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Can siblings be raised together ?
Tips to raise siblings together and prevent bullying from one to another.
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20 Replies
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Hello @dogmama (OMD I love your nickname!)
Thanks for bringing this topic – can you post a bit more about the situation? Siblings being raised together can create a bunch of issues if folks aren’t careful… but you are speaking about “bullying” and I’m not sure what that means to you? Are they playing too rough? Are they ganging up together against another dog? Are they being inappropriate with their people? If you would please provide more details about this particular situation, that would be really helpful to folks who would like to participate in the conversation. Thank you.
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I work for cane Corso breeder. My friend purchased sweet calm male puppy and his sister more rambunctious so they could play together. They want me to work with them as sister can get rough with brother. I hear conflicting stories from people who have siblings and say there great and others say no. I think it depends on early training and owners also . But I want to help them the right way
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Hi Maria, thanks for these details. I’m going to hold back sharing to give members a chance and will jump back in soon. Meanwhile, how old are the pups now?
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13 weeks this Wednesday!
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Great topic, great question – I’ll start with one very simple piece of advice:
- The dogs should be gradually introduced to spending portions of their day APART from one another.
- The humans in the house should spend time bonding with each dog one-on-one as well as together.
It’s more work, but hey, you got two dogs – of course it’s more work! These are very valuable tips that can go a long way to minimizing common issues with same-litter siblings raised in the same home (separation challenges, conflict, ignoring the humans).
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Great points! I have a friend who has siblings. Just recently, I needed one for a presentation on dog training I was doing for one of my classes. She did not do well and had trouble adjusting to being with me because she hasn’t been separated from her sister or been away from her entire family. I never thought of teaching the siblings how to separate from each other, but it dos seem crucial! Thanks!
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All dogs need to learn to be alone sometimes… with siblings it’s really important to practice early on!
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Thank you. I worked with owners last night . Told them they also need more boundaries and need to monitor them more.
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@dogmama Maria, that sounds like good advice! Were you able to give them specific suggestions about how to implement that? It makes sense that with two adolescent dogs bred for physicality, things could get out of control really quickly! I would definitely think about installing some easy interruptors that the family could use to redirect the dogs without getting near them if they start to get too intense. For example a VERY STRONG go to your mat (different sides of the room – dogs on the same mats each time – no trading!) and that pays HIGH VALUE food and LOTS OF IT! So that at the first sign of escalating arousal, wayyyy before a fight could break out, the dog can go to their places and receive a calm reward. This gives everyone a great chance to chillax a bit without the family 1) being too close to the action and 2) adding emotions to the interaction. The dogs can be trained first separately, then together, when not excited.
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Love this I’m gonna work with them today. the owners are not there which is better because the owners kind of loom over them and they get distracted. Then when the owners come home I could teach this to them. The mat idea is really great
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Super, Maria! Glad to help – good luck today and let us know how it goes. 🙂
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Wow. This is such a great body language capture, @Jenz. You can really see where resource guarding is NOT coming from a place of happiness for the black puppy. Poor girl. It seems the two videos are the same – was there another video you meant to include or did they send you two copies of the same one?
There’s so much to unpack here… how are you working to help them?
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When she described RG over toys only, she sent the videos, When I did not see the black dog in possession of a toy but still had that reaction, I started digging for more info. It turns out these 2 have had conflict since nursing, She described them as both always “racing” to get to mom nipples and fighting, with the black dog initiating the fights. The brown dog will never start the fight however, usually he is the one to “latch on” and not let go after the fight starts, so….. Other info includes the fights have only seemed to occur indoors or on the deck (not in the yard), the black dog has not instigated fights with any other siblings but RG toys with them all, has not shown RG toward people (they take things from him, which I advised to stop. They must trade or teach drop. ) He has not instigated fights with fosters other 2 adult dogs or 2 dogs he has met outside the house, he has “accepted” corrections from fosters adult smaller dog, the black pup is the shyest and the one “who is afraid of almost everything”.
The pups were also hand fed since there were 13!
Since they are in foster and will be adopted eventually (and not likely they will be consistently worked with) , I recommended they simply be kept apart at this time or keep their interactions VERY short and positive, in the yard (if space in an issue for black pup and no fighting has occurred here) and no toys. A must to get the black pup out more and socialized- keeping experiences neutral-positive (pairing exposures with high value treats),. Brief and positive interactions with adult dogs he has been ok with, alone time to decompress. I recommended his potential home be adults only ( unless older kids) and a single dog home, dog savvy and willing to invest time in his behavior training. This is asking a lot but……
I have heard trainers say, this is puppy stuff, they will “work it out” and “grow out of it”. I do not think that way. In my experience so far, I have only seen it escalate. What are some thoughts on “puppy fights and RG”? Do some eventually “work it out”? Here I think we have a unique case that there is a history with the black and brown dog from almost birth and a fearful pup responding possibly without impulse control. (brown pup was walking away)
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Thanks for the second video and additional details, @jenz – I agree – This “opinionated” pup should be kept apart from the other pup as much as possible. I’d also consider sex. If the dogs she is tolerating are primarily male, then I’d consider that this pup should not be placed with a resident female dog. Spaying, as you know, will increase the issue (I’m wondering if she’s already spayed?). This pup should go home with some resource guarding prevention and mitigation strategies. RG is the one type of aggression that’ I’ve witnessed cross over from “just toward dogs” to also include guarding items or food from humans – it would be great to get a handle on it before that happens.
Keep us posted as you are able!
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Black pup is a male. He is “fighting” with a male pup, too.
I will if I can get updates from them before they are adopted or, I am involved after adoption!
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Ah – in that case, neutering may help if he doesn’t have much chance to practice the behavior before sexual maturity. It’s all so complex in these cases! Thanks for the update – I do hope the adopted pups get the benefit of your expertise!
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From someone who has same-litter siblings, it is definitely a challenge!! We had prepared for many months, doing lots of resource on the pros and cons before we got them . I was also learning about it and training before we got them. But we still have trouble. My biggest issue with my pups is jealous (yes, seriously) and separation. In the beginning they were fine, but right around 5 to 6 months it began to show severe separation issues not only from us but from each other. Even though they slept in separate crates with covers down, we still had issues separating them. Add to this that our female dog hated her crate to death and just recently was able to settle down at night. It is difficult and much more work, but I think it is rewarding! There are lots of different opinions out there from vets and daycares (I know, I work at one). My advice for clients, is to research the parents (breeder). That would tell you a lot about if there are already any conditions in the genetics. I would also say strongly advise against getting siblings in a rescue situation especially if they’ve been in a shelter for a while. Ultimately, it all comes down to how much work you’re willing to put in! ????
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Well the parents are both great- I actually have the mother and one sibling.the father comes from an excellent lineage of cane Corso and is such a gentle sole. Mama is amazing and playful. I am the dog mama midwife for this breeder. Mama just retired from her breeding and we kept her . Will relay this information to owner of 2 siblings . I’m working closely with them to keep socialization and training consistent
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