Littermate Syndrome .. or don't blame the dog?? - Page 1

An article on " Littermate Syndrome " which is a mile wide in it's claims and an inch deep in depth.  Dr. Becker is usually pretty good but she tried to bake too big of a cake and it fell apparently.  Yes .. if you can't raise one puppy properly you don't need two to do a poor job on!!  Two dominant males or females raised together will surely result in problems down the road.  On the other hand whole litters raised together ( 8 or more ) can do wonderful together as puppies and adults .. there is no "packing up" if they are raised well together.   Littermate syndrome says more about the humans than the dogs.

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2015/12/28/littermate-syndrome.aspx?e_cid=20151228Z1_PetsNL_art_1&utm_source=petsnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20151228Z1&et_cid=DM93690&et_rid=1288049200

 

“Littermate syndrome” is based on anecdotal evidence that often two siblings adopted together bond intensely with each other, to the exclusion of their human family. Puppies with littermate syndrome often suffer from intense separation anxiety when apart; conversely, one of the two may be dangerously aggressive toward the other.

To be quite honest, there was little that I disagreed with in that article. Pretty much spot-on I would say, based on my experience.

Most of the article deals with behaviors that occur enough to give credence to the theory, but in many cases does not occur. But my experiences with dogs, is that very little is absolute as so many variables that are different go into the development of all pups.