Many of our clients have two or more dogs which can often lead to challenges. Here are a few tips that have made our life a little easier.
Teach skills or commands individually and then try it with 2 dogs.
Work with simple exercises that build on self-control.
Reward well and make it easy for your dog to be successful.
Begin with the settle command which teaches a dog to go to a place and be calm. Show the dog a treat and say “bed” as you toss it on the bed. Say “yes” right before he gets the treat. Right now you are working on making a positive association with the bed. Try to reward quickly any time the dog goes to his bed. Later you can work on sit, down and stay.
Focus teaches a dog that good things happen when he looks at you. Show the dog a treat and then move your hand to your face and point to yourself. Say “yes” and reward when the dog looks at you. Great way to break the eye contact when your dog looks at another dog or is uncomfortable in a situation such as being close to a loud trash truck.
Before rewarding multiple dogs have everyone in a sit or down position. Say a dog’s name and reward. Only the dog with that name should respond. Lots of self-control here.
Our goal of our classes is to teach calm behavior which always improves manners. Here are several of our multiple dog friends:
Rudy's Friends Dog Training, Inc. 