be honest with themselves about their time and skills.
mgr says
Dr. Stuart, what distinction are you making between “adopting” and “buying” a pet from a shelter or rescue? Just curious.
mhll53 says
My two female rot/GSD + mixed breed litter mates are 9 years old now. The short of it: they were my introduction to dog training. Adopted at 3 months, shelter dog fosters, stranger wary, dog reactive, one bossy, one fearful, city lot, inexperienced owner. What saved us is that we worked with a great trainer. I totally agree that “it all depends” but would never recommend two litter mates to a family dog owner because of the time and commitment. In my experience, two puppies isn’t double what you would get with one, it’s exponentially multiplied by every innate and environmental element that affects either dog and both dogs together. Sometimes it’s not a big deal. Sometimes it is. The things you do separately with your pups and together, the skills + personality + time + commitment of the owner(s), the suitability or adaptability of the dogs’ breed-specific inclinations to their specific living situation (inside and outside – alone and together) each play a role. imo.
Bonnie Hirst says
I adopted 2 3month old female litter mates a number of years ago. I can concur that they did have a very strong bond with each other but they also did have a strong bond with me. I did do my training with them separately as they would just play and not really listen to me. I would however not suggest doing it simply because when they got old I had double the heartbreak watching them both getting sick and losing them within 3months of each other (although we were very lucky in that they both lived long healthy lives).
Bobbi says
I’ve adopted litter mates before and I would so it again- IN A HEARTBEAT! I didn’t have any trouble training them and the only time it was hard having 2 was when it rained – 8 paws to wipe instead of 4! I would recommend it!
Kate says
My mother and I both breed and raise our dogs together and the timing worked out so that the last two we kept were 2 months apart. One is a grandaughter and one the daughter of our first dog. So one is technically the aunt. They played together well during the day when we were working together but went home at night with each of us. Sometimes one of us would take both for an overnight…it’s worked out beautifully because they tuckered each other out as puppies and now are good companions as adults. Often when one comes to visit the other during the day we’ll have a 3 second scuffle but no real fights have ever happened between them. It’s of importance to note they are our only unfixed dogs in our two households right now.
Like it’s said above, it’s not for inexperienced folks to have two puppies at once. We own and operate a kennel and daycare so they had tons of play and socializing time growing up. And they’re a Tibetan Terriers, (companion dogs, fairly low energy, 20lbs). They ended up with VERY distinct personalities and are super attached to their individual people.
Dana Quinney says
Maybe this problem is true of some other breeds, but I haven’t found it true of Shelties. Right now I have three 3-year-old litter mates (Luther, Ruffles, and Celeste). They eat and drink together, will all chew on the same bone at the same time, and never bully, NEVER. They compete a bit for attention as any three dogs would, but nobody is cowed, nobody is scared, nobody is growled at. I’ve had many sets of littermate house dogs over the years. This is typical of the Shelties I’ve had (Sheltie breeder for over 45 years). I would not hesitate for a moment to have litter mates in my home.
Kerry M. says
I can’t imagine a scenario where I take in 2 at once. Too much work. One puppy is hard enough. But I will say the hardest time I ever had with a puppy is when I adopted my first puppy in my own household and she was the only dog. I don’t think I would ever do that again either. I think if it is at all possible, puppies should have other dogs around.
My favorite scenario is one older (puppy tolerant) dog then add one new puppy. If I ever find myself in a situation where I don’t have any dogs, I’d adopt a younger adult dog (1-3 years) and get a puppy only after my basic training was done with the adult dog, concentrating on good leash walking skills, because you can’t teach two dogs to walk nicely at the same time.
My question for potential families who want 2 puppies: do you have time every day for two (2!) 2-3 mile walks for both pups for the next few months?
Donna B. says
Trisha, it is interesting that you say that about the relative ease of littermates puppies perhaps being affected by whether there are other dogs in the household. I have no evidence, but I think that is why I would not be willing to place littermate puppies in a typical pet home, but might consider it if it was to a breeder with an established pack.
I asked myself what I would do if my present population was wiped out (what a horrible thought!!!!) and I had to start over.
I would never start with littermate puppies, strong gut feeling, no evidence. I would probably start with two adults, littermates or not, who got along well and were socially astute. Then I would bring in one puppy, wait some period of time, and bring in another puppy, etc. I would only consider keeping or acquiring littermates if I had a stable well functioning pack.
Thank you for stimulating me to think about this!
Once some years back my numbers did dip alarming low, to one ten year old bitch and one four year old bitch. In a panic, I brought in a 12 week old male and a closely related 16 week old bitch from lines I admired. In a departure for how I usually did things, I limited their time with the adults, primarily because of the fragility of the old lady. The puppies grew up lacking the usual impulse inhibition that characterizes the breed, and took much longer to settle into a more harmonious style of behavior. They had many spats, with the larger older bitch puppy dominating her brother.
In retrospect, I wish I had listened to my gut feeling while I was at the breeders. I had brought out a toy and the bitch puppy was quite unpleasant to the male puppy. Against my better judgement, I brought them both home. I had even called a greyhound breeder friend and she had assured me that the younger male puppy would soon grow faster than the older bitch, and that would equalize things.
I think that adult (hound) supervision is important for the behavioral development of puppies. They seldom seem to do much overt, but I suspect they are influencing the behavior of the puppies in many ways.
Lori Hoffmann says
We adopted our first littermate from part of a litter that was abandoned in front of the local shelter. We got her at roughly 8 weeks old. At about 16 weeks the last of the litter was alone in a shelter with no puppy program, enrichment, or even human contact. All the other pups had been adopted, and she was alone in the kennel surrounded by adult shelter dogs, and very frightened. We took her home and she remembered her littermate instantly, and they stuck together like glue, but both were always very compliant dogs. I guess it helped that they were food-motivated, even though we were not very good at dog training back then. A few years ago (at about 7 years old) we lost the ‘second’ dog to a brain tumor, and we miss her very much.
mary says
I met with your assistant 12 years ago with my two 11 month female Golden Retrievers and their Mother. They’d been fiercely growling at each other for several months and were just in a terribly fight where they drew blood. Their aggression started after one was spayed.(they went together to be spayed but one became sick so the doctor would not perform the surgery on her that day). Upon arriving at your Black Earth Clinic one pup left the car from the front seat (they could not be together) and the other the back. They immediately attacked. Your assistant said she’d never seen so much aggression in this age pups. She said it’s not a good idea to keep females from the same litter because they fight for alpha position. However, she said it’s not true of keeping males or a male and female from the same litter. Once in your clinic we kept them apart but they continued to snarl at each other. Your assistant recommended find a new home for one of the pups or they may kill each other. It was very difficult to do this but a good home was found for “Pop Tart” and we all lived in peace.
Susanne says
First, I have to say that we are a family of fanciers and trainers. Second, in the past 20 plus years we have raised 5 sets of litter mates (and one entire litter of 3 PWC) from birth through death. All dogs were well adjusted and delightful dogs who lived long and productive lives, earned an array of titles from breed championships to sport HIT. All dogs traveled, some more than others, both alone and with their sibling. All dogs went with us to dog club, dog shows, training and all that jazz, both alone and together. They all got along smashingly for their entire lives (female-female, male-male, female-male) and they had various states of status, all intact for many years, a few sterilized as adults, and some were never sterilized. Basically, none of these siblings raised together were any different than a puppy raised without it’s siblings. I can find no difference at all. I don’t think it has anything to do with the dogs or raising siblings, with the following exception: All our dogs were carefully bred, lovingly and thoughtfully socialized, and kindly trained. A complicating factor may well be the early life experiences and the genetics of the dogs involved. There has to be some fall out from being carelessly bred, whelped and raised with indifference, having traumatic events, and etc all before adoption as a puppy. I think the biggest factor is the expertize of the owner(s).
Jennifer says
I think that as with all adoptions, you must consider the individual situation. With clients and with my own extended family, I have experience with adopting litter mates. It works for some and not for others. For my parents, it works. They travel frequently and like the pair to have each other as company. I do think the bond between the dogs is stronger than with the humans but that works perfectly for some. Depending on the dogs’ personalities, you can still develop quite a bond from dog to human. In my experience you do have to schedule individual training/playing/resting time and get them used to being separated from each other on a regular basis otherwise you can wind up with some separation issues. My family specifically gets a boy and a girl and have had great success and joy with this over many decades and after many interesting learning experiences(2 boys, 2 girls, eating through metal/wooden fences to get to each other, hilarious obedience school antics if not separated). Sadly, the most common outcome for our family so far is the dogs dying within days or weeks of each other. We have had the surviving sibling lay down and refuse to eat or move from grief and that is heart breaking. It may not be right for everybody but it is definitely right for some. Like anything, you just need to be well-informed and able to deal with potential issues.
