For those with multiple dogs

[CollieMan]

I'm just wondering how those of you with multiple dogs approach various things, such as:

walking: do you walk both (all) at the same time, and both on the same side of you, or one at either side, etc?

training: do you train individually, and if so what do you do with the other dog(s) when you are training.

feeding: I presume you feed all dogs at the same time, but of not, what do you usually do?

 

[Jean Cote]

I'm just wondering how those of you with multiple dogs approach various things, such as:

walking: do you walk both (all) at the same time, and both on the same side of you, or one at either side, etc?

training: do you train individually, and if so what do you do with the other dog(s) when you are training.

feeding: I presume you feed all dogs at the same time, but of not, what do you usually do?

I walk them separately, one at a time, because I take them to the park to train each one individually.

If I train inside, one is in another room where he does not disturb us.

 

[yoyopoodle]

Good topic

When I had two adults (Charlie and Max, a neutered male Poodle - 28" and rather dominant) they did everything together - that's how they wanted it! Charlie seemed to think "Max is my big brother - he can do anything!", while Max had decided "Charlie is my little brother - I'll let him do anything!"

Max and Charlie would go on the same walk, but I switched-up who was 'working' and who could sniff... sometimes I had them both at heel, or both at side, or one on each, but most of the time I let at least one do anything but pull.

For clicker training I'd put one dog in another room, but any other training I'd have them in the same room so that both would be learning. I would have each practice their stays while the other worked/played. I also did some multi-dog tricks (over/under each other etc), and alternating one command each, and both responding to a single command.

They ate in their bowls right next to each other (they often decided to share from the same bowl, even if two were out). There was no need to feed them separately, though I did make sure they would eat their food in their kennels and otherwise alone so that they didn't depend on the other's presence (makes it hard to travel for shows if only one dog is coming).


Currently, since Harmony is a puppy, I've been putting her in an x-pen to watch Charlie. She has started learning to respond to commands at the same time as other dogs, but she's not ready for sit or down stays while another is moving.

My room-mates dog/s can be a little possessive of food, so I feed the puppy in her crate which also makes house-breaking easier.

For me, if I trust dogs to play together then I have already started teaching them to work together (working usually comes first, actually).

 

[tx_cowgirl]

Hi CollieMan
Walking:
I prefer to walk one on either side, but once I get a coupler I am going to see how walking on one side works. ^^ Of course, then I got Mud...and I usually walked Nick by himself anyway, simply to avoid the rather large paws of the other dogs. ^^ Lol. But anyway, now I usually have two on one side and two on the other.
Training:
Depends on the dog. Zeke has a terribly short attention span anyway, and I can't train him with other dogs there. Not at all. So, I either take him to the field near my house or I put the other dogs either in or out while I am in/out. With Mud, I have Rusty and Zeke outside. (They like to "help," lol.) I leave Nick in though, because he doesn't really get in the way, and Mud isn't too distracted by him anymore. I prefer to train each individually in the beginning, as it seems to be just easier on them and me. Once they've got the trick, I bring in one, then later another...I think you get the idea.
I like being able to give the command "stay" and have all of them stay, of course, but when first teaching a trick I only work one at a time.
Feeding: I don't feed them side by side. My dogs aren't food aggressive, but I still just prefer not to feed them right next to each other. Mud eats in her kennel, simply because when I got her she was extremely food aggressive and her fosters had always fed her there. Plus, Rusty eats much faster than everyone else, and tends to see if anyone else has something to munch on. (All it takes is an "Aaaah!" to get him to leave their food alone, but this can sometimes lead to food aggression if you let it continue. The other dog may learn that if he doesn't eat fast or defend his food, he won't have any. So really it just depends on the dogs.)
Hope this helps!

 

[storm22]

good questin

walking:
i walked them seperatly in the beggining just so koda could learn to heel nicely and storm doesnt like to go slow (so puppy walking bored him)
but now they walk together, one on each side sometimes but storm will still come to my left and walk he usually goes on either side whatever suits him most times you'll find him walking behind me if he's on lead (i thinks its a farm dog thing he's always done it)

training:
i train them seperatly, most of the time but storm untied himself yesterday (hes learning of the horses how to do that) when i was working koda so i did some training both dogs at the same time (it looked cute, both dogs sitting, lying down, coming and even begging)

feeding:
i feed them at the same time but apart (storm has been the only dog for 5years in his yard) but his bowl goes down first then i put koda in her kennel run to eat (alpha goes first) i stick her in there for two reasons, she didnt like being in there when we first got her (it kinda like crate training with her kennel) and storm finishes first, and he wanted to eat hers too when she was young, but all you have to say is ahhh!! and he comes away, but hes cunning i watch him get her bone the other day, he rolled on his back after he finished his and played she got curious and went over with her bone and dropped it so he picked it up and walked off with it (brat)

 

[leema]

walking: do you walk both (all) at the same time, and both on the same side of you, or one at either side, etc?

I walk them individually. Mac has on-lead dog aggression issues - which I am working on and need as many hands as I can. I also don't want Clover to learn this. Clover likes to bark on lead, and it's a problem I'm trying to nip in the bud. So far so good, but if Mac's there it makes it hard!
We have gone for one walk all together, and that was at 5:45am in the morning - no dogs for Mac to bark at, nothing really for Clover to bark at! Brillant.

training: do you train individually, and if so what do you do with the other dog(s) when you are training.

Yes, I train individually. I use a marker word which is the same for both dogs. I just lock the other dog outside or inside, depending on where I am training.

feeding: I presume you feed all dogs at the same time, but of not, what do you usually do?

Clover gets breakfast and Mac doesn't. Mac gets told "outside", and gets a small treat (i.e. a piece of kibble) for going outside. Clover then gets fed/trained inside.
For dinner, it's similar, but Mac gets an actual meal instead of a bit of kibble. Mac won't take Clover's food but Clover thinks about taking Mac's. I'm not sure how Mac would react to Clover trying to take his food, but I rather not find out. So far he seems just avoidant but don't want to push is buttons! (Both dogs are fine with me taking food off them, of course.)

Hope that helps.

 

[l_l_a]

this book is really useful, we used it when we have fostered multiple dogs at the same time
http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB722

 

[nereis]

Walked together with one on each side of me, Alfie gets the bulk of the training as Jess is an old girl now, and she normally sits at the top of the stairs while we train in the shut off dining room. They are fed in different rooms, although the doors are still open to both room. They both sleep in my room but luckily Alfie prefers to sleep on the floor, so that's fine.