Help with 2 female black Labrador puppies

hi, my friend and I are owners of 2 female black lab puppies.
My questions is, is it normal for them to be fighting? I like to think it’s play fighting till one of them starts to cry and we stop and separated them. Also they both seems to dominate over each other? Sorry it’s my first time having a lab and am feeling bit overwhelmed even though I done a years worth of researching. We are trying to crate train them but they are not having it, they howl or whine or cry. They are 10 weeks old today, I be grateful for any tips u can give me and maybe u can reassure me that I did the right thing by having 2 female labs from same litter together?
I’ve done a year worth of research on black Labrador because for some reasons my skin can only cope with black lab not yellow or brown

 

All sisters fight (my sister and I included!)..in dogs that's how puppies learn bite inhibition. They might growl and nip but it really just is play at 10 weeks old. They're learning what is acceptable levels of biting and it might sound ferocious but it's all part of them learning and growing up!!

 

I'm guessing that both pups are in the same household. I understand that two litter mates, or two pups the same age is not the easiest situation to deal with, since the pups tend to bond with each other too much. You probably do need to crate them some, so they can get used to being alone some of the time. I would think that the crates ought to be in separate rooms, but that is just a guess on my part. They also need some socialization time with other dogs so they learn appropriate dog behavior.

 

Thank u so much, am bit calmer now that u have explain to me

 

Yes when they have had there full jabs we will be taking them to puppies training as well as puppies socialisation as we are hoping it will help them and calm them down, thank u for ur advice

 

I have litter mates. It is hard work to bring them up in the same household. They do best when they have more time apart than they do together for about the first year. I know this often goes against the reasons why you have two (eg company for one another) but they can become too closely bonded which has awful consequences when they do need to be apart (vet visits, family circumstances changing and, ultimately, end of life) and can also limit the strength of bond they have to their human family. I made sure my two got all their training separately, had at least one individual walk a day, normally both, and learned to be on their own. Preferably, they would have also had separate crates for sleeping, but I didn’t do this.
When they play, it’s very rough, far tougher than they play with any other dog except another litter mate of theirs who lives in the same village. It can look and sound terrifying but, for them, is normal. I always ensure there is no bullying, so they take turns as to who is “winning” throughout a session, with frequent breaks where they shake off before starting again. If this isn’t happening, then you need to intervene.

I suggest you look up “litter mate syndrome” to be aware of the potential problems you need to work to avoid. I don’t think there have been any scientific studies performed on it, but there is enough anecdotal evidence of litter mates that have needed to be rehomed because of uncontrollable aggression between them, to ensure that I worked as hard as I could to avoid it. It’s hard work and, whether it was that work I put in or whether they would have been ok anyway, I can’t possibly know, but I’d rather have put the work in needlessly than had to find a new home for one of them down the line.

 

Hey there. The puppy play is normal. I too have 2 female puppies of the same age. We are just hitting 16 weeks. However, Bella has become very aggressive towards Groot. When they are outside they play just fine. When they are inside Bella growls at Groit. At times the Groot can't get away fast enough. The puppies remain separated now because Bella will attack at any moment. Groot use to accept this but has started fighting back. The plan is to enroll them in obedience classes to reestablish my control. Bella obeys commands but when Groot is around all bets are off. Wish me luck and I highly advise training because right now playing puppy shuffle has been crazy. I'm hoping this will work because we love them both and I couldn't imagine giving one up.