What I Learned About Raising Littermate Puppies After Raising 2 Sets of Littermates
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 มิ.ย. 2021
- #littermates #keepthetailwagging #dogmomsclub
We've raised two sets of littermate puppies and despite our success, I don't recommend this to everyone, which I explain in this video.
In this video, I mention one of my favorite dog trainers - Dayton Cummings, Kilted K9: / kiltedk9
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Thank you so much, me and my partner took in 3 litter mates knowing they wouldn’t have good homes. They’re almost 8 months now and we’ve tried to keep up with training as we’ve heard a little ab the syndrome but we aren’t professionals and we’re starting to see some negative behaviors. After a few spats they’ve had we’re doing all the research and learning we can to help them be comfortable in their home. Thank you for the no judgement either as we thought we were doing an amazing thing and I wish we knew more about the syndrome before but they’re still young and we’re doing our best to train, correct, and socialize them
I had littermate and let them sleep, eat, and train together. They were awesome together, until one passed away. The other one was so heart broken. She took over a year to start being close to how she was.
I have lttermates again. I am separating them more than I did with the other pair. But they are doing great. They are still young, 12 weeks old. But they potty trained easily together and I'm glad I got them both. I am retired though, and have plenty of time to work with them.
We've now lost two of our dogs. Sydney (Rodrigo's sister) passed away in 2020 and Scout (Zoey's brother) passed away in 2022. There was a period of adjustment but I think because we had so many dogs in the house, it may have been easier on them. Maybe.
Thanks for your post. You're very astute. I've never experienced this issue as I believe it's caused more by owners lack of training than a dog's training. I've had littermates since I was 12 years old, I'm 66 now. Dog's are extremely social and if you devote the necessary time and effort into being social WITH them it , I don't see an issue. The key is having them bond with you more than each other and that requires an investment of time.
I raised a litter of puppies this year and kept 2 of them (a male & a female), they are now 4 months old and so far so good. I also have their mother. I kept 2 because I liked them both so much and their personalities seemed to compliment one another. It's been a joy watching them grow up together. Perhaps me having raised them from birth gave me an advantage in that I knew each of their personalities so well which allowed me to choose the 2 puppies I believed were well suited for one another.
Thank you for this video we are getting two shih tzu boys this month they are both brothers.
I have seen horror stories all over the internet but if I’m honest I have trust in myself to do a good job.
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Awesome video! I appreciate your honesty.
As always I thought your video was awesome and very informative. And again thank you for the shout out
Your video was wonderful! Thank you for your honesty and transparency! What you shared was also helpful to us raising littermate puppies as well. This brought a sense of peace of mind and a positive perspective through all the negative feedback we had received. 🤗
Good video - thanks for your honesty in sharing your experiences
Thanks :)
Thank you, Kim. True appreciate your talk. Now, I am not so scared.
Thanks! Kimberly these are my two little litter mates. You helped put me at ease I new it was going to be a bit tougher. But conformation that I’m handling it in the right way is important to me. You can follow there progress on there channel thanks again🐾🐾🐾🐾❤️
th-cam.com/video/6npiUR5xz7E/w-d-xo.html
Thank you!! My panic has reduced now! I’ll continue with what I’ve been doing then! I felt I was doing right (luckily what you’ve been doing) … but I needed to know there was hope & not making the situation worse or doing wrong :).
Oh good. Having littermates is so much fun but it's also a lot of work when they're young. I have great memories and I'd definitely do it again. Working with a great trainer made a big different for us.
Thanks for this video.
I'm currently raising two girl-dogs from the same litter. It took a year to house-train them. They played tug-of-war with the pee pads I put down on the floor. Other than that, it hasn't been that bad. And they're never alone.
Now you tell me! :) We just picked up 3 & 4 month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. We've had two older rescues, which recently passed away, and they were very close friends. They curled up all the time and slept together..
Although our new boys are not from the same litter, they played together as though they were siblings when I picked them up. They are currently sleeping together in the same kennel and spend their time in the adjoining pen. I am crate training for potty, and get up two times in the night to take them out to do their business. This has worked tremendously, so far. I've only had them for a few days, but I found that their introduction to leash training did work much better when I took them out separately. I'm still learning (we haven't had a Cavalier pup in years) and will do some research on Littermate Syndrome. For me, so far, so good. Thanks for your video!
