You’ve imagined how amazing your life would be with two awesome dogs, envisioned what great pals they’d be, the incredible adventures you will go on. You can picture them now having a nap together in a pool of sunlight on your floor, or romping and frolicking together in the yard. But what if they don’t get along? What if they are so distracted by each other that they don’t listen to you at all? How do you prevent the two dogs from becoming possessive or aggressive with each other?

Here’s how to start off smoothly to set up for success.

Many people assume that to get dogs to become best buddies, all they need to do is to let them figure it out on their own. A great parent wouldn’t just leave their toddler in the playground and let another kid kick or bite them, expecting them to “figure it out”. Instead, we guide, advise and show our kids & dogs how to behave politely so everyone has fun and stays safe.

Begin away from home

On day one, rather than bringing the new dog straight into the house or yard, start off on neutral territory. Introduce the dogs by walking on-leash. Have someone walk one dog, while you walk the other. Begin farther apart at first, then gradually walk closer until you’re walking next to each other with the dogs on the outside. This allows the dogs to get to know each other in a very non-confrontational way without being pressured to interact. Migrating together as a pack helps to build the trust and respect so important to having a well behaved dog. Keep your energy calm, while you take your time and enjoy a nice long walk together.

Welcome home!

Once at home, limit your new dog’s access to your space. Don’t overwhelm them with too much freedom that they haven’t earned yet. Keep the dog leashed (or tethered to you) as you show them around.

If your first dog can already reliably hold a Place command, have them stay on their Place (bed, cot, spot) with a tie-back, while you quietly and calmly show your new dog around. If they can’t reliably stay on Place, you can put your dog in their crate or have the other person take them elsewhere, to avoid interference while you introduce your new dog to their crate, water bowl, Place, and the other rooms they are allowed to enter.

You may choose to “crate and rotate” the dogs for the first few days (by putting one dog in their crate while the other is out). Use your best judgement here. If your original dog has fantastic obedience and a calm mindset, then you can trust them to stay calmly on their Place cot while the new dog is being trained, patted, brushed, etc. If not, put them in their crate. Then crate the new dog while you work with and give attention to your original dog. This way they get to know each other calmly without competition. It allows the dogs to build trust by letting them get to know each other from a safe distance, and builds trust in you as their wise protector and guardian.

Healthy Socialization

When people begin socializing their dog with other dogs, the first thing that usually happens is an on-leash, face-to-face meeting, or an off-leash free-for-all. When dogs are forced to meet on leash they are restrained and feeling trapped can lead to lunging, whining, barking (defence tactics) to scare the other dog away. When let loose in a yard or field to figure it out on their own, one dog may be completely overwhelmed and without reliable recall, you’d have no way to intervene. Neither of these options is ideal if you want a well-socialized dog. In fact, these scenarios can cause both dogs to lose confidence in you as their guardian and protector and leave them without any guidance as to how to behave politely or learn to socialize appropriately.

Polite, trusting calmness is the best way to begin.
The safest and best way to teach dogs to behave well together and to build and maintain trust in you and in other dogs, is to teach them how to calmly co-exist near each other, without staring, touching or playing using the Place command. It’s the ‘off switch’ dogs need to prevent needless stressing. This is teaching them to have good manners and to learn that their best polite behaviour is rewarded by you. They learn to have a calm mindset in the presence of other dogs, while continuing to follow your leadership and commands. This is State of Mind training. This is Calm on Command. This is doggy meditation. Calm co-existence is the most important form of socializing that you can teach your dogs.

We don’t want to teach dogs to get insanely over-excited to meet every dog they see. Imagine if we were like that. “OMG there’s another human!”… then we race over to grab them and jump all over them. That’s crazy for us and it’s equally crazy for dogs. Instead we want to teach our dogs to hang out like relaxed people at a cafe. Calm, cool and easy in each other’s company, without needing to arm-wrestle over anything or prove anything to one another. All we want for now is for the dogs to mind their own business and behave themselves. Over time, they will likely become best friends, but to try to FORCE them to become besties is not the way to get there.

