First time more than one dog owner help

Vindaloo

Vindaloo

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 June 2005
Messages
729
Location
Greenwich, London.
Visit site
Hi,

I have owned dogs all my adult life and all of them have been nice, socialised pleasure to have dogs, ok so there have been chewing dramas and the usual but nothing out of the ordinary.

Now, however for the first time I have two dogs. The first Pepper, we met when we moved to India, a scruffy emaciated street dog with little or no trust of humans who after lots of patient coaxing became our 'take home dog'. Literally... we gained her trust, bundled her into the car and took her home. It took time but she has transformed into a trusting (of most people) loving and highly intelligent little friend for life.

The second is a pup, born to one of the dogs at the yard (mum also a street dog) and taken home since we reasoned that Pepper having been born to pack life would appreciate another of her kind and also because we knew fully well that had we not taken her home her life would have been one of chance ( i'm only sorry I couldn'thave taken her litter mates too) and i've seen too many horrors out here to have been able to say no.

Both have adapted well to life with us, get twice daily walks, have socialised with all the strays and no fighting, get to run in the only park we have found and generally life life to the max having taken to sofa's, beds, top notch grub like they were born to it.

My question is, to those of you with more than one dog, is it normal for them to play quite so rough and quite so often? My GOD, they run round the house like thoroughbreds round aintree clearing the sofas with ease, taking turns on the marble floor like the very best motorbike racers and wrestling harders than any steriod enhanced WWF fighter. It's lovely to see them having so much fun but my question is, should I tell them off and if so... how the hell do I enforce it?

Pepper is approx 1yr old and Bumble 4 months old. Should I chuck them out into the garden every time they go mental or try to stop it or what???? They are good together with food and will gladly share from the same bowl, have a bit of a ding dong over bones but nothing bad, I am just wondering how long the furniture will cope with the wall of death type antics.

Totally out of my depth and would love some advice. Thanks in advance.
 
Well Millie, my 9 nearly 10yr old JRT, and her son Jimmy, who's nearly 5, do that ALL the time! It get quite annoying but can be quite funny to watch too. Then there's my Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla Bridget, nearly 4, and she and Jim (again) are probably just as bad, then there's mum's dogs, from 4 - 11 and Jim (notice a pattern emerging??) lol

I'd just bung them out or do a death rattle (loud, growly shout) to get them to pack up, though in my experience they ignore that most of the time
 
Ha, tried the growly shout and they do stop... look at me like I am mental and then resume activities as before. To be honest, I love to see them so happy BUT it really is taking it's toll on the furniture. I'm not stupidly house proud since i've had animals forever and know you just can't have a show home with them (and who'd want to live in such a sterile environment anyway) however there is a limit.

Righto, bung them out it is then and hope they grow out of it. Was seriously considering getting in touch with Cesar Milan and seeing if he would be interested in a stint out here..... Doubt it would pay enough for him though and I am far from the film star clientele he has in the US.
 
Last edited:
No advice but I'll offer some sympathy - my terrier plays like that with our younger cat. On and off the sofa, up and down the stairs, on and off the bed. They sound like a herd of elephants!! Ours is self limiting though, the cat finds a piece of paper and gets distracted and it all stops, so it doesn't go on for more than a few minutes. Painful when you're sitting on the sofa and suddenly get used as a landing/launchpad though!!
 
Thanks Rana, think I might have to get a cat then.. when it's dogs only it goes on for quite a lot longer than a few minutes.

Have been that launch pad more times than I care to think. Oh tried a drunken sleep on the sofa... got a facefull of Bumble and a nipped ear for his trouble.

Couldn't help but laugh a bit at his un asked for piercing.
 
Hi, first of all, well done for taking on two street dogs. I work as cabin crew for an airline, and we always get met by a pack of skinny dogs by the hotel bus in India or Africa, as we take the remaining steaks from first and business class for them! (We take snacks and sweets for the kids too, before anyone asks!) I always want to take one home.

Re your boistrous dogs - we have recently taken on a second dog,and they play like that! They wag their tails while playing, and are usually fighting over one ball or something. If you give them another toy, they just drop it, and carry on with the tug of war! We let them hurtle around as much as they like outside (we are lucky to have quite a lot of land, and they just spend the whole moring charging around while I sort out the yard).

