Personalities and arrangements in multi-dog households
Hi everyone! I was just thinking about future puppies, and wanted to ask those of you who have more than one dog, what their personalities are like, and if you consciously picked a dog because you thought they would get along with the dog you already have? Or did you just figure they'd get along?
Right now I only have Mickey, but I'm sure in the future I'll want at least one more, if not two. Or three. Haha. I'm not the best judge of dog personality, but I think he's more dominant than not, since he's kinda bossy and seems to think everything belongs to him and he'll growl and try to pick fights with other dogs (at home) if he thinks they're trying to take away his things. So I'm guessing if I get a 2nd dog, I should try to get one that's more submissive. But what about if I had 3 dogs? Should I make sure the other 2 are both submissive? Or is there a way that 2 dominant dogs can get along? If you've had 2+ dogs in your house, I'm definitely interested to hear your opinion.
Also I was wondering for those of you that have more than one dog, what are your dogs' living arrangements like? In our house, Mickey's crate is in my room, under my desk. And he mostly stays in my room since when I first got him, I had a housemate with a chihuahua that didn't really like him and got annoyed every time he tried to play with her. Now that they've moved out, he's slowly getting more and more free run of the house. But I think I'll keep leaving his crate in my room since that's where he spends most of his time. Not to mention, he still has the tendency to try to bolt for the door when the chance presents itself... so I'm being cautious when he gets free run of the house. Whenever I get a 2nd dog though, I don't know if I should try to squeeze in a 2nd crate in my room? Or put both of them out in the living room? I'd feel bad if I left one in the living room and one in my room... For those of you with 2 or more, where do your dogs sleep? And where do you put their crates and/or beds?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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I would definitely think in terms of what type of personality will work best with your other dog. Usually a good breeder will have some ideas for you if you can describe your dog's personality. The most important thing though is that you have your current dog trained and listening to you before adding another.
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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When you have multiple dogs you have to be the one in charge, that means you know what you're doing and the dog knows that too.... you can't fake it or bully your way through it. Like Bev says, get him well trained, in formal classes with other dogs. Classes are really for owners to learn how to teach their dogs and get the desired results under the demanding conditions of class interaction. . In a good class, with a good instructor who uses positive methods, you will learn a lot from what the other dogs and people do in the class, as well as from what happens with you and your dog. Go as far as you can with the training, then maybe try Agility, if that is available to you. Have fun with your own one dog while you both learn together. By the time you've done all that, you will have a clearer idea of how to handle a second dog. Don't be tempted to jump the gun. When you add a second dog, opposite sex is usually a safer bet.
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Permalink Reply by Lemmy Winks on
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You need to be alpha when you have one dog, but you really need to be alpha with multiple.
Avoid "special treatment" of any one dog eg. Pooch 1 is allowed on the bed but pooch 2 isnt. Enforce clear structure.
Pilot was under a year old, so a puppy still himself when I got Lemmy.
Both my dogs have wildly different personalities. Pilots very "I will please you master" based, tendencies to get territorial, and needs mental stimulation (Hes a hound lol) where Lemmy is more independent, and opportunity seeking lol (corgi)
Research is just as important. Even if you think you know a lot about a breed you're considering, take the 5-15 mins to hop on google and look into it a bit more. :) You can never know to much!
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Bev and Anna have given you very good information. You need to "correct" some of his behaviors he has now before ever thinking of adding a new dog or it won't be fair to the new dog. Classes are the best way to help him and you will learn so much valuable information with a positive trainer. It is much more difficult with each dog you add and they will need your guidance and rules to be happy together.
As for worrying about where to put the new dog...when you are ready you will have more insight as to what to do with the 2nd dog. It also takes time to introduce new dogs to an already existing dog.
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Permalink Reply by Rebecca on
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We had three dogs before we found Sasha. Two female, one male. We ended up just being long term fosters for them. Toby would usually growl or snap at them if they got in his personal space. Toby is allowed on the bed. Who am I kidding I don't allow him, he comes up here anyways lol. Sasha was allowed in our bedroom but she knocked my glasses off the nightstand and chewed off the end of one side and was working on the other. She also went into heat shortly after we got her so for now in the kennel she stays. Honestly if Toby was crate trained in the least and my husband would allow it I'd keep both dogs in kennels. After we get Sasha fixed and work on the chewing and paper eating I will probably retire the kennel and have both dog in the bedroom at night if not both in the bed. I keep the kennel in our laundry room. It's a left over from my fostering days and is quite large and our bedroom barely has room for our bed. If I were you, I would put both kennels out of the bedroom. Little sounds, like the tag hitting the side of the kennel, wake me up momentarily as does random woofing in the night(Toby not Sasha). It's all about what you can live with. If there is not room in the bedroom for both kennels then find a better place for both. Happy mom happy house.
Toby came as part of the package deal for my husband and is afraid of most things. He's also very territorial of my husband. Toby won't let out daughter come near him. In fact he's afraid of most children. The other three dogs were great but Toby couldn't stand them. We got very lucky finding Sasha.
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