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This blog post was originally published in July 2015; it has been updated with new information and republished.
If you're a regular reader, then you know that we're raising 2 sets of littermates – Rodrigo and Sydney and Scout and Zoey. Sydney passed away in 2020 at 10-1/2 years old.
If you're new to Keep the Tail Wagging – WELCOME! You probably just brought home 2 puppies and now you're freaking out because you Googled “raising littermates” and learned about “littermate syndrome” and you think you're about to ruin 2 puppies with your decision.
How You Can Ruin Your Littermate Puppies
The only way you'll ruin your puppies is if (1) you don't invest in dog training and socialization, (2) you have a small budget and have made the mistake of thinking “2 dogs are twice the budget,” – believe me, it's a lot more – and (3) you're not able to manage the veterinarian bill over the first year (vaccinations, spay and neuter surgeries, follow up appointments – all multiplied by two).
Here's the Bad News About Considering Littermate Puppies
Before I lament on how happy our littermates have made us, I want to share something that may not be popular or make people happy. If you cannot afford to hire a dog trainer, then you cannot afford to raise two or more puppies at the same time. In fact, I'd recommend holding off on bringing a dog home until you CAN afford to hire a dog trainer.
Not only is it difficult to keep track of two puppies (they may be small, but they move fast and have sharp teeth and a full bladder), but when they hit adolescence, you'll be in tears. Thank heavens for our mellow, well behaved Sydney, because Rodrigo was a handful.
Here's the Amazing News About Raising Littermate Puppies
After more than ten years of raising littermates, I can easily tell you why I love bringing home puppies in pairs.
- Twice the fun, twice the puppy breath, twice the cuteness.
- They are the best of friends and love each other.
- It's fun watching them grow into their personalities.
- I can't get enough of hearing “who's walking whom??”
- Each dog has a unique bark and I love that I know which dog is barking.
- When trouble comes, I have a pack that surrounds and protects me.
- It's cool watching them interact with each other.
- As long as I'm a confident leader, our dogs never fight.
- I can ask one dog “go find Zoey” and they do.
- They give me endless inspiration for Keep the Tail Wagging.
- It's funny that they can take over the sectional.
- It makes me laugh when I get attacked by 2 or more happy dogs.
- They learn from each other (good habits and bad).
- They make up games to play with each other.
- I love being an expert in each of our dogs.
- It's fun having a pet communicator speak with our dogs; a great test of their authenticity.
- It's cool that all of them understand the same vocabulary.
- It was crazy easy to train our second set of littermates because the first set helped.
- My favorite out of the pack changes every day (every hour).
- It's funny that people think I'm a dog walker.
- They are a conversation piece; everyone wants to know why we have so many dogs.
- My heart grows each day that I have with our dogs.
Should Everyone Adopt (Buy) Two Puppies?
Raising littermates isn't for everyone. Yeah, we struck gold – twice – but our experience may not reflect what everyone will experience.
Not Everyone Approves of Littermates
Some rescue groups and reputable breeders frown on littermates because they understand the work that goes into raising two puppies at once. I sure that we all have big plans to devote time to raising healthy dogs, but the reality is somewhat different. And even we made mistakes with our dogs.
I'll discuss our regrets below.
It Might be Challenging to Find a Supportive Trainer
When we brought Rodrigo and Sydney home, we had a hard time finding a trainer who didn't start out by trying to convince us to return one of the puppies. If you do adopt littermates, speak to the rescue group or breeder about training recommendations to save yourself the frustration we experienced.
Ask Yourself if You Have the Time
And, finally, littermates are a time suck and not everyone has the time to take on one puppy, let alone two. Today, I'm raising four adult dogs and a cat. This along with a full-time job, a small business, and the other responsibilities I've taken on has sucked away a lot of my time. I could definitely take on another dog (hear that, God???) but I know that littermates would be too much for us right now.
The One Mistake I Made Raising Littermates
I mentioned “regrets” above and I want to share a few of the mistakes I made with our littermates. I will never regret bringing two puppies home at once, but there is one thing about their rearing that I do regret: I didn't socialize our puppies appropriately.