Advocate for both dogs

Once you decide to let the dogs interact, be sure to insist on polite socialization. Don’t let one dog pester, bully or push the other dog around. It’s your job to set firm boundaries about what kind of interaction is allowed. This builds your dog’s trust in you and doesn’t force them to get nasty with each other to stop inappropriate behaviour. The more the dogs see you keeping an eye out for them, the more sensible they will be. You will notice them looking to you for direction and guidance.

Possessiveness

It’s best to set up for success by eliminating things to get possessive over right from the start. What your dogs feel possessive about may surprise you. When we brought home a rescue cat, our dog decided that he would drink ALL of his water to prevent the cat from getting any! Pay special attention to your dogs behaviour around toys, bones, beds, food, water, and access to your personal space. Feeding each dog in their own crate is the safest method. It also prevents one dog from getting fat while the other one goes hungry! Thoroughly teaching each dog (in one-on-one sessions) to DROP IT, LEAVE IT, or the OUT command (whichever you choose) is extremely helpful in keeping them safe around items they may become possessive about. On your word, each dog must relinquish the item to you, rather than fight over it themselves. This can be taught as a fun game, but the intent is serious to keep everyone safe.

Don’t allow one dog to crowd into your space and push or herd the other dog away. Remember that you must set the rules about your space and you decide when and how you interact with each dog. Being firm and clear about this prevents your dogs from becoming possessive over you. You are their teacher, leader, guardian – NOT their possession to fight over. Make the roles clear here to prevent any confusion for your dogs.

Treat your original dog as you normally would. Don’t overwhelm the new dog with too much talking, touching, or treats. Keep things calm to help both dogs adapt.

Take it slowly

Keep the first week or so as a calm, quiet time for your new dog to adjust to their new daily routine. Avoid overwhelming your dog with too many introductions to new people or places right away.

Many people mistakenly give new dogs too much freedom too soon and leave them unattended. You’ll be living with this dog for the rest of their life, so what’s the hurry? Take it slow and only increase your dog’s freedom incrementally when they have completely earned your trust after you have thoroughly taught him/her how to behave in your home and with your other dog. It’s not fair to correct a dog for making a mistake until you are sure they know what to do and what not to do.

Keep leashes on both dogs while supervising indoors so you have the ability to guide them when needed. Do this as long as you feel necessary. This is a super simple step that can make life a lot easier while showing your dogs how to live well together.

No Free Roaming

Help your dogs succeed by giving them a structured home life with clear rules to follow. If your new dog is either safely in their crate, on their Place cot while back tied, or leashed/tethered to your belt for the first 90 days, this gives the dog ample time to learn what behaviour is allowed so they don’t develop and practice bad habits that need to be corrected later on. It’s much easier to show your new dog repeatedly what they ARE allowed to do, and to catch their intention to do the wrong thing and guide them immediately to stop, than to correct unwanted behaviours that have become ingrained habits later on. By following this advice your dog will never have the ability to disappear behind your sofa to “have an accident”, will never develop the habit of chasing your cat, or eating your stuff, or stealing from your counter, etc.

Quality Time

Successful dog training is all about being a great observer of behaviour and teacher. That requires that you spend lots of time together. Whenever you don’t have that time, put your dogs in their crates to prevent them from practicing things that dogs will naturally do (barking, chewing, peeing, pooping). As the saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. You got a dog to spend quality time together and the time you spend now will pay off in having a great dog who makes great choices!

Crate training is one of the fundamental components of developing a balanced, well-behaved dog. Dogs who are crate trained feel comfortable and relaxed having a secure den-like space of their own. Some people feel that a dog would be sad in a crate, or think it’s like prison. But the truth is that most dogs who are left out of the crate are far more anxious and stressed out. They’re circulating around the house looking for ways to soothe themselves and cope with the stress – often by barking, chewing your things, or destroying your home.

