Mother fate has produced two new beasts in our yard, both somewhat temporary, but both at critical ages for learning, and both needing basic OB and manners.

My son has moved back for a "year or so" to continue his education, bringing along a very smart, very active yearling BC mix.

My wife and I were the objects of attention from a stray possible Akita/GSD mix, one year old. This guy has energy to burn as well. We are socializing him while he awaits a spot in a permanent home.

Long story short, these two have become buddies and will romp, run, and brawl all day long if we would let them. They provide a level of exercise for one another that would be difficult to replicate by a human.

My question is at what point does leaving these guys together start to become detrimental to their training? The BC is crate trained and sleeps inside and the Akita stays outside except during the heat of the day when we let him in on a tether to sleep on the cool tile for a few hours. Both dogs get individual training time twice a day or so to work on their respective goals. They are usually together an hour or so in the morning for a serious, non-stop romp, and same in late afternoon/early evening. Does this sound like a reasonable amount of "doggy time?" Too much? Too little?

Thanks folks.

It sounds reasonable to me Rob. I have two GSD's and while they do play together in the mornings, and they do much the same thing, chase romp, etc. But I know that they still come to me to play ball with and look to me for most their activities etc.

My two are 2 1/2 and almost 2 years old. As long as they do get individual training time, and are mindful of you as the pack leader, I think you should be fine. Oh, also, mine are house dogs and are together 24/7. I am fortunate that they are very good buddies and get along really well. I don't have any problems with them looking just to each other for fun, they both know I am the center of all the fun.

Sounds good to me too Rob!

I train my pack together and apart (3 tied out, 1 training, then rotate) And I do 3-5 small training sessions a day with the 5 month old. The others are 3 years and up so we train 3-5 times a week for about an hour.

They get group play in the morning, usually throwing a ball, walking on the trails, or just romping in the yard (2 acres) with me supervising. Then we do the same at night before bed. As long as you can at any time call them or one to you, I wouldn't worry about it. What I'm looking for is the dog to choose me over the other dog.

Me three. There are many days that I'm grateful that mine have each other to wear out playing chase. (With four young dogs in one household, that's a lot of energy to burn off every day!) But they still know which side their bread's buttered on. When I call, they come.

 Quote: niomi smith

As long as you can at any time call them or one to you, I wouldn't worry about it.

 Quote: tracy collins

When I call, they come.

Still working on that one

Both, with questionable backgrounds, are a little wild still, but both are progressing very nicely on most things we are working on. Recall during the heat of battle, though, not quite there yet - so we don't ask it.

Thank you very much for your opinions. Sounds like we are within reason in how we're managing these guys. Sure is nice to have an extra hand (paw) in the never-ending quest to keep them exercised. I will say that I'm in the best shape I've been in for quite awhile. Yet another "pro dog" argument, as far as I'm concerned.

Take care.

Hi Rob,
Do you have any pictures of the Akita mix? He sounds interesting.
I'm currently working on the recall situation during play with my two. I've found a whistle works well for the recall when a dog is a bit more distracted- tends to increase the weight of the recall command. When they come, they get lots of praise, treats, a tug or throw of a ball, and then I let them play again. It's a great way for them to wear each other out, and watching dogs play is just plain fun.
As long as you limit it to a supervised hour or so, and they're getting one-on-one training with you, I personally don't see it being a problem. I'm glad they get along so well. I know Akitas can be picky about other dogs and dominating. My last dog had an Akita buddy. They were well suited and would romp all day.

"watching dogs play is just plain fun." It's a BLAST. Hard to believe how athletic and coordinated they are. Wow, and talk about a total body workout (for the dogs, not me - I'm in the chaise lounge)!

This year old Akita boy was a stray, and yes, he does have a tendency to dominate. He still acts like a pup, though, and is very playful. He is more likely to offer a play bow than he is to T-up another dog so far. He's doing a GREAT JOB ignoring other dogs on our walks (has discovered some great food distractions when other dogs are around). We've had some success managing his social dominance so far, but...time will tell.

I'll try to get a pic, Kiersten! (sshhhh - I'm at work - no access to photobucket or similar sites).

Like others above...my 2 dogs are together 24/7. They play together, have training sessions together & seperately several times a day. As much as they enjoy hanging out together, the real fun begins when I join the party. They would rather play with me then each other anytime. No matter where they are(home on fields, trails etc) or what they are doing...they come running to me when I call.

ETA....I would want to have a good bond with a dog before a would allow it to run free with other dogs to play. Also, I do not allow pups to run free with other pack members unitl they are at least 8 or 9 months old. They walk with me & another dog but not loose.

http://s749.photobucket.com/albums/xx134/AzHusker1/?action=view&current=chico3.jpg


Here's the wild man.

Can't seem to get the image embedded. I'm techno-stupid.

 Quote: anne jones

I would want to have a good bond with a dog before a would allow it to run free with other dogs to play. Also, I do not allow pups to run free with other pack members unitl they are at least 8 or 9 months old. They walk with me & another dog but not loose.

That's sort of what I was wondering. We've only had the guy 2 weeks...bonding has begun and he has more time with us than he does with the other dogs...I guess in a way, I see his socializing with animals part of the socialization process in general - really, he's not being trained for a "job," just to be a good family member that a suitable owner can adopt. It seemed initially, he was going to be dominant and somewhat dog aggressive, but he's subsequently proven us wrong. He's actually pretty doggy social and can play cooperatively, albeit roughly being so dang strong and tall.

Given Akita's rep as being dog aggressive, I guess I was thinking if I can show he's cooperative with dogs, it might open up his options a little. I think he'd do fine with another medium/large sized dog.

I think we're doing OK it sounds like. Just have to continue the training time with people in addition to the play time.

Thanks, folks.