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the.Petsitter Take the "board-em" out of your travel plans. Professional in-home pet sitting provider.

This is real thing I’ve seen with clients’ dogs.
09/07/2025

This is real thing I’ve seen with clients’ dogs.

Have you heard of LITTERMATE SYNDROME? If not, keep reading!

We see the comments often. People asking us to adopt out bonded siblings together. We understand the intention behind it. It feels right, even loving, to want dogs who grew up together to stay together forever.

But in reality, keeping sibling puppies together can do far more harm than good.

There is a behavioral phenomenon called littermate syndrome that can happen when two puppies, especially from the same litter or close in age, are raised together in the same home. Despite the heartwarming idea of lifelong companionship, littermate syndrome often leads to serious emotional and behavioral issues for both dogs.

So what is littermate syndrome?

Littermate syndrome refers to a pattern of developmental and behavioral problems that can occur when two puppies are raised in the same home. This can include:
🐾 Extreme attachment to each other and difficulty functioning when separated
🐾 Lack of individual development, which leads to poor socialization with humans and other dogs
🐾 Increased fearfulness and anxiety, especially in new situations
🐾 Difficulty in training, as the dogs focus more on each other than their handler
🐾 Aggression or conflict as they mature and develop different personalities

These issues can begin as early as 8 to 10 weeks of age or may not appear until adolescence. The effects can be long-lasting and very difficult, if not impossible, to reverse.

What does this mean for adoption?

Veterinarians, trainers, and behaviorists strongly advise against adopting sibling puppies, or even two unrelated puppies close in age, at the same time. Many reputable rescues and shelters, including ours, follow this guidance and do not adopt littermates out together. This is not a rule based on convenience. It is based on real experience and our desire to set each dog up for long-term success.

Puppies are kept together in foster when young, but as they grow, allowing them both to flourish on their own is what is best for everyone! Our goal is not to separate loving siblings. It is to prevent them from becoming overly dependent on each other and missing out on healthy development.

But what about kittens?

This is an important distinction. Kittens are very different from puppies. In fact, kittens thrive when adopted in pairs. They learn social skills from each other, burn off energy through play, and are far less likely to develop behavioral problems when they have a feline companion. For kittens, being adopted together is often the healthier, more compassionate option.

What is best for the dogs?

The best path forward is for each puppy to be adopted into a loving, committed home where they can:
🐾 Form a strong bond with their human family
🐾 Build confidence and independence
🐾 Be properly socialized with a variety of people, animals, and environments
🐾 Receive individual attention and training

Dogs are incredibly adaptable. Within days or weeks of settling into their new homes, they form new bonds and begin to thrive. In many cases, puppies that were separated from their littermates go on to live happier, more emotionally balanced lives than those who stayed together.

We know it’s hard.

We love these animals deeply. We want what is best for them, not just what feels right in the moment. And in this case, what is best is helping each puppy grow into a confident, well-adjusted dog on their own.

Thank you for trusting us to make decisions based on the dogs’ long-term well-being. That is always our priority.

05/07/2025

Pro Tip:
Never, never shower before taking care of 200 pigeons and 8 chickens. 🥵

14/06/2025

PSA: If you know your dog is terrified of fireworks NOW is the time to start making plans for the Fourth of July. You should order meds, buy a Thundershirt, get a white noise machine, and prep a comfy and quiet spot in your basement for your dog.