Dwain says
My wife and I adopted two litter mates. Overall, it’s been a positive experience and about what I expected. While the article focuses on issues regarding adopting littermates, it could easily have been regarding adopting two puppies of different breeds or different litters at the same time – the issues are the potentially the same because of the challenges puppies bring. Bonding – depending on how much time they spend together, they will bond with each other. The real question is how strong of a bond does the owner want with each dog? You get what you give, so a strong bond is possible given you invest in the relationship. A strong bond between two dogs isn’t a bad thing – it’s a good thing – it’s my main reason for having two dogs, they keep each other entertained and take some of that burden away from me. Harder to train? Again, two puppies are harder to train, regardless of litter considerations. You should accept that going in. My approach was to train them separately for the first few months. Once basic skills were there, then continue to train them, but together. Not much difference if they are related because the bigger factor is they are puppies. Bullying can happen regardless of litter considerations. It’s up to the owner to control this to the degree desired. The real question is whether I would do it again knowing what I know now. The answer is a resounding yes. I’m told by neighbors that my boys are the best behaved dogs in the area, and they are. They heal well – actually none of the neighbor dogs heal at all. They don’t bark – on leash or in the backyard, and they don’t pull on the lead to get to distractions (squirrels, cats, etc.). All this is a result of me investing the time to get them to this state, of course. My overall approach is to train them well in the first year and then reap the rewards of well trained dogs for the next 10+ years – which I am enjoying now. It saddens me to see other dog owners struggle with behavior issues that are relatively easy to resolve but the owners just don’t want to put in the time.
Sheila Wetherbee says
I have nothing but respect for you. So please take this in the spirit it is written. I agree with half of your article and disagree with the the other half. I am a long time positive dog trainer and a breeder of Jack Russells. So I come at this from both perspectives:
I agree overall it is a “Big No-No” in general to get two pups at once. The training needs to be modified and it takes more commitment. With that said, in certain circumstances, with certain owners, certain pups, support, etc, it can be successful. Very successful.
In my years of experience and puppy placing, I can say it is not for everyone and in most cases not a good idea. I believe placing litter mates – as well as placing two pups the same age should be well thought out. It takes a certain kind of dog person for it to work.
I don’t agree that all or most dogs will basically bond with one another instead of the humans. I am sure that is true with aloof breeds to begin with. I do not agree if you begin with properly socialized pups that are very social with humans.
As for bullying if they are litter mates – There is no scientific evidence to suggest that it has anything to do with puppies/dogs being litter mates. But there are other studies that suggest it may have something to do with same sex aggression (in the case of adopting male/male or female/female), puppies raised together and being kept together 24/7 during a very specific time in their development, puppies raised with little human interaction, etc. One very interesting study was a 13 year study at Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine where they studied pure bred and hybrid dogs from birth to one year. Scott & Fuller wrote about it in the “Genetics and the Social Behavior f the Dog”.
I would caution most thinking about getting two pups at the same time, near the same age, regardless of breed(s). But I do not think it is taboo in all cases. And for the record: I would caution anyone who is talking to a breeder who is pushing two pups at once and is painting a picture of rainbows, fairies and unicorns – because it is not for everyone. But Pat, be fair – don’t make blanket statements.
Rebecca says
I work for a lab breeder who recently had a litter of just two pups. They were so challenging and one was completely non responsive to me except for a break through made through play. Thankfully one of the families decided to take their puppy earlier than expected and the other puppy is now with a younger litter and has access to some adolescent dogs. When I worked with him this week he was a whole new pup!
Honey Loring says
I once took two seven/eight week old Standard pups, both sired by my guy, who were from the same breeder and were whelped three days apart. You want to see what tired looks like—my pictures would scare you. I realized that if I’d had (human) twins, I would have thrown them in a dumpster! Lucky for me, my vet’s daughter wanted one. I only lasted one week!
If a great companion is what you are after, only get one and give it your 100%. Honey Loring
em says
Wow. I am little surprised by how controversial this topic appears to be. I always assumed cautioning prospective pet owners against littermates was pretty standard advice.
I can certainly understand why people who wish to raise working dogs of one type or another might wish to keep littermates, and I can also understand that breeders/fanciers might have reason to do so as well. I think it is also beyond dispute, at this point, that many dogs who grow up with their littermates do just fine. (Though I would note that if one is going to be critical of one person’s educated impression being based on anecdata, it is a little unfair to assert that it is positively untrue based on the same, limited evidence).
We are all influenced by our own experiences, even if we know that they are not necessarily representative. For instance, after witnessing my friend struggle with two beautiful, sweet tempered great danes from the same litter as they suffered through a matched set of horrifying health problems, I, despite my general reluctance to ever say never, am saying that I will NEVER adopt littermates. Seeing one family struggling to care for two sick and suffering dogs, pay two sets of astronomical vet bills, and ultimately have to euthanize two sweet and beloved companions before three years of age has biased me forever, I’m afraid. I know that there are ways to mitigate the risk of this happening, but here’s the thing.
I can completely avoid this risk, simply by not adopting two puppies at once.
What I was really hoping to read, in this discussion, is why anyone SHOULD adopt littermates. I know that it often works out, but then again, I used to ride around, completely unrestrained in the back of a station wagon as a kid, too. So did my husband, and pretty much everyone in our generation. Nothing ever happened to me, or to them. The risk was pretty small, if you consider how many thousands upon thousands of people did it with no problem. But nobody does it anymore, because if the risk of a bad outcome is small, the benefit of this practice is even smaller (arguably non-existent), and the outcome itself is potentially terrible.
I am not a particularly risk-averse dog owner. I do a lot of things that expose my dogs to risk (notably off-leash hiking and social play with dogs from outside our household). I do these things because I feel that the benefits outweigh the risks. What I’m still wondering, and not really hearing in post after post where people say that they’d recommend raising littermates in a pet home, is why.
I am asking this in all seriousness, willing to be convinced. What are the benefits that you experienced in raising two pups together? Even if you don’t accept that there is an increased risk of bad outcomes, raising two pups at a time is unquestionably more work, so what is the payoff? What benefit do you feel that you or your dogs get? Obviously, none of us would like to contemplate going back in time to undo a choice that led to our current beloved dogs, but if you had to make the decision in the future, why would you repeat the practice? I really would like to hear more.
Trisha says
Like em, I am a bit surprised (in a good way) at how much response this post has received. I wrote it because we’d had several questions come to the website about the issue, and it seemed like a great topic to delve into. I love the questions that em is asking: What are the benefits of getting two dogs from the same litter? Although I never have done it myself, I can report that the reasons I heard most often from clients were 1) the pups could entertain themselves (usually from families who want pets), 2) they were serious dog trainers who couldn’t evaluate a dog’s abilities until they were older and 3) they were a family who intended to get one but fell in love with that other little one sitting so sad and lonely in the corner… I’ll look forward to hearing from those of you who also got 2 litter mates at the same time and why you made that choice.
To Sheila Weatherbee: Oh, I love respectful disagreements, so thank you for adding your voice to the mix. I do understand why you say I have overstated the issue. In hindsight I think perhaps I did too (primarily because of the title). I added the “Don’t” because I was afraid that people would just look at the title and make the wrong assumption about my primary point. I say in the text that it is absolutely true that often it works out just fine (and indeed that we don’t even really know if there IS such a thing as “litter mate syndrome.” (If there is, I still wouldn’t call it a “syndrome.” But that’s just me.) Perhaps I should change the “Don’t” to “Don’t, Unless…” The comments, if you read them all, make it clear to me that there are two factors that might make a significant difference. One: Are the owners skilled trainers? There is a huge difference between John and Mary and two kids bringing home two Labrador puppies versus a Field Trial competitor doing the same thing. Second (often related): Are there other dogs in the house too? I’m just guessing, but I suspect that might have an impact. Along with the breed of the dogs and the personalities of each, etc etc. But overall, it is important for people to know, as em points out, that there are potential risks involved in bringing home 2 pups from the same litter. That doesn’t mean it will always create problems, but that one should go into it knowing what the risks are, and how to ameliorate them. Make sense?
Frances says
I would be very interested to see how the – admittedly anecdotal – evidence around taking on sibling puppies compares with research into raising human twins, or larger numbers of children born together. It certainly used to be the practice in British schools to separate twins, teaching them in different class groups whenever possible, which is very similar to training and exercising pups separately…
And my gut feeling is that those raising dogs in a large group, especially when focussed on a specific task like hunting or mushing, are likely to want and expect a rather different relationship with their dogs than the average pet owner, and to be far more tolerant and even appreciative of the dynamics of dog society. Having seen the ease with which a sensible adult dog can cool a disagreement between pups before most humans would even have noticed that trouble was brewing, it makes sense to me that it would be much easier to raise multiple pups with the aid of the right kind of adult dogs!
Diane says
Timely for sure! In July I adopted a Wheaten Terrier [not a pure bred by any stretch] and her sister came along but I told the owner I would only keep one, promising to find a good home for the other. Two of my dog-knowledgable friends said to separate as soon as possible. Everyone else begged me to keep them together. I had them 1 1/2 weeks. Geez, they used me like a human trampoline every morning, jumping on me and flying off, running crazily and nipping. It was cute as they were only 4 mo but I could see this would only get worse. I’m so very glad I only kept one. She’s a dear love although full of energy but that nutty behavior is gone. They seemed to compete and the one I kept was too submissive with the other. It was a wild ride and I’m thankful my friends guided me.
Juli says
My adopted dog, Pico, had a littermate or other family member also in rescue at the same time. They were 6 or 7 at the time & I don’t know whether they spent much time together when they were younger, only that they’d been tossed out to wander when their health declined.) She started enforcing appropriate work behavior immediately when she saw him (he liked to play with things he fetched & they were trained bird dogs.) She would have made life miserable if they’d been homed together in a non-working home.
I live by the dog park and there are several cohorts of litter mates whose owners bring them to the park to wear each other out together. This seems to work really well (& avoid a lot of the usual dog park dangers.) I’d highly recommend having a relationship with a littermate & owner rather than having the littermate.
