45 Dogs Who Miss Being An Only Child

Hey, dog owners, tell us if this sounds familiar.

When you first brought your beloved pup home, the joy you felt was momentous. You just knew that you were going to have a great relationship — the pup had only been inside for 5 minutes and had already taken over your side of the bed.

Fast forward a few years, and you’re longing for that initial excitement again. Yes, you love Fido — of course, you do — but the heart can love more than one dog at a time. So, you pick the perfect puppy and bring him home to make the introductions. This is where the story can go wrong. Like humans, dogs don’t automatically love others, and when they have grown up basking in all your attention, it’s going to be hard for them to adjust.

To show you what we mean, we’ve compiled a collection of photos of dogs who are very, very unhappy to have a new brother or sister.

Ignoring The Problem

Everyone knows that, as humans, we tend to try to avoid many of our problems, hoping that they’ll simply go away. While we know this won’t happen, our dogs don’t — which is why, as we see here, they sometimes try to use this tactic.

This dog, named Watson, was not impressed by the newest addition to the family. He hated it so much that he stopped, turned his back on the problem, and proceeded to ignore the new pup. We wonder how long he kept this up for with the new puppy looking so cute!

Send Help

While this dog isn’t outwardly displaying signs of misery, it’s written on his face plain as day. In fact, if there are any photos on our list that accurately show the utter disgust that dogs feel when receiving a new sibling, this would be it. It’s honestly quite funny.

The look in his big brown eyes says it all. There’s no need to guess what he’s thinking. His expression can be summed up by a simple quote: “Send help”. Help indeed — the poor new pup is in for a rough first week.

Being Patient

Patience, they say, is a virtue. Puppies, they say, are adorable; Abby thinks otherwise. The gorgeous retriever here is named Abby, and she’s just received the gift of a brand new puppy pal who’s full of life — and energy. Too much energy.

Luckily, patience is one of the virtues that Abby has. This photo is an excellent example of just how patient more mature dogs can be — even though she doesn’t look particularly thrilled about the mini-me she has on her head, she’s handling it gracefully.

Lots of Love

There’s nothing quite like the first family photo after the arrival of a new baby. Although the baby in question here is a fur baby, she’s still a new baby nonetheless and, unfortunately, her brother isn’t so keen on having her around.

Regardless, this family photo is still one for the books. Just look at those cute faces! Both pups look healthy and happy — okay, “happy” might be the wrong word to describe the husky here, but you understand what we mean.

Is It Too Late To Return?

We don’t know where this dog’s owner got the new puppy from, but by the looks of things he wishes, it would go back to wherever it came from. If he could talk, he’d likely be asking his owner where the receipt is and if it’s too late to get a refund.

His owner probably wouldn’t give much thought to the idea of returning the new pup, so it’s likely a good thing that the dog can’t outwardly ask for an exchange. Instead, he gets to suffer in silence while the new pup makes a snack out of his tail.

Crying Over Blocked Stairs

If you have a sibling, you know how irritating it can be when they steal your spot at the table, fight you for the front seat of the car, or take up the entire couch during movie night. This black lab is getting his first taste of that very specific irritation.

Usually, he would join his humans upstairs — but now that the little brother is around, going upstairs whenever he wants is a thing of the past. His little brother has grown quite a fondness for lounging on the stairs and effectively blocking the path.

First Impressions

First impressions are everything. A good first impression can mean the difference between a successful job interview, a great first date, or the forging of a friendship. Judging by the look on this dog’s face, a friendship with the new pup isn’t likely on the horizon.

He’s forgotten all his manners, instead opting to let his unhappiness show through his face, which is scrunched in what can only be considered a grimace of distaste. The pup in this shot is blissfully unaware, smiling from ear to ear.

Derpy Little Brother

As an older sibling, many of us go through periods of time in which every time we look at our younger siblings, we think about how ridiculous they are. It’s something that just can’t be helped most of the time — especially seeing as we get to witness first hand most of their shenanigans.

