Adopting Two Puppies at Once (Littermate Syndrome)

by Anne-Marie Mayes

When you adopt two dogs at the same time or very close together, your vet or dog trainer may mention "Littermate Syndrome" even if they are not actually littermates. This topic hasn't been studied very much but this article is based on my experience as well as the experience of other trainers and veterinarians I have worked with.

When someone adopts 2 dogs at one time they usually believe the dogs will play, entertain, and exercise each other. They may also believe there is a benefit because the owner will only have to experience the puppyhood stage one time instead of going through it twice. 

There are pros and cons to adopting littermates or dogs close in age. When you adopt 2 puppies of the same breed, they may have similar personalities and temperaments. As puppies, this can be a good thing as they will often play together and entertain each other. If their play styles are too similar, though, what starts as play could escalate to fighting as they feed off of each other. In other cases, the play styles may not match as they mature and one puppy may end up bullying the other.

As their personalities develop and their hormones change, they are going through it at the same time which can create sibling rivalry around resources such as food, toys, or human attention. 

House training, crate training, and overall puppy training is difficult with one puppy but two puppies is another story. Remember each puppy is an individual and will have separate needs. Doing all of their training together can create distractions and attachment issues between the dogs. They can learn to depend on each other for guidance instead of you. The attachment also does not allow them to socialize with other dogs properly as individuals, and you need to spend a lot of time socializing them separately. It is important to spend time alone with each of the dogs to help them bond with you as the owner which means twice as much training. We all know how hard it is to walk one dog with no training, let alone two. The dogs should be walked separately to start so they can be taught to walk well on leash separately first before they can learn how to walk well together.

The dogs should also be crated separately and spend time apart every day so they do not develop separation anxiety from each other.

Looking ahead to their future, you will end up with two senior dogs aging at the same rate which brings different challenges. I have also had many clients where the dogs were bonded and one passed away and the other dog experienced depression and behavioural issues afterward. 

Financially, you will also have to plan for twice the amount for vaccines, spay or neuter, tick meds, grooming, toys, food, and more.

My recommendation if you want to have two dogs is to get one male and one female as you avoid same-sex aggression issues. Ideally you would get the second dog when your first dog is 2 or 3 years old as they are still young enough to play together but you have time to train the first dog.