Robin Jackson says
@em,
Assuming the people are experienced and educated and understand how much work having two puppies will be, it’s not usually a matter of “should”–just personal preference. Like having a large family.
The reasons against are obvious, quantifiable, and logical. The reasons for are usually just because you like that particular dynamic. I adopted 3 (human) kids, and a lot of people questioned why I “needed” more than 2. I didn’t, of course. But I come from a large family, I like that dynamic, and a houseful of teenagers (including both adopted and foster kids) felt right to me. But not necessarily right for anyone else.
Once someone who realistically understands the negatives still likes the dynamic of two dogs of an age, the question becomes littermates or not? While the common medical history was a minus in your friend’s case, it can be a real plus for others. For example, Goldens sadly tend to get cancer more than many other breeds. If you want two puppies and you find a reputable breeder with a line that had historically had less cancer, two from that line might reduce the chance of exactly the kind of medical tragedy your friend encountered.
Some people who like having two puppies also want two dogs who are likely to grow up to similar size and appearance. This may be a personal aesthetic, it may have to do with a pairs sport like canine freestyle dance pairs, or a performance activity like mushing.
I would agree with advice to most families to have one puppy, not two. I don’t think littermate status is the issue.
I don’t think “keep each other company” is a good reason. But “I’ve just always liked having two dogs” might well be.
If a family understands what they’re getting into and can provide what the dogs need, there are times when littermates might make the most sense.
If you want two puppies even before you start searching and know what that requires and a reputable breeder with a good line thinks your home would be a good choice for a specific pair of littermates, that, to me, might tip things into the “should” category, just because finding good breeders can be the most difficult step!
If you start out wanting one puppy, though, I think there’s rarely any reason to get two, and a lot of reasons against. I just don’t think littermate status is one of them.
Just my own feeling,
Robin J.
Marjorie says
I have two half sisters (same father, different mother) who came from the same breeder and are four months apart in age. I got the first dog at 15 months (reject from the breeding program) and I got the second dog at a little over three years (retired from breeding). So both dogs were raised together at the breeders for the first 15 months and then reunited with me at 3 yrs. They never fight, they sleep together and eat together no problem. They are completely opposite personalities. They are very competitive for my attention and one can be controlling and the other one can be pushy. My first dog did not get enough people socialization at the critical time was fearful/aggressive with people coming in the home. The second dog was extremely people friendly so it was recommended by the breeder, vet and behaviourist that I get the second dog to help the first one. They also advised that they would not normally recommend this, but in this situation where they both were raised together and the second dog was so stable they thought it a good idea. Well, it did help the first dog gain confidence with people (mainly due to competitiveness with the second dog) I don’t think it worked out well for the second dog. My first dog will hump and control when she gets anxious and shut the second dog down. I do agree with the “it depends” response. There are many factors to consider. I personally really miss the one on one relationship with my first dog and I feel bad that my second dog did not get as much of that. My two have a real sibling rivalry going and one always seems to lose out in some way to the other. They are company for one another, and do miss one another when apart, but deep down I think they both would like to be any only dog. I do think some breeds are better suited to living together and I think it also makes a big difference in regards to the dynamic of the household, level of support (being single and living alone is exceptionally tough), amount of dog experience you have and time available. I think the biggest thing is that they do need to like one another, and just like in human families we don’t get to choose our siblings and relationships can be challenging. Two dogs can present a lot challenges and a lot more work. I don’t think I would choose to take on two from the same litter or even two pups at the same time. I’d do either two adult dogs or a pup and an adult and acquire them at different times. Most of all, they would have to actually like one another and get along.
EveLynn McGuinness says
I have never adopted a dog but I have kept littermates and could not have been happier. My nine year old littermates work together as a team when I tend sheep grazing ewes and lambs out on the desert I don’t give commands they simply work off each other. They are tervs. The girl went HIT at our national specialty at less than 2 and got her first first place major toward her HC at two and a half but the boy became a GCH HC first. It may have helped that they always adored their father and he adored me (and vice verse). I currently have 1 year old littermates that I bred, both girls and they are doing very well also. If you have sound temperaments and know what you are doing it isn’t a problem. I did make a point of taking them to different classes as puppies and getting them out places with my adults without the other puppy. I also control access to sheep and herding out ranks any other activity in fun things to do so that may help.
Frances says
The people I have known – or known of – who got two pups at once have nearly all been comparatively inexperienced dog owners, very often first time owners, who have either thought that having two pups at once would make life easier as the pups would keep each other company and wear each other out, or had young children and wanted each child to have their own puppy. In those circumstances the outcome has rarely been happy – usually one pup is quickly rehomed, although in one case the owner called in professional help and was still hanging in there, exhausted but persevering, last time I saw her! When I was at last in a position to have a dog as an adult I did think about it – it works extremely well with cats, after all. Fortunately I read advice like yours, because I don’t think I had any idea of just how much work one puppy can be, let alone two.
Perhaps rather than just “Don’t!” the advice should be framed with the addition “unless you already have well socialised adult dogs who will help raise the puppies, unlimited time and energy to devote to the pups in the first year or so, experience of managing the dynamics of a multi dog household, and are prepared to rehome a dog if it all goes pear shaped!”
Robin Jackson says
@Frances,
Beautifully said!
I also wanted to say, in case I left the wrong impression, that I do think the advice for inexperienced dog owners is very important and does need to be shared “early and often,” because otherwise they think adopting two at once is going to easily end up like one of the success stories.
Speaking of which…here’s one of those littermate success stories. This couple are both deaf and have service dogs from the largest US program, Canine Companions for Independence. The wife is also in a wheelchair. They have two black labs, littermates.
Obviously these dogs are purpose bred and have tons of training. But if you love dogs you’ll probably love this video, and if you don’t know any better, stories like this one make littermates look deceptively easy to care for. (These dogs were also placed with separate puppy raisers for their first year, then brought back to campus for advanced training, then placed with the couple around 2 years old.)
http://www.sonic.net/~canine/media/SWR_CCIHeSproule.mov
So a lovely, lovely outcome, but many people do need help understanding how it differs from a typical impulse buy of two pups at once.
Margaret McLaughlin says
I’ve been reading this with great interest, but have not commented, since I’ve never had littermates. I did pick one comment out of the thread that I can speak to, tho’; issues with dogs of the same sex & age.
Under most circumstances, the guide dog school I puppy-raise for requires that their puppy be the only dog under 1 year in the household, so I’ve taken 2 years off puppy-raising with Lia & Nina. However, when Lia was 6mo, the school contacted me to ask if I would take a 6mo puppy whose first family had returned her to the school as uncontrollable. Sucker that I am (I suspect my file at the school is so labeled) I said yes, & the puppy came to Bad Dog Rehab at my house. She was a nightmare. Counter-surfing, nipping, knee-slamming, thief, no recall, getting the leash under her armpit & then spinning like a dervish–you name it, she did it. I was able to turn her around, & she became a successful guide; once she had a job all that focus turned her into a great worker. The problem was that she was also a bully, & Lia had been the shyest puppy in her litter (only 2 were available from that litter, & I thought the other too independent to make a successful performance dog). I had never had bullying issues before, & thought “let them work it out” was the way to go. Wrong. Lia became quite reactive to other dogs, & I have always thought the other puppy was a significant factor. This required careful management in situations like the line-up at agility trials & I was always nervous in group obedience stays in case another dog broke & went to her. She improved a great deal with LAT, but the reactivity was always there. There was, BTW, one older dog in the house.
As to the issue of losing both close together–obviously much greater, but it can happen to you anyway. My dogs have all been about 6 years apart, but I lost Lia (age 8) to osteosarcoma in January, & Elly (age 14 1/2) to renal failure in May. The best-laid plans…
Beth says
I too am surprised by the huge response to this topic. It is valuable to hear from the many people who had a good experience. Of course I also know several people who got lovely dogs from pet shops, but that does not mean I would change my advice of “Please don’t buy your puppy from a pet shop.”
Fanciers, breeders, and working dog people can of course successfully raise littermates, but they generally have the time, experience, and facilities to manage. The excellent breeder we got our dogs from had 9 dogs in her home at the time we brought home one of her lovely retired adults. That doesn’t mean the average pet owner can manage 9. Usually breeders and performance trainers can manage things like crate-and-rotate, multi-dog walks, individual play and training time, etc in ways that most pet homes simply can’t offer.
Here’s the way I see it: the huge majority of pet owners have trouble finding the time to adequately socialize just one puppy, let alone two at once. Ideally if you have two, you need to socialize each separately. Which means that before they hit 16 weeks, each pup should SEPARATELY get to meet at least 100 different people, walk and potty on a variety of surfaces, be exposed to hats, umbrellas, bicycles, bridges, toddlers, people in wheelchairs, people of different ethnic backgrounds, friendly vaccinated adult dogs, other puppies, teenagers, water, and so on.
If you have the time and energy to successfully do that in the 4 to 6 weeks between the time pup comes home and the primary socialization window starts to close, AND you have a house with enough room to crate/pen separately so pups can learn to be alone and so you can separate them if they start to fight as cranky adolescents, AND you have the heart to rehome one if they decide they hate each other when they reach social maturity, then your home might be able to handle two pups at the same time.
I hope that does not sound harsh, because that is what pros who keep multiple dogs do. Most people who have working dogs are always willing to rehome if the dog does not work out. I’m not saying it is not hard to let them go, but the expectation going in is different than the typical pet person who fully expects the sweet little furball to be part of the family for the rest of its life. Show breeders, field trial trainers, agility competitors and the like can and do rehome dogs that don’t work out or are ready to move on. Most pet folks struggle with that a great deal.
