A Favourite Furchild? - Management Tips for Multi Dog Homes

Living in a multi dog home is always an interesting, exciting experience. No day is ever the same. The different personalities, their likes and dislikes, and their uniqueness really shines through when you have dogs living side by side. Who can complain about seeing two (or more!) wiggly, smiling faces when you get home from an outing, or go on an adventure together! 

And while there are many positives to multi dog homes, there are also some really important things to keep in mind… because unlike human children, our dogs are often expected to spend the majority of their time together, sharing the same experiences, and routine. 

Outlined below are some tips on how to make sure your household remains harmonious - because it’s good to be aware of how to set everyone up for success!

Resources

Resources are things your dog values, such as food, water, their people, their bed areas, toys and so on. With multiple dogs in the house, there is an element of competition for these resources.

To manage this:

• Have plenty of everything through the house! If you have 2 dogs, have 3 separate sleeping areas, 3 water bowls in different rooms, always buy 3 new toys instead of two etc…
• When it comes to feeding your dogs, feed them in totally separate spaces out of eye-line so neither dog can hang around and intimidate the other while they’re still eating.
• Toys - play independently with each dog to prevent over-arousal and competitive behaviour and to ensure you build a responsive relationship with each dog.

Boundaries

• If one dog ever growls at another in the home, DO NOT tell them off! 
• Growling is a normal form of communication, and while it can seem a little intimidating, it is a sign that one dog is uncomfortable or wants some space. 
• Don’t leave it up to the uncomfortable dog to get to a further point of reprimanding the house mate. Remove your other dog, or whatever item is causing conflict, and be the responsible referee of these interactions.
• Boundaries like baby gates, or being put in separate rooms for periods of time can really help dogs feel like they aren’t under pressure.

Babysitting

• If you have dogs with significant age differences, keep in mind that your older dog is NOT a babysitter! They may not wish to spend their day mentoring a puppy.
• It is important you spend quality time with both dogs independent of each other.
• If you do not spend adequate time with your young dog, it will take all the guidance and learnings from your older dog (yes, this includes bad habits!). 
• Ideally, your pup will look to you in situations for guidance, but if they have been left to learn off your older dog, you will be irrelevant in most, if not all, situations.

Playtime

• If your dogs want to play that’s totally fine, but play must be permissive on both sides. That means that neither dog is trying to retreat or being bullied or bullying the other.
• If one dog has had enough and tries to move away from the other, that’s a sign they want a play break. 
• Your job is to referee the game, so if one dog fails to read that it’s play break time you need to calmly intercept with a hand gesture or vocal and move them away. 
• The dog that initiated the break will re-engage in play when they’re ready. If they don’t re-engage in play, the game is over.

Expectations! 

It’s really important to understand that if you work and dogs are together all day, you will have limited influence over them, unless you invest sufficient time independently, without your other dog present. 
What your dogs practise together at home is how they will interact with other dogs out and about, as well - so if they play rough, then they might not have the appropriate manners when they see other dogs not in their unit.
Having multiple dogs in a household can be extremely rewarding. But we must ensure that each dog's individuality is respected. They are special, so recognising and valuing one on one time, boundaries, and their personalities is the key to experiencing the true joys of multiple sets of paws in the home.

Authored by 
Brooke Rapira
Prime Pups Educator & Dog Sport Instructor
Sarah Endres
Dog Trainer and Behaviour Advisor