When we brought home both sets of our littermates, I was still under the impression that socialization was introducing my puppies to people and other dogs. We invited people over to interact with them, we took them on pack walks, and to the dog park. This is socialization, right?
Wrong! This was only part of the puzzle.
Yes, it was a good idea to invite people over, but I should have invited lots and lots of people over (not at the same time) to expose my dogs to people of different sexes, heights, weights, colors, and more. Scout and Zoey are still nervous around new people because I didn't socialize them correctly.
I wish I would have taken our puppies on walks (even in a stroller) in various spaces to introduce them to more sounds, sights, and smells. Rodrigo is our most anxious dog and I think one reason is that I failed at socializing my pups.
I wish we would have taken them to the vet for a “fun” appointment so that they didn't fear our veterinarian. All of our dogs fear the vet, except Rodrigo who loves everyone.
And I wish I would have taken them to dog-friendly spots from a young age so that the experience wasn't such a novelty when they were older.
My Advice to Anyone Looking to Adopt Littermates
If you are looking at a litter of puppies and can't choose one, bringing home littermates isn't the bad idea people will have you believe. However, please don't adopt littermates without giving it a lot of thought. Raising littermates is a tremendous amount of work and not something everyone is equipped to handle. Before you bring home two puppies, be honest with yourself and ask – “can I afford two puppies?” and “do I have time for two puppies?”
If the answer is yes, then start building a support system and have that in place before you bring the adorable puppies home.
Read More About Raising Littermates
- 22 Reasons Why Raising Littermates Has Rocked
- Are Your Littermates Fighting?
- Should Dog Owners Keep Their Littermates Apart?
- Serendipitous Saturday | A Letter to the Editor About Littermates
- Positive Perspective on Training Littermates with Fernando Camacho
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I love hearing your insight! I would love to bring home littermates, but my husband is already going crazy with the 2 other dogs we currently have. The one thing that would be difficult for me while raising 2 puppies is all the potty training accidents! I’ve already had to have my carpets professionally cleaned after raising 2 dogs a year apart, and I can only imagine how many more accidents would happen with 2 puppies! Luckily potty training doesn’t last forever… Maybe one day I can convince my husband. (:
Thanks so much for replying! So seperate them once a day for walks or just in general? We seperate them for training but we have been walking together most of the time. We are waiting to hear from the trainer to see when we can get our in home consultation. They haven’t had a fight again but as soon as either of them start a growl, we acknowledge the growl but interupt and distract to ensure things don’t get heated again.
We only trained Rodrigo and Sydney separately because that’s what our trainer recommended. We made a point to separate them at least once a day when they were puppies. The only other advice I have is to have a consultation in your home. Maybe you can ask the person who runs the puppy training class. There may be triggers in your home that you’re not aware of but they can point out.
We have 2 JRT male littermates, currently at 6.5mths old, up until now they have been happily kept together whilst my partner and I are at work and had no issues with either of them getting too overly excited with each other. Yesterday they had a proper fight, no injuries but neither of them backed down, no matter how many calm down times we gave, meaning to be safe we had to separate them last night. This morning, due to them never having to be crated as they have a ‘puppy proof’ room, my partner had to go out and get another crate to start separating them. They have been much better today with each other, 1 scuffle which resulted in a 20min time out in their crate and when they came out there were a few little growls from 1 to which we interrupted and distracted. We have already attended puppy classes and booked in to start a Level 2 class. I am also studying to become a dog trainer currently but would like more advice on littermates as like so many have mentioned before me, your blog has been the glimmer of hope among some heartbreaking advice. I am in contact with their trainer from puppy classes as she is the one helping with my studies requesting some in home training sessions, have also asked for some advice from a friend who is a dog trainer too. We regularly do separate training but was wondering how often you would walk them separately? Do you have any other advice that may help?