So I am truly happy to hear all the lovely stories of siblings being successfully raised together. Indeed, one of mine lived with either 2 or 3 littermates until we brought her home.
But would I ever do it personally, or recommend it to a typical pet buyer like myself? No. Well, except maybe if someone were getting beagles or foxhounds. Would I recommend it for a serious dog fancier who had tons of experience? Sure, but then again those folks are using their own judgement and that of their peers and are probably not coming online for advice on who to keep and who to place.
Pam Kamphuis says
First of all, let me say that I’m glad I found your blog…I have read I think all your books and you are one of my favorite dog authors. I have had the experience of adopting litter-mates…..because I-the voice of reason-did not go with my husband and son to pick up a border collie puppy, and there was only one other one left, and he cried when separated from his brother…..end of story. Your predictions were spot on-we had all those experiences. As so often happens with dogs, I have learned as I go and made most of the mistakes you mention. I would like to write more but I’m swamped at work for the next week or so, but hope this post is still active when I have time to write more. Thank you!
pittbul mommy says
I am the very proud mom/grandma of a momma pit bull I’ve kept her son and daughter from her first litter and two more sons and another daughter from her second litter they are well behaved they do listen to me they are a very well rounded pack I’ve never regretted keeping litter mates
Lori Foraker says
The other drawback to adopting littermates is genetics. My friend adopted two females from the same litter, only to find out there was a “kink” in the chain after the fact, and one of his puppies had a seizure disorder. Long story short, after much expense and heartache, he had to put her down at 6 months old, and to this day he is unsure if this will happen to her sister at some point in her life. Shame on him for not doing his homework, and shame on the breeder for breeding knowing this. But my point is, that is a real good reason NOT to adopt from the same litter,
Kim F. says
@ Beth
As a CPDT-KA who started out training for a number of years in a big-box pet store and am now out on my own, I find your statement “the huge majority of pet owners have trouble finding the time to adequately socialize just one puppy, let alone two at once.” to be true for the majority of the people I’ve encountered. Substitute the word socialize with the word train and you’d have (in my opinion) another truth.
I love to observe all kinds of dog owners interacting with their dogs and I got to see a lot of that while working in a big-box store. I think it is truly representative of the average pet owner (might even be slightly above average since these people are actually taking their dogs out and about). Rarely have these owners trained to any fluency even the most basic of obedience behaviors–and most of them only had one dog to worry about.
I have always and will continue to recommend that average pet owners only get one puppy at a time. Puppies are hard and people just don’t realize how much work it takes to raise one–look at all the 10 month old dogs in shelters who have been surrendered for what amounts to just a lack of training. Two puppies cost more to enroll in puppy class, are less convenient to take places, take up more room in the car, have twice the pulling power, etc. It’s hard enough to convince people that they need to spend time training and socializing their one dog. The minute it becomes difficult most of them aren’t going to do it. What they’ll end up with is two untrained, under socialized dogs.
I always tell my clients “you’re ready for another puppy when you are satisfied with the behavior of your first dog and can devote all your training time to the new pup.” Since most of my clients are coming to me precisely because they are dissatisfied with their current dog’s behavior, this is usually enough to bring them to their senses.
Kimberly Gauthier says
We are currently raising 2 sets of littermates. Rodrigo and Sydney are 4.5 years. Scout and Zoey are 10 months old.
I have had nothing but a positive experience with raising our littermates. We trained them together (we chose a private trainer for our first set and a puppy class for a second set). They get time together and apart. They’re very bonded, all four of them, to each other and to us.
It’s a ton of work. It’s not easier. It’s crazy expensive (especially since we feed a raw food diet). When someone asks me if they should, my first instinct is to say no, because it’s a lot of work and I truly believe that my boyfriend and I happen to be very good at it – but we’re not alone. I’ve connected, through my blog, with many people who are raising happy, healthy littermates.
So I don’t say that people shouldn’t do this, I say that they should be prepared before they bring their puppies home. We hired a trainer – one of the best in our state – we took time off to get our house ready and to spend time with the puppies – we read a lot of books on dogs, dog training and dog nutrition.
They don’t stay puppies forever. They’re cute when they’re playing together, when they’re in a puppy pile. When you get those cute puppies home – cute becomes thin, because the work starts. But it’s worth every minute of work as you watch those personalities blossom and great dogs grow from those cute puppies.
Just please be willing to do the work.
Amanda B. says
Have kept litter mates on multiple occasions from our own beagle litters. However, they have always had additional dogs as pack members and as of late, each litter mate had a different household member as their primary trainer. Haven’t noticed any issues in terms of trainability (aside from being a hound) or separation anxiety. At one point, we thought we found a new home for a member of one pair, and her sister didn’t seem to notice when she was gone. However, there are periodic bullying occurrences between the two. One is by far more dominant than the other and will reprimand the other when she acts out of place.
George says
I have two sets of “twins” and really can say I have no problems. I did raise them from pups and all 4 shared the same mother.
Guess I am just very lucky
Robyn says
I will ONLY rescue litter mates. Have never had a problem. Had specific, individual relationships with both. Currently have lab/greyhound/shepherd mixes (male and female) and they are awesome. She sleeps in bed, he chooses his own bed on the floor. No aggression, both very eager to please. Have always had the best experiences.
SarahA says
I can’t imagine trying to raise 2 puppies at once, that seems like a massive amount of work! A few years ago, I bred my bitch and had just 2 pups in the litter, it wound up being 11 weeks until the bitch pup went to her new home. It was increasingly difficult to manage, and they were still babies.
The new home was a good friend of mine, so the pups got to see each other fairly frequently as they grew up. Until the male, who I kept, decided he hated his sister, and started growling at her any time they were near each other. This is a dog who gets along well with everyone, it’s only his sister that he can’t stand. (interestingly, their mother, who doesn’t like most dogs she doesn’t live with, still likes her daughter fine, even though they only see each other occasionally)
So my thoughts on litter mates is, you’d put in all that effort to train and socialize 2 pups at the same time, and then risk them growing up hating each other. Not worth it.
Diane says
Old blog. But very interesting to me even though I have no experience in this at all. I read a book about Gordon Haeber (sorry for any spelling inaccuracies) who spent 40 years observing wolf behavior. Not going there, no experience as well!!! But I was impressed by the wolf family helping with the young. The year old wolves would help raise and teach the pups, and other family members also played an important role. So when I read about working dogs or sled dogs, or breeders keeping pups, meaning they still had their parent(s) on site, it really made me think about whether the older dogs helped with the raising of the pups….thus more success.
Christina Bredenkamp says
The internet doesn’t contain all information known to man. You still must open a book to learn some of the best info out there. You can find information about littermates being raised together in the The New Knowledge of Dog Behavior by Pfaffenberger (1963). This book is all about how the Guide Dogs For the Blind organization based their puppy choices and raising requirements from studies performed by Dr. Scott in Bar Harbor. It is an amazing book with information that should be the basics for present day obedience instructors and breeders world-wide. I won’t quote the book, but let it suffice that the studies proved that puppies raised together establish a dominant/submissive relationship and that carries over to trainability and socialization issued throughout their lives.
kym delisi says
i have kept littermates from each litter and i have raised 2 pups same age from different litters (and breeds). working group pups.
i have had no issues. only lots of work so i dont think its ‘easier’. Double training. Double trouble. But yes pups serm to have less separation issues since they are not alone.
But double class and training money and time. each needs to be trained separatly. so they get individual time and attention. goimg off to class just on their own.
my advise is do training 1 on 1 and take individually to classes. for example one goes to a monday class. another to a rhursday class. both to a saturday event.
EJ says
Anecdotal support for the argument. I adopted a 5.5 month old puppy who is now 3.5 yrs old. He’s a herding breed mix, apparently bred for farm work in a far away desert type country. DNA testing says he’s a mix of Border Collie, GSD, Belgian Shepherd, and Samoyed… 1/4 each, and his looks support the results. The history goes that my dog and his littermate were purchased together, and when the two became too loud (living in a kennel not a house), they were dropped at a shelter at 9-10 weeks old. They roomed together, spent all their time together. Shelter did some training, handling and socialization, then shipped them to the US. I was the initial foster home… All they did was wrestle. Rough. Non stop. I couldn’t let one of them go, just fell in love, a gorgeous sweet dog with a stellar temperament. The littermate was moved to another foster home within days, but they had never been separated in the 5.5 months of their lives.
I don’t think I’m a bad trainer… agility is my sport of choice, I foster for rescue, and I’ve had success with training complex behaviors to many dogs. But training this dog has been SO difficult. He’s an incredible dog. Gentle, athletic, lots of drive that turns on/off beautifully, just cannot say enough wonderful things about him. He’s incredibly attentive to being with me… But I can’t get him trained. After 3 years together we still don’t have a recall. He’s never far mind you, he wouldn’t leave me… he just doesn’t get why he should come when called. Teaching him to tug took a year. A 15 second stay took a year. Verbal associations give him trouble (say sit, he downs). Etc.
I adore this dog but he’s an interesting study and this blog gave me some associations to think about. Thanks.
Jenny H says
I have twice kept two pups from one of my own litters.
I must say, that the dire prognostications made about the problems just never arose. Once two girls, currently brother and sister.
