BOUNDARIES FOR NEW ADDITIONS

Training is given a lot of the weight when people have issues with how two dogs handle one another’s behavior or presence. How many times has a person brought up their dog’s resource guarding, rowdy play, or defensiveness and heard a resounding “just train them”? Far too many if you ask me!

Dog training takes time, often needs a professional to help with serious issues, and is not a magic wand that can give a home peace and safety when you need that peace and safety RIGHT NOW!

WHY MANAGEMENT MATTERS

This is where management comes in. Management is anything which PREVENTS problems from occurring. Physical barriers, routines, muzzles, and leashes are all examples of good management tools. If your puppy is bouncing all over your 15 year old dog, a tether or play pen will give your older dog a break without requiring your puppy to hop in a maturity time machine. Feeding your resource guarding dog in their crate or in the bathroom alone will give them the feeling of security needed to let them eat in peace. If your bottomless pit of a lab pushes their pug housemate away from their food because the lab always gulps their food down in 30 seconds, a slow feeder and a baby gate can let both dogs slow down and mind their business.

It is not avoidance of the issue to set up management, it is often what makes training a success. Your puppy will learn better boundaries with other dogs if they can not rehearse being a bouncy puppy and are only exposed to their housemate when you can work actively on good behavior. Your resource guarder will have a better chance of learning your professional resource management program if they get to eat in peace. And your pushy lab will learn much faster actively trained self control skills if they don’t have a strong history of being able to bowl over your poor pug.

Management is the glue in every good home with dogs. Doubly so when there is more than one!