I’m a dog trainer and adopting two dogs at the same time is always a terrible idea – here’s why
YOU might thinking two is better than one when it comes to adopting a puppy.
After all, what if one gets lonely or misses it’s siblings?
Well according to professional dog trainer Jennifer, from Colorado, who founded Top Paw K9 Academy, adopting two puppies at the same time is probably a bad idea, especially if they’re from the same litter.
She warned dog fans about ‘littermate syndrome’ in a recent clip she posted on the academy’s TikTok account, which boats one million followers.
Jennifer noted that littermate syndrome can go one of two ways – but neither are very good.
Either they will become very attached, co-dependent and will bond closely with each other, making it hard for them to bond with their new owners.
They can also suffer with extreme co-dependence, separation anxiety, fearfulness and poor social skills, Jennifer noted.
Or, the it can go the completely opposite way and your pups can end up hating each other.
That doesn’t mean you can’t have more than one dog in your home though, just that you should only get one new pup at a time.
“It’s highly recommended that you get one dog first, train it, bond with it, set good structures and boundaries, and then get another one six months to a year later,” she said.
You could also adopt adult dogs who are already developed so are less likely to develop these problems.
Littermate syndrome is most likely to occur when the litter of puppies are still together, around eight-to-12 weeks.
“The dogs miss out on a critical phrase of social skill development, resulting in stunted socialisation skills and anxiety when they are separated,” Jennifer explained.
She added: “Littermate syndrome doesn’t always happen – but it does and it can be scary, dangerous, and cause a lot of problems.”
Some pet owners revealed they made the same mistake when getting their puppies.
One commented: “Two of my dogs have littermate syndrome. It can get bad sometimes.”
A second said: “I got mine at the same time and they HATE being separated now, they’ll howl and cry.”