If nothing else I would say that it is definitely no worse than having two different pups of different litters at the same time. If anything, it is better and easier as the two pups have learned to live with each other from birth, and are of approximately the same size and weight.
That being said, there are most probably breed differences which could make problems. I have heard some sad stories re keeping two Jack Russells or Staffies– so I’d be wary of keeping two same age terriers.
And if you keep two same age pups –litter mates or not — you are in for more than double the work of one. Each pup needs training AND socialisation without the other. This means double the number of walks and training sessions.
Each pup needs its own ‘cuddle’ time with you too. Each pups needs time left alone, so that it doesn’t develop separation anxiety.
Then consider that both dogs age at the same rate — so instead of nursing one dog through old age and then the heartbreak of losing the dog, you have two dogs likely to die within a short time of each other. THAT I would say is the hardest part of it 🙁
If only my bitches hadn’t produced such LARGE litters 🙁 I’d have done the sensible thing and kept dogs five years in age apart. Lovely 0– a puppy to keep you young, an mature dog to be a working partner, and an old dog to love up 🙂
Michelle Gasson says
I have instructed 5 puppy courses this year, 4 of the classes contained sibling pups and never again. In future we will split the siblings between classes. They are very vocal, and wish to be together the whole time. The less outgoing of the two doesn’t get to think for itself and show what it is really capable of. And as far as socialising with the other pups in class it is overpowering as they operate as a team so for the “other” pup he is meeting an 8 legged 2 headed creature. Too much. Such a bad bad idea. I haven’t seen any positive, but gave it 4 classes just to confirm.
Martha says
We recently welcomed 2 male golden retriever litter mates into our home. I never even thought to research the topic. We have always had dogs, individually and one other set of male litter mates, Yorkies. The Yorkies joined an older Dalmatian who died not long after. When they were about a year old we got a 3 month old male lab. The Yorkies dominated the lab but all got along. One Yorkie was killed and the other yorkie became alpha but they got along well. For these reasons it never occurred to me that having 2 would be an issue. I have to say I’m concerned after reading all this. We have had the goldens for about a week and they play well. They take turns being dominant. I see it’s harder to capture their attention but I’m hopeful if we are mindful of giving individual attention it will be ok. Any additional advice is appreciated.
Maddy says
Hello…. I’m looking for some advice, feeling even more bemused since reading all the comments! I hadn’t even given it a second thought about NOT getting two siblings, boy/girl until I went to the local pet store and asked advice on whether to put them in the same crate….. Response being “ooh, I’ve been told never to buy the same litter”! …. O….k…. :(. I’ m due to collect my little miniature dauchsand angels on Saturday, but find myself questioning if I’m doing the right thing ??? Has anyone ever had 2 mini dauchsands??
Trisha says
Maddy, as you can see by reading the comments, sometimes it works out very well to have sibs, but other times… not so much. The breed isn’t the issue as much as the personality of the dogs. If you want the odds in your favor, I’d consider taking one and getting another (if you want two) in six months or so. Let us know how it goes!
Alexandra says
We have rescued 2 sets of Rottweiler litter mates and I found it much easier to train them the younger they are. Yes, I know that sounds like something that goes without saying. We were very successful in training the first set of puppies. We recently rescued a brother & sister from a high kill shelter they are a year old. I didn’t have the heart to leave one to put to sleep. Because they’re Rottweilers they had little to no chance for a forever home. Recently I decided to separate their kennels to try and break the caious that ensues when they are together. I have to take them out separately for training since they are very big and very strong. Everything Im doing is completely different then my previous set. After some alone time I place them together to play & each time it gets a little easier to keep or get their attention.
I originally found this site looking for assistance with their training. If anyone has any suggestions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Thank you
Crazy in South Florida
John says
Some great insights here, thank you all. We adopted two Aussie sisters at 11 months a year and a half ago. Someone here asked why? They were in dire straights, the man who bought them had died and his wife couldn’t handle them. When we picked them up they hadn’t been out of their 6X6 kennel for months. They’ve bonded with us nicely, love to cuddle and crave attention. Aggression issues once in a while, but nothing too bad. The big problem, as expressed here, is not paying attention to me, playing off each other when barking, off leash or on. I’m going to redouble my efforts, but my question is is it too late at 2 1/2 years train them separately? They’re great dogs and have a good life as it is, but it would be better for all of us if they weren’t so ill behaved.
nadine says
My family rescued a stray momma dog and her 24 hour old pups. . .long story short we kept momma and two males of the litter. Momma had issues indicative of orior abuse. Very shy, fearful of new people but extremely loving with iur family. The boys Bright, energetic pups. A handful but learning and loving. . .then one day they snapped. Terrible fighting causing physical harm to each other. Working separately and together some days were good other days were horrible. Ultimately we have permanently separated them from having actual physical contact with each other. Thru a crate or gate only. They never growl at each other, they wag their tails, but the wrong look and everything changes. Our family will never suggest adopting two pups at the same time, litter mates or not!
Kathryn says
we adopted Lila, 6-week old female Aussie shepherd/Queensland heeler last August from our neighbor. Two weeks ago we adopted her litter mate, pepper, a male. They had been digging under the fence separating our properties and running and playing together. We live on 3 acres in the country and those two run and play all day, although I do separate them mid day for a few hours to give them a rest, and they have separate sleep areas. I’m a bit frightened, now, reading of all the problems, but I hope they will have many years together. I have a 12 year old springer spaniel who was not able to keep up with Lila and he’s happy, too. I am glad they were 9 months old tho when we got Pepper; I could never have trained 2 pups at once and Lila needed a lot of socialization.
Peri says
Hi Trish, can you give me any recommendations for any studies or more academically oriented research on this subject.
Dave Stone says
I’m glad you said ‘ haven’t found a thing that supports (or disputes) what some people call “litter mate syndrome.”’ I’ve been trying to get opinions on this subject, and they vary quite a bit.
Ragan says
I have male littermates who are now 6 1/2. I have had them since they were 10 weeks old. Obviously it comes with its problems – as the article stated…isn’t 1 child easier than twins!? I can’t tell you how many people (even as recently as this year) have tried to tell me I need to “change that” and not have one of them. When I first got them, people told me they’d “fight to the death”. It was horrible and SO disheartening. While they have tussled and did have 1 serious fight when they are younger – any owner will get to know the dogs individually – know their triggers – and know how to intervene before it escalates to that level. Unfortunately, the guy who bred mine had NO clue what he was doing – or maybe just didn’t care – so they both have issues and sadly, share those issues and feed off of each other. I truly believe that if they had been weaned appropriately and allowed to socialize correctly those first 10 weeks a lot of these problems wouldn’t be there. However, the thought that a member of this family could just be “rehomed” is IDIOTIC! All of this to say – that for anyone who was told the same things I was and feels overwhelmed – push through. I can’t IMAGINE Elvis and Vegas being with anyone else or being WITHOUT each other!
Denise says
I adopted litter mates , I have no regrets
(yet ) they both showed very dominate and aggressiveness towards each other however I nipped that in the arse right away .
That behaviour is not permitted they have done much much better .
I was not aware of this possible issue however I feel that as long as I’m the pack leader and stay consistent with training I will continue to have well behaved bitches.
They are very well behaved and proud to be a bully breed mom and my next goal is for my girls to be trained to be therapy dogs .
Michelle says
Aside from the puppies not bonding with their people (which makes a LOT of sense), I think the other points have more to do with the individual personalities of the dogs than them being littermates…
You need to carefully match the personalities of your dogs. For example, never have two dominant-type dogs in the same house. My brother got a part Husky dog as a puppy, and raised her in the same house as the older Pit Bull dog. As the Husky grew larger, she would bully the other dog. When the Pit Bull would run, the Husky would bite her and actually GRAB a mouthful of skin and HOLD ON as the Pit Bull was running… looked very painful! :/ There was also at least two instances where the Husky attacked the Pit Bull over food. One time the Husky had the Pit Bull by the throat, and would not let go. Another time, the Husky knocked the old girl down, which actually caused a back injury. 🙁 Now that the Pit Bull is living with me, I have been doing stretches with her to straighten her back (which worked), but it seems as though she has lingering nerve pain, and her back leg muscles have atrophied. 🙁
The Pit Bull is now living with my dog, a 1 year old Beagle cross. They get along very well. The Beagle never bullies or harasses the Pit Bull. Sometimes when the Pit Bull gets excited, the Beagle thinks that she wants to play (she doesn’t), but the Beagle doesn’t press the issue. The Pit Bull is much happier living with us, and the Beagle seems to enjoy the doggie company as well (I think it is a comfort to her to have another dog with her when no one is home).
Courtney says
A friend and I adopted pups from the same litter and got them together all the time. You could just tell that they were happier together. Not to mention that they fed off each other’s good qualities. One was shy around other dogs except when her brother was around and the same for the brother with people. They listen extremely well and could go hiking off leash with zero issues by 9months old. Eventually we became roommates and they were in heaven. They would lay on each other, play, etc. and never fought. When we finally parted ways (to go be grown ups) it took a while for my dog to recover emotionally. So in my opinion there’s nothing better than getting two litter mates. Having a buddy the same age helps them play bite less (because they’re also experiencing it and realize it hurts), helps them adjust to new situations (like the dog park or learning to swim), and keeps them entertained/stimulated.