They did used to be like that in the house when they first came in. The new dog is only 14 months,and very puppified still. I found that they had to be sent to their baskets for 5 minutes when they came in (like time out), and then they would settle down. If they get too crazy in the house (which they don't often now) they get sent to their baskets again. Now they know that crazy time is for outside, and in the house they just snuggle up together in front of the fire. I was surprised how easy it was - but they must be getting enough running around outside to allow them to let off steam! We call them solar powered dogs!
 
I've had my second dog now for 4 months and I know they are now bessie mates. They play like hooligans outside but indoors they are happy to snuggle up together. Having said that they are older though and when yours mature I think they'll naturally calm down,

Good luck and loads of credit for taking on street dogs, I bet they think they've won the lottery :D
 
Wow, well done taking on street dogs. :)

My two pups play fight long and hard but will be calmer at the end of the day. They have a routine of being allowed to play til a certain time then they have to be calm + go on their bed. They've been trained from early on to do this and it gives us all a break. :)
 
Ha. It doesn't get any better either!
I have a 13 yr old collie cross who hoons around with the 4 month old and 3 year old springers, infact she often starts it all off! Great to see! Bless em. But the noise can be a bit much when your trying to watch Eastenders!
 
Don't worry, they're still both juveniles and doing what young 'uns do. Just keep an eye and if things get too rough , call a halt to the proceedings purely for the sake of the young pup and his growing bones.:)
 
Mine make an all mighty racket when they play! People who are not used to dogs can get quite worried about it, but those who are familiar with dogs recognise it as play shouting and crack a smile. Personally I let mine go bonkers because they only tend to do it while they enjoy it, so I enjoy it as well. The older ones (I have four) can walk away when they have had enough or tell the others to pack it in. I would expect a puppy to make a high pitched squeele if he was in any way hurt and the older dog should read this as an immediate signal to stop.
 
My two wrestle and play fight quite alot. They do settle down. I restrct them to playing either outsde or just on the floor, i don't let them jump on the sofa etc. They take it in turns in starting it.
 
Hi Dougalsmum......congrats and well done on taking the two on board! It's great that they get on so well and yes, playing like that is the norm. The only thing that struck me about your post was the marble floor!!! :D Yes, I'm jealous and would love a marble floor, but if it's slippy like laminate then it won't be doing either of the dogs any good (hips etc) - but especially the 4 month pupster. In which case, I would suggest keeping the indoor acrobatics to the minimum and encouraging them outdoors to let off steam.
 
Thanks so much for all the replies, and for the thumbs up for taking them on. Lost my beloved Doberman Hugo this time last year after 11 years and was not intending getting another dog because I was so heartbroken BUT when we met Pepper she just cried out to be taken home and that was that. Bumble was born at the stables a few months later and well.. here we are with two dogs. They are of course with us for life and i'll deal with the quarunteen (sure I've spelt that wrong) issues when we come home in a couple of years.

The play although very boisterous is really just that. No nastiness at all, they just love rough and tumble. The marble floor luckily is not slippery like laminate, we had issues with that in the uk and resorted to putting runners all over the house for our doby.

I am concerned that Bumble takes a bit of a battering though (mind you, she gives as good as she gets) but Pepper does back off if she squeaks. I think that as she grew up in a pack, she has better social skills than perhaps dogs who have only lived alone. She has taught Bumble quite a lot about what is acceptable and what is not. It's amazing really how well the two of them have adapted... right now the pair of them are full stretch on the sofa fast asleep.

The weather here is so nice that the doors to the outside are open all day. It's only at night now that they are closed (it's a bit chillier now that it's winter, nothing like UK though :-) and thats when it gets a bit crazy. Think I will insist on rough play out side. A certain amount inside is ok but leaping over the sofa and using the other as a bit of a spring board although funny to watch is a bit mental. If they were horses my god would they be fun to sit on.... or maybe it would be suicide.

I'll try to get some pics up but I'm blooming useless at that sort of thing. They truly are the oddest looking dogs. Such a mix of just about every imaginable canine I should think. I went from the bluest blooded hound to these absolute mixtures and I love them to bits.

Thanks again. xxxxx
 
Hey gunnerdog. Yep I have to say that the marble floors are LOVELY and I have been extremely lucky to get to live in this house for the next couple of years BUT I am envying you all at home in the winter with carpets, fires and all the snuggly bits. Marble looks lovely but it's a bit cold and hard on the bum. I'm sitting on the floor now and my behind is getting numb. Other plus to marble is that it's nice and easy for cleaning up those little incidents puppies tend to have ;-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top