Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone. I'm just wondering, those of you with more than one dog, do you all keep your dogs seperated when your note home? I ask because I have a gsd(gets along great with other dogs)and have been looking at adding another dog to the family (yes, extensively researched the breed, and do have the means to care for another dog). What I'd like to know is do you let your dogs stay together when you are not around or do u feel it is necessary to keep them apart for fear of a fight breaking out? thanx

I keep two of mine kenneled at night and when we are not at home. Only one that has freedom of the house 24/7 is a 11 year old. She was kenneled up until about 5 years ago. She has earned the right to the house. The others are 5 and 4 and I would not trust them as far as I could throw, a ball. Which is not very far, "I throw worse than a girl" :0
Not because they would fight, have never had a problem like that, knock on wood. They get bord and go in to daughters room and chew on things like dolls, cds, tapes, just about any toy they can find. Which is not hard to do in her room. It stays a mess, and the only way we find the chew items is once or twice a year, when Mom wades in to clean.

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Patty,Niki
and Hannah

>>Hi everyone. I'm just wondering, those of you with more than one dog, do you all keep your dogs seperated when your note home? I ask because I have a gsd(gets along great with other dogs)and have been looking at adding another dog to the family (yes, extensively researched the breed, and do have the means to care for another dog). What I'd like to know is do you let your dogs stay together when you are not around or do u feel it is necessary to keep them apart for fear of a fight breaking out? thanx

If the dogs are all ready for the responsibility of being loose in the house (note that some individual dogs never will be ready for this), and if they get along REALLY well, I do leave them together. This is just not possible for all combinations of dogs, though, and better safe than sorry is an excellent rule.

I certainly do not leave them alone together until I'm really sure. Also, a pup younger than 4 months should not be left alone with an adult dog other than the mom, because the pup's social skills are not adequately mature and it could do something to trigger the adult dog into killing the pup. Plus, pups who spend ALL their time with another dog can wind up much more interested in other dogs than in humans. Some people even recommend this separation up to 7 months, but I've not found that necessary as long as the pup has daily socialization and training away from the house and away from the other dogs with the person. Any new dog I adopt gets this, for several months, no matter what the age.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com

There is a lot to be said about separating the dogs. Even in play there could be unforseen circumstances. So, crating when there is not a human available to oversee the safety of the animals makes perfect sense. That would be my top recommendation above anything else.

However, for more than 4 - 6 hours seems too long for me. I never leave my dogs for more than just a few hours. If I know I'm going to be gone, then I make arrangements to have another person check on them, potty them and make sure they have food and water. I free feed so food aggression is never a problem at our house.

I have to agree with Kathy, a lot of it is going to depend on the dogs, how well they are socialized and how much they can be trusted. I'd go with the safety at first then go from there.

PHRottn
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PHRottn
HRottn@PetHobbyist.com" target="_blank">My Email

Rott-N-Dogues make excellent best friends!

I think it takes a long time and knowing your dogs before they should be left loose. Its simply safer to crate one of the two.

In my house, and I have had rotties for almost 15 years, I keep
the chow in the bedroom
my 2 rottie bitches loose in the rest of the house
the basenji in crates (destructive little creatures AND they fight)
the male rottie in a pen
the poodle loose with the rotties or in the bedroom with the chow.

Once both dogs are mature and you NEVER see any type of posturing, you can probably leave them loose. but don't rush it. The old saying better safe than sorry is a good one.
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Debra
ebraDownSth@aol.com" target="_blank">DebraDownSth@aol.com
Blessed Are The Flexible For They
Shall Not Be Bent Out of Shape.]