Double trouble in dog class

[Karen Gaffney]

Today we had our first intermediate dog class with Cirrus, we also decided to sign Nimbus up for a refresher. They were impossible, especially Cirrus. He cried and barked at Nimbus and my husband the whole time. Nimbus was somewhat distracted and whined a bit too, but he was able to do the work. Even the treats and bully stick I brought as rewards or distractions did not interest Cirrus.
This was followed up by the fact that yesterday, when Nimbus went for a walk with my son, Cirrus howled as if he was wounded .

We had no idea how attached they had become to each other. Our trainer said, "you must walk them separately and take them on separate outings. If something ever happens to one dog, the other must have been taught to be alone. This really gave us insight into our dogs. I thought I would share this valuable lesson for other two dog families.
Karen

[Jennifer]

It's hard, isn't it? Our 10 year old doesn't care either way about the puppy, but the puppy doesn't want to go anywhere without her!

[Adina P]

yes, it sure helps a lot to spend individual time with each dog.
I'm probably guilty of the opposite and spending too much time with Rosco compared to my other dogs... But he was my first that was all my own and I've done a lot of training with him so we have a special bond :-)
Separating dogs helps quite a bit in training too--it's very difficult to focus on the training needs of two dogs at one time.

[Susan, Zeke. Lily & Jasper]

Thanks for posting. We are experiencing some of the same things. Our dogs are rarely apart and I'm starting to see some problems as a result. Lily seems to take her cues from Zeke instead of obeying a command from us. Zeke is happy to be the leader therefore tries to take the lead from us as well. Just yesterday I took them both to Petsmart. They have been walking on a coupler on outside walks but this was the first time inside. Bad mistake!!! Way too many distractions. Two 50lb dogs pulling in two directions was more than I am physically able to handle. From now on I'll be a little more selective on double walks and single outings also!

[Tante & Jordan & now Annie!]

Yes, that happend to us. I have an 11yo Non-doodle (Payton) and Jordan is my Doodle.
If I take Payton anywhere with out Jordan, Jordan would whine,and if she got really worked up Howl. I did what your trainer suggested and now Jordan is Ok being with out Payton and so very happy to see each other when we get home.
If I go into a store and I did not have Payton with us in the car Jordan would howl at me. If Payton was with us she would be OK. She is good with that now also. I just always say Jordan I will be right back be good. I mean really how much time can you send in a 7-11?
I also think Jordan being older now (she is 3) helped. This was mostly a puppy hood issue.

Why do Howl's have to sound so mournful.....It is heartbreaking really.

[Karen Gaffney]

I posted the original thread last week after an extremely frustrating hour in training class. This week we worked on leaving the house with one dog, and on training sessions in close proximity. I am happy to report both dogs were 100% better today in training class. Cirrus still has a long way to go before he completely stops being distracted by having Nimbus in the class. But what a difference a week makes.