Is there a best practice for working with multiple dogs?

[JessicaNorth]

We adopted 3 dogs, 2 were already over a year old when we adopted, the 3rd is roughly 8 y/o and was a stray, for quite some time, before he found us.   All 3 are sweet, but have bad behaviour habits, so that are dangerous to them, like chewing and ingesting things that they shouldn't.  Is there a best practice recommendation for working with them?  Should they be worked with separately until they master a specific behaviour, then together on that behaviour so that the desired behaviour is tested and reinforced despite the distraction of the siblings?  

[Adrienne]

Hi Jessica,

Welcome to the forums,

When dealing with dogs who chew and ingest things, a multi-faceted approach is needed.

Firstly, management, which is often something that is overlooked. That is, dog-proofing the home and yard making any objects and things around that dogs may get into inaccessibile. Think of it like toddler-proofing the homes keeping things up high and our of reach and locking cabinets/closing rooms where there are knick-knacks the toddler may get into. 

We can make our life easier by creating dog-proofed areas and fencing them off if out the yard, or baby-gated areas if in the home. This can make the project of dog-proofing large areas much easier and manageable. 

At the same time though, we want to have a back-up plan that allows us to tell dogs to leave things that we may have accidentally forgotten to remove or that may have appeared despite our best intent (think a dead bird in the yard) or maybe something tempting on a walk.  In this case it's training two specific cues: that is, the leave it and drop it command. 

You can find how to train these cues here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/

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

With multiple dogs living the home, yes, I find it is best starting to train each dog individually. It would be quite difficult practicing when the other dogs may get in the way and try to steal things left and right.  Then, once each dog has mastered the cues at a fluent response level, you can then practice adding the distraction of another dog working up to the level of being able to then practice group leave its (and drops as necessary) as long as all dogs have proven to be responsive and not prone to resource guarding. 

Of course, make sure to also provide your dogs with suitable and safe items to chew so that they can fulfill this need and don't forget about exercise and mental stimulation as many dogs who chew and ingest things are often bored and are looking for ways to entertain themselves and  fulfill their natural scavenging/foraging instincts. 

Happy training!

 

[JessicaNorth]

Hi Adrienne,

 

Thank you! I am really looking forward to this program.  They are wonderful dogs and the purpose for training is for their safety.  I feel confident in the success potential of the program because all of the methods use positive reinforcement allowing pet parents a way to avoid negative interactions with their furbabies.

 

[Adrienne]

You are very welcome!

Keep me posted on how things go and I am always here is you have any questions along the way.

Best,

Adrienne