Maybe you’re thinking, “But my dog is not doing anything wrong when I’m gone. They just lay on the ____ (rug, dog bed, sofa, my bed…) until I get home from work, so why do they need to be in a crate?

First of all, free roaming is a huge privilege that needs to be earned. Being loose can be a great reward after establishing a habit of fantastic behaviour and teaching your dog how to be calm. On the other hand, free-roaming can be overwhelming to some dogs who don’t know what to do with themselves, and try to cope by getting into mischief.

Permission-based training is all about creating healthier patterns and using what’s in your environment to help your dog learn how to behave well and to cope in the human world. A crate is an important tool to do that.

Crate training is a big component of teaching a dog to be calm on command. Most of the dogs who come in for training have been practicing anxious, nervous, fearful reactions, &/or bossy, pushy, bratty behaviours. Crate training helps to resolve all of these – not alone – but as one key component of creating structure and not allowing the dog to practice unwanted behaviours in your absence. It’s about the whole dog and changing the big picture for the better.

Arousal (a dog moving from a neutral, calm state into an intense readiness for fight, flight or over-excitement in the desire for something) is the main thing we want to reduce or remove in order to begin helping dogs. We do this by first changing their state of mind because a dog who is completely fixated on something else cannot possibly learn something new. What is one of the key ways to begin addressing arousal? Crate training. Teaching a dog to be calm on their own and to enter and exit the crate calmly and politely only when invited is one of the foundational exercises to begin creating a more respectful, tuned-in dog who is looking to you for direction and permission, rather than continuing to make poor choices or ignoring your guidance.

Here are 8 great reasons to use a crate.

1. Free-roaming gives your dog opportunities to make poor choices based on impulse, so your dog should be in their crate whenever you are sleeping, away from home, or cannot actively participate in or monitor your dog’s activity. If your dog hasn’t earned your complete trust to have free roam of your home, then s/he needs to be crated. If you don’t crate train your dog, you’re setting your dog up to fail. Crate training means that in your absence, your dog can’t make mistakes. This is setting your dog up for success. This is being proactive instead of reactive.
2. While safely in their crate, your dog won’t be able to practice bad habits, like stressing out, soiling your carpet, barking at the windows, pestering your other dog, fence fighting with the neighbour’s dog, chasing your cat, or destroying your plants, your home, or other treasures while you’re out. Stop bad habits from being practiced, or better yet, prevent bad habits from forming in the first place by using a crate.
3. Leaving your dog to their own devices when you’re not around can undo the training you’ve been working on. The best way to ensure that your dog’s state of mind and good habits remain the same way you left them is by using a crate.
4. The crate is NEVER to be used as punishment for bad behaviour for two reasons. a) the concept of ’time out’ does not work as an effective punishment for dogs. If your dog chewed your shoes, putting your dog in a crate does nothing to teach your dog not to destroy shoes in the future. b) you want your dog to associate being in the crate with being calm, peaceful, and relaxed, rather than being associated with your anger, frustration or disapproval. Feeding your dog in the crate helps to build their good associations with the space so they are more likely to enjoy their time in their kennel. The crate is a great option for your dog to have a safe, quiet space during parties, or whenever they need a rest. It’s not just for when you’re not home. 
5. A crate is a key tool in potty training. A dog is far less likely to go to the washroom in a crate. It is essential that the crate is not too large for this method to be effective. The crate must be big enough for the dog to lay down comfortably, turn around and sit up without their head touching the top. Like kids, puppies need lots of naps, or they can  behave badly due to being over-tired.
6. Crate training is an essential part of eliminating and preventing separation anxiety. Instead of letting your dog follow you around, pester you for attention, or continue to practice bad habits in your absence without being held accountable, practice teaching your dog calmness during rest periods when you’re home, so your dog builds the habit of remaining calm in the crate when you’re home – and then when you’re out. If you work long hours, you can hire a dog walker to exercise your dog and get your dog out for a potty break.
7. Crate training builds patience, impulse control and is a key part of the non-negotiable rules and routine of daily life. It’s a great place to rest quietly between training sessions to process the information they just learned. The crate gives dogs a place to unwind. It’s not healthy or normal to remain in an adrenalized, stressful state. Dogs need down time too.
8. Being crate trained ensures that your dog remains safe and can’t destroy anything in your home, or chew/swallow anything that may harm them (electrical cords, small objects, poisonous cleansers, your favourite items, etc.) while you are unavailable to supervise. Your dog could ingest something dangerous which could cost you a lot of money, which could make your dog very sick or even kill your dog.

