Raising two puppies at the same time may sound like a fun idea, but, in practice, may create serious problems for your pups. Littermate Syndrome develops rapidly in 6- to 12-week-old puppies being raised together, whether littermates or just similar in age and development.

Littermate Syndrome or Dependance can include separation anxiety; aggression toward other dogs, animals or humans; difficulty in training; lack of bonding to humans; tag-team destructive behaviors; lack of socialization; fear of unknown items or experiences; reactivity when on a leash; aggression from the dominant puppy and timidity or withdrawal from the less dominant one.

Although it may be fun for the pups to have a full-time playmate, they will quickly bond to each other, to the exclusion of their human family. Puppies need the opportunity to develop individually, something that cannot happen when both are raised essentially as one pup. Littermate syndrome is one of the leading behavior reasons that young dogs (6 months to 2 years) are brought to shelters.

If you have already added two puppies to your household, it is not impossible to raise two healthy, well behaved, human-bonded dogs. It will, however, be double the work. Each pup must be treated and worked with as an individual in order for it to reach its full potential as a human companion and a well behaved, friendly adult dog. Remember that raising two pups at the same time will result in double the mess, veterinary costs, food, walking, training and time.

To start off correctly with two puppies, they need to be crated individually, even in separate rooms. When walking your new pups it, too, must be done individually. Each one will learn leash protocols, and how to handle being alone while its mate is away. Feeding separately is also advised to alleviate food aggression.

Training is the most important part of your job and critical to the puppy’s development. If you are raising two, training must be done separately, even in different classes. Although there may be enough family members to help train the pups, if they are in the same class, they are still aware of each other, and likely to watch each other and other dogs as opposed to acquiring the skills from training. Also, during individual training, each puppy develops socializations skills with other dogs and humans outside the family.

Of course, you will want to let your puppies play with each other, but you must also have individual play time with each pup to ensure that they bond to you and recognize you as the authority in the household. Individual training and playtime also helps eliminate sibling competition.

Remember, kittens come in pairs and puppies come as singles. This system can bring you years of happiness living with your pets.