Should Dogs Visit With Litter Mates?

Litter mates are a puppy's first teachers, as pups learn a great deal about behavior and pack hierarchy from their siblings and their mother. While most puppies are weaned and leave the litter by 8 to 12 weeks of age, they can still benefit from visiting with litter mates to continue their socialization and development.

  1. Puppy Memory

    • If given the opportunity to interact with other dogs, a puppy will instinctually be drawn to his litter mates or blood relatives over strange dogs, even following a lengthy separation. However, dogs don't store memories or form attachments in the same way that humans do, so it's not a given that they'll form instant bonds with long-lost kin.

    Socialization

    • Socialization is an important aspect of a puppy̵7;s early training and development. Socialization involves introducing a pup to new places, experiences and things, including other people and other animals. This process allows puppies to have wide and varied experiences that will help them be less fearful or aggressive when they encounter new situations. Getting together and playing with former litter mates can help aid in this process.

    Play

    • Litter mates who play together may engage in physical behaviors like play fighting, biting and chasing each other. This is fine as long as it doesn̵7;t get out of hand. Litter mates help each other define ̶0;acceptable̶1; levels of physicality, for example, yelping when the pressure of a ̶0;play̶1; bite is too hard.

    Aggression

    • Depending on how long puppies were kept together in the litter, they may have established an internal hierarchy of dominance within the litter pack. Because of this, there's a potential for reverting back to those places if litter mates play with one another after being separated. As with any interaction with another dog, care should be taken to protect against overly aggressive play or behavior if you allow litter mates to reunite.

    Breeding

    • Use caution if you allow unaltered litter mates of breeding age to play with one another. Just because the pups are siblings doesn't mean they won't mate with one another. This could leave you with an unanticipated litter of puppies on your hands. It̵7;s also possible for a mother or father to mate with offspring, so be mindful of the ages and sexual maturity levels of dogs when you allow them access to each other.