We got 2 Bull Arab sisters who showed a bond early on and thouht it would be cruel to separate them. They ate together, trained together and sleep together. They are pretty rounded and haven't been desexed. At 2 years old the more dominant one gets a little bossy with the more submissive one. So we are working on that issue. Only heard about litter mate syndrome recently. I've ebeen thinking that they are pretty good because we walk them separately, they have bonded to separate people in the house, one to me and one to my son. And we had a much older dog when we got them who they respected as their alpha.
I let my girls sleep together until they were too big to both fit comfortably in the crate now their in separate crates but near each other. They love everyone and listen well so for me I didn't have any problems. Their personalities are different too ones calmer the other's spicy /sassy lol potty training they took a bit to get through but it wasn't awful. I'm happy I got both of them.
That's what I did with our puppies.
Raising 3 puppies but I also don't work and so I'm free for all the hard work that is going to involve in this
Hello Kimberly!!! 🤗🙏🏻✝️❤️ Pray all is well! 😌 God bless you!!! 🤗
I had a whole family of Maltese (mom, dad, big sis. little sis). They were not littermates. The big sis ended up being a singleton, and the little sis was in a litter of four which we kept together for 3 months as recommended for toy breeds. One of younger sister's littermates went to live with grandma. Everything was fine (not littermates)) and even though we never saw any aggression before we knew it we did have a submissive little sis even though we never saw anyone picking on her. With Maltese they recommend keeping together 10-12 weeks which we did. So, mom, dad and big sis had 4 little pups for 3 months then all went to families except for one. The mom was the leader over all for sure and the older one was also a singleton. The entire family were all young dogs. Also, their sister (littermate of younger dog) went to live at grandma's house and everyone adored visits with her. So, I'm not exactly sure what happened but the sweet little sis was a bit scared of her big sis, but unfortunately coyotes took care of it (sad). So, now I'm living in Mexico and a pregnant stray had a litter of 8 mixed breed dogs and we are trying to be careful about where they go. We are keeping one male because we need a watchdog, but he will grow up with his mom, and we have found other homes for the others, but I need to look a bit closer.
my dad just got me littermates that are only 6 months old (because of a medical emergency on the breeders side). And it's been 5 days since they've been home with me. i have been letting them sleep together and feeding together, but i didn't see any aggression between them. but i am concerned if i need to start separating them now.
I just picked up 2 shihpoo puppies. I honestly didn’t plan on 2 but my husband who didn’t want a puppy to begin with talked me into two. I’m solely responsible for the training and after watching other videos I am terrified. They are very different in temperament one really loves to play and the other just has to be by my side. I’m really lucky that someone is home all the time but geez I’m overwhelmed.
Never heard of this. Had litter mates with 2 yorkies. They were great dogs. Both passed away at 16. Just got another little chorkie. We almost got her sister. We didn't. Maybe this was a good thing. We have another older chorkie. He hates the new pup. Was worried she needs someone to play with.
I raised 2 one year olds, and four puppies between the ages of two months old and 10 months old altogether in the same house all by myself, All Australian Australian shepherds and one Chihuahua .
the only really hellish part was the potty training, no sleep for me lol and two of the puppies that I purchased from the same breeder had chronic bacterial infections when I got them(that I only discovered recently and treated) This meant they were shitting themselves with diarrhoea every day For the first few months that I had them and Every several weeks after following the life cycle of the bacteria.
Potty training and the crapping were the only really crazy parts
, none of my dogs developed littermate syndrome Because I have previous experience with challenging/Aggressive dogs, so I knew how to train them properly.
but I couldn't imagine anyone else I know doing the same thing I did raising those dogs, and everyone who saw me raising those dogs always asked me how I was doing it 😂
It has been 1.5 year since then and they are all perfectly potty trained now And treated for the bacterial infection, life is great 😂
The only crappy thing that I think about Is that all of them are going to die at the same time 🥲
The people I know who have had the most success are either breeders and dog trainers who are experienced in canine behavior/training and now how to work with littermates, or people who seek the professional guidance of a dog trainer. I know that I was fortunate. I won't do it again.
We have are ups and downs. But my girls get along with some hiccups lol they listen to me and want my approval. I also train with them everyday 😎.
The training was such a game changer. I can't believe that I ever thought that I didn't need a dog trainer.
How many hours shoukdninlet my puppies play apart ? They get really hyped up when playing together...tails are wagging with both they take turns in consideeding. However every interaction they have results in play that looks a little aggressive. I do stop it but I would love them not to fight over the same toy .
So I am going to take one in the bedroom to play but not sure on how I long I should do it for .
