Working with more than one dog

[RSystems]

What is the best way of training with more than one dog. In my case 3 dogs.

 

On there own they are reasonably responsive, but together particularly 2 of them together form a pack mentality.

 

At home it is not so much a problem but walking thy tend to tug on their leads and run off when off-lead.

 

Of course I don't mind them running off and enjoying themselves but for their own safety need them to return when called.

 

Are their any training techniques, exercises that work particularly well with small packs

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello, and welcome to the forums!

 

Training a dog requires giving the dog lots of individual attention, especially initially. You will need to pay attention to what the dog does, concentrate on his progress and possibly carry several items in your hands (treats for luring and then rewarding, a clicker if you use it). On top of this, you need to focus on the dog's body language for signs of motivation, eagerness or tiring or stress.

 

While there are many training methods nowadays, a popular one that yields fast results is luring (which is mostly used throughout the course), where a treat is used as a guide to get the dog perform a desired behavior and is then quickly faded to primarily being used as reinforcement. It would be close to impossible using two hands to lure two untrained dogs side-by-side without creating confusion. Additionally, it would become confusing using the clicker/verbal marker since both dogs will likely perform the desired behavior at different times.

 

Another consideration is that in the initial stages of training, it is important to start training in an area free of distractions. To one dog, the presence of another dog or more dogs, is a strong distraction. As you can attest, some dogs tend to get into "pack mentality" and influence each other, feeding off each others' emotions. If for example, you are training in one room and one dog is reactive to a noise and takes off, the other dog will likely leave and go check things out with his buddy too. Soon, you are left with no dogs to train as these distractions have won over you.

 

Not to mention, dogs may also tend to compete for attention. In a dog training scenario, competition may involve a dog owner's attention with the added bonus of the presence of a odoriferous treat bag clipped to a belt. Intrusions are almost a certainty with these dogs, with them getting in between repeatedly if no measures are taken to keep these dogs under control and out of the way.

 

It is therefore important that, in the initial stages of training, each dog is provided with attention until he or she grasps the concept, and then, only then, other dogs can be brought into the picture. The more dogs in a household, the more crucial it is that all dogs are well-trained and well-behaved.

 

You would therefore first select one dog to work with. In the meanwhile, you will have to find a way to keep the other dogs out of the way. You can keep your other dogs in another room, behind a baby gate, in their crates, tethered, or in the yard. If you choose to crate them, you can provide the non-working dogs with a safe chew toy or food-dispensing toy to keep them busy. They'll soon look forward to this training routine without getting frustrated waiting their turn to be trained.

 

If you choose to use a see-through baby gate, from where your dogs can watch you train, consider that they may get frustrated and impatient and this may lead to barking which can be a major distraction. If your dogs though are able to stay calm, reap the benefit of having them observe your training. Studies have shown that dogs learn faster if they watch other dogs being trained. On top of this, by watching, the motivation for the other n0n-working dogs will increase by the time it's their turn.

 

If your dogs have had some basic training and know how to hold a solid down stay on a mat, you can teach them to patiently wait their turns, laying on the mat, as you train each dog individually. In the midst of training, can pause and drop a treat on the non-working dogs' mats every now and then to reward them for being chill.

 

The order in which you train is important. While it's good to vary, watch how your dogs are behaving and choose accordingly. If you have one dog who shows signs of frustration or impatience more than the others (whining, pacing, barking, scratching himself often which is a displacement activity) make sure you ignore him (tune him out completely) and go get him as soon as he is calmer. He should soon grasp the concept that patience pays off.

 

Alternatively, you can enlist the help of other family members to help train each dog individually and even in the same room mimicking the group classes dog trainers hold. In such a case, make sure that all members are on the same page as to training methods and verbal cues used.

 

Once you have trained each dog individually and they all have shown signs of grasping the concept and each dog has demonstrated the proficiency of being able to respond in the training room, but also in other areas of the home and the yard, it is time to add another dog. Which dog should you add though? You may be far better off picking as a combo your most proficient dog, and then adding in your next proficient one and so forth. Once you are done mixing up the dogs in combos of two, further raise criteria, and add a further dog until you have your dogs in a group.

 

At that point, you can use an attention grabbing cue such as "dogs" (a cue that will come to signify that all dogs must collectively respond) followed by your verbal cue such as "sit" or "down" etc. You can then reward the fastest dogs to comply working down to the slowest ones.

 

Group training works wonderfully for important cues such as all dogs waiting before you open a door, responding to a smacking sound when the postal carrier approaches, having your dogs all lie down politely on their mats during your meal times, asking your dogs to do a group sit/stay or down/stay and then releasing them and calling your dogs (watch them competing rushing towards you!) and even holding sit-stays for great group pictures.

 

I hear you about the walks. A group walk with all dogs behaving nicely takes time, and it usually can't be accomplished until each dog has mastered the art of polite leash walking on an individual basis.