Even if your dog is house trained and can reliably be trusted not to destroy things in your absence, a crate is an essential tool to help your dog if your dog is pushy, bratty, nervous, aggressive, anxious or stressed. All of the dogs boarding & training with us eat and sleep in a crate or kennel. When dogs aren’t actively training, they are in command – on their place cot or bed, in a down-stay, or in their crate. This kind of structure is so therapeutic to dogs. It helps them to feel safe and calm because they clearly know exactly what they should be doing, rather than stressing out or making poor choices. Crate training is a key tool in teaching dogs to be calm. It becomes a habit the more it is practiced. Calm, well-behaved dogs get included in more aspects of daily life. So, keep your dog safe and help them succeed by using a crate.

Most dogs are living in a constant state of over-excitement, which stresses them out! When dogs are stressed they get into trouble doing things people don’t like. Many people confuse a dog’s stress for signs of happiness (e.g. frantic excitement, running around, panting, jumping). A dog with a calm state of mind is not busy engaging in disruptive, disturbing or dangerous behaviours. Dogs THRIVE when given plenty of structure with clear guidance from their trusted & respected mentors & advocates (that’s you). Life with dependable rules and consistent patterns create a sense of security, increases confidence and reduces or completely eliminates most anxious or unwanted behaviours in dogs.

How do you create a calm state of mind in your dog?

Calmness begins with consistent habits at home. Establish structured routines with predictable, reasonable expectations that your dog can understand, learn & participate in.

By using the “nothing in life is free” method, your dog learns to earn your approval by behaving beautifully. You build a trusting & respectful relationship with your dog by controlling everything in life that your dog values – such as food, water, bed, play, toys, use of space. This makes you relevant to your dog, as you are the source of every good thing.

The Place command teaches doggy meditation, calm on command & impulse control.

Crate training is an essential component to keep dogs from practicing unwanted behaviours while you’re not there to supervise.

Build patience & impulse control by requiring dogs to ask permission to calmly cross thresholds, politely waiting for food, and teach them that all good things come from their calm advocates and respected mentors (you!).

If you’ve been overindulging your dog you may have created a demanding tyrant or even a dog with aggressive behaviours in dogs so inclined. All dogs have deep instinctive needs that must be met. They are not little humans trapped in fur. We can show you how to put your dog’s needs ahead of your own preferences so they’ll behave beautifully.

Calmness is a superpower for humans too!

Become aware of your own energy. Practice being a role model for your dog by demonstrating calmness. Practice moving calmly, without frenetic touching or patting. Practice talking a lot less to your dog and especially avoid loud, or high pitched baby talk or excited questions. Silence is golden while dog training. Actions speak louder than words. The less you talk, the calmer your dog will be.

And of course, satisfy your dog’s basic needs for healthy food, a reasonable amount of exercise, appropriate socialization and peaceful rest periods.

Here’s to your happy life with your relaxed dog!

The Place command teaches dogs how to relax in a specific spot.”Place” can be a dog cot, a bed, a rug, a chair – you decide – and you can change where & what the “place” is that you want your dog to relax. It is helpful initially to choose a location with distinct edges. Using a raised cot makes it easier to teach the dog to remain within the boundaries of this designated location, and it’s comfy so the dog will want to hang out there to rest.

The many Benefits of the Place command for dogs

Whether your dog is demanding & pushy, or shy & nervous, or anywhere in between – the Place command is a game changer.