While the pup in the background here isn’t doing anything that’s obviously silly, the look on his face is truly something. Clearly, his older brother agrees, likely filing him into the category of “derpy little brother” without a second thought.

A Biting Issue

One Colorado family, who was already blessed with a furry friend, decided that it would be a good idea to take on another slobbery mouth to feed. The human members of the family were thrilled with the idea — but the family dog? Not so much.

As it turns out, the new arrival has a serious problem with biting. You could call it a biting issue. Get it? Right; it’s not that funny. But this photo certainly is! The basset hound is obviously unimpressed but showing a generous amount of patience.

If Only The Human Wasn’t Around

Sometimes, it can be hard to deal with younger siblings. Between following you around, sleeping in your bed without asking, and hogging all of mom and dad’s attention, they can get on your nerves. This dog understands the feeling well.

Honestly, it’s probably a good thing that these pups’ owners were around — the dog in the background looks like the type of sibling that could be downright irritating at times, and the other pup would surely be taking things into his own paws if their humans left the area.

Brotherly Love

When mom brought the new baby home, this golden retriever probably wasn’t expecting to have to deal with an overly-energetic, miniature version of himself. Alas, the new pup arrived, and he quickly realized that he was now a big brother — lucky him.

As the big brother, he’s expected to deal with the pup’s unwanted advances and shows of brotherly affection. Here, we see what he faces — Charlie, the new puppy, is clearly having a great time showing his new brother how much he loves him.

Big Little Brother

It’s not that uncommon for younger siblings to grow bigger and taller than us. In fact, it almost seems like a common trend, with nearly every family that has multiple kids boasting at least one instance of this unfortunate phenomenon.

As it appears, dogs are affected by “Big Little Brother” syndrome, too — with this photo serving as a fantastic example. The larger dog is the younger dog and, for all intents and purposes, the big little brother to the smaller, older pup pictured under his paw.

Car Trip Mischief

Ugh. As if it wasn’t bad enough that on car trips, the humans make her sit on a plastic sheet, hold her pee, and deprive her of access to her favorite chew toys, they just had to insist that the new baby comes along for the ride.

For the entire trip, the pup chews, licks, and generally bothers his big sister. She just can’t get a break. Sound familiar? Yep! As it turns out, siblings are the worst people to go on car rides with regardless of species.

The Face Says It All

If we had to guess what this doggo was thinking, we’d probably assume that he was secretly willing his humans to take the new sibling back. “Sure, the new dog is cute and all, but come on, mom! He’s sitting on my head — surely that’s enough punishment for chewing your favorite slippers!”

“Can’t we take him back yet? I promise I won’t eat the chicken next time! Please? I’ll stay in my bed all day, I swear!” It’s unlikely that he’s being punished for anything, but the idea of punishment in the form of a new sibling is worthy of a chuckle.

Check Out These Fangs

You know what they say: ” When you got it, flaunt it”. Well, that’s exactly what this dog is doing! What’s better than showing off your pearly whites in a photo? Nothing! Well, if you’re the other dog in the picture, anything is probably better than being associated with this display of self-confidence.

Personal Headrest

This little brother has decided that his big bro is the perfect headrest. After all, he’s squishy, warm, and stays still for long periods! He is, essentially, the ideal personal headrest for a state-long road trip to Grandma’s in the family car.

The large white dog and older sibling, also known as the Personal Headrest, doesn’t seem quite so enthusiastic about this particular arrangement. In fact, he actually looks like he’d rather be doing anything but what this photo captures him doing.

Personal Space

If you have a sibling, you know how little the term “personal space” means. In their eyes, your space is their space — and all space is to be shared. This means that you’re often used as a jungle gym or have a smaller human clinging to your clothes, hands, or extremities. Talk about irritating!

When this only-pup asked for a new brother, she didn’t know what she was getting to. By what we see here, though? She’s starting to learn (and quickly) how easily personal space can be taken away — and never seen again.

