My puppies have littermate syndrome any advice

[emin]

I bought 2 dachshund male puppies from the same litter and I need advice on how to separate them. I have noticed that one of the pups (puppy B) is more attached than the other. He can’t do anything with out his brother (puppy H). Puppy B when given alone time he is scared of everything he won’t even let me pick him up or pet him and will cry/ bark/ whine every chance he gets. Puppy H won’t cry and will play somewhat but will only want to be held or receiving affection, he will also not eat unless hand fed directly into his mouth. The most trouble is at bed time/ night time puppy B will cry all night long if his brother puppy H is not in the same crate as him. The potty training has also gotten a bit difficult, when they are separated they will properly use there puppy pads but when they are together they go anywhere in the house and rip up the pads into pieces/ play with them. I have purchased a shock collar but I’m afraid to use it since they are only 3 months old and don’t want to traumatize them but my neighbor has complained about puppy B crying so much that I’ve been caving in and letting them sleep in the same crate even though their crates are right next to each other literally touching. Does anyone have any advice on what I can do?

 

[sallama]

@emin Return the shock collar - using pain when your puppy is crying or barking in distress is not humane. Instead, I'm going to recommend you find a reputable trainer to work with.

Have you checked out our wiki section on how to select a trainer?

https://journal.iaabcfoundation.org/littermate-syndrome/ has some good insight on Littermate Syndrome.

So it sounds like Puppy B is having some challenges with confidence and independence and could be experiencing some anxiety. Additionally this is causing issues with your ability to crate them separately. So there may be some insufficient alone time training between the two of them. Raising a puppy is hard - raising two requires a whole lot of management and not double the work but tripple the work. This can lead to the dogs needs not being met and can result in difficult behavioral issues.

This is where working with a trainer might be able to help you better manage your daily schedule, make sure everyone's needs are being met and address some of the challenges you're experiencing. Though I urge you to seriously consider rehoming one of the puppies if changes cannot be made for them to have the best quality of life.

 

[emin]

@sallama Thank you for your advice. I will be searching for a trainer to help boost up puppy B in being more independent. I’ve been doing separate play time with lots of treats hopefully that helps as well