Advice for families with several dogs

Living with several dogs can be great, but it takes management. Their relationships shift. Age and maturing, an illness, resources or a change at home can all alter how they get along. The family needs to spot tension early. If you wait for a serious fight before doing anything, you've waited too long.

Each dog eats on his own and has his own resting spot. Toys aren't left lying around all the time, and the dogs can be separated when needed. All of that is normal. Dogs don't have to share everything. Plenty of people think being fair means giving every dog the same thing at the same moment. What it really means is that each one gets what he needs without having to compete for it.

Only walk them together if you can control the group. Sometimes each dog needs training on his own before he can go out in a pair. And every dog needs time alone with his person, on top of life in the pack.

When a conflict happens, look at the context and at the dogs' health. A dog in pain has less patience. Separate them safely, and don't force them to “make up”. Punishing after the incident can push the tension higher. A plan drawn up by a professional sets out how to prevent further conflicts and, where appropriate, how to reintroduce the dogs gradually.

It's most worthwhile when you're bringing a new dog home, when tension shows up around food or people's attention, or when you can't walk the group safely.

Dogs shouldn't be made to share everything. Nor should they be left to sort out between themselves, by fighting, who gets access to what.

Work starts by looking at how the dogs relate to each other and at past incidents. Food and resting places get separated.

Then comes work with each dog on his own, followed by controlled reintroductions and close monitoring of how things go.

Dogs show tension before a scrap: a hard stare, one dog blocking the other's path or following him around the house, a dog who avoids a room, stiffening when another dog comes near a person or an object. Those signs tell you how each one is experiencing life at home.

To avoid making it up as you go, get gates and separate areas ready, a schedule for each dog, each dog's medical history, and rules the whole family sticks to in the same way.

Good advice puts management before training and looks at each dog individually. A dog who shows he's uncomfortable isn't punished for it. You also want clear goals and handouts you can use, with examples that look like life in your house.

One-to-one training teaches the dogs to come when called and to wait, and how to move away from each other. When the risk is real, none of that replaces barriers and management.

Some dogs may need to be kept apart for the long term. Serious conflicts need assessing by someone qualified. Talk openly about the risks too: fights over resources, bites redirected at whoever is closest, children caught between dogs, and stress that never goes away.