Seating Fit For A King

Only the bravest pet owners bring their furry friends in the car! It’s not a matter of wanting to bring your pet or not – because of course, you’d want to bring your best friend along! – but it is a matter of excessive dog hair.

When this lucky boxer got the chance to ride in the car, he was surely jumping for joy. His brother, on the other hand, probably didn’t have that much fun because, as you can see, he was used as a seat the entire ride.

Best friends? Not Yet

Some siblings are best friends right from the start. They can spend hours, days, and even weeks together without bickering or getting tired of each other’s company. Some dogs are the same way — and when they are, it’s truly adorable.

These two furry siblings are not the type that gets along. Unfortunately, it looks like the younger and smaller of these two fits the classic description of an annoying little sister. Hence the reason that they can’t successfully spend days on end together without a bit of face biting.

Caught Red Pawed

If you can see this picture, you can surely figure out what’s going on. If you need help, though, we’re more than happy to inform you that this collie has just been caught red-handed chewing on and roughing up his younger brother.

From the look on his face, he knows he’s about to be in trouble. Thankfully, it doesn’t look like he was caught doing anything particularly terrible to his younger bro. If he had, the outcome would have been much worse than simply having an incriminating photo taken.

No Love Here

When the new puppy came home, this dog’s owners were more than excited; they were ecstatic. Not only did the pup look fabulous in the family photos, but the entire family (including the cat) loved him– or so they thought.

Someone – we won’t name names – wasn’t too excited about the arrival. He who won’t be named was actually pretty sour about the whole thing and took it upon himself to show his disapproval in as many ways as possible.

Unwanted Attention

There is a time and a place for sibling to sibling affections, and, according to this dog’s obvious unease, the appropriate time is never, and the appropriate place is nowhere. Not something that should happen — period. Ever.

As much as he wishes a “no affection” rule could be put into action, this photo probably just about sums up how well that’s working so far. It looks like it’s working marvelously if you ask us. What do you think?

Sleeping With The Peasant

This pug looks like he belongs in an ancient castle with a pile of pillows and cashmere blankets under his fluffy little rump. While he’s not royalty and doesn’t live in a castle, though, he does have a comfy bed to sleep in and plenty of room to stretch out.

Well, he did anyway. Now, he has to share his cozy area with his sister, and he’s not impressed with it. The look on his face makes it seem like he’s being forced to share his space with what, if he were royal, he’d call “a peasant.”

Warning: Life Ruiner

Brothers and sisters are wonderful for getting you into things that you wouldn’t have gotten into on your own. For example, had you not been out with your brother that one day, you definitely wouldn’t have had to save him from a skunk, getting sprayed in the process.

Had this big brown cutie not been out and about with his brother, he likely wouldn’t be enduring a long car ride while soaking wet. Yuck! There’s nothing worse than feeling like (and looking like!) a big wet, stinky dog.

Say Cheese

Sure, there’s a lot going on in this photo — but we want to focus on the two dogs that are front and center. After you get over the fact that the exact center of this photo is taken up by a furry butt (which isn’t our subject), your attention will rest on the two cuties in front.

Let’s face it, both of these pups are downright adorable and, in general, its the epitome of a cute family photo. However, one of the pups’ smiles looks like it’s more of a grimace than a result of being happy about taking a photo with his sibling.

No Sharing

One of the worst things about having siblings is having to share your toys. This fact is made even worse when you consider that the sibling trying to steal your toys has toys of their own — that are often the same type as the one they want to take from you.

That’s exactly what’s happening here. Both dogs have the same toy, but of course, the younger of the two wants to play with the one that his older sibling has. Why? Because what one has the other wants, and that’s almost always the way it goes.

Two In The Bed

As humans, it’s not uncommon for our younger siblings to find their way into our beds at night. When they’re scared of a movie or have had a bad dream, they run to us for comfort and to get back to sleep. But why do dogs sleep together?

