Family of Multiple Dogs

The important elements when living with a family of dogs:

Are they going to be Friends?

➤  The relationship between the dogs is not ours to decide: it is not our job to make them be friendly or like each other but we can prevent some of the darker sides of forced cohabitation with good management. When they are relaxed and do not need to be tense in shared company relationships can improve.
It is our role to ensure that each dog can live well in their individual way: they can have their own space to relax and enjoy their particular activities: a garden browse without being harassed, sleeping without being used as a pillow, eating at their preferred speed without needing to guard as they chew.

We try to be fair. What is good for one should be good for all.

➤  Dogs want to be included and can easily become distressed when abandoned by the group or excluded from activities, particularly those that are centred with you. Giving affection is often seen as an open feast where all want to be at the table and a single pair of hands is found to be insufficient.

The Bright Young New Puppy

➤  Puppies coming from litters have only known how to be part of a group and fight for their resources: from the milk bar to the bones, defending personal space to being at the front of the queue. When they arrive into your group house rules will need to be reset. Existing residents will keenly feel the shift of attention to the Bright Young Thing and extra attention must be given to usual routines and even some extra times for the regular moments.

Sleeping and Napping

➤  Discover their choices: is comfort or location a priority? Can we move their bed to their choice of location? Do they change once the house has settled?

Meal times

➤  This should not be a free for all, even with individual bowls, faster eaters can quickly become interested in the slower eaters and harass them to move aside. Each dog should be able to eat without threat and savour their own pleasure. Communal eating is not a healthy activity for dogs, they do not seek to have a table conversation, but need a minimum amount of space to never feel pressure to hurry their food or guard and swallow.

Learning to observe the individuals how they are living, what they enjoy and their niche within the house is important to build a home that is healthy, content and well-balanced. Not every dog is suited to busy lives with frequent arousal or challenges and bickering, some thrive on it, some may wish for some respite. It is our responsibility that each dog that touches our lives gets a chance to bloom in their own way.

Is this course for you?

If you are enthusiastic about learning, developing and building your relationships, connection and skills then you will be very welcome. I will challenge you to do better work, explore new ideas, rethink what you thought you knew. Doing the work that leads to the most learning.

You will get many opportunities to look at your current routines, try out new patterns and enjoy group activities with your own dogs.

This course includes regular feedback, questions and coaching from me and the group.

Live sessions

There will be a weekly live sessions (Thursdays, 1700 GMT) which are also recorded and kept in the archive for the whole course. This  gives us a chance to discuss the more complex questions and explore new ideas and current issues.

You can create your own journal, plans, video progress, lifestyle and activities in the forums.

Access to the forums. resources and discussions is available after the course.

Not for you

If you plan to be a passive spectator, auditor or intend to harvest material generated by the work of others then this course is not for you. You will be given two weeks to demonstrate active participation after which your access will be limited.

This type of learning requires committment and although best intentions can be shoved aside by life’s interruptions, you must notify me if you are unable to continue and we can look at other options.

Dog Families

These come in all sorts of flavours. We mix dogs of different sizes, ages and capabilities.

The course activities are suitable for all types of dogs of all ages that are able to enjoy the learning.

The course will focus on building your skills of observation, analysis and management. Being able to video and upload these for feedback and assessment will be a critical part of the learning and participation.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions about the course: email kay