1 ddog is a new little sh1t

[disneyspendingmoney]

2 ddogs, litter brothers, 1 a smidge smaller than the other. He's a mean little bastard, when I feed them he always snarks at his bigger brother, stops him from eating.

If I feed in different rooms, he'll sit outside the door and wait, ignoring his own food.

He's a real dick about feed time, I'm fed up of it.

Any advice about changing this behaviour?

ps got the title wrong

Have a read up of littermate syndrome. Does any of it ring a bell?

Why on earth did you get two littermates? No responsible breeder would have sold you them together.

What's the problem with feeding them separately as you describe? Does he not then eat his food AFTER he's waited and seen that his brother has finished?

how old are they btw and what breed?

I inherited the dogs when my X left, who was supposed to be an expert in all thing dog, constantly told me I knew nothing, the only thing I was good for was walking them, first thing in the morning (aka the hangover)) andst thing at night (aka the drinking).

He does wait and then eat, if I feed them together he snaps at his brother and bullies him away from his bowl.

Littermate syndrome didn't know there was such a thing and a reputable breeder wouldn't do that? The story of these dogs gets worse by the day.

ATM he's sitting front of both bowls being a nasty little shit.

Just read up on littermate syndrome

*Fear of strangers (people and dogs)
*Fear of unfamiliar stimuli
*High level of anxiety when separated even for a short time
*Failure to learn basic obedience commands
[link]healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2015/12/28/amp/littermate-syndrome.aspx

and they exhibit none of that.
No fear of strangers, they are too friendly by half
No fear of anything unfamiliar, very inquisitive dogs
No anxiety at all.
Got all the commands.

So don't think littermate syndrome

Aggression is also a key sign of Littermate Syndrome.

What breed age are they Op ?
Sounds like he is a bully & I wouldn't worry about him ignoring his own food ,I'd keep them separate so that the other poor dog can eat in peace ,once the bully realises he's not getting the other food he should start ignoring.

It might take a while for the bullied dog to accept it's ok to eat but persevere,you'll get there !
My four now all eat in the 4 corners of the kitchen.

I should've said ,mine are not litter mates but the youngest was bullied by her siblings so either wouldn't eat or picked up a bit of food & ran away with it .

Perhaps my interpretation of aggressive behaviour in dogs, isn't up to par. But the behaviour is more of a back off bark. The bigger dog then sits and waits until smaller has finished.

They are no where near as aggressive as dogs that have attacked (funnily the smaller one) them in the street. If I use the command "behave" near other dogs, they will wait until they are allowed to be introduced

They might not be aggressive towards others but there are obviously issues between the two of them. Could you get a behaviourist in to watch a mealtime and assess the situation? Or video the behaviour to show someone?

The website you mentioned above does state the following:

Bullying and aggression between siblings seems to happen more often than between unrelated dogs, and it can get nasty. Many well-intentioned dog guardians have terrible tales to tell about the harm caused to one sibling by the other.

It might only be barking now but it could easily escalate. Are there any other worrying behaviours between them?

Litter mates very,very often have food issues.
You need to feed them separately or it will escalate.

I'll definitely bear that all I'm mind.
I wouldn't say there was any other troubling behaviour between them, they play nicely, the small one will bring a toy to his brother when he wants to play. They sleep together, they'll sit nicely together, they go for long snuffs together.

Only it's this food thing that is a bit annoying.

They are both fussy eaters though.

I would slowly start working on them being separate for different activities, so when time permits - solo walks, solo play sessions etc. Every now and then separate them into different rooms. Make sure they can be independent from each other.

Keep feeding them separately. That's really important.
If the smaller dog doesn't eat within a certain time frame, remove the food, and try and again later. If hes hungry, he'll eat. Keep to a strict feed time schedule. Introduced maybe a little bit of gravy onto the food to encourage eating.