The truth is, we don’t really know! It could be for warmth, or it could be because the younger brother or sister pup is scared and needing comfort. Either way, it doesn’t mean that their older sibling is happy about sharing their bed.

Sharing Is Not Caring

This snarling doggo is used to being an only child. Living with her human parents for a good portion of her life, she’s grown accustomed to eating as many treats as she wants and never having to worry about saving food for anyone else. Life was perfect — but now? Not so much.

Now, since the arrival of the new brother, she has to defend her food and mark her territory. Her brother gets anywhere near her treat, and she snaps into action; she knows what he’s up to and isn’t going to let it happen! So much for eating in peace ever again.

Giving Up

Sometimes, fighting with your siblings is just too much work. When t is, it’s time to give up. After all, what’s the worst thing that could happen when you essentially give your sibling the permission to do whatever they want to you?

If you’re lucky, he or she won’t go as far as to glue your hand to anything or to attempt to cut your hair without asking. If you’re ever luckier, though, they might just opt to use you as their TV-watching chair, much like this dog did to his older sibling.

Embarrassing Family Photo

So imagine that you’re the dog in the front of this photo. Your humans decide it’s a good day to do a photoshoot with you and your new sister and you’re not keen on the idea, but you agree just to make them happy.

Just as you’re preparing to have a cute photo taken, your little sister breaks out some of her most unbecoming behavior — dragging her butt on the ground. Of course, your humans think it’s hilarious, but you, on the other hand, wonder why they ever brought her home.

Silence

If you’ve ever been told to “shhh” or “quiet down,” you know just how annoying it can be. But if a loved one has physically silenced you, you know that it’s just an angry outburst waiting to happen. How rude!

Thankfully, this dog has more patience than we do and is handling his being silenced with relative grace and calmness. Inside his head, though, we can only imagine what he’s thinking. It’s probably a good thing that we don’t know, to be honest.

When Karma Bites Back

Here, we can see what happens when the younger sibling grows up to be bigger than their older sibling — the older sibling gets years’ worth of torment handed right back to them. As a result, the oldest realizes the error of their ways. Karma? Probably!

Most of the time, we think of Karma as something that only comes for humans, bringing us what we deserve at the right time. Well, that idea was wrong! Apparently, dogs are prone to their dose of well deserved Karma, too.

Guilty As Charged

Someone here looks like they’ve done something wrong. Can you guess who? We’ll give you a hint: their sister is giving them the “how dare you” look, which can only be categorized by the raised eyebrows and intent gaze.

Found the guilty one yet? We have! It wasn’t really that hard — especially when you look at the body language of both dogs. The guilty party – the black dog – seems as if he’s trying to push the blame away from himself.

Help?

Us humans are lucky — most of our parents won’t give birth to more than two babies at a time. Although this can still be quiet the shock, it’s way easier to deal with than being a puppy whose mother can give birth to multiple large batches of pups after you’re born.

If we were dogs and grew up with even a few of our siblings, we’d likely go pretty stir crazy. Don’t believe us? Check out the photo above! The dog in the middle looks almost as weirded out as his brother or sister- bizarre. The third sibling, we think, is simply trying to ignore them both.

Playing It Up

Have you ever known someone with a flair for the dramatics? Every time they stub their toe, it’s the biggest crisis to happen all day, and every time they get one hour less than 9 hours of sleep, they just can’t get off the couch? You probably have — we all have.

But did you know that your dog, the furry four-legged creature asleep by your feet, has probably had his share of dealing with excessive dramatics, too? We’d never considered it until now, but looking at this photo, it’s hard not to think that that’s precisely what’s going on.

Kisses For The Camera

If there’s one thing that siblings are good for, it’s showering you with unwarranted affections. Think about it; how many times has your younger brother or sister given you a giant hug or a big, sloppy kiss for no reason? More times than you can count, probably.

By the looks of things, that’s what’s going on in this candid family photo. The black dog is unabashedly showing his affections, while the grey-brown dog looks wholeheartedly miserable. The brown dog, though, looks like he’s just glad that it’s not him on the receiving end of those kisses.

