Training Multiple Dogs

Hi, it’s Tenille here from Dog Matters, and I had a question come in about what to do if you’ve got multiple dogs to train but the dogs that aren’t being trained feel like they’re missing out, and they’re crying or trying to come with you when you’re taking the other dog out to train. Now, there’s lots of different ways that you can approach this, like most dog training, but I’m gonna tell you the way that I think is one of the best ways to get started, and that is to use your place training. So train your place training first which is one of the easiest things that you can train dogs together in because they can see each other doing the same thing, and they can feed off of that. Now, the trick here is when you’re place training the dogs to all stay on their places together and then you’re taking one dog off at a time to work with, you’re not just working with that one dog whenever you’re training. You’re actually more training the dog that’s staying on their place still because it’s a big distraction for them to have to wait their turn. But this is a great way for dogs to learn to wait their turn. So let’s have a look how we go. If you’re just getting started, make sure you teach your dogs place training first. You can have their places close together so that you can handle each one and put them back quickly if any get off, and you might want to start off on lead. And then once they get used to it, you can teach them the concept of taking turns. So let’s have a look. Envy. Good girl. So while I might be rewarding Envy for what I am teaching her to do, I also actually want to reward the other dogs for waiting patiently on place while it’s not their turn. Good girl, yes. So every now and then all I do is pop over and give the other dogs a treat that are waiting. Good girl. Up! Good. Yes! Ketta. Hey. Place. Good boy. Envy, place. Good girl. Lay down. So when you’re teaching this, the trick is to reward the dogs that are waiting for their turn at least as much as the dog that you’re rewarding for the training that you’re actually working with because you’re sort of training multiple dogs, and what you’re working on is that they understand that they’ve got to wait and that another dog can be getting trained and that it’s perfectly okay for them to wait there. But you don’t want them to feel like that’s a punishing thing and like they’re missing out, so you want to reward them intermittently for waiting their turn. Lola. This is also a great way to teach dogs that it’s their turn when they hear their name. Good girl. Lay down. Good. Wait. Good. Good girl. Lola, place. Wrong one. Good girl, yes. Ketta. Good. And lay down. Good dog. Good lay down. Good boy. Good. Ketta. Ketta spin, drop. Roll over. Good. Bang, bang. Bang. Oh, that was a slow one. Good boy. Yes. Good. Ketta, place. Envy. Good. Back, back, back. Good. Come here. Down. Good job. Good girl. Up. Back. Good. Back. Good, good, good. Good, yes. Good girl. Place. Good girl. Lay down. Good. So the important thing is that even though you might be working with one of your dogs on a certain thing, the others are feeling like they’re also being included in getting intermittent rewards just for staying put in one place. You can then gradually increase the distance, especially if you need to do something like work on your dog’s leash manners out in a different environment. You can start to teach your other dogs that they need to wait on their place while you go further. And if you need to leave the house, the best way to do it is to practice this with your other dogs in a crate, and then leave them in the crate when you go out and train out on the road. I hope these tips helped you today. Give it a try and let me know how you go with your dogs. You can always post a video in the Dog Matters community group. Leave a comment below, and I’ll see you in the next video.