Can You Have Multiple Dogs Without One That

[Bubitty]

Bubby just sat in front of me, giving me a huge smile so I have him a cookie for being a gentleman!

Sorry to disappoint

Bubby KNOWS THE TRICKS!

he has been well rewarded by sitting, he knows darn well what you're cooking, and he knows when you are likely to feed him treats !!!

Nothing gentlemanly about it, sorry---- he just was waiting for something better than a dollop of icing on the floor :p

Ahh well! I suppose he deserves that cookie if that was his line of thought!

My poor Bitty! Icing off the floor!

[persephone]

[Diva]

If resources are plentiful, you are a clear and equitable leader, and you have two fairly calm and self-confident dogs, there is no great reason their pack order should be apparent to you day-to-day, IMO. To me its a sign that you are doing a good job (although having 2 different genders helps).

Pack order can also be contextual. The primary leader may take a back seat for some situations, but rise to the fore in others, it's not always black and white.

Edited February 8, 2010 by Diva

[Dame Aussie]

Hard to tell with our two. Mosley is twice Lilis weight but she definitely bosses him around.

Having said that though, if it's in regard to bones/food, Mosley can turn into "Cave Dog" quite quickly.

A bit OT I know but can I ask people with two or more dogs, what's the best way to stop the resource guarding behaviour??

[Erny]

A bit OT I know but can I ask people with two or more dogs, what's the best way to stop the resource guarding behaviour??

• Ensure that YOU are leader in the minds of your dogs.
  
• Keep dogs separate when feeding.
  

I would hazard a good guess, I think, that many altercations between two family dogs start over food. Initially all is good. Dogs get older. Then there is a scuffle (anything from minor through to serious) and voila! .... there is not only a learnt behaviour but the tussles can escalate from there towards other things.

[juice]

i have been observing this recently after adding a new member, he is an 8 year old bt, very calm boy. ;)

we have 3 kennels outside, one a huge igloo, which can fit my other 2 in easily, and they do sleep in it every night.

however new boy ( mason) has taken a shine to it :D

he lays in it stretched out, neither of the other 2 will go in, although ozzie my young cattle will sit right outside it, i am assuming he is waiting for him to get out? or is he trying to intimaidate him out? by morning, the other 2 are in the igloo and he is in one of the other kennels.

[SpikesPuppy]

Our 3 (Border Terrier male 5.5 years, Border Terrier female almost 3yrs & smooth Collie female 18 months, all entire), generally get along very well, share beds and toys etc and are fine when being dished out treats HOWEVER the 2 girls need to be supervised more carefully when playing with toys as if it gets too frantic, they will have a bust-up over it. The other day Nessa (collie) had her head in the recycle bin licking an empty dog food tin. Ziva, female BT, growled at her (which is not uncommon, Ziva will often growl if one of the other dogs is trying to get something off the bench etc, but she never goes any further), so mum put the tin on the window sill until she could get outside to put it in the main recycle bin. Ziva then launched herself at Nessa, fortunately mum grabbed Nessa by the scruff and was able to peel Ziva off (I wasn't home). It was interesting because every other fight they have had (about 3), Nessa had started it and Ziva had just retaliated.

However Nessa & Caber seem to get along perfectly, all Caber has to do is look at Ness and she will submit or go away. Occasionally she pushes his buttons by pouncing on him etc and he will snap after a while, but he never has to bite her or get aggressive.

ETA: The two terriers can do anything together, playing, feeding etc. I supervise but never have I had to intervene between the two of them.

Edited February 8, 2010 by SpikesPuppy

[Gayle.]

Benson is top dog here, and he's the only neuter. I have a 15yo entire Lhasa Apso, and Dusty who is also entire and Benson is definitely top of the totem pole. But he's a benevolent dictator, he never snaps, growls or causes a fuss with the girls, He simply takes what they have and they let him.

But ultimately he knows whoi's in charge and if he's heading for Dusty's dinner (we don't feed out oldie with the Aussies), I just have to say "Uh, uh" and he ducks his head and does a u-turn. I can usually tell when he's targetting what Dusty has, he assumes a certain posture and if I can cut him off I will. But sometimes I don't........it keeps the order in place if he IS allowed to be the top dog sometimes when I'm watching.

(I don't let him take her food but sometimes I'll let him take a toy from her then I'll give it back to her later when he's dropped it).

[flyingduster]

Bubby Lets her have her way and has never ever told her off. I notice that Bubby is always rolling over on his back when he plays with her.

........

He would stop playing with her and walk away if she got too rowdy, she’d start howling/crying and then he’d walk back to her, lie down and let her resume jumping all over him.

........

Bitty finds her old trotter/bone and carries it around, throws it in the air. Bubby looks interested in it but doesn’t do anything and goes to ask to be let inside again.

........

Nothing happened for a few seconds and then Bitty moved in to lick the icing.

it sounds to me like Bitty is slightly above Bud. They aren't an obvious dominant/submissive because they don't need to be (they're beneath you, that's all that really matters) but it does sound like Bud will bow down to Bitty more than she would to him. It's not that she is a bossy dominant dog and demands that he give up the spot by the bed etc, but if she DID, I bet ya he'd give in to her!

When confronted with a clear choice of who gets first option of something, it seems to be Bitty who takes it? I'm talking about something THEY choose though. See if you told Bud to do something first, he would, because you're the boss, not Bitty. In saying that I'm sure Bitty would happily let Bud have something good if she didn't want it much too! lol.

Eg they didn't muscle each other for the icing because you were there; you have the right to take it first. When you didn't, Bitty stepped in above Bud.

For me I had two girls, both spayed. Riki my terrier was the boss initially, because she was my original dog and had always been the top dog [of the dogs, not the people!] of the house (my personal pet, slept in my bed, was allowed throughout the house when the big dogs weren't etc) and for a long time she remained the boss over Paris, but slowly I have realised that Paris is now dominant. Riki is older, and now she's used to Paris, she simply doesn't mind Paris anymore, and Paris has quietly and easily moved up a notch without me even realising! lol. Both dogs will share the water bowl at the same time, but Paris will barge in if Riki is drinking, where as Riki will edge over to it or just wait if Paris is drinking. Riki rolls over a lot when playing, Paris rears up. Paris will push past Riki etc without any grumbling or anything from her (which she previously did tell Paris off about) But in saying all of that, Paris is such an easy-going dog, she doesn't care if Riki is charging about or anything either, and has never ever ever told Riki 'off' for *anything* (whereas Riki can be very vocal and tell Paris off a lot at times!), she simply assumes she's better, and Riki conceeds. lol!

[Bubitty]

Benson is top dog here, and he's the only neuter. I have a 15yo entire Lhasa Apso, and Dusty who is also entire and Benson is definitely top of the totem pole. But he's a benevolent dictator, he never snaps, growls or causes a fuss with the girls, He simply takes what they have and they let him.

See Bubby has never taken anything that Bitty has. When she was about 4 months old, I watched him back off and let her pick between the two bones they had. Then when she picked the bone she liked he went and resumed eating the one that was leftover. But she was pretty good natured when she went to try out his bone. To me it was more of a brainless puppy move rather than a "Back off Bubby I want your bone!"

Now that I have trained her that interfering with Bubby's food is a nono she doesn't do it anymore but Bubby himself has never even attempted to lick her food even when she was a pup. He sits on the porch and waits for her to finish dinner or he asks me to let him inside. When she's done he will go and have a sniff at her dinner spot.

My other theory is that he is bigger and stronger but can't be bothered taking her food/toys etc. He is very mellow and lazy so perhaps this has translated over into his relationship with her as well???

[Gayle.]

At 4 months, it doesn't count. He still sees her as a baby. Babies get away with heaps of things that adolescents don't.

It's good when it's like that, because you have a peaceful household. My animal pack are very peaceful, they all have their place, they all know their place and they know that I'm in charge, not them.

Bigger and stronger doesn't necessarily mean higher up the order though. I watched my sons dogs when they were her at Xmas, his English Setter was very submissive to their little pound rescue malti-x. They are around the same age and they've had the setter for a few months longer but their little girl was most definitely in charge, and she could eat her dinner with the setter right next to her, practically drooling in her bowl and she knew he wouldn't touch her food. In fact, occassionally she'd flick a bit his way, which just cracked me up when I saw it. But he didn't dare take any out of her bowl.

[Paulp]

My male labrador is half as big again and towers over my female lab (both fixed and about the same age). If you watched their day to day interactions you would probably think she is the dominant dog. She frequently mounts him and when they play he frequently rolls on his back and allows her to jump on top of him and pin him to the ground. They feed side by side, sleep together and will happily eat from the same bowl with no growling or carry on. When it really comes down to it though, for something of very high value, he gives her a look and she backs off and gives him plenty of space.