A pair of intently bonded puppies are typically ‘in their own world’ and can probably look to 1 one other for a way to reply to new stimuli reasonably than trying to their proprietor, says a Texas A&M veterinarian.
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Puppies are so lovable that you could be really feel tempted to undertake two as a substitute of only one. Even although having two puppies might appear to be a good suggestion, elevating them collectively could cause long-term behavioral issues.
Harmony Diers, a veterinary technician on the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, says that whereas these issues are usually not a assured end result of elevating two puppies collectively, nor are they breed particular, littermate syndrome is extra widespread than not when elevating two puppies from the identical litter, and even two shut in age from separate litters.
“Littermate syndrome refers to a specific set of unfavorable behaviors that two puppies might exhibit if raised together immediately after weaning from their mother, like anxiety or fear,” Diers mentioned. “This syndrome occurs when a pair of puppies raised together develop such a close bond with one another during important socialization stages that it hinders their ability to bond with their new owner.”
Recognizing Littermate Syndrome
The socialization stage, or when a puppy is between 3-12 weeks old, is when a puppy’s senses mature, encouraging them to discover their environments and socialize with others. It can be the stage when puppies turn out to be conscious of their relationship with people.
“Puppies ultimately learn how to react to things they encounter in their world during the socialization stage,” Diers mentioned. “If bonded closely with their owner, an individual puppy will look to their owner for an answer on how they should react, either to be praised for appropriate reactions or to be redirected away from inappropriate ones.”
For instance, in the event you adopted a single puppy and that puppy chewed on a shoe, their resolution to behave that means sooner or later — or not — would rely in your response to their attention-grabbing selection of “snack.” However, if in case you have two puppies, they may mutually agree that shoe chewing was an amazing selection with out ready on your response, reinforcing the undesirable conduct.
“A pair of closely bonded puppies tend to be ‘in their own world’ and will likely look to one another for how to respond to new stimuli rather than looking to their owner,” Diers defined. “This gives them the opportunity to feed off of one another’s fear and anxiety, which can develop into unhealthy behaviors.”
Common behaviors that may develop in puppies with littermate syndrome, in line with Diers, embrace:
- Separation nervousness when away from the opposite puppy due to a co-dependence on one another
- Fear of recent folks, animals, objects, or experiences
- Fear aggression, which might happen when a puppy encounters a brand new expertise, feels threatened or scared, and reacts by barking, biting or attempting to flee
- Reactivity when on a leash
- Fighting habits once they attain sexual maturity round 6 months of age
- Aggression or nervousness within the extra dominant puppy; timidity and withdrawal within the much less dominant puppy
Intervention As A Prevention Method
Since littermate syndrome is widespread and might trigger undesirable behaviors, potential canine house owners ought to keep away from elevating two puppies on the similar time. Yet if house owners are in a scenario the place they’re elevating a pair, proprietor intervention is most well-liked to assist deter these undesirable behaviors, so long as house owners can decide to the method.
“Some experts believe that rehoming one of the puppies is ideal; however, with the high numbers of homeless dogs or dogs that end up in shelters, this is not always the best option,” Diers mentioned. “If a family has two puppies of the same age in their home, owners must take intentional steps to allow their puppies to bond with them and develop as individuals.”
Diers encourages house owners to begin with crating the puppies individually, both in numerous rooms or with distance between the crates inside the similar room.
Another efficient means for house owners to bond with their pets individually is thru walks.
“Puppies should be walked individually and taken on solo outings with their owner within the first few months, gradually moving to each puppy being walked by a separate handler at the same time,” Diers defined. “Once this step is started, owners should practice walking the dogs in opposite directions to monitor for reactivity. Again, the puppy should be most concerned with their owner’s presence and not the lack of the other puppy’s presence.”
Finally, Diers recommends that house owners present separate, one-on-one play instances to develop an in depth bond with every puppy. If a pair of puppies attends obedience coaching, house owners ought to make sure the puppies are in separate courses, too.
“It also can be beneficial if the pair of puppies join a home with an older dog because in some cases, the older dog can teach boundaries and offer appropriate corrections when necessary,” Diers mentioned. “Nevertheless, you should always seek the advice of your family veterinarian when deciding on bringing a puppy or two home and gather information on behavioral intervention when necessary.”
Having two puppies on the similar time generally is a problem. Still, if house owners are lively in elevating the pups, they’ll forestall behavioral issues ensuing from littermate syndrome, guaranteeing sturdy human-animal bonds and twice the puppy love.
Bringing home a brand new puppy? Texas A&M’s Dog Aging Project, the biggest observational companion canine well being research on the planet, permits house owners to enroll new puppies and dogs of all ages, breeds, sizes, and well being statuses to assist uncover the elements that result in longer, more healthy lives for dogs. Join the Dog Aging Project Pack at dogagingproject.org.
Pet Talk is a service of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University. Stories could be seen on the internet at vetmed.tamu.edu/news/pet-talk. Suggestions for future matters could also be directed to [email protected].
