ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
by Diana

Hello everyone. I am maltese sitting Macy's littermate sister for a few days. They have seen each other often since we brought them home to live with us. (In seperate homes). We try to get them together a couple of times a week. They seem to love each other and play vigorously. However sometime they get to playing so rough one ends up letting out a whine. Sometime you can hear a growl. Is this normal behavior for littermates? Will they always havea bond since they are sisters, or is it just an individual thing. They are 9 weeks old now. sometimes I think I should seperate them not being sure if they are hurting each other or not. Anyone have experience with this?

DISCUSSION:

They're not hurting each other. All of ours have always acted exactly as you're describing. I think they growl to TRY to scare the other ones. It usually doesn't work.
-Jay

Shayna (6 1/2 months old) and KoKo (22 months old) are adopted sisters and, I sometimes think they play too rough. It seems Shayna starts the rough house and usually is the one crying at the end. One thing that upsets me is Shayna always manages to get KoKo's top knot out and I have to redo it. When I've had enough I clap my hands and say " no fight' and they look at me and stop. It appears after 4 months of them living together they are still trying to decide who is top dog. KoKo is almost twice Shayna's weight so we know who is top dog, but she keeps challenging it. They really love each other and are just playing together. We have left them alone for a few hours at a time without putting Shayna in her crate and everything is always fine. That's the true test, being alone together. The have really bonded.
-Shelley

Cloud lived with us for four years before we got our rescue Clancy. He also lived with a cat he was allergic to for a little over a year. He liked the cat better. He still hasn't decided to like Clancy. They are always together and they play a little. But he growls at her all the time. Whenever she gets too close to him he growls. She likes to sit on top of him and he can't stand it. He will get after her and she ignores him until he gets up and walks away. Once in a while he will push her buttons and she will growl then back he runs away. Cloud could hold the position of top dog in the house he weighs almost nine pounds. She is right at six, but she is the one who always gets her way whenever they squabble. I think that after a year they are secretly beginning to like eachother, but Cloud won't admit it to anyone yet.
-Carina

Harlee Dee & Travis are no different. Travis will physically push Harlee out of the way to get where ever first. When they play, Harlee will pounce on Travis, Travis will growl and start running, Harlee chases after him, she grabs his tail in her mouth(while they're running), Travis flips around growling furiously at Harlee, and then chases her. I just figured they were the typical "married couple" !!!! But when my Mom visits, she gets upset because it does look and sound as if they're fighting. However, my little Harlee DOES RULE !!!!
-Karen Kalamaras