Cockerfamily says
Great article, thanks! What do you think of this scenario? We have an entire cockerspaniel family living together. The father is 8 years old, mother about 2 and the 7 siblings are now 7 months old. The parents live in the house with us and are very well behaved, the puppies have been living in the garden and have their own big doghouse where all can fit well. We feed the puppies and parents separately but all the puppies together from 2 or 3 bowls. We see no levels of agression yet and despite there being a hierarchy we do not feel that the dogs are intimidated by each other, other dogs or humans. They play with kids and our 5 year old son. Every night one of the puppies (randomly) is taken into our bedroom to sleep with the parents and there seems to be no separation anxiety. The dogs have a vast space within the limits of the property and are taken on walks in parks and in the city two by two, frequently.
Now the question is, should we expect all of the horrible things you and others describe to start happening to us, only on an even worse scale and when and which dogs should we castrate? Currently only the mother has been spayed after giving birth. Both parents seem to be playing a vital part in the developing of the puppies and the pack hierarchy. Thanks and regards! P.S. We do not live in an english-speaking country.
Pat says
Thank you so much for this article! We purchased a 9 month old Havanese pup about 4 months ago. We had previously purchased another Havanese of the same age from a different breeder and he was so very easy to train and to live with! Our older dog is now 6 years old.
We have had lots of problems with our new puppy, but, he is coming around. He was raised in a home with lots of puppies and kenneled with his littermate (a female). I had no idea that would cause so much trouble for him.
He is in his second level of obedience training and is really bonding with me. He now comes when called 99% of the time and he is walking really well, staying when command is made, etc. The remaining issue is that he has left puddles in the house when unsupervised (maybe once a week). It does seem to be getting better. And, he is still extremely shy with strangers. We walk in the community and are introducing him to neighbors with treats as enticement.
I must tell you that this article has let me know why this is difficult. And, I now know it is not that we have been poor trainers or that he is deficient. He just needs lots of time to learn new skills and behaviors! THANKS SO MUCH!
Daniela says
I have also recently searched for research on littermate syndrome without success (still looking though).
But I have no doubt of the existence of the syndrome in dogs (not necessarily littermates) who are very close in age and raised together. In addition to Patricia, other behaviourists, vets and reputable trainers also endorse the phenomenon.
I have personally witnessed ‘littermate syndrome’ in action – seeing behavioural problems in dogs kept by friends/family.
Most striking is when a person with multiple dogs, all with generally sound temperaments, ends up with an anxious/fearful dog – it is no coincidence that the fearful dog was one of a pair very close in age (or actual littermates). So the issue occurred even within a larger group of dogs in a household.
I’ve always explained it (to myself) as one dog being overly reliant on the other dog that is close to their age. They appear to depend on their ‘littermate’ rather than developing confidence to face the world on their own.
Efforts to socialise each dog separately would I think prevent this issue easily, but that includes separate time even at home. Most owners wouldn’t bother.
Madison Stewart says
My family had planned on adopting the last German shepherd puppy in the litter. A few weeks before we were due to pick her up, her sister became available for adoption because she had a heart condition (PDA). They didn’t know what to do with her which appalled my family. We ended up taking both puppies after doing extensive research on adopting littermates. Nika, the puppy with the heart condition, had surgery at 12 weeks old. She is the most expensive free puppy that we have ever had, but she’s totally worth it and very healthy. We dealt with having littermates by being devoted dog owners. I don’t think we set the pups down until they became too big to hold, and they are the biggest snuggle bunnies. They love to play together, but mostly do their own thing in the house. Typically, each one is laying in a different lap and expect guests to snuggle them like we do. Training and going through the puppy phase with littermates is truly more than double the work of one puppy. We are experienced and informed owners that were prepared to devote months on end to meticulous training and socialization and bonding. Now, the babies are newly 3 years old and we have not had an issue with them. The only issue they have is that they are very protective of myself and our two girls, but I think that is mostly due to German Shepherd nature. I hope anyone considering littermates is prepared for the work and focus it takes to raising them properly. I think the only reason we made it is because our girls are teenagers that stayed home with them training all summer, and when my husband and I got home from work we picked up where they left off. Our sisters were never crate trained and have free reign all day, graze feed and eat from the same bowl (at different times usually, but they do share food), and stay in our unfenced yard without an issue. As much as I love my dogs, I would not recommend getting littermates because temperament cannot be determined when the pups are 8 weeks old. If it wasn’t for her heart condition and uncertain future, we would have never taken 2 and would not do it again. We are so lucky and blessed that our training has given us two wonderful dogs.
Santi says
I know this is an old post, but I just wanted to share my experience having adopted 2 male Labradors from the same litter.
We adopted Dallas and Denver when they were about 5-6 months old. This was about 10 years ago and we were ignorant of potential issues about adopting litter-mates But I guess we got lucky. In our case, we had no bonding problems, no aggression issues, and no training issues. In fact, when it came to training, there was almost this feeling that they helped one another. I would train one dog while the other watched, and by the time I switched to the other dog, he would already know what to do — based on, I’m guessing, observation. So training wasn’t difficult.
There was one time when they were being boarded while we were away and they got into a nasty fight. But it was only that one time, and it never happened when they were at home. Again, maybe we got lucky. I did try to make sure they got individual attention even when we were all together, asking one dog to wait while I cuddled with one, then said, “take turns” — and they knew that meant we needed to switch. We did this for grooming, cuddling, etc. We also didn’t allow food aggressions — from the beginning we made it clear that they will only get treats if each waited patiently for his turn, so there was also no aggression over food or anything like that.
They slept together, trained together, exercised together and got along really well. They played well as puppies. When they got older they hung out together but seemed to prefer playing with me instead of with one another.
If I were to change anything, I think it would be to separate them once in a while so that they don’t get terribly anxious about being separated. Dallas had some health problems toward the end of his life (he died last year) and had to be taken to the vet at a lot, and we’d have to leave Denver at home which drove him nuts. And when Dallas died, Denver wouldn’t eat for a long time.
Bobbie says
I have tried both. Getting separate puppies from different litters only to have the 2 hate and tease each other mercilessly. Never again, I did it twice.
From that point on I only bought siblings.There is nothing that can break the bond of a brother /brother or sister /brother. They grew up, they listened perfectly. I could take one outside to walk or play without the other freaking out. They were obedience trained and listened very well. I have done this for 4o years now, always siblings. German shepherds, labs, and 2 toy breeds, Pomeranians and Chihuahuas. Had many wonderful years with all of them.
Andy Murphy says
I tell my clients this all the time.
From now on I’ll be directing them to this article!
Ann says
I hace littermates they are Chihuahua llasa x who have attached themselves to me from day one.
I adopted them at six months old. They had spent a lot of time with their mum and other dogs and have turned out well balanced. They always sleep separately by choice and rarely curl up together but love to play together and walk. Although I make time to seperate them for play and walks too.
My only problem us they are not good with other dogs ans yap and pull to play and if allowed jump all over other dogs. I have worked at it but it is slow being two.
I was considering bringing in another older dog but wondering if that may spoil the close knit group.
Brenda says
I adopted two brothers from the same litter 2 years ago. They are extremely bonded to eachother but also me. They were super easy to train because they would watch each other get treats for performing the “trick” They sleep together (also with me) And seem to be ok when they do happen to be separated unless a leash is involved, they both love to walk, so I have a dual leash. My oldest daughter started taking one of them to sleep with at night and he now actually stays with her all night instead of sneaking back to me & his brother as soon as she fell asleep like he use to. I must mention they were both neutered as soon as I could get it done. After a month of working on training them, my husband brought home a 10 month old English Bulldog who was also untrained, which made us have to start all over, I definitely don’t recommend that happening but she was in need of rescue. It took a lot of hard work and persistence but all 3 are very bonded and trained now and look out for each other and are very attached to me as well. Also a note, this was not easy and I probably put more work into this than most people would want to but it was definitely worth it to me.
Joan says
I adopted litter-mates – Border Collie, Aussie Shepherd, Saint Bernard and ? mixes and they were wonderful together and with me. As puppies they worked off a lot of their energy chasing each other. There was never a cross moment. The female was easier to train, and the male learned from her. “Why is she getting a treat and I’m not? Oh, she’s sitting, I get it.” I only taught them basic commands, not how to herd sheep or anything. That might be different.
I remember them “helping” me plant flower bulbs – taking them up in their mouths and running like crazy – so adorable. I agree that the only drawback was losing them close together, but in my case it was totally worth it.
Emily Swartz says
I got 2 border collie litter mates when they were 9 weeks old, and it worked out very well for my family. I had never heard that you shouldn’t do this, and I thought it would be a good idea since we were away from home so much, so they could keep each other company. At the time I was a newly widowed mother to four children aged 4-12, with a full time job.
We got one male and one female, and they had very different personalities. The female was a strong alpha, always wanting attention, a lot smaller at 32 lbs, a bit indifferent about food, and obsessive about playing ball. The male was 48 lbs, a great protector of his flock of people, not interested in ball, never seeking attention (but still receiving lots), and could never get enough food.
What they had in common was that they both loved to go on walks, and both were very aggressive when it came to other dogs that we encountered on our walks. With two tugging hard on the leash, it was hard to control them. So I started taking them one at a time and discovered that they were not aggressive towards other dogs when there was just one of them. So this was probably the only negative in my experience that might have been related to being litter mates.