Daily practice of Place work is extremely beneficial for dogs to learn to relax and it’s a key part of teaching a dog to be calm on command. With a little practice every day, your dog can become a zen master! This is super handy when you have guests visiting, or have household tasks to do.

We initially teach the Place command and then pair it with the Down command, so dogs learn to associate Place with laying down. Where the body goes the mind will follow. Since laying down is naturally a relaxing position that is related to taking a snooze, your dog will begin to calm down more readily in this position. Gradually your dog will be chilling out on Place for longer periods of time, (from an hour to several hours at a time) and as long as they stay on Place, they are free to stand, sit, or lay down comfortably. If they step off of Place, we simply say “no” in a calm tone of voice and lead them back into Place.

When a dog is new at this exercise, we begin with a leash and with very short duration and few distractions, while remaining close (distance) to the dog. With practice each of these 3 D’s are gradually increased until the dog is a pro at remaining on Place without constant supervision.

If your dog hasn’t mastered this skill yet and you need to come & go from the room, you can use a tie-back to tether your dog to something solid. This is to prevent the dog from getting too far or into mischief if they do step off while you’re not looking. However, never leave your dog unattended while tethered for more than a few minutes when you are home, and definitely don’t leave home with your dog still tied. It is illegal to tether a dog in Ontario for more than an hour in any situation. Besides that, the whole exercise is about teaching your dog to master their impulse control. The dog should not be spending any length of time with tension on a leash with them struggling to escape. Instead the dog is holding themselves on Place with their own will power. That is the magic of the exercise. The dog remains in place of their own accord. This is hard work at first. Dogs love to have a job to do and Place work is a fantastic job for dogs.

Transforming dogs with stress/excitement related issues

The Place command is an essential skill that every dog should master. Every noise, smell, or movement is not something a dog needs to be reacting to. No matter what exciting distractions are happening in the house, or outside the window, a dog can learn to chill out, because those things are not their concern. We show our dogs that we have everything under control so they don’t have to worry about that stuff.

This is how we create calm dogs that are not constantly in motion, persistently pestering people, or stressing themselves out with things they cannot control. Running and jumping around the home is not normal dog behaviour. Once your dog has mastered the Place command, you will be able to get things done around your home, such as vacuuming or other cleaning, laundry, cooking, eating, exercising, homework, projects, etc. If you want to stop a dog from getting underfoot and stressing out, the Place command is life-changing.

A dog cannot be barking, destroying things, pestering people, chasing the cat, or any other unwanted behaviour while they are resting calmly in place. Impulse control is a big part of growing up for all of us. Although many dog owners don’t realize it, training CALMNESS is the key ingredient missing in their dog’s lives.

Place work is ideal to rehab dogs with separation anxiety

Dogs need leadership and guidance to help them be really clear about what to do and where they should be. This is especially important for anxious and overly reactive dogs, but it’s helpful for everyone. It’s our responsibility to help dogs get it right. When they have been given clear information they can make the right decisions, then we get to praise and reward them and they can relax. The Place command is a key element of avoiding or eliminating separation anxiety, since Place teaches dogs that it’s okay to be away from you. The dog’s new job is to stay put and relax, rather than stressing out and following their human around like a shadow.

Interpreting emotion – Is your dog actually happy or just stressed?

Most people see an over-excited dog and say something like, “Look how happy that dog is!” However, excitement in dogs is more often an expression of stress and anxiety rather than joy & happiness. On the flip side, people may see a calm dog and wonder why the dog looks so sad when the dog is actually peacefully relaxing.

It is not healthy or natural to remain in an adrenalized state all of the time. There is a time for exuberant frolicking, rambunctious play and enthusiastic exercise. And then there is the normal state of calmness when nothing much is happening. For much of the time, nothing much is happening, so our dogs are not helped by remaining in a high-energy state during most of the day. The Place command is an essential tool to teach dogs how to meditate, remain peaceful and simply chill out.

Dogs who live in a happy, mentally relaxed space get to be included more in our everyday lives.