💔
13/06/2025

💔

Cedar Rapids, We Need to Talk About CRACC

If you’ve been following our updates, you know we’ve been pulling as many dogs as possible from Cedar Rapids Animal Care and Control (CRACC). Other local rescues are stepping up too—but it’s not enough.
CRACC has had to close multiple times due to being dangerously understaffed. They don’t have enough people to answer phones, care for the animals, manage animal control, or serve the public. Cedar Rapids residents deserve to know the truth: CRACC is in crisis.
CRACC operates at or near full capacity every day. As the only open-admission shelter in Cedar Rapids, they’re legally responsible for all strays, owner surrenders, abuse and hoarding cases, bite quarantines, and court-ordered holds. Many of these dogs are long-term stays—especially those tied up in the backlogged court system, which can take over a year to resolve.
We’re doing everything we can. Every dog we pull from CRACC opens a kennel—but that also means we have to turn away local owner surrenders. We get many calls every day from people needing help. And before anyone points fingers about “importing dogs”—stop, we don’t. We have always prioritized local dogs and have also supported the Bethany, MO area for over 10 years.
When CRACC has no open kennels and a new dog arrives, an existing dog has to be euthanized. Can you imagine working somewhere where you’re forced to kill dogs simply because there’s no space? How long would you stay there?
CRACC’s current shelter opened in November 2013, five years after the original was destroyed in the 2008 flood. It was built to hold just 43 dogs and 124 cats—for a city of 136,000 people. It was too small then, and it’s dangerously inadequate now.
National data shows roughly equal numbers of dogs and cats enter shelters each year—yet CRACC has nearly three times as many cat kennels as dog kennels. That math doesn’t work.
Dogs spend 24 hours a day in their kennels. It’s not because the staff wants them to, it’s because they are struggling even to meet the basic needs of the animals in their care. The shelter was built with no meaningful enrichment space. There’s one small fenced area with no shade. There are no proper exercise yards , no structured play, and no enrichment program. Progressive shelters stopped housing dogs like this decades ago.
Staffing is another crisis. The shelter is chronically understaffed, and there are no open job postings. In the past the city did not allow volunteers to help. They seem to be more open to it now. Volunteers can help with some things like walking adoptable dogs, laundry, dishes,and providing enrichment activity for animals—but they can’t handle strays, quarantined animals, dispense meds, answer phones, do animal control, or complete required paperwork.
A staff member has to train the volunteers and schedule them. This shelter has no volunteer coordinator position. If a staff member trains a volunteer, they have to take time away from their regular duties to get it done. If volunteers aren’t scheduled, you have 10 people showing up to play with a dog and one small fenced yard.
This is unacceptable. Cedar Rapids isn’t a third-world country. The city finds money for bike trails, new libraries, and electric scooters—but not for humane, responsible care for animals in its custody?
If this angers you, good. It should.
City Manager Jeff Pomeranz controls CRACC’s budget. He and the City Council need to hear from you. Let them know this isn’t okay—and that the people of Cedar Rapids expect better.

For those of you asking for contact information:
City Manager Jeff Pomeranz Phone 319-286-5080. Email: [email protected]

There are 8 city council members. One for each of the five districts and three elected at large.
District 1 – Marty Hoeger Phone 319-775-7896. Email [email protected]
District 2 - Scott Overland Phone 319-899-6709. Email [email protected]
District 3 – Dale Todd Phone 319-775-7926. Email [email protected]
District 4 – Scott Olson Phone 319-360-5295. Email [email protected]
District 5 – Ashley Vanorny Phone 319-775-7928. Email [email protected]
At Large 1 – Tyler Olson Phone 319-535-0635. Email [email protected]
At Large 2 -Ann Poe. Phone 319-350-7372. Email [email protected]
At Large 3 – David Maier Phone 319-391-8515. Email [email protected]

Belle 🐾
07/06/2025

Belle 🐾

01/06/2025
Jax watching DOGTV
01/06/2025

Jax watching DOGTV

Mesmerized by DOGTV.
01/06/2025

Mesmerized by DOGTV.

22/05/2025

PSA:
If you shop for your pet’s supplies on Amazon they are offering $30 Amazon credit for every $100 you spend.
Purina One cat food, Churu, probiotics, dental chews, cat litter, FortiFlora, etc. It’s easy to spend $100 if you have multiple pets or spoil the crap out of one! 🤣

Bandit and Hershey 🐾
17/05/2025

Bandit and Hershey 🐾

Sassy and Boots ❤️
14/05/2025

Sassy and Boots ❤️

This Saturday
14/05/2025

This Saturday

This Saturday is our low cost vaccine & Microchip clinic for DOGS only. It runs from 9am-noon, however we do encourage individuals to arrive early. No appointments necessary. This is a cash only event and we ask that you bring dogs on a leash.

Address

IA

Opening Hours

Monday 07:00 - 21:00
Tuesday 07:00 - 21:00
Wednesday 07:00 - 21:00
Thursday 07:00 - 21:00
Friday 07:00 - 21:00
Saturday 07:00 - 21:00
Sunday 07:00 - 21:00

Telephone

+13192708910

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