08/03/2026
Another post of “it’s not all rainbows and butterflies (and cute goats)”…
Littermate Syndrome…
2 (or more) puppies from the same litter CAN be raised together without any issue. But sometimes, the puppies can develop really unfavorable behaviors. This can look like a variety of things, and the “science” behind it isn’t super straight forward…
Sometimes you’ll see extreme codependence and separation anxiety. Other times you’ll see aggression…and that’s what we faced…
We knew getting two pups was a rolling the dice, but we took the gamble.
Regrettably, we had three instances of goats getting attacked, after speculated (unwitnessed) redirection of dog v dog aggression. We had seen an increase in resource guarding, snarling, and rough playing between Mishka and Malko, and three goats almost paid the price.
Kobe was first…then Frankie and Pizza not too long after. A decision had to be made…euthanize one dog, euthanize two dogs, rehome one, or rehome two. After all, the dogs were on the farm to protect the goats, not hurt them…
We got really lucky. A. I have an older sister who answered the phone and reminded me/reassured me that we were dealing with littermate syndrome and B. We found a new farm for Mishka !
She has been there ~one month now and is thriving. She is learning the ropes from Tilly, an older LGD on their farm, has bonded with the kids, and is living her best life.
And as for Malko and our farm…we have had zero issues, no more goats attacked, and have watched Malko grow closer and closer to his herd.
(All three goats that were attacked have made full recoveries).
I am so thankful that we found a positive outcome for the situation we put ourselves into…
📸: Shared with permission from Mishka’s new owner
