How Do You Train One Dog When You Have Two

[lizbud]

I really want to teach Maggie to "come" more reliably when
I call her. (comes sometimes, not every time) Smokey & Maggie
seem almost joined at the hip and it's hard to get her undivided
attention. I've tried leaving smokey inside the back door & taking
just Maggie out into the yard, but Smokey looks so pitiful inside
looking out at us "playing", these sessions don't last very long.

I do plan on taking Maggie to puppy classes after her next (last)
puppy shots, and spay, but I wanted to work on some lessons
before she goes to classes. Any ideas?

[Queen of Poop]

I worked with both dogs at the same time. Sami could use the refresher and Sasha needed to learn. I used food as a reward and had both of their complete attention.

[KYS]

I know it is hard, Sheba wanted to join in on the training too.

Even though it made me feel bad,
I did not allow her to
attend every training session while he was learning.
Once he had his last shots, I would take him to the park
or out front for some of his training with-out Shebs.

In the back yard, I would put sheba through the basics
first to make her happy, and when it was Rocks turn,
I would tell her to leave us alone or put her in the house.
Training sessions were never longer than 10 minutes
at a time when he was first learning
so it wasn't to hard on Sheba.

[binka_nugget]

I train both at the same time. I usually work with Kai while Kaedyn is put into a down stay. Then I switch 'em around and work with Kaedyn while Kai is in a down stay. Needless to say, both of their stays are by far their strongest command.

[Cincy'sMom]

I really think your best bet to get Maggie started is to leave Smokey inside. If you could work with her 1-2 times/day for 5-10 minutes, she would start to lean the commands reliably on her own. Maybe if you give Smokey a PB filled kong, or other yummy treat, he won't miss you as much for those few minutes.

Once Maggie is fairly confident in the basics, then you can work with the two together.

When we were training Cincy, I would take Sadie in one room and work with her, while Ralph worked Cincy in the other room. Then we would switch, so they both learned to listen to both of us. It was more of a refresher for Sadie, but I think it helped Cincy focus to be on her own while she was learning.

[Cinder & Smoke]

It *IS* difficult to train with only one, when you have two!

If Maggie does have the basic concept of "Come" down pretty well -
you could "try" drilling them together in the yard.

Run it like a contest - Furst Dawg that "Comes to Momma" gets
the GOOD Treat;
#2 gets the Not-so-Good Treat (or maybe just a pat on the head).
As long as they BOTH respond to the "come" and remain focused
on the drill - a little competition may sharpen their recalls.

But if one "quits early" and doesn't "come" all the way to you -
I'd resume one-on-one practice.

When SmokeMutt was *In Skewel* and we were doing drills, I did
sometimes have to "tie" Cinder up or leave her inside while
I gave 100% Attention to Smokey...
But as he became more skilled we did a lot of Dual-Dog drills
where they were clipped to the same leash with a very short "Y-Thingy"
that kept them shoulder-to-shoulder. I'd just alternate which
one was my Leg-dog and which was the Outside-dog.

They can and do perform all general commands like HEEL, SIT, DOWN,
and STAY while they're clipped together and rubbing shoulders.

/s/ Phred
.

[lizbud]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I would like to work one on one
with Maggie to start off. I can tell from the few things I've done
with her inside, that she's very smart. I hate to say this, but she's
a lot quicker to pick up on things than Smokey was.She is bright
and seems fearless about new things,

I'm going to take the advice about keeping Smokey busy with
a special treat while I take Maggie outside to train. Maybe start
with 10-15 mins at a time. Thanks again.

[micki76]

Originally posted by lizbud
I'm going to take the advice about keeping Smokey busy with
a special treat while I take Maggie outside to train. Maybe start
with 10-15 mins at a time. Thanks again.

I would do more like 5-10 mins, like Amy suggested. Some dogs tend to lose interest after that, or get frustrated.