The More, the Merrier: Participating in Activities with More Than One Dog.

Having a multiple dog household is a wonderfully entertaining and rewarding way to live your life. But taking more than one dog to any given place can make even a seasoned multiple dog parent sigh with stress. But it can be done and it can be fun! I kid you not!

Some activities simply cry out for participation by more than one dog. Such activities that can be done with multiple dogs range from the basic such as simple walking or hiking to the more complicated such as mushing. We will attempt to cover several activities here with some details on various aspects by the participants.

3 huskies waiting their turn to go mushing.

In addition to being fun, being able to include more than one dog at a time can minimize jealousy issues as well as foster more camaraderie among your crew. Dogs in my crew jostle each other playfully with anticipation when we are readying for a group hike. They are delighted together, which increases their mutual bonding.

There are many things to keep in mind when planning activities for multiple dogs. Having some solid foundation behaviors already established can make a huge difference. Various behaviors relevant to your individual activity choice can include recalls, sit, down, wait, leave it and many others. Your attempts at multiple dog activities will be much more successful than if you just head out the door with several untrained dogs. The latter is almost certainly a recipe for a stress cocktail!

Important cues will vary with the activity you have chosen, but impulse control is a good general behavior to train to all of your dogs for any activity, including daily life. The importance of strong impulse control skills in a multiple dog household cannot be overstated. You will never be sorry for the time that you have spent teaching this skill.

Teaching your dogs to take turns politely in many daily scenarios can go a long way towards creating a solid base for participating in activities with your crew. A “wait” cue is an excellent base behavior as is a default offered “sit” or “down”. A “leave it” can be helpful with just about any activity as can a superb recall. Teaching focused walking skills is something that can help make your activity safer regardless of whether you are actually walking. Focused walking can generalize to focused bicycling or focused mushing.

As for my own multiple dog activities, as I mentioned previously, we hike en masse which also means we ride in my vehicle en masse. Both of these activities generally go very well because of the training effort I have put into them. Happiness and anticipation is what I feel when heading out the door with my crew.

I utilize a “wait” in the car as well on the trail when I need to stop for anything. A “leave it” and a “look at that” as well as amazing focused walking skills make our walks and hikes relaxing rather than stressful. My dogs get off leash privileges after some walks because they have earned it. I can trust them even if we encounter wildlife close by, unexpectedly.

Now to share some insights from others on how they handle multiple dog activities. Before I share their details, a quick blurb about my friend Crystal in Indiana, PA, who participates in geocaching with multiple dogs. I don’t have any details on this because Crystal offers that geocaching is just hiking with an extra purpose. So the details would closely mirror those she already offered in the hiking blog. But just in case this is not an activity that you had thought of in your quest for things for the crew to do en masse, consider it if you enjoy hiking.

Monica in Brunswick, OH has two Dalmatians. Delta trials in agility and Doc shows in conformation. They travel together to both. She either crates both en route or crates one and contains the other in a seat belt harness. Delta does better at her trials when crated while not working as she over-stimulates easily. She gets breaks away from the action. Doc is crated is also crated when not working as he values his job. Both are given enrichment toys while crated. Monica plans on adding Doc to the agility trialing when possible so her routine may be adjusted. Flexibility is important with multiple dog activities.

Janel in Lindsey, OK is working both of her dogs in a scentwork class at present. While practicing at home, she works one dog at a time while the other is crated.

Rhonda and her fiancé in Borea, OH have three dogs. Her senior dog Bagley, is more laid back so he doesn’t participate in dog sports, but instead gets his own fetch time at home as well as away. Her yellow Lab, Cali, participated in flyball before they discovered dock diving. The humans in the home enjoyed going to the events so much that they wanted to have another dog to participate with. Enter Hydro, a shelter rescue who loves water and discs. They are now working on focus. Rally is also an option. All dogs go to events, regardless of participation. They all have crates to retreat to as needed but get individual time appropriate for each at every event, in order that they are al happy and fulfilled.

Laura in St. Louis, MO is a mushing aficionado. She and her hubby have four dogs: Tasha, a Husky; Kodi, a Husky; Daisy, a Sheltie mix; and Seeker, a Husky. Daisy is not into mushing so she doesn’t travel to club events. They travel with their crew uncrated but secured in their SUV. Laura’s hubby devised a system all their own with clips of his own design. Their rig fits inside of their vehicle with their crew arranged around it. They use a stake out line while getting set up or waiting.

These are several examples of activities that a multiple dog household can participate in. Be creative. Think about what you and your crew like to do and get out there and do it! The rewards await you!