Thanks
The best thing to do is reach out to a dog trainer who can work with you on your puppies. Every set is unique and what works for one set may not work with another. Working with a dog trainer helped me better understand my dogs and how they communicated with each other.
I raised litter mates, and I loved the experience. I too had brother and sister, and had no issues. There are many dogs that get raised with other litter mates without any issues, I knew someone who kept a whole litter of 8 puppies as she didn't have the heart to let any go, and again no issues. It depends on many factors I believe, breed, genders, competency, the availability of a greater network as you have rightfully said, and they right mind set too. Because it is very tiring, but then people raise babies together without issue (and I don't have a clue on babies)
You do as you do, and do it the best you can, and let others do what they do. And simply support each other when support is needed (and asked for) ;) You'll do a great job with your next pair of pups, I'm sure you will. ^_^
Wow! Eight puppies. That sounds like both a dream situation and a ton of work and little sleep.
Hey ! I was wondering how were you able to prevent inbreeding between them i am very concerned about that please help me out here!
Im so glad i found this video! Im waiting for the pupirs to be ready on th 24 of december she was two maltese and two bichon fraise i wanna take 2 siblings which one would be the best match for my toddler? And any that you can give for them i would be grateful.
I don't believe toddlers should be given puppies. A breeder who recommends puppies for a toddler or young child isn't a reputable breeder, IMO.
Toddlers don't understand dog behavior and communication. Often, when a dog or puppy nips or bites a child, there were warnings that were ignored by the adults and the dog is punished. If I had children, I would wait until they were older before adding a dog to the house. I can't imagine the stress of raising a toddler and puppies.
My Maltese just had 4 puppies all boys. We are actually considering keeping them all. What do you recommend me doing as far as training they’re currently 5 weeks old. I play with them, im teaching them to play with the toys. I just found out about littermate syndrome so now I’m a bit scared. I do plan ok giving them all the attention I can when I’m not at work.
I recommend finding a certified dog trainer to help out with training. It's a very important step to avoid Littermate Syndrome.
I prefer the shorter videos, easier to fit into my day. Kimberly your dogs have a great and healthy life what do you think the cause of cancer was in two of your dogs? I've had rescue dogs in the past but I was working full-time. This is the first time that I've brought up a puppy and it requires so much effort and they require so much attention, this is why I didn't get a puppy prior to now. He does go to dog creche a couple of times a month and he loves it. During my life I have met people that bought littermates and they didn't mention any issues, it was usually a brother and sister. Maybe that makes a difference rather than two boys.
I don't know the cause of cancer in my dogs. All I know is that more than 50% of dogs are diagnosed with cancer, so having five dogs (at the time), I always knew that we received at least two cancer diagnosis. My focus has always been to work on my dogs immune system to give them a better shot of surviving a diagnosis.
@@rawfeederlife Thank you for your response. Were the two dogs diagnosed rescue dogs or did you bring them up from puppies? One of the reasons that I ask is that in human biology, scientists at Norwich found that in humans the first three years of the child's life is crucial to the development of their gut flora and immune system. I wonder if it is the same with puppies. e.g. the first six months. I think veterinary scientists have to go further with dogs and identify the cause.
All of my dogs are rescues and I got them all as puppies. The only difference between Sydney and Scout is that Sydney (and her brother) started raw at 3 years and Scout (and his sister) started at 6 weeks. And Apollo joined us at 7 months and went directly onto raw.
OK -- so I have two littermates (yellow labs/9weeks) - without thinking about issues like this. Now I'm scared that I've made a HUGE mistake of bringing these two girls home to live with me. I have had dogs all my life and am now a single senior. I work from home and have NO DESIRE to travel - so I'm here. It sounds like the best way through this is to separate them and treat them as individuals. What am I going to do? - lump in my throat and tears in my eyes as I write this.
I've found that working with a dog trainer helps tremendously. I never had any negative experiences with either of my littermate sets and I think that's because we worked with a dog trainer. I work with Dayton Cummings of Kilted K9 - he offers virtual training sessions: th-cam.com/video/EH-XDDjGaSs/w-d-xo.html
I have and have had litter mates. All pitbulls. The first and second sets were both males. Now a male and female. I’m happy to say No syndromes here. Also they all have shared bowls and all were socialized with people and dogs. I’m sorry to those who experience that😢
That so great, Linda!
Hey Linda ! I also have two litter mates female and male and i am concerned about inbreeding between them so what method did you use to prevent that from happening? Please give me some tips about that so i can stop this issue.
Seeing this made me feel better. I am getting littermates(Doberman) and I was nervous.
