I have four mali females and if i didnt keep them crated and let them out in a sort of rotation order theyd probably kill each other <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> Two of them get on fine but id rather crate them and have each individual out under supervision so that no dog fights occur..........fighting females are worse than males as far as im concerned. Now and again a trip to the vet because one has worked its way out is luckily an exception, but by now i think with all these nuts i have payed for the vets new extention to the practise by now <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I must say that 2 appeared later than the rest and the others dont like the intruders. Saftey is the best thing than wanting a happy household that maybe wont happen anyway.

In the past, almost 40 yrs, I've never had less than 3 dogs at a time and they've always ran together. I only had serious problems with one of those many dogs. It's all about being able to read the dogs, and not being afraid to say that any one particular dog wont fit my pack. Without a fair amount of expierience, it could have the potential of become a disaster.

I'm not Ed but I will answer for him on this one.

We have 5 house dogs, but NEVER will you see all 5 running together at once. One of them is a 4 month old puppy that is hell on wheels, she drives everyone CRAZY! She comes out on a leash, tethered to me or something at all times. I usually bring her out when all the other dogs are outside or crated.

Aera is the dominant house dog, she isn't dog aggressive but very assertive and it can be a bit rowdy when she is throwing her weight around.. She isn't keen on any other dog being around her inside. Outside she absolutely ignores them unless they get too much in her face, and then she slams them to the ground and it's done. She taught her son Buttercup a lesson about humping others when he was here on a visit. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Remember Will?

Raine, CJ and Morgan are all usually loose in the house together. BUT CJ pays little to no attention to me or any of the other dogs, he stays near Ed.

Same thing for Raine, she is my shadow in the house and ignores the other dogs. She would like to play with Morgan, but Morgan is not dog friendly. Morgi tolerates other dogs but won't hesitate to lay into them for invading her space. All of our dogs, Aera included, have learned to leave her alone.

Morgan is my son's dog, and she is usually with him. If he is at school she will lay under Ed's desk during the day or come into my office.

It's a balancing act living with multiple dogs, and some combinations work better than others...

The most important thing to remember is that if your dogs don't see you as a pack leader when it's just the two of you, adding another dog to the mix is not a great idea!

I think it depends on the owner, as well as the dogs. We have up to 7 in the house together. There is NO running in the house, and no playing. There are times when they are in the crates, but usually because I need some space. I have always had a policy that this is how it is in the house.

I enforce this simply...conform or get choked out. I ask very little of the dogs that I have while they are in the house. This is very simple for them, behave, or get beaten. I do not play on this. Many people can't do this. It has never screwed up any of my work.

I have had dog aggressive dogs that understand this rule. There are modifications with some dogs, but not many. As far as overly dog aggro dogs, unless there has been a reason for that behavior, I put them down. A confidant dog doesn't freak like a little girl because there is another dog around. I hate dog aggressive dogs and feel too many are bred because they bite well. I look at them as nerve bags that need a dirt nap.

Jeff - I need to add your correction method of " behave, or get beaten" to the section of my article that's not recommended!! There is nothing wrong with establishing pack order and rules. Beating a dog is not part of my protocol nor should it be part of anyone’s protocol. In fact there is no room for even hitting a dog in training.

I also disagree with your statement that severe dog aggressive dogs should be put down. There is ALWAYS a reason for this behavior - always !!

Dog aggression can be controlled but probably never eliminated so maintenance training will always be part of an animal aggressive dogs living environment.

I am sure there are levels of dog aggression that are beyond your skill level. It's always too bad when dogs are put down as a result of poor or no training. But then this happens every day in this country. It would be nice if this were not the case but that would not be very realistic to say.

Jeff - You need to be a little careful about your posts or people are going to start to believe the first part of your salutaion at the end of all your posts.

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I also disagree with your statement that severe dog aggressive dogs should be put down. There is ALWAYS a reason for this behavior - always !!

I agree with this statement of Ed's 100%. Same happens here that dogs are put down when sometimes Id wish the dutch goverment would paas a motion to have the nut ( being polite till i know what can and not be said here <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> of an owner meet the same fate for messing the dog up. A lot of times i notice when you take the so called agressive dog out of its present situation and you put it in a new one with someone who knows what they are doing, all of a sudden the dog is fine and the agression is more or less gone. Miracles happen? I think its more a question of the wrong owner.

Quote:I am sure there are levels of dog aggression that are beyond your skill level.

You know you might be right, but I doubt it. Having dealt with probably close to two hundred dog aggressive dogs in the years that I have been training other peoples dogs might give me a better insight to the whole dog aggression issue than most. Unreasonable dog aggression is a fear based reaction. Most of the dogs I dealt with had been attacked as pups, and thus a reason for their behavior.

There were some, and I have one laying by me right now, That as they matured started to attack other dogs, because they were afraid of them. After dealing with a bunch of those types of dogs, you see what they are and they are crap. Basically dominant insecure.

It's not like I saw one dog, and made up a theory. Its not like I have only trained two dogs in my lifetime. I started teaching classes when I was ten. Basic AKC obedience. I have worked with at least a thousand dogs at shelters. I got through to some, some I didn't. I taught classes on and off for a number of years. So wether you think that I am wrong or not, I have lots of dogs that understand a basic concept. DO NOT FIGHT.

I notice that a lot of people including yourself like to watch Ceasar Milan. Think he gets all those dogs to get along with magic? I bet he's not using inducive methods there.

As far as my salutation, my dog is smarter than me. I work, he sleeps. I come home, he gets me to play ball. I take him to train, he does things right and gets a reward. Smarter than me! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Wow...I would never take my dogs to a trainer who advised me to beat my dogs...I feel badly for your dogs

I see you are a social worker. Hows that going. Another profession with out a clue. There are many cases of people getting beat out there and nothing happens to them. Maybe you should fix that, instead of misreading what I wrote.

Just to clarify for those of you that take so much time to sound out the words that you lose the meaning of a sentence, I am not beating dogs randomly and for funsies. If they decide to fight they get smacked. Pretty simple.

Jeff - I dare say I have considerably more experience in the area of dog aggression than you. I find it interesting that you think most dog aggression is fear based. You are correct that once attacked most dogs will become dog aggressive - a good offense is the best defense.

If my memory is right I think you said you work in a dog shelter. Maybe that’s the case with the dogs in your shelter. I can tell you that over all it is not the case.

There is far far more dominance based aggression than fear based aggression.

I have never seen a study but I get 4 to 5 times more emails about dogs fighting over rank and pack issues than fear based issues.

There are some dogs that are fear based. With this said - how can people account for dogs that have never been attacked that have dog aggression issues - this is not fear based.

I have owned more truly dominant tough dogs that have had dog aggression issues than I care to remember. Many are dogs I have bred. Giving them a good beating (or whatever you care to call your methods of control in your house) would have result in a trip to the hospital