There is a “phenomenon” seen in the training community that has been coined littermate syndrome. It isn’t a disease or some sort of condition, but rather this just happened to be what this phenomenon was called so that it is easy to reference by having a name. Basically what happens is when two puppies are raised together (related or not) they develop this deep bond with each other. This bond can cause their training to be unreliable, disrupt their bond with you and their livestock, separation anxiety from each other, and a lack of personal space when the other is concerned. There was an “experiment” done by a guide dog organization years ago where they tried raising puppies in pairs to cut their needed volunteer puppy homes in half. They saw a significant increase in “failed” service dogs and found one puppy out of each pair always seemed to lack confidence. Under the crutch of being around their sibling so often, they never truly blossomed themselves.
When multiple puppies spend most of their time with each other past weaning age they can get almost “too” bonded with one another. The most obvious sign is separation anxiety when you need to separate them (which can be common for medical procedures and can be a real problem when one of the bonded puppies eventually dies). There are some issues as well where the puppies have trouble focusing on training when together and are too distraught to train when pulled apart. As they mature, their lack of boundaries with one another often causes them to get into fights with each other as they annoy each other. After their fights you may find them inseparable but the fights themselves can be quite nasty. This can be exasperated by same sex siblings. However with opposite sex siblings there is the worry of an accidental pregnancy if both are kept intact.
Typically it is advised to get one puppy at a time, get a good handle on training, and then get another once your first puppy is out of adolescence. However if you do find yourself with more than one puppy at a time make sure to give them ample time apart and train them separately so they can develop as individuals. This helps avoid littermate issues most of the time. However realize that you now have about 3 times the time commitment for 2 dogs rather than one time the time commitment for one.
People are often encouraged to get more than one puppy because they “work best in pairs” but remember they cannot work until they are older so two puppies at once is not advantageous in this sense. One adult and one puppy however can be a very good pair if you are just starting out. People are also often told littermates work well together because they can tire each other out playing. This is true but they can also feed off each other and gang up on livestock. There are pros and cons both ways so you really need to consider if you have the time to commit to raising more than one puppy. Unless you have a large operation with multiple adult dogs overseeing things, each puppy is a time investment.
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