Raising two puppies from the same litter successfully requires significant effort to prevent "littermate syndrome," focusing on separating them for individual training, socialization, sleeping, and feeding to build independent personalities and strong bonds with you, not just each other, using separate crates and dedicated one-on-one time. This prevents over-reliance and potential aggression later, demanding dedication to creating distinct identities through separate experiences like outings and classes, even when it's double the work.
Tips for Successfully Raising Two Puppies
The 777 Puppy Rule (or Rule of 7s) is a guideline for puppy socialization, suggesting that by seven weeks old, a puppy should experience seven different Surfaces, seven different Sounds, seven different Objects, seven different People, seven different Locations, seven different Containers, and seven different Challenges, all in positive, short, and safe ways to build confidence and resilience. It helps prevent fear and reactivity by creating positive associations with novel experiences during the critical socialization window (around 4-16 weeks).
Just don't treat them like one dog... recognise they're individual beings and will have different personalities and different preferences. Make a point of teaching them their own name. Get them both to sit and take it in turns to be called to you for treats etc so they recognise they're individually accountable.
The 10-10-10 rule for puppy potty training is a specific routine: 10 minutes outside in the designated potty spot, staying 10 feet away from the house/play area, followed by 10 minutes of focused supervision indoors to prevent accidents before the next potty break, creating a consistent cycle for success. This method ensures the puppy has ample time to eliminate and minimizes mistakes by closely monitoring them afterward, reinforcing good habits consistently.
12 Dog Breeds That Are Hard AF To Potty Train
Never allow your pup to wander outside after pottying. It is vital to reinforce the habit of returning indoors after a potty break. After potty first thing in the morning, make sure to give your pup some breakfast, which also helps to establish the routine they need to become familiar with during training.
"Red Flags":
This is especially problematic if it is associated with growling, stiffening of body postures, or a snarling display of teeth. These behaviors indicate fear or pain and should be evaluated to make sure there is not a major underlying problem.
As professional trainers, we strongly recommend against bringing home two puppies of similar age—especially from the same litter. While the idea may sound practical, in reality, it often leads to heartache, frustration, and in many cases, serious behavioral or aggression issues.
The 3-second rule for puppies (and dogs) is a guideline for positive greetings and interactions, suggesting initial meetings or petting sessions last no more than three seconds before pausing, allowing the dog to choose to re-engage, which helps build confidence, reduce overstimulation, and prevent negative reactions like fear or aggression. It teaches dogs that social contact is on their terms, using short, controlled sniff-and-greet intervals (3 seconds), then disengaging, and repeating as needed, while also being used for petting to let dogs signal they want more.
Stage 5: Adolescence (6 – 18 months) This can be the most difficult time during a puppy's development – adolescence. Your cute little puppy is becoming a teenager and will start producing hormones which may result in changes in behaviour.
It is very difficult to over-stimulate a two- to four-month-old socialized puppy and there is simply no need to slow things down. However, socializing a socialized puppy is very different from rehabilitating an insufficiently socialized (shy or fearful) puppy or dog.
Puppies are capable of learning basic obedience commands from as early as eight weeks old, essentially the moment they're through your front door they can begin their training. It's common for puppy owners to overlook this - thinking that the only training their puppy needs is house training.
With hardwork, littermate syndrome can be prevented or remedied, but it is important to start early. Also, remember that avoidance of this issue is the best plan. Having two dogs of a similar age is great, just get them roughly six months apart and make life easier on you and them!
By nature, dogs are social and thrive in group environments. Therefore, there are many advantages to adopting a second dog, such as: They can keep each other company. Both dogs will be able to entertain each other and get exercise together.
Signs that dogs are fighting include:
The 3-3-3 rule is a roadmap for the first three days, three weeks, and three months after pet adoption. It emphasizes patience, consistency, and positive reinforcement to help pets acclimate to their new environment.
Do specific dog breeds have a higher likelihood of developing littermate syndrome? Certain breeds are associated with more intense attachment behaviours, but there is no concrete evidence to suggest that littermate syndrome is breed-specific, meaning it can develop between any dog breed, including mixed breeds.
What to do if you adopt two?
Puppy difficulty at ages 3-4 months. Things start to ramp up by the time your puppy is 12-16 weeks or 3-4 months of age. This is a particularly challenging age for many owners for several reasons. First, your pup may still not be fully potty trained and you may start to be feeling frustrated!
The term “wet puppy syndrome” is often used interchangeably with the medical name of EU because pups with the condition tend to drip urine continually, because the connection between the kidneys and the bladder is not properly formed. This means that the dog's fur is almost always wet with urine.
Rage syndrome is a rare seizure disorder in dogs, characterized by explosive aggression. Rage syndrome. Other names. A22, episodic dyscontrol, stimulus-responsive psychomotor epilepsy, Mental lapse aggression syndrome. The Malinois was the first breed to have a specific genetic polymorphism linked to rage syndrome.
The 3-day potty training method is an intensive, "cold turkey" approach where parents stay home for a long weekend, have their toddler go diaper-free (or in underwear), and focus entirely on teaching toilet use by watching for cues, offering constant encouragement, and cleaning up accidents immediately to create quick awareness and connection between the urge to go and using the potty. It requires dedicated parental focus, lots of fluids for frequent practice, and preparation to minimize distractions.
Let me introduce you to the 10 , 10, 10 rule of potty training. That's cycles of 10 minutes in the yard, 10 feet of potty area in the yard, 10 minutes of supervision. It all adds up to potty training with minimal errors, even for harder to train dogs who may be struggling with other methods.
DO NOT