[chocochipcookiedough]

Hi!

My 10 week old pup does NOT get along with her sister (who is owned by my fiance's parents). We've been to their house twice now, and both times we have had to physically separate them or keep them in separate rooms.

I think the sister pup is intimidated/scared/threatened by our pup because the first time they got together at the sister's house, our pup 'won' all the puppy fights (they were running around outside). Now, the sister pup will bark, growl, lunge and chase our pup all around the house nonstop. Our pup will also do the same to her sister, but it is mostly initiated by the sister pup and ours retaliates (or at least that's what it looks like).

The funny thing is they're fine when they're eating or drinking. They don't have any problems sharing! But once the food is gone, it's back to chasing, barking, and growling.

What can we do to make them get along? We will be going away for a week at christmas and they will be babysitting our pup!

 

[ZAYDA]

I hope you get better answers but I recall several times litter mates being brought back together and it just doesn't work. I don't have the answer and I know it's not the norm but for what ever reason brothers and sisters just will not get along.

 

[Stosh]

Since they get along when they're focused on other things, maybe try taking them for a walk together and see how they do. Puppies can sound like they're killing each other when they're playing, is it possible that it just sounds worse than it is? Is either one being injured?

 

[ZAYDA]

True 10 weeks old is pretty early to be kicking real as#

 

[JakodaCD OA]

I remember when I got Kodi, a friend of mine bought his brother a couple weeks later, we got them together when they were about 12 weeks old, and they HATED each other, it sure wasn't play or even rough play, it was downright beating the crud out of each other..

We would walk them together even as they matured, and no problems, but they could never be loose together

 

[JKlatsky]

I remember when I got Kodi, a friend of mine bought his brother a couple weeks later, we got them together when they were about 12 weeks old, and they HATED each other, it sure wasn't play or even rough play, it was downright beating the crud out of each other..

We would walk them together even as they matured, and no problems, but they could never be loose together

We had 2 brother pups that we were raising together until about 6 months (with the intention of only keeping one). By the time they were 10 weeks old they had to be kept pretty much completely separate. It was like a UFC match every time they got together. My DH and I could walk them together and they were both alright with our older dogs and strange dogs...but NOT each other. Sometimes it just works out that way...

 

[chocochipcookiedough]

Well there is a lot of growling and neck biting and teeth barring... so it sounds like they're beating each other! There's even yelps every now and then from one of the pups!

Could it be that they're just playing rough and then every now and then it gets too much and one of them gets hurt accidentally? It really sounds like a dog fight though.

 

[Whiteshepherds]

Could it be that they're just playing rough and then every now and then it gets too much and one of them gets hurt accidentally? It really sounds like a dog fight though.

No one can really say without actually seeing them in action.

I wonder if there are any video's around showing puppies playing together? I think some people would be surprised how noisy it can get and how rough it can look.

 

[vdsauk]

No one can really say without actually seeing them in action.

I wonder if there are any video's around showing puppies playing together? I think some people would be surprised how noisy it can get and how rough it can look.

I agree.... it can sound pretty rough and not be.

However, as I tell my puppy owners. Around 10-12 weeks all my pups get separated from each other, and don't interact with ROUGH play with other dogs or littermates or other young dogs until they are 6 months old. The elbow essentially has 3 bones. They are very easily broken until they harden. This often happens in playing rough, when dogs get rolled etc. So be very careful, esp. if it is rough play or fighting.

Walk them on leashes together.

If/When it's 2 litter mates and both females, don't let it turn ugly. No interaction is probably best till they grow up and your confident walking them together more often. You'd be surprised after walks and that pack mentality is established.

Just don't let them injure each other and have negative experiences. You don't need future dog aggression issues. Some pups just don't like OTHERs bounding all over them. I've had that numerous times.

 

[Zoeys mom]

Zoe gets to play with her brother and mother daily, and 2 sisters at least once a week. Her and her bro are thick as thieves....literally. They are both awesome dogs alone, but put them together and oh my god do they ever get in trouble. They dig and chew things, destroy non doggie items, and create quite the fuss- they never do this alone which is the weird part.

Now Zoe and her mom hate each other. Her mom Cody hated her from the moment she left their house and to this day tries to punk her every time they play. Of course Cody listens to easy so it's only the first few moments and then they are fine. Zoe and her one sister also get along great, but the other sister is more like mom. I recommend you continuing to pair them up often. Distract with toys, teach them fetch, and engage them in play when they are together. Eventually they will start to learn enough, easy, and no making them pals one day

 

[doggiedad]

are you sure they're fighting????

 

[selzer]

I have like four sets of litter mates, all females.

I kept Babs and Jenna together for about fifteen months.

Heidi and Whitney were together from nine weeks, then at fifteen weeks I got Tori back from my brother. Nobody liked Tori at that point. I could put her in With Heidi or Heidi with Whitney but by eight months, those three were separated.

Milla and Ninja were together for about eight to ten months.

I have never had ten week old puppies acting like this. That is pretty extreme if it is really fighting.

 

[chocochipcookiedough]

Is the growling normal? I think that's what makes it sound vicious.

Also, I think they do hurt each other because there's yelps every now and then and we have to pull one off of the other.

 

[kiya]

The first time I brought Lakota to visit her brother, she was about 3 months old. At first it was great, they ran around playing ruff but ok. Then I saw a side of Lakota that really got me worried, she went after Sonny like the Tasmanian Devil. We had to pull them apart and let them chill. I didn't really know what to make of it. The guy we got the pups from came over with 2 other pups shortly after. So now all 4 pups were playing, there were a few more little outbursts that afternoon but nothing serious and they stopped with a verbal correction to knock it off. She's visited her brother since then and she was fine. We also visited her mom, dad, and the male & female pup that they kept and there might have been a little outburst or two from one of the siblings but for the most part everyone played nice. She did pull the Tasmanian Devil on my 6 year old female while playing a few times, she was still operating under a puppy licence.
I can say she has turned out to be the sweetest pup, no signs of aggression (knock wood). She is very dramatic. My husband calls her a drama queen.

 

[Kelly's Buddy]

are you sure they're fighting????

My brother and I had sibling sister Rotties and when they play they sounded possessed. Ungodly sounds came from them. As bad as it sounded, they were having the time of their lives.