Initially, they were a lot of energy and very hard to control, but with 4 kids, I had lots of help. In some ways their energy was a good diversion in a difficult time. I took them to 2 rounds of training classes. The only training issues I had was with my fellow trainers (my kids). I had the dogs well trained to stay off my bed, but as to the other furniture, kind of tough when the kids liked to cuddle on the couch with them or have them sleep in their beds. But they learned basic commands very quickly. They always seemed to be very attentive to my family, always wanting to please and be with us.
Mine slept together in a crate initially, and they played together a lot. But when the kids were home from school, they were separated a lot because of the need to share the dogs.
Arggg says
I adopted two littermates (both girls) despite all the warnings I heard against it. They are hard to train, it’s true, and they are maturing at a much slower rate than previous dogs. I figure they will be rowdy puppies until they are at least two. I was afraid they would fight, but they haven’t – they “bristle” at each other fairly often but there hasn’t been any biting. Since I live alone and work most of the week, they have to be in a kennel that whole time. They keep each other company and they’re very happy. Since I don’t answer to anyone (husband, landlord, roommates) it works out just fine. I’m glad I did it.
Christina Mae Bender says
I’m raising 2 female pups of the same litter they re almost a yr old now. Theyve only been apart for 5 days since birth. So far they’ve been really easy to train. They’re both really smart very lovable & practically inseparable. They do play scuffle with each other nothing to aggressive though. I have noticed some dominance in 1 towards her sister usually while feeding. I’d have to say the hardest thing I’ve came across in training would be leash training I’ve tried several harness’s & yet to find one that helps them reframing from pulling so hard they choke themselves. They’re small dogs & I don’t believe in choker collars. We’re getting better with it but is still a work in progress.
carla tevis says
Interesting article, I adopted two Border Collie mixes, sisters from the same litter. A dog trainer told me what a horrible mistake I had made. I totally disagree, that said there were issues that were due to them being litter mates. The first one was their bond with each other was very strong and if one was in trouble she would run to her sister, (the 3 dogs I have now do the same thing and are not related) However they both recognized me as the alpha and they both wanted to be first and foremost in receiving my attention which I fin most dogs are this way. One thing I did notice was when walking them separately the alpha was okay but her sister was terrified and very noticibly so. The trainer told me I would end up with 1 1/2 dogs and she was right I did. It wasn’t until my Alpha died 2 years ahead of her sister that Nikki developed her own personality, changed dramatically, much more laid back. They were very easy to train. BC most likely reason. The only time they ever showed aggression towards each other was over food or over me. All and all I would not hesitate to adopt them again, they were adorable. When they were in the yard alone they walked every where in unison and also sat in unison.
Donna B says
We had a pair of sisters not by choice but someone dropped 3 of a litter near our home. We kept 2 and found a home for the other. We kept them for 18 months but one of the girls became aggressive, not only toward her sister but another of our girls as well. We ended up going through an agency and placing the aggressive sister with another family where she is thriving and the one we kept is now more confident and seems happier as well. We feel this situation was handled in the best way possible for both girls. Had we known of this problem in advance we might not have kept them both but placed two and kept one. In hindsight will never have litter mates in the same home again for fear of a repeat.
Charles G. Couturier says
I like the mention on “gaming” or playing.
Playing with them individually? Yes.
Playing with them as a means of positively reinforce some behaviours? Yes.
What’s often missing, when comes to managing 2 dogs, even more important from the same litter, is the role of play in turning these 2 beings into friends.
I strongly believe that dogs can feel intra specific friendship. Moreover, I believe that friendship tends to lower (if not eliminate) dominance steepness (as defined by van der Borg et al., 2015).
So to me, the far most important aspect of having success with 2 dogs under the same roof, is to turn them into friends. As simple as that. And this is best achieved, with plays in the center of the strategy.
mdupreez says
I adopted two sisters. I was only going to adopt one, but the other one was the runt of the litter, she was small and weak and probably would have ended up being put down (they were rescues), so I couldn’t leave her and I took both. Also, their mother abandoned them so they were very young when I adopted them – about 5 weeks. Luckily they were about six months old before someone told me for the first time that you “shouldn’t adopt littermates”. I have never had any problems with them due to the fact that they’re sisters, even though I never went to any particular trouble to “separate” them. They are perfectly well bonded with their human family members as well as with the older dogs and cats in the family. They have no problems with being separated. They are incredibly smart and have always been easy to train, individually or together. They are a year old now and I’ve never had regrets about taking both. To this day if I’m unfortunate enough to talk to a dog trainer, they tell we how I really shouldn’t have adopted siblings and it’s SUCH a terrible idea. I usually discreetly roll my eyes. Clearly this is a case of the more people are told it’s going to end badly, the more it does end badly. People scare you into believing you’re going to have problems with siblings, you are negative and fearful, the dogs feel that negative and fearful energy, and the negative and fearful energy CREATES A PROBLEM THAT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THERE.
Trisha says
To mduoreez: What all trainers should say is that it’s a probability statement… the chances that two dogs will have trouble is higher with two female litter mates, but that doesn’t mean it’s inevitable. I’m so glad your girls get along so well! But I also caution about blaming owners for dogs who fight. It often has virtually nothing to do with the owners, and I’ve seen far too many people struggling with guilt that “they failed”, when the problem has nothing to do with them, to not feel a need to defend them.
frannie says
We had 2 female toy poodles who were only separated from each other for about an hour and a half while in transit to our home before we picked them up from the breeders and again in death 17 years later. They died within 2 months of each other. So hard.
They loved each other and their humans and we experienced none of the negatives referred to above, although people’s observations above are interesting and helpful to me as I enter into the adoption of two Havanese puppies, also female litter mates.
We were very happy raising the 2 poodles together and they seemed very devoted to each other at the same time being utterly attached to their human companions as well. Possibly to a fault. ;->) As smart as those poodles were, they totally failed in doggie training school. Other than that, it really worked out well. So, cautionary considerations notwithstanding, we will be doing it again very soon although, thanks to this web site, we may try to take them to obedience classes separately. Thank you all.
Jerry C says
I adopted two Lab/Pittbull mix puppies, females nearly 17 years ago. They were wonderful together. One live until 14 years of age and the other I lost barely a week ago just shy of 17. I will miss them and the fun and affection we shared. They touched not only my own but the lives of many others. They never fought, argued or even seriously competed with each other except when we played catch the ball. I bonded with them from the first night when I took them home as 10 pound pups, one of them slept her first night in my lap, the other with her head on my leg. Til the first sister passed they slept together as they did as pups, often curled up together. I will miss them always. I fear getting other pairs not knowing if my experience was pure luck or if my way of raising them had some influence on them….
Guy Rademacher says
As an educator we rely on vast amounts of data before we come to the table with our “opinion”.
That being said, our “experience” with two female labs from the same litter was the best. I employed proper crate training along with the use of invisible fence for safe containment from speeding cars on our street. They lasted to 13 and 14 years respectfully, with three homosapien boys joining the pack toward the end. Molly and Ashley were sisters to the end.
When someone in the field of the “dog world” pastes their opinions in such a way that has no supportive evidence they should in my “opinion” wait for a broader range of professional data.
Sorry if I pissed off anyone…actually no I’m not. Tired of bloggers that come across as experts in areas that they have no factual data to backup their opinion.
P.S. If religion got it wrong, so can secular people.
Jane Whiteley says
I got two littermate male Golden Retrievers at 8 weeks and they both were a total joy to raise! However, one developed epilepsy at age 2 1/2 and the other at age 3. The first one was totally controlled with medication from the first week of seizures, but the second (Spirit) continued having seizures 2-3 times a month until we lost him at age 11. His brother , until we lost him to cancer at age 9, acted as a “seizure-alert dog”, letting us know when Spirit was about to have a seizure. Although they grew up together, each had very individual personalities, and they always got along very well and both bonded well with us. We did take them to separate training sessions after the initial puppy classes, which seemed to work out well for all of us. I wouldn’t do anything differently!
Pam says
I have read all the comments above and am very happy for all of you!! I have a problem, a very BIG one.! We had Rottweiler’s until we lost all 3 to cancer and NEVER had any problems with them ever fighting with eachother and they were like our children to us! We were totally heartbroken when we lost them all within 8 weeks of eachother 💔 We decided to get more fur babies and got 3 pit bull puppies, liter mates!! We got the girls @ 8 weeks of age and everything was great until recently. They are very loving to my husband and I and our children and granddaughters!! They have never showed any aggression towards people, but recently we have had 2 incidents where 2 of the pups have attacked one of the other ones(not the same one both times) and today 2 of them would have killed their sister if I hadn’t been able to finally get them off of her! They are almost 9 months old and it terrifies me that they might actually kill one of their sisters!!! They stay inside except to go potty or to go get exercise, etc.. the fighting has never happened inside the home! I now will not let but 2 out at a time until I can figure out why this is happening!! They all get their special time with us and we NEVER give one puppy more attention than any of the others!! If anyone has any advice for me(no smart remarks please, don’t need them) please share, because we love our girls and are just beside ourselves on how to deal with this problem!! Thanks in advance to anyone that might wanna offer advice.
