Can another dog take the place of littermates

[Tara n Rocky's Mum]

Do you think that having another dog can simulate taking the place of littermate : socialisation and bite inhibitance..?

Whats your opinion..?

[marianne]

IMO how could a older dog act like a littermate? Puppies are with each other 24/7. All at the same maturity level. May I ask why your question?

[rottcrazed]

I think they can to a point as my litters have been socialized with my older dogs and the pups who stayed here longer had far more respect for adult dogs than the ones who left at 8 weeks, BUT, nothing can take the place of being with littermates until at least 8 weeks.

If you ever have the chance to watch a litter of pups for even an hour of play time, you will see that there is just no way they could ever play like that with an older dog as an older dog would not allow a puppy that much freedom to do as they please.

Pups in a litter are on an even playing field for the most part - you will not get that with an adult dog or even an older puppy.

Kristi

[spidey]

I recently read Patricia McConnell's book "For the Love of a Dog" and in it she discusses the inordinately high incidence of aggression in puppies raised without a litter (singletons, orphans, puppies taken away too soon, etc.). There is apparently quite a bit of research which indicates that being in a litter leads to regular frustration for puppies (being climbed over, pushed away from the teat they're just settling down to nurse from, generally being constantly bothered in some way) - this early frustration is thought to help the puppies learn how to deal with frustration as adults (especially since much of the aggression seen in adults who were singleton puppies is directly related to frustration: resource guarding, barrier aggression, etc.).

So while an adult dog can definitely help a puppy learn dog language and even bite inhibition, it will not be able to provide the constant contact and competition which other similar-age puppies in a litter could. So it could help, but couldn't truly take the place of a littermate, especially not in what may be one of the most crucial ways.