Cheesin’

If you’re looking for an example of what happens when two siblings are polar opposites, this is it. The brothers here don’t look alike, act alike or even like the same things, but together they take a photo-worthy of being in the album.

What makes this photo so good is the different emotions that seem to be written across these pups’ faces. On the one hand, you have the charismatic Instagram star, and on the other, you have the “don’t take pictures of me” spokesdog.

Caught On Camera

There must be something in the air: the dog siblings of the world are being caught left, right, and center sharing intimate moments. These moments are full of tenderness, compassion, and love — except, of course, the ones that aren’t.

Like this one, perhaps? Instead of seeing two pups sharing a tender moment, we see one showering his sibling with affections that, quite frankly, the other doesn’t look like he wants. We don’t blame him: there’s only so much love that one pup can take.

Play Fetch vs Play Fight

There’s a saying that “boys will be boys,” but maybe it should say something more along the lines of “brothers will be brothers” because – let’s face it – they will be. Regardless of species, a brother will be a brother, and he’ll likely ruin your life.

He might not ruin it entirely, but it can and will feel like he is most of the time. Take these two brothers, for example. They were playing a friendly game of fetch with their owner when suddenly, the little brother decided that he’d rather play fight than play catch. Big brother’s life? Ruined.

Posh and Proper

Dapper. Posh. Regal. Elegant. These are all words that could be used to describe the dog in the foreground of this photo. With a plaid collar and his long legs crossed, he looks like true gentlemen. If he were ever to make a dating profile, this would definitely be his profile photo.

Wait — maybe not. Why? Check out the background! His brother, who his humans thought was “adorable and quirky,” is essentially photobombing the photo with his rear end. Legs up, belly up, and letting it all hang out, he sure looks comfortable.

Back Up, Bro

Sometimes, when you look at a photo, you can come up with an entire backstory for it. This is one of those photos. Coming up with a backstory was easy, thanks to the comical looks on the faces of the dogs captured here.

If we were to guess, the shepherd would be saying something like, “Woah, bro, back up. I’m not ripping slippers with you”, while the dalmatian would be saying something along the lines of “I just stole mom’s favorite slipper! Quick, let’s go rip it up! Come on!

Here We Go Again

When your brother or sister roughs you up enough, you eventually stop trying to fight it. You learn just to roll over and let it happen — that way, the ordeal is over a lot quicker than if you had tried to defend yourself.

That’s one of the many lessons that this pup learned after his family added a new member to the household. While he doesn’t enjoy being sat on, allowing it to happen is far better than having his life ruined for an extra five minutes by fighting about it.

Sleeping Easy

The addition of a new puppy is exciting for the whole family. The only one who might not be too pleased with the addition is the original family dog, who’s used to sleeping in peace and quiet and wherever/whenever she wants.

This dog sleeps like a baby. Or, at least, she used to. Since the introduction of her new brother? Not so much! Here, we can see the reason for her sleep disturbances, and, to be fair, we’d be rather disturbed by having our heads laid on, too.

Are We Done Yet?

We feel for this dog. He just wants to have a nice relaxing nap, maybe catch a few birds in his dreams, and then wake up to peace and relaxation. But life with a puppy isn’t usually that easy and is almost ever that peaceful.

In this household, the family dog wakes up to his younger sibling, pawing at him daily. Hopefully, he’s a morning person because if not, that’s one way to start the day off on the wrong foot. On the bright side, though, the puppy might just be cute enough to avoid his older sibling’s wrath.

Sneak Attack

You have to admit; there’s something to be admired about the way younger siblings can sneak up on you. Yes, it’s annoying, and yes, it makes you wish you were an only child sometimes, but it’s still pretty impressive, right?

After looking at this photo, the only conclusion we can draw is that the dog on the bottom – yes, there are two dogs here! – must practice positive thinking and seeing the good in all situations. How else would he be able to cope with these ever-so-frequent sneak attacks?