Is it sibling rivalry??

[maxnmiah]

We just got 2 pups (8wks) a female, who was the runt, and a male who turned out to be the bully of the litter. Close to 80% of the time, the are fine, but after they wake up and play for 30 minutes, the play turns to aggressive playing. I realize they are at an age where biting and knawing is common, but they bite each other...sometimes hard, and it seems like nothing makes them realize what they are doing. Typically, he is usually the aggressor, is this normal?? She is about 4lbs smaller than him, and she like to bite at his "privates", Is this normal as well? When we try to discipline him, he has a nasty growl like hes possessed or something, sometimes its scary! When one is being disciplined, the other feels the need to "chime-in" and help reinforce the point we are trying to make..As first time boxer owners I never realized how frustrating 2 the same age can be...Im just hoping that by putting in alot of time and effort the payoff will be very rewarding....If anyone has any suggestions, please post!!

 

[elindave]

When we first brought Nikita home, she played very aggressively with other dogs (just like your male). She was also the runt of her litter and bullied by the littermates. What helped us was a good daycare / trainer to teach her socialisation. Anyways, she's now 5 mths and we've put in alot of time and effort and for us it is very rewarding to see how well she is progressing. Good luck.....by the way, they are sooooo cute!lovicon

Eli
Nikita (Aug 28 07) fawn, floppy, docked

 

[CodysPop]

I have read that it is ok for them to roughhouse this way because it teaches them bite inhibition. They will let each other know when enough is enough. We also just picked up two littermates just a few days ago. I had the same question, so I did a little digging. Another good thing to do is once in awhile seperate them from each other just to show that you are in control of playtime as well. It doesnt have to be but for a couple minutes, but I also find that they get a little crazier at times, so I just sit them both down and let them take a breather. Now we are trying to teach "no bite" for us with fleshy skin because it seems they can take the little razor's a little bit more harsh than we can.... To think that our breeder told us that the male (Cody) was the gentle one, but from what I can tell, he is definitely the aggressor, although he is usually the one that ends up on back.... I have seen them get to the level of pain because I have heard the whelps..., but the one that inflicts the damage is quick to give a lick of apology before they start again.

Im in no way a professional, but I have read a poopload in the last couple weeks... so hopefully this has somewhat helped.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[CodysPop]

Just wanted to add the url for the "Bite Inhibition" article I spoke of before, since I ran across it again...

http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm

 

[maxnmiah]

Thanks for the link! They have been getting better & we have been seperating them when it seems to be getting out of control. Max (m) is ok when seperated he seems to realize that its time to relax & chill out but his sister Miah, does not get it, like when trying to scold her, she comes after us and is rip roaring ready to go. I think her issue is as the runt, she perhaps feels that she has had to fight twice as hard to survive the 7 weeks with her brothers & sisters for food & attention. Again, thanks for the link!

 

[EAO76]

Raising littermates is hard. I have done it and won’t do it again. I suggest that you do a lot of separate activities & training with them so they don’t become too bonded and dependent on each other. Do a search on this board & on the web for “Littermate Syndrome”. And I know what you mean about the rough style of play. The main problem is that littermates seem to have less respect for each other’s space and warnings and this will transfer to their style of play with all dogs. So it’s important that they get experience playing with all kinds of other dogs (one at a time so they don’t gang up). This will teach them boundaries (because they won’t learn them too well from each other). My littermates are 2 & ½ and it took them a long time to figure out that their style of play was only “ok” when they were playing with each other but that other dogs did not always appreciate it. And still to this day they cannot go to a dog park together because they gang up on other dogs.

 

[elindave]

I have read that it is ok for them to roughhouse this way because it teaches them bite inhibition. They will let each other know when enough is enough. We also just picked up two littermates just a few days ago. I had the same question, so I did a little digging. Another good thing to do is once in awhile seperate them from each other just to show that you are in control of playtime as well. It doesnt have to be but for a couple minutes, but I also find that they get a little crazier at times, so I just sit them both down and let them take a breather. Now we are trying to teach "no bite" for us with fleshy skin because it seems they can take the little razor's a little bit more harsh than we can.... To think that our breeder told us that the male (Cody) was the gentle one, but from what I can tell, he is definitely the aggressor, although he is usually the one that ends up on back.... I have seen them get to the level of pain because I have heard the whelps..., but the one that inflicts the damage is quick to give a lick of apology before they start again.

Im in no way a professional, but I have read a poopload in the last couple weeks... so hopefully this has somewhat helped.

Good luck and have fun!

I'm new to this too and I'm not a professional either! But I agree with you 100%. I also want to say that your pups are also VERY adorable! lovicon You know, I call my breeder from time to time and tell him I want another pup....he says "you have 3 kids and 1 boxer and thats enough for you, call me back in 2 yrs...oh and the visits have to stop, you're becoming obsessed!"

Eli
Nikita (Aug 28 07) fawn, floppy, docked

 

[MKAD]

I did some research about littermates and decided against it. Sam is 3 days older than Sally; I waited almost 6 months before I brought another pup into the house after Sally. Both seem to understand the hierarchy; they do very well together. I think that I am lucky since the "sibling" rivalry is not so intense.

 

[maxnmiah]

I went online and did some research on Littermate Syndrome. After reading the article, its apparent thats what we are dealing with. While we REFUSE to give one up to anyone, it was decided that we will just work twcie as hard to allow the pups to develop their own personalities and really limit their "together time." It seems that this will be a long and arduous task, but when we bring them to the vets for their second round of shots, we plan on asking the vet for suggestions in dealing with this situation. Thanks for the tips!

 

[EAO76]

I went online and did some research on Littermate Syndrome. After reading the article, its apparent thats what we are dealing with. While we REFUSE to give one up to anyone, it was decided that we will just work twcie as hard to allow the pups to develop their own personalities and really limit their "together time." It seems that this will be a long and arduous task, but when we bring them to the vets for their second round of shots, we plan on asking the vet for suggestions in dealing with this situation. Thanks for the tips!

I felt the same as you. Once we had them there was no way I’d give one up. But it really did take a lot of effort to spend individual time with them. One thing we did was enroll them in separate puppy classes. Also we took them for a lot of walks separately. Additionally they should have separate crates in different rooms for when you leave them. Teaching them that its ok to be alone is very important.