I can’t ever really tell if my blue heeler puppies are playing around or actually fighting, how could I tell the difference when they’re so little??
If you have a friend who is a dog trainer, have them stop by and observe your puppies playing. Or record a video of them playing and send it to a dog trainer to get their thoughts. I've found that dog trainers are very clued in to dog behavior.
I would never take the risk. You might never have issues, but why take that chance. Genetics matter. No matter what you do genetics can make a difference
I would rather have one dog help train the other. They do learn by example and I've been training dogs since I was young.
I get what you're saying, but that's like saying because I've never experienced raw feeding (this would be prior to be feeding raw), I shouldn't take the risk because there could be issues despite others who have never had issues.
Instead, what I did was educate myself and arm myself with knowledge and connect with professional dog trainers so that I can succeed. When it comes to genetics, I have mutts, so I can't possibly know what their DNA will say about how they act or behave. However, working with a trainer who can teach me how to interact and communicate with my dogs was the best investment I could make and I credit that to why I was able to adopt littermates twice with no issues.
Sadly, too many people will adopt or buy littermates simply because they want cute puppies. That, in my opinion, is the bigger risk and it applies to littermates AND people who just bring home one puppy - just look at all of the problem adolescent dogs that were adopted during COVID.
Im so f**d 😢 i have all of the problems with my 2 new girls. Every single day it's crazy fights. Please can someone tell me if we raise them seperate, when they are big will they be able to be together when they are big ????
I found that it's crucial to work with an experienced, professional dog trainer.
I picked up 2 bullies abandoned I a parking lot. They were at each other's throat the first week I brought them home, by the 3rd week I began separations, sleep eat potty and train separately for the past week and their together play time has improved a good bit. 🤗
Currently raising 5 littermates with both of their parents. Couldn't bare to get rid of them. I'm able to take several months off from work and work with then around the clock to train. They're about 14 weeks and really good dogs. They do get hyper with each other but they're very easy to calm and get into their kennels. I do notice one not beingvery affectionate without prompting it and sometimes he snaps at me but not hard. Other than that I don't see any issues, it's just a lot of work. Definitely have to have patience.
Wow! That's a lot of dogs. Best of luck with your family - I bet you're having a blast!!!
I rescued two puppies and they have a severe case of littermate syndrome
It definitely is an issue. I did well twice, but I don't think I'd ever do it again. We adopted one puppy last year and she's been a dream and she's had the time and space to grow into herself and I love it. With our other dogs, working closely with a dog trainer was the key :)
I’ve found you rather hypocrite saying over and over do not get littler mates..yet you went out and repeated something you were repeating over and over do not get littler Mates..yes I understand your experience as you just did your own thing , by letting them sleep together, eat together, and in the same breath you were speaking about how one of the mates would shake to be separated..I myself have just adopted two litter mates,.brother and sister..yes I’m retired and money is not a excuse or worry..I was wanting you to talk more about the approach and how to over come ones trails with littler mates..
Thanks for the comment and feedback. I can see where you're coming from. Hopefully, you can understand why I don't recommend that people get littermates after reading my response.
When we initially had littermates, I loved it (still do, it was an amazing experience) and I started a blog to advocate for raising littermates. The problem with that is that I'm not a dog trainer or an animal behaviorist. I don't have the qualifications to teach people how to navigate raising littermates should things go wrong. I can only share my experience, which has been 99.9% positive.
I get emails all the time from people who adopted littermates before doing their research. this isn't a judgment because I did the same with Rodrigo and Sydney. The reason I don't encourage people to get littermates is that it's a lot of work. People may initially think that it costs twice the money but I found that it's more. I've spoken with people who aren't in the best place to take on two puppies. While I had a great experience, I think it's irresponsible of me to encourage others because I know not everyone will have the same experience.
Instead, I encourage people to work with a dog trainer.
If you are looking for what to do when facing symptoms of littermate syndrome, I recommend speaking with a dog trainer. I work with Dayton Cummings of Kilted K9 - he offers virtual training sessions: th-cam.com/video/EH-XDDjGaSs/w-d-xo.html
Omg just get to the point lady
The point is that you shouldn't get littermates unless you can afford them and you're willing to work with a trainer over an extended period of time.
@@rawfeederlife ok great I'll take that lol. sorry for being rude I just got these two puppies before knowing about LS and I was desperate for answers 😓
@David Payne no problem, I still have a lot to learn with TH-cam videos. I like them to be to the point too. One day, I'll start recording again and I want to make 3-5 minute videos I stead.