Are they Happy?
As some of you know if you read the last blog I posted, we have started allowing at least once a day for the entire pack to play together outside again. And since it has been going on now for a week I started to wonder about certain things.
I noticed that when the puppies are all together the overall tone seems to be a little less energized or everyone is maybe still getting used to being back together. But the puppies all seem to play well together now and appear to have a little more patience.
Please don’t get me wrong I am aware that at any time they could erupt into a massive fight, its always in the back of my mind but one can hope that they are “maturing” and perhaps have less desire to fight one another.
Analyzing the situation I think it was a combination of our neighbors rushing the front gate and the girls just finishing up their heat cycle that caused the boys to be so on edge. But now that the girls have been fixed, and the neighbors no longer rushing to the gate, maybe we have a chance at peace and harmony again!
Being an owner of so many dogs, it really makes you sad when they aren’t getting along with one another. And seeing them grow from puppies to where they are now, it makes it that much harder to comprehend. So you can probably see or tell that with the improvement in their patience with one another and their interactions / desire to play with one another has made me very happy.
For a while I was worried about this:
Littermate syndrome can manifest in several ways, including:
Dependency: The puppies may become overly reliant on each other, showing anxiety when separated.
Poor Training Progress: They may struggle to learn basic commands or house training because they distract each other.
Behavioral Issues: Increased aggression or competitiveness over toys, food, or attention can occur.
Difficulty Socializing: Littermates might be less inclined to interact with other dogs or people, preferring each other's company.
Separation Anxiety: They may exhibit signs of distress when apart, such as barking, whining, or destructive behavior.
Uneven Development: One puppy may dominate, leading to imbalances in social skills and confidence.
But it seems that they don’t have a lot of these symptoms. They listen to commands like sit and stay, they don’t have much anxiety only two of them but when i’m using a vacuum, they actually share their toys and treats with one another which I think is cute, they get cow hooves once a week and they keep them and don’t fight over them and that has been going on for over a year. As far as socialization goes they seem to do well, when people do come to the house they play, smell and enjoy the head pats and so far we don’t see any ONE dominate one; just maybe our Momo-chan who we call the big boss haha.
So all in all our journey with the puppies has been good so far. We work on making their life as good as we can make it each day, we ensure to take time out of our day, often to ensure they have interaction, love and time to play.
It’s not an easy life but it’s definitely one that I am happy to live.
Until the next one.