Putting my two cents in about my wonderful littermates!!! A year ago we went to ‘look’ at a puppy and ended up in the car driving home with two sweet Lab-Husky girls and no knowledge whatsoever of littermate syndrome. After a heads up from a friend and a little research we opened up that can of worms on the inter webs.
After sifting through the horrors I luckily I found your site and a slice of hope. A year later our dogs are the center of our lives and the joy in our hearts. I think our positive results are from the constant attendance and bond building we had with them early on in their life, training daily, and socializing them early and often. My husband and I also sort of chose one to spend consistent alone time with. I’d also say their temperament is somewhat calm which I think is a result of lots of exercise and divine intervention;).
I’d like to add to the positive notes on the internet regarding raising littermates. Sure it’s expensive and requires your engagement, but raising littermates brings a lot of love.
In my experience, training is the only thing that helps people who are raising littermates. This isn’t something you can resolve online; you have to work with a trainer one on one to see positive results or you’ll have to rehome the dogs.
Sorry that I don’t have better news.
We knew nothing about the problem when we carted home 2 instead of one. We have spent a fortune and they are 15 months old. We tried training classes and that didn’t work. We love them both but the aggression is getting the better of us and the destruction is overwhelming. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks .
ps. I’m not computer literate and appreciate your understanding.
I am definitely in agreement with not many people having the ability to successfully raise well adjusted litter mates.
I’m glad that you have had luck but I would never recommend people have two puppies at once unless they either are a trainer, or have already showed their dedication to dogs and dog training.
I’ve seen litter mates gone wrong one to many times, and fighting between large breeds is not something most people know how to handle appropriately.
So very true. I think people get it in their head that they’ll be puppies and have fun together and grow up together. That’s what I thought. I had no idea how much work it would be. I’m thankful that I have a boyfriend who is equally devoted to our dogs and we made a great team or else we would have failed. There are a lot of people out there who have littermates, but they knew what they were getting into – but, like you said, it’s a minority when you think of how many dogs are in this country.
I don’t blame you for not selling someone littermates. We got Rodrigo and Sydney, because someone trusted us to take good care of them, but their decision wasn’t supported by the rescue group. Today, they’re all happy they were wrong. We did good. With Scout and Zoey, J showed the woman my blog and FB page to show her that we could do it and she happily sent us home with 2 puppies. But I know this is rare. I won’t do it now that we have 4 dogs; too much work, but if we had time, money and space, I would take on a bonded pair.
Great post! the first paragraph is so true, more people have to think about that before they get littermates. I won’t sell a person littermates. I know how much work they are and how much they cost I don’t want them ending up back or not taken care of, not saying the people won’t do that but don’t want to take the chance.
I think very few people have the ability to raise litter mates successfully. It is great that you have had success! However, I think you are probably in the minority. It does not always work for all dogs and unfortunately those dogs end up in rescue or returned to where they came from.
I’m right there with you. If you’re responsible, I think you’ll be fine. All of our dogs have been happy and well behaved.
LOL – when Rodrigo and Sydney were puppies, they used to chew on table legs. We can still point to sections of the house that the puppies got to. Zoey chewed a hole in the wall. Scout only pulled paper on the bottom of chairs (that we didn’t know was there) and he ripped up the instructions on how to put together a vacuum before we put it together. LOL
Oh I love this!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Ike and Tina are our Border Collie littermates. They were 5 on July 4th along with our granddaughter. When they were pups we crate trained them so we could sleep without Tina eating the furniture. She did eat a chair, and nibbled on others. No furniture damage since they sleep in crates at night.
They definitely have different personalities and voices. They get along great most of the time.
They have entertained each other (and us) and been the best thing we have ever done.
Aww! I don’t like when I hear “you should never get two puppies” or when rescue groups won’t let people adopt two puppies.
With the right information, raising littermates can obviously go really well. I’m sure it’s really challenging to raise two puppies at once, but posts like this remind people about those challenges (training, expenses, etc.) while providing helpful information too.
I’ve told you I’ve known a couple sets of littermates (all males), and they seem like happy, well-adjusted dogs. Their owners invested in good trainers as well! And hiring me as the dog walker!