[Clough]

Hi, All!

Okay. Most of us are used to there being a "leader of the pack" when it comes to dogs.

Is it possible for one or more of them to live peacefully with each other in the same household, please?

I've seen it where it doesn't work. But, that was with three dogs in the same home.

What about when an owner, or maybe even a trainer, has a whole bunch of dogs for awhile or even permanently?

Thanks!

[shazamataz]

Tough one.

Some times it works, sometimes it doesn't.

When I buy a new dog or puppy I am always prepared for the worst case scenario... having to keep them separated.

Some people I know have several dominant dogs living together with little fuss, the odd small fight will break out, but nothing too serious.
Whereas other people can't have two dominant dogs in the same room without an all-in-brawl breaking out.

A friend of mine has Staffys, she has her whole yard and house separated down the middle because she can't have her males and females living together.

The best way to try and prevent it from happening is in the way you introduce the dogs for the first time. If you have an older dog and you are buying a puppy always introduce on neutral ground so the older dog won't have an "this is MY house" issues.

[Clough]

Thanks so much for the information! :)

I used to house and dog sit for three dogs, a Husky, Yellow Lab and an English Setter. Now, there are only two.

My friends who own the dogs and I have always had to be on the look-out for when either the Husky or Lab would attack one or the other.

My worst fear with house and dog sitting has always been that something was going to happen to the dogs while I was watching them and the owners were away.

My fear became reality, a couple of months ago, when the Lab tried to kill the Husky.

Things are a lot more peaceful in the home where I house and dog sit now because of the Lab being removed from the home.

[shazamataz]

Unfortunately sometimes it just doesn't work out.

It not necessarily the owners fault, some dogs just have very strong instincts.
When people are looking at buying a new dog it's always good to get their existing dog(s) out to meet new ones, whether it be at a friends house or just at the park to see what their reaction is.

My female is the dominant one in our house, you would swear she is a grumpy old dog but she's only 3, my male who is 2 years old submits to everything she does... they don't even have tug of war games because if my female wants the toy, he just gives it to her.

It is going to be interesting with my puppy. I can't have them running together yet because he is too small, and the poodles tend to play a bit rough, but once he is mature and they all try to establish the pecking order it's not going to be fun.
I'm also lucky with the design of my house, it's easy for me to just separate parts off with baby gates and swap the dogs over several times a day.

[Aurora_Bell]

I agree, it's a touch and go situation. In my experience it is best to obtain pack leader right away. They don't have to compete with each other, as you have that role.

Sometimes easier said than done. I have two fairly dom females and 95% of the time they are great, but when one steps on the others toes, they aren't afraid to let each other know.

We had a shih tzu, and she was the alpha dog over our Staffy. Very funny to see this little mop of a dog make a growl and this huge beast of a dog cower and go submissive.

[Catsmine]

I agree, it's a touch and go situation. In my experience it is best to obtain pack leader right away. They don't have to compete with each other, as you have that role.

Sometimes easier said than done. I have two fairly dom females and 95% of the time they are great, but when one steps on the others toes, they aren't afraid to let each other know.

We had a shih tzu, and she was the alpha dog over our Staffy. Very funny to see this little mop of a dog make a growl and this huge beast of a dog cower and go submissive.

At one point we kept a Pembroke Corgi for a friend in the military. You haven't laughed until you see a Corgi herding 15 Dobermans with a broomstick.

Clough, we normally had a couple of different Alphas at the same time. Our solution was very simple - chain-link.

[Lucky098]

Some alpha Bs can live in harmony together.. Some cant.

Some will fight to the death to be in charge over the other.

I think it really has to do with how much the two dogs want to be in charge. The dog could be an alpha dog, but not a very strong one. Whereas the other is a very strong personality.

I have all females in my house. A lot of people are amazed that we have no problems whatsoever. I would say it could be a handler issue, but there are a lot of seasoned dog owners out there that still have those types of problems. So I think it just comes down to the dogs personality.