Urgent Help Litter Mate Syndrome- (Two) 7 Months Old Unsocial Rottweiler Sister's - Page 1

Hello Friends ! I Need Help Regarding The Following Issue: My friend recently adopted 2 Rottweiler’s. They are both Female & 7 Months Old. They didn't receive any kind of training till they were 6 Months Old and also lived in a single kennel. My friend was unaware of the Syndrome so do the Backyard Breeder. The sisters were trained together at my friends place. He gave them some training like Sit, Down & Proper Leash Walk but they don’t respond to the commands well. They are kept in separate kennels next to one another. They simply don’t enjoy it. After I figured out the problem I tried to work with one dog instead of two as I have read that they should be trained individually & separately and etc from 7 Weeks of age. The response I got: Totally not interested to focus in training or an exercise even stop and doesn't move while walking on leash. I tried it for a single day. Both the sisters seem very shy & anxious. But when they are together they sometimes responds to Sit - Down (Not Constant) & also walks well on leash. We don't have expert dog trainers and behaviorists where I live. It will be very helpful if I receive some expert suggestions regarding the issue. Is it possible to train them proper Obedience without separating them? Is it possible to work with an individual dog? Should I separate them completely? Should I allow them to play together? Or completely keep them separated? Even if they are completely separated until the dependency reduces they will have interactions when they will be put into kennels which is next to one another. Please advise me what should I do?

What is your friend´s goal with the 2 of them?
Why did he buy 2 dogs at the same time?
Pets only? Breeding? Training?

In case he is looking for a companion dog, he made the wrong choice,
2 dogs ( littermates ) raised together in one kennel, without enough human interaction, for seven months, learned to stick together, learned to depend on each other, but for sure they did not learn to understand humans, or to bond to humans.

I think you need to separate the dogs as soon as possible, and keep the better / more social one, but what´s about the littermate?
It´s not the dogs fault...

Whatever you are going to do, it´s no fun for the dogs.
Good luck!

I've recently had this issue with two dogs I was training for my friend. It took a month of separation, but both dogs are beginning to show improvements on attention to their human and confidence.

Sorry, let me elaborate. The puppies were three months old, and they're almost five months old now. They have been completely separated. They walk, eat, play separately.

I'm no expert by any means.

The Main Goal is to train them for Obedience, Protection & Breeding. I don't know why they have purchased two siblings at the same time. But for sure he wasn't aware of the Litter Mate Syndrome. They are being kept in separate kennels now but they play and eat together. They want to keep both the dogs. Now when I have aware them of the fact they want them to train, feed & exercise each dog individually but at one point of the day the dogs will interact as the kennels are next to each other.

Is it possible to train them in the same premises and also without changing their kennels as they live now in individual kennels next to each other and to work with both the dogs – Individually without re-homing one dog? Will they actually learn this way? I know it’s very hard for them & the trainer too. I found they have no bonding with humans. Very shy, nervous & anxious. They only obey for few seconds when they are together.


Thank You For The Reply !!

The Sisters are 7 Months Old unsocial. They still play and eat together. Only lives in different kennel & they simply don’t enjoy it.

Thank You For The Reply !!

Susie & Reliya !

Any Advice Will Be Really Helpful !

Wouldn't be breeding very nervous and shy dogs, but you didn't come on here for opinions of that so anyway......
Dogs need to be separated. If they don't respond to commands well, probably they don't know them.
They have had very little training and have lived most of their lives in kennels, do you expect them to jump right in and be on board to learn more? You are going to have to give them more than one day to "learn how to learn" so to speak. Not going to get proper obedience doing both at same time.

Do they work for their food? I have my dog do a few tricks before every meal so she feels like she has worked for it. I change it up every time so that it's not routine, and it seems like she's happier than the days where I would just put the bowl down for her. It also seems to motivate her to learn faster as I usually cycle in the newest tricks with her old/basic tricks.

I think it's fine to have them socialize together, but they also need plenty of meaningful one-on-one time with their humans. They need to make sure all the individual interactions are positive, and I would personally keep the corrections to a minimum, if at all, since they're so nervous, until they build up confidence. They should see their people as the food source as well as fun to play and interact with.

As stated earlier, I gave this same advice to my friend, and while it took a month, there has been marked improvement. The puppies are far more confident and livelier, and they're more willing to learn and pay attention to and play with me while I'm teaching.

It will be frustrating, but let them know to not give up hope. They are still young, and while it may be difficult, it's not impossible.

Rotwhiler is. A baby yar.. Treat your rot as your best friend and leave him freely to enjoy with your family and friends it will change is habit and it will be a regular dog.. If you need more to guide see me at stalinchucky @gmail.com....💞💞💞💞💞👍👍👍👍