Kimberly says
I wonder if other factors influence the outcome of adopting sibling pups? I recently adopted sister and brother pups, Border Collie-Anatolian mix. I have four older dogs in the household, ages nine, four, two, and one years old. I work from home and the older dogs are companions who also help guard the acreage and protect the livestock (the two younger adult dogs are still in training). I’m able to spend time with the dogs individually and in small groups (in example, I cannot take both the two younger dogs—both females, one all Anatolian, the other a Mastiff-Lab mix—out with the chickens and ducks because they will encourage each other to chase the birds, something that doesn’t happen when I take them out separately in the company of the older two dogs). My hope is that the new pup siblings will learn from the elder dogs and become responsible pack members. The two older dogs, a Lab-Aussie female (and the dog of my heart) and an Anatolian-Pyrenees male are excellent role models who don’t tolerate a lot of nonsense from puppies. Fingers crossed that this works out. 🙂
Cathy Leclaire says
I have Morkie litter mates and am regretting every minute of taking on the 2. I am 68 and I have had them a year. I truly need to (for my nerves sake) to adopt 1 out. Will they have emotional problems if I do this? I don’t want them hurt at all. Emotionally or physically. Thanks for any help I get.
Dawn Mazur says
I adopted two pups from the same litter less than a year ago. Unfortunately we lost one two weeks ago and he would have only been 11 months old. However, when I got him and his sister mixed breed, I read all this nonsense on the internet never adopt from the same litter. I can tell you don’t believe any of the nonsense. These two puppies under 11 months old were the best of friends and the most well behaved dogs I have ever had. I even took them both to work with me in an office and people cant believe how good they are. I would do it over in a heartbeat. Unfortunately Zena now on her own, is a bit lost without her brother who always looked out for her. He was the outgoing friendly guy and she is shy but would warm up to people better once she knew JJ approved. I want to get her another friend but I know the bond wont be the same.
Trisha says
Dawn, I’m so happy you had such a great experience with your litter mates. And so sorry you lost one at such an early age. I do want to suggest to other readers, however, that one person’s experience with 2 very young and different sex puppies does not make the caution about adopting pups from the same litter “nonsense”. It’s just a matter of probability–there is a higher probably of trouble between (especially same sex) puppies from the same litter than with pups from different litters. That doesn’t mean it won’t all work out beautifully some of the time, as it did for Dawn. And to Dawn, good luck with Zena, I hope you find her another good friend soon.
Tom says
I am raising four puppies together now from the same litter. And two older puppies, different litters but close to the same age. I have raised more than a hundred puppies together this way. If you were to ask my advice on getting two puppies from the same litter I would say, maybe yes and maybe no. It isn’t a black and white issue, almost nothing with dogs is. There are too many variables. Have the puppies been bred to be sociable with each other? Not many are.
I breed beagles. They have been bred to live together as a pack for about a thousand years. I breed specifically for harmony in the kennel.
Some families have gotten several puppies from me and have littermates that they do a great job with. It’s not for everyone.
If you raise two dogs together there may possibly be some separation anxiety when they are apart. Haven’t seen that in any of my dogs but it is possible. There almost certainly will be some anxiety if you get one puppy and leave it home alone all day.
I’m not seeing the bonding issue mentioned. I’m not training dogs to the level of a herding dog so I don’t know how that would work, but I don’t have any more trouble training littermates raised together. Maybe less. I started recall training with the four puppies I have now at about 6 weeks. They run loose most of the time and they all come running when they hear me call. These guys have never been apart. They sleep in a pile and eat together and go on walks together and are learning to come to my by name, one at a time, together.
The biggest issue I have when raising puppies together is that they almost always hit a stage, somewhere between 6 months and one year, maybe sooner, when they don’t get along very well. I split them up for a few months. As they get older this most always goes away and they become good friends again. I was raised in a big family and it was the same with us. My kids also got along great when they were little, then fought like cats and dogs, then became great friends again.
Caitlin says
I have had 2 setters from the same litter that ended in finding a new home for one but it was bc she was aggressive in general she just took most of her aggression out on her super mellow sister. We had both of their parents and I think she knew better than to mess with either of them but she was meant to be a working dog and that wasn’t something we could give her.
I had two yorkies from the same litter and it was a great experience they had some issues when they were little but they grew out of it. They were the last two in their litter and they both had huge personalities and were very good pets engaged and well adjusted. Would do it again under these circumstances.
Beth says
After reading this column & the Whole Dog article as well, I realize that it is sheer dumb luck that our last adoption of 2 littermates went so well. In 2005, we went to the city pound to adopt ONE pup-a male. When it came time to leave we couldn’t do it. That little girl was shaking & whining in that huge horrible cage. We adopted her too. When they were reunited they were overjoyed. Our Kearney (boy) lived until 4/16 & our Meara (girl) until 10/19. They were shep/pit bull mix. Both gorgeous. Kearney was a comedian & Meara & I used to laugh till we cried. Those 2 pups loved each other so very much. No prob bonding with us as much as each other. I would have those pups to myself all day & as soon as my husband came home they dumped me. But back again at night for cuddle time. The 4 of us enjoyed all the mixes of different personalities, preferences & needs at a given time-mixmatching to suit. My husband & I still grieve terribly for them. After reading these articles, i guess my point is that we lucked out in a big way. Ignorance worked in our favor. I do admit my husband would often stare at their beautiful faces & say “you only want me because i scoop your poop!”. I would describe the dogs expressions as bemused!
Captain Ed McCourt USMC (ret) Master traininer says
I am looking for a couple of litter mares small dogs preferably Make and female so they I’m a certified Master trainer Pets Working dogs Alert dogs security dogs and Police working dog
I recently had to put my best ever GSP down for Cancer and hid running mate died 10 days later from a broken hearts If you have a pair of I can give a simple test to I can tell you which ones will easily transfer owner ship loyalty]rt which one will be the most aggressive etc etc
which one has the nest temperament etc. Find a Male /Female of two females and two Males 18 months to 26 months. Please call me 1-602-807 01821 Cel520m 509-6035
Snow Bickley says
What about a puppy from a litter one year, and then a puppy from the same parents but different litter the following year?
Allen Martinez says
We read all about all the negatives of getting litter mates. I will say I’m so happy we did not listen to them. We have two males from the same litter and they were right, they love each other, but they also love us equally. They are 5 yrs. old and it couldn’t be better seeing them lay next to each other or all of us on the couch together, not that there’s much room. I’m no expert but I truly believe it’s how you treat and love your pets, they truly are a very big part of your family. My recommendation is to treat them with love and kindness and you’ll be very happy with them, we couldn’t be more thankful.
Shawn says
I adopted two labs that were litter mates, that became relegated to an outdoor pen after the puppy novelty worn off with the previous owner, and they sat in there for six years before I came into their lives. With a lot of training and work they became great dogs and a huge part of my family’s life. The fact of the matter is this, it can work, even with older litter mates. It is going to take a lot of work and love, but remember this when one dog goes, the other dog is going to be a mental mess, for which they may never recover. I was lucky, my black lab passed and the brown lab acted like she cared less, but she only lived an additional 361 days than her sister. So keep that in mind before you get litter mates. Twice the dog, twice the heartache.
ST Price says
We were waiting to get springer brothers that were just born and met a woman that is a so called expert on springers. She said we were crazy getting litter mates. She was never so wrong. They are the best of friends have bonded with everyone in the family. I was initially against it but having both makes it easier overall so they keep each other company when we are out. They are 7 years old and are inseparable
Nat says
My husband and I just got two sister pitbull littermate, they love playing together but their play get rough and one always gets tired before the other and they do seem to get pretty serious on some of their play fights, we board them into a training facility and they were separated the whole time they were there. I do notice that they aren’t are focused on each other as they used to be and they listen to us more but we do give them individual walks and once a day we let them play together and if play gets too rough we let them know and separate them. We are hoping we don’t have to re-home then since I feel my husband loves one and i love the other so we wouldn’t be on the same page as to who to keep.
CB says
Wow, I wish I read this before we got our two pups (same litter females). As we arrived to pick them up one was showing more aggression to the other but the previous owner said the mom plays rough with them. So we took her word for it. We arrived at Petsmart, grabbing things we needed. As we were leaving the same one showing aggression about an hour before was aggressive again but a little worse. Later that evening it happened again except she was trying to kill her sibling. My mom and I were both bleeding, along with both pups doing everything we can to stop her. It was very traumatic. I’ve never seen or heard of that happening ever. We now know for the future.
Desiree says
Hi I hope you see this & can give me some advice to help me make my decision. There are 3 male dogs that are brothers in a shelter that have been together there whole life. The previous owner had the mom dog & when she has puppies she kept them all except 2. But then they got a divorce & the husband had the dogs but had to give them up because of the new person in his life. So they dropped of a mom dog & her 3 male sons. They are 7 years old.
Well the mom was adopted by someone. They are bigger dogs. But from what the shelter says they are always together, never show aggression. They are just sweet couch potatoes is what she said about them.
They are not saying all 3 dogs have to stay together. But I think it would be hard to take just 1 because if I brought 1 home wouldn’t he get depressed & it would be hard on him, right?
Please help Me understand if it works be bad or good to separate them after living 7 years together. Thanks so much
Mary says
I would agree to some extent, we had two bassets from the same litter, two females. 8 weeks old and one was aggressive to the other, sometimes biting her ears till they bled. Most of the time they were good together, a pack of two, they would squeeze under our fence and run off into the woods together, and no amount of calling would make them come back. Eventually they would come back late at night, exhausted from their hunt and baying in the front yard. Wonderful dogs in every way, but every so often there would be a spat and Bella would get the worst of it, Rosy was always showing dominance. Fortunately Bella was quite docile. Eventually Rosy stopped when she got older, but Bella has since passed away and one dog is far easier and less expensive, though my favorite was Bella.