 

To better understand why this is quite a difficult task consider that training a dog to walk nicely on leash requires careful monitoring of what the dog is doing and at the same time repeatedly scanning the environment. If the dog is pulling ahead, you will have to stop in your tracks to prevent rewarding the pulling, then get your dog back into heel position and start walking again as long as the leash is nice and loose. I like to nickname this powerful training method as the brake/accelerator system. A tense leash is your break and a loose leash is your accelerator.

 

It is close to impossible to provide this feedback with clarity if you have one dog who is pulling while the other is walking nicely by your side. On top of this, if both dogs are pulling ahead, having both dogs return to you in heel position could lead to annoying tangling of the leashes.

 

And then you have the emotional side of things as you have witnessed. On walks, untrained dogs are likely to repeatedly react to certain stimuli. Perhaps a squirrel or perhaps another dog coming your way or just odors distracting the almighty nose. Each dog is very quick feeding off the emotions of the other dog. All it takes is for one dog to prick his ears and watch attentively, and the other dog is on high alert in a split second and then you're left with two dogs tugging at full force.

 

Again, in such a case the best option is to train each dog individually (or have a family member/family members walk one dog per person) so that you/them can work on polite loose leash walking giving one-on-one attention first. It may take time to proof against salient distractions and you may need to invest in special walking tools in the meanwhile such as front-attachment harness or head halters.

 

I will be tackling the off leash topic in the next post shortly....

Edited January 6, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli

[Adrienne Farricelli]

You are correct about being concerned about them taking off when off leash. So many bad things can happen, not to mention poisoning your cue should your dogs repeatedly not listen to your recall. If you have used your recall many times with them not listening, you may be better off switching to a new recall word and starting all over, training the recall in low distractions areas using the course material in the 101 obedience section.

 

I have found there to be a connection between dogs tugging on the leash and taking off when off leash. Teaching your dogs (again individually at first) to walk nicely on leash will also teach your dogs to stick by you and check in every now and then. With training polite leash walking (and training in general) the bond increases significantly as dogs learn to walk politely and pay less attention to competing stimuli while focusing more on you.

 

I generally restrict off leash freedom on hikes or trails (or other areas) to a limited amount of dogs and those dogs are the ones that have proven to be highly-trained dogs under excellent voice control and dogs with non-aggressive tendencies. Being off leash is a privilege and it should be warranted only when the dog has proven himself to not get into trouble when there are people or other dogs or around or wildlife to chase. Ideally, dogs walked off leash should be not interested in meeting other dogs and wandering too much and would rather stick to the owners' side. It takes lots of practice to reach this level of proficiency in training.

 

For dogs who haven't reached that level of control, but whose owners wish to have them have a bit more freedom on walks to sniff around and explore, I suggest for safety to have a helper and walk each dog on a long line, (never texting or talking on the phone!) while always carefully scanning for approaching people and dogs or other stimuli. A long line should not be confused for a retractable leash, which is something I don't recommend using.

 

A long-line is a long, light rope or cord that may range anywhere between 10 and 50 feet long. You can often find these in horse and tack stores as the one for horses may also work well for dogs, but nowadays more and more companies are crafting long lines specifically for canines especially for tracking purposes.

 

Unlike a retractable leash, a long line encourages engagement with your dog and provides you with a "lifeline" for emergency situations. It also prevents putting your dog in sticky situations where things can get ugly quickly (for example approaching another off leash dog who doesn't appreciate your dog's way of interacting).

 

Now, there are certain general guidelines when using a long line. Generally, I start with the shorter ones and increase length as the dog proves himself worthy of more impulse control and more polite leash manners. When using a long line, you will always need to be scanning for triggers ahead so that you can quickly reel your dog in closer to you for better control. I like to wear gloves to protect my skin from rope burn, but it's nice to see that lately some companies are making some long lines in leather which are much more gentle on the hands. However, the rope ones offer the advantage that you can tie knots every few feet that you can use to gain traction and hold on to have a better grip in case your dog takes off running.

 

You will also have to keep a close eye that the line doesn't get wrapped between your legs or your dog's legs or your other dogs' legs other people if your other dogs will come along with other handlers/family members. Ideally, the line should stay to your dog’s side so to not interfere with movement.

 

I always prefer to have dog owners train a cue that tells the dog to come closer rather than reeling the dog in. You can find in the obedience section how to train a strong recall using a long line here:

 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/recall/

 

As always, when practicing recalls you will have to start training each dogs in lower distraction scenarios first. A good place to start is in the home, then in yard, then in front of the home and then on walks nearby the house and then on trails with the long line. Use high-value treats. Move to more distracting areas only once you have obtained a fluent response in the less distracting ones.

 

If ever needed, if you call your dog and he appears distracted, you can reel your dog slightly putting pressure on the line to get his attention and the moment he gives in and moves towards you, provide loads of feedback and encouragement until he comes to you culminating in several high-value treats delivered in a row.

Edited January 6, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli