CSI Tips for Managing a Multi Dog Household #15

In a multi-dog household, it’s important that all dogs have confidence and be
comfortable. I’m sharing my biggest tips for intentional household harmony.
🐾 Key Episode Moments:
00:00 Tips to help dogs get along using animal behavior science.
00:52 5 stages of dogs co-existing peacefully.
01:57 Household goals for my dogs.
02:30 When dogs bond more to each other than you.
03:40 Every dog deserves to be someone’s special dog.
05:11 When Buzz didn’t like my husband’s dog.
06:05 Rules in my multi-dog household.
08:43 The ItsYerChoice game.
08:58 Prevent resource guarding among dogs.
11:00 Puppy interactions with adult dogs.
11:25 Create an environment of success for your dogs.
13:23 Supervise dog interactions with presence.
14:19 Interfere: reinforce, redirect or reassign.
16:53 Use time outs with dogs very sparingly.
In the episode you'll hear:
• When I realized that comfort and confidence for all dogs is vital.
• How to be present to what your dogs are telling you.
• The CSI of a multi-dog home.
• How I prevent resource guarding before it starts.
• The guidelines and house rules that set everyone up for success.
Resources:
• Podcast Episode 14: Creating Intentional Multi-Dog Household Harmony - • Creating Intentional M...
• Podcast Episode 4: T.E.M.P. (Tail, Eyes/Ears, Mouth, Posture) - • T.E.M.P. (Tail, Eyes/E...
• Podcast Episode 2: Reinforcement - • Reinforcement #2
• ItsYerChoice Game (IYC) - recallers.com/iycsummit-join/
• Recallers - dogsthat.com/recallers/
• Podcast Episode 6: The Art of Manipulation - • The Art of Manipulatio...
P.S. Subscribe to our KZbin Channel so you get notifications of new videos!
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Dogs That is brought to you by Susan Garrett and the Say Yes Dog Training Team.
Susan Garrett’s interest in animal behaviour started at the University of Guelph where she earned a Bachelor of Science majoring in Animal Science. Since then she has developed into a preeminent dog trainer and canine sports instructor and competitor. Susan is one of the most successful agility competitors of the last three decades. She has won multiple Gold Medals at National or World Championship events with every dog she has ever owned over the past 30 years.
A natural teacher and an entertaining speaker, Susan is world renowned as a leading educator of dog trainers. Her understanding of how to apply science-based learning principles to both competitive and family pet dog training has been pivotal in changing how dogs are trained.
Susan is now helping many thousands of dog owners in 82 countries have the best relationship possible with their dogs. The real joy for her comes from bringing confidence to dogs and their owner through playful interactions and relationship building games that are grounded firmly in the science of how animals learn.
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Our Website: dogsthat.com
Our Podcast: shapedbydog.com
Facebook: / susangarrettdogagility
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Twitter: / susangarrett
There’s always something new happening at Dogs That, so if you’d like to be the first to know, visit our website, register to receive updates, and we'll keep you in the loop.
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[@DogsThat]

For more on Project Togetherness, visit the video for Episode 72: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWKaqWuflLaVb80

[@charideleon6758]

"Every dog deserves to be someone's special dog".... love that!!

[@milbrymcdowell2600]

Gem: "Every dog on this planet deserves to be someone's special dog." Great reminder that I need to be present and intentional in my training to help that special dog have the best life possible.

[@JanisBrown-xd1xv]

I ❤ your comment about every dog deserves to be someone’s special dog. 😊

[@JanisBrown-xd1xv]

This was valuable and helpful information ! Could we please have a deep dive on reintroducing and regaining comfortable and confident relationships with dogs who have had a history of fighting with each other who live in the same household?

[@jessicajarsak7812]

I have 4 dogs, all girls. Will about to be 4 and under. The youngest will be 2 in march. The next youngest will be 2 in Feb and my next is around 2. I found her as a stray. And my smallest is the oldest. So it’s oldest to youngest, mini dachshund, husky mix, border collie lab mix, border collie. So this podcast really helped. I can actually have my girls in line and hand out treats with them all close, waiting their turn. We play find it. But I do have to work on the licking, or some of the ones you mentioned herding dogs do. They will get a little rough with my little one sometimes. But my little one allows them to take things she has and I don’t know how to stop that. This is a good podcast that many multiple dog households, need. For the longest time I only had two dogs. The past couple years I’ve been a 4 and 5 dog household 5 for a short time frame. A month with my late missy and a week with my last senior. They lived to be 13 1/2 and 14 of old age.

[@TheNeena85]

The Best epizode of all so far! Love it!!!

[@DogsThat]

Thank you so much!

[@LindsayHaven]

This is such a welcome topic. I definitely look forward to more multi-dog household discussion.

[@ladonnaking4222]

Such great information for multi-dog households. I cannot imagine the stress of living with dogs that don't get along.

[@nicoeeek.7181]

You are just an absolute legend!! So, so darn happy to have found out about you. This is so incredibly helpful. Thank you Susan. FIVE STARS!

[@cmooremaggie]

Your videos are helping me so much with adding a puppy to a two dog household. Also doing crate games. Thank you, thank you!

[@sandralewis3377]

Lordie! I needed this when I brought home our fearful rescue, Portia. She clung so to our stable Baloo that she just about drove him to distraction. So we managed those interactions until she calmed. Thinking this would have been soooo helpful then. Anyway, I’m on it now!

[@islandhundeundislandpferde9101]

Very good hint, that time- out is felt by the dogs as punishment! 👍

[@amberlu1628]

Please, please do a podcast how you worked through Tater-Salads fear of the Dremel! Thanks Bob

[@judydugan813]

Another great Podcast! I could have used this 7 years ago. Things are well in my dog household now following your training methods. I didn't realize how lucky I was years ago with my previous dogs that got along with each other so well on their own.

[@DarwynWT]

Love this! Frankly, I love all of your podcasts and stuff. This issue comes up frequently when I place puppies (that I have bred) in households where there is already another dog. In the future, I will provide a link to these two podcasts about multi-dog households. Your insights, as usual, are very good. In the past, I've suggested the time-out option to be used a bit more, will move to the re-direct instead first. Also, I LOVE your comment about reinforcing good/great interactions happening.

[@tracyadams4598]

More more more 🥰

[@AriaIndy]

It made me tear up about every dog deserving to be someone’s special dog 🥲❤️ I got my cavapoo because I was her dog sitter and she became so attached to me. She really changed my life.

[@cherylsvancara6977]

Fantastic topic! I appreciate any and all advice on the subject: I need to work on helping my blind dog feel more confident and comfortable living with a resource guarder. Ugh!

[@smileyginger1]

I'm so glad I found this channel. I'm a new subscriber to Crate Games - I have two older dogs and we recently just rescued (literally rescued, he was abandoned on Christmas eve in the ball field across from my MIL home) an adolescent puppy (and yes, I am WELL aware that this is not the ideal situation. Thank my bleeding heart husband - I love, love, love animals, but I'm concerned about the limits of my training abilities to make this work!). I'm working really hard to make things equitable for everyone, the pup is going to take a while to unpack. He has a very hard time dealing with frustration and limits and sometimes my attempts to redirect work and sometimes they fail. He will go from YEAH BEST TREATS EVER to "hanging up the phone." I feel like right now, when pup is calm, both older dogs sit at the border of acknowledge/tolerate. The beagle can get aggravated by the pups rambunctious attempts to play, the aussie usually just goes meh, nah. I try to give everyone some solo time both with me and outside. I'm looking forward to when Recallers opens up, for sure. Thank you for these great podcasts - they are so informative.

[@trudymoffat1572]

Once again excellent information! Especially the, you need to be present.

[@ionicamermaid1141]

I'd love to hear even more about multi dog households and getting them to like each other more! Thanks a lot

[@DogsThat]

Hi Ionica, there's an episode all about "Project Togetherness", we'll pin it in the comments here! kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWKaqWuflLaVb80

[@margiegalpin5406]

My two Pulik to a tee ..3yr old siblings ,one at 11wks,other 5 mths later "First bullies the other ...not over food , getting out of for bush walk first snaps,then jumps on others back , and a fight sometimes ...then besties

[@juliea3904]

Fantasic information!! Another 5 stars thank you so much!

[@azogal53]

Love these podcasts! Would like to suggest health and wellness in geriatric dogs, when "don't wanna, don't hafta" might really mean "don't wanna cuz I'm older now and just a little bit uncomfortable now." Thanks for another 5-star discussion!

[@Cecylia]

Thank you soooo much for this! I’m a retired veterinarian who recently started hosting dogs. I’ve had up to 8 dogs under the one roof, thankfully they all got along well- dare I say even acknowledgement!! But last weekend I had 5 and 3 of the male dogs became a bit aggressive towards each other, and also started marking their territory all over my beautiful house 🤪😱 so this has been such great advice thank you so much!

[@DogsThat]

Thank you Cecylia for sharing and for fostering those dogs, we're happy to read it's been helpful for you 💕

[@mandypayne29]

This was another great podcast! I have reverse situation where our rescue (after 5 years with us!) is starting to growl at our other dog, which we've had for 10 years. The rescue will even growl in bed at night if hubby moves his arms or pulls the covers! I'll have to document and really study this behavior...I also see you have another episode for us to view..episode 72 noted below.

[@valeriasvensson5197]

Love the topic ❤️ As to other things I would like to here about: pls tell about how you teach loose-leash walking.

[@lynne-sheltiesrock2322]

Did you see that Susan just did on new one on that? It's called "Stop Your Dog Pulling on Leash and Start Walking Together #53"

[@elisahelen]

Thank you for this. This is really helpful. I have a two dog household, one is 12 months younger than the other and the youngest is being really pushy with the older dog and I simply haven't known how to deal with it. All the resources I see seem to be focused on single dogs, but the truth is apart from short periods its difficult to separate them without the one on the outer feeling anxious. The younger dog definitely has other anxiety issues as well. eg Resource guarding, separation anxiety, & poor socialisation. He was a bit older when I got him so he was a bit behind the eightball to begin and I made the assumption that it would be enough with my other dog. Now he is almost intolerant of being in the presence of other dogs. I'm making a lot of mistakes and really do not know how to manage. Also because of work and being alone there are times I have to leave them on their own to cope so I'm not sure about that either.

[@DogsThat]

Hi Elisa, we're so glad you found this helpful for you and your dogs 💕. Please, give yourself grace, just like them, you're doing the best you can. We have a full playlist with help for life with multiple dogs (it includes this video and 7 more): kzbin.info/www/bejne/joCXYqOcisSIqZo Please, let us know how your training goes!

[@yanelledavis5395]

For the past four years my husband and I have been managing behavior issues in our multi-dog home. We have 3 rescues... Our first rescue, Pete (6 years) and later litter mates, Roscoe (5 years) and Layla (5 years). Within 6 months of bringing in the siblings, Pete and Roscoe got into a fight/scuffle and we've been on the mend since then. Sometimes things are good, sometimes things take a turn for the worse. The instigator seems to vary between the two. I would DESPERATELY like to chat with you or even hop on one of your podcasts. When you said "Every dog on this planet deserves to be someone's special dog." I cried. Pete is my soulmate and I swear we've been together across life times. BUT we are wondering if rehoming him is a harsh and painful reality that I might be forced to face.

[@annwhite3235]

How should I deal with a 2 yr old heeler T bone running w a face air bite ? Having a toy in their mouth helps, but if it's dropped, he's back to t bone snapping the older off leash heeler. I've limited the off leash running with the two (changed the environment). I only have the two out running together in the morning when they are well rested. Any suggestions are appreciated. We're seeing great results with the homeschool program. Thank you for all you do! ❤

[@rosieleat6868]

Wow this may have saved a dog fight - my ex hubbys dog and my sons dog crash into each other, growl pretty ferociously like the fight without a bite described - one is a German shepherd the other is a rescue puppy who is now big and strong - a mix of pit bull and lab or hunter way, nobody really knows lol. Both lovely dogs but the younger one is very pushy with the German shepherd… good to know when to redirect these dogs before it gets out of hand thank you xxx five stars!

[@lynne-sheltiesrock2322]

Oh, my - the vicious t-bone crash. After the 2nd time Gotta took poor Echo off his feet and nearly killed him, they weren't allowed to play loose in the yard for three years. That's how long it took for Gotta to learn to respect Echo's space and be kind to him. Hard to believe that two 30-pound Shelties could badly injure each other, but they can! Speed kills! Now, they play nice and safely! Yay! Love your rules - we have NO wrassling in the house, and no picking on the old dog! Also, no playing loose in the Agility equipment yard - it's too easy to get hurt!!

[@hankaskacanova7500]

Could you please do an episode about how to set Up interactions between a new puppy and an adult dog?🙏🙏💕

[@DogsThat]

Hi Hanka, we have two resources for you! Project Togetherness: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWKaqWuflLaVb80 And in a live video an young puppy met and older puppy: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKDCk6J-gLF7a6M

[@deborahsell980]

Love this, I’d love to hear what you do when your pup starts to heard when walking all together. At the moment if my young Kelpie starts to bounce around in front of another dog I will redirect with work close for rewards with me or scatter on the ground. If she still does it I will then play the lease on off game & then stay on lease until she comes down enough in energy. Is this ok?

[@AllTimeAesthetic]

My dog does the body slamming / cutting off, and has made my 5.5 month old puppy upset by doing this. From now on, I’ll be a lot better about not allowing this to happen.

[@annfry9072]

Gems: Being intentional leads your dogs to a life of Confidence and Comfort. (Aim for all of the animals in the household). The keeper and bringer of joy. Moment of Tears: "Every Dog Deserves to be someone's special dog". Thank you Susan for your inspiring teaching moments and kind words.

[@ionicamermaid1141]

I've been coming back to this and the other multi dog household episodes... if a dog is policing or guarding and you want to tell him to knock it off, how do you do that. Because my adolescent dog might police the older one but any kind of attention or touching/taking his collar would (I guess because of the opposition reflex) make him go really aggressive towards the older dog. I wouldn't know how to use reinforct, redirect or reassign without worsening the situation. The only thing we've seen work so far is giving attention to the older dog shielding him a little to be able to do/go to what/ where he wants. I'm part of HSD, recallers and crate games if you can direct me to more help in one of those or other programs. Thanks a trillion!

[@DogsThat]

Hi Ionica Mermaid, take a look at the episode on resource guarding as you can apply the strategies to help, and then the episode on project togetherness, here they are for you. dogsthat.com/podcast/66/ dogsthat.com/podcast/72/

[@ionicamermaid1141]

@@DogsThat thanks a lot. We have already implemented some things of project togetherness and that's working great! I'll rewatch it and the other one. Really I am grateful for your help!

[@andreawager7476]

In which podcast do you discuss bringing a new puppy home to a household with an older dog? Thank you

[@LadyMiner100]

Hi Susan: I think I'm the resource my young dog is guarding. If I start to pet or play with my older dog (6), then my younger dog bulls her way in to get the attention/toy/petting. There isn't any growling or snarling but my older dog gives up and goes to lay on his bed away from her (and me). I end up reassigning her way too often. Do you have a podcast on this?

[@DogsThat]

Hi Connie, hang in there, we've two episodes to help with resource guarding: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2LFnJSXjZx_jrs kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnXHl2StlJ57l5I Our playlist for multidog homes is also packed with tips and insights to help: kzbin.info/aero/PLphRRSxcMHy2ee0fquucowgCTcl1kCdO-

[@VioletHeyoka]

I loveeeee your content! I just recently found you and I’ve been binging all of your videos and podcasts! I have a pack of 6 right now but I’ve had all the way up to 21 before (including fosters and litters of rescues). This is such valuable information! I’ve shared this and the last video in a group that I’m in on Facebook for multidog families.

[@susanchapman4140]

what do you do if it is the puppy that is playing too aggressively with the older dog

[@MaximillianandRubyGrace]

My newfs thankfully immediately were bffs

[@sarahblanken2060]

What if u have a dog that grals. Every time another go near him or touches him at any time .what can i do? Please help.ty

[@kristygaskill]

Question about reassigning. The 10wk puppy gets a 10 min session of free roam the house under supervision. Sometimes I bring in the siblings (both are at the tolerate stage) and there is a small "obstacle" course that is part of this time. They are all engaged and treated, but sometimes the pup is too much. Also, if I let the pup go too long then we get over-tired or over-aroused that leads to red-zone. After time is up (or if the pup gets over excited before time), the pup goes back into the expen for self-play and "de-escalation" before sleep time. Is it possible that this is actually being interpreted as "punishment" by the puppy? I do sit by the expen and treat for sits/laydown or voluntary going into the crate after the free roam session.

[@litwhwolf]

How do you stop the one that wants to police everyone else?