Must all dogs be equal??

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Ranyhyn

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Should all dogs in your pack (household) be equal?

For instance, I have three dogs. Two JRTs and a retriever. Certain things the JRTs are allowed to do, the retriever is not, ie getting on the sofa. Retriever doesn't come to my grandparents with me to visit - he's too big. JRTs don't come with us to his parents, they tke a while to settle and can be annoying! :rolleyes: etc etc.

Today my OH and I have been debating whether or not this is right. I say it is - we as pack leaders are free to make the rules for our dogs and naturally certain members of the pack will be elevated as some are lowered.

OH says all dogs should be treated equal.

What do you guys think/do?
 
Mine are all treated the same up to a point, because of the size difference they are treated differently.

Pip our Lancashire Heeler is allowed on the bed but it is not my bed but my daughters, I wont have a dog on the bed regardless of size. Pip gets to go out to a lot more places purely because she is small and because she belongs to my daughter and her boyfriend.

Darcy my female Dobermann gets to go to agility purely because she is smaller than Diesel and I would worry about him doing a hip or something similar. Darcy is also more intelligent and is just a natural.

Treat wise they are all treated the same and whilst Darcy is away at agility Diesel will be spoilt by my daughter and bf so he dosnt feel left out.
 
No, there is no need for you to suddenly allow them all on the couch!

There are different rules for the dogs in my house, but they all know their individual rules and are fine. It keeps the peace.

If you suddenly changed the rules and all dogs were allowed on sofa, they all got carted off with you when you visit people.... would probably cause a bit of chaos, no?
 
My dogs are the same size and same breed but Dax goes to a lot more places and does a lot more things than Ricoh. I know that I can take her anywhere and, after 5 minutes of excitement and pulling (:rolleyes:), she'll settle and be happy to mooch around on the lead all day, sit quietly under a pub table, be polite with elderly relatives etc.

R on the other hand we haven't had as long and he hasn't yet learnt how to do these things. He's a lot more neurotic and is worried by change. He absolutely will not be tethered anywhere which drives me bonkers, he's going to have to learn for rallies next season. After several months of persistence it's clear he doesn't enjoy agility. He does enjoy scooter runs and canix but spends most of his time winding up Dax and being a pain in the arse.

I know it's a catch 22 situation, if I don't take him and do these things he'll never learn, sometimes I just need an easy life and want to only take my 'good' dog. :o
 
BoolavogueDC said:
Should all dogs in your pack (household) be equal?

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No, certainly not. In an ideal world then the pack leader, that's you, would manage to maintain a level balance with all of your charges being equal. That isn't how it works.

Every pack leader has a second lieutenant, and generally it's another dog. Unless you're very clever, your assistant will maintain their own level of discipline, it can be OH SO subtle! But it is there. Watching your assistant, can be illuminating. Body language is everything, because there's no need to waist the energy upon serious fights. I had an alpha bitch once, and even at the age of 14, the younger males feared her.

The problem, all so often comes, when an older and serious alpha male starts to age. There may be a younger, and maturing dog within the pack, and sooner or later, the No. 1 man has to back down, and it isn't easy.

When I kept and trained dogs in a serious manner, I always kept them separate, as in, kennelled individually. That way, the pack hierarchy didn't exist. It isn't that simple when dogs are kept within a house.

Alec.
 
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