Homes with more than one dog.
 

Sophia and Brody have been in obedience classes, and the instructor separated Sophia and Brody. They ended up across the room staring and barking at eachother the WHOLE class :rolleyes:. Anyway, at the end of class she pointed out our dogs and asked whether or not they are ever apart, and we said not really. She said that they need a decent amount of time apart from each other. Because when one dog passes, the other dog can pass because of grief. Sophia and Brody have a great bond and hate being apart, but I never really thought of it as a bad thing. Do your dogs get individual time or are they always together? Now I'm just discouraged and don't want to go back to class!

I think that no matter if they are apart for some time they still love each other and will grief after one passes. I think they need to cherish the moment they have with each other.

All three of mine stick together.

Mine are always together. When Nikki passed a few months ago, they all missed him but they still ate and went on like usual. One seemed to be more upset at first but they are all fine now. For a little while, every time I came home they would look to see if Nikki was with me. It may be harder with just 2, but I still think they grieve and go on.

What the instructor said is a bunch of crapola. I had a brother/sister team. The female passed at 12 and the boy lived on to 16. They were so close when one was scratching his ear the other was doing the same. He cried for several weeks and looked for her. I have since learned that if you have two ( dog or cat or mixed dog and cat) you take the surviving one with you when you put down the other. They smell the body and know that their friend is gone. It worked well with my yorkie and her cat friend.
You might ask for a refund and find a more intelligent trainer.

I'm sorry but I think the lady at the class is wrong. I really think they form a bond whether they have time apart or not. And, if they WANT to be together, I believe letting them be together far outweighs any future problems. They will be happy "now."

Mine are really close, but they do spend time apart when both my husband and I are out of the home...simply because my older dog is 55 lbs. He would never hurt her on purpose but they do love playing and roughing around...it wouldn't take much for him to accidentally hurt her. When one of us is at home, though, the furkids are always together. I can't keep them apart ;)

I think your instructor is "full of it". I have always had both large and small breeds. My large breeds (usually two) are together all the time. We just recently lost one of them (Maddie, our Shelty) and although Rex (our lab) cried for a few nights, he soon stopped and developed a cozy relationship with Oscar our cat :p. I could tell he was sad but at no time did it ever seem like he would give up and he's 13 years old!!!!!! I don't blame you for not wanting to go back to class though.........that comment would have mad me mad!!!!!! :mad:

Jada and Bogie are always together, it was the reason we decided to add Bogie to our family. We wanted Jada to have a companion. I do know that when she had her surgery and my mom kept her for me, Bogie was not a happy boy. He missed his sister.
Our son who lives at home said he had never heard anything so sad. He told us that Bogie would sit on the loveseat where they usually sleep and wail and cry. It might be hard on the one who outlives the other, but I think they would adjust after a while.
I for one, don't want to make either of mine miserable by keeping them apart, we are blessed that they love each other so much.

I tried taking Peek to the vet when our GSD had to be euthanized. He freaked out and just wanted out of the room. I don't think I'll be doing that again. He was still so depressed afterwards, for months. That's when I finally decided to get another dog, who he really didn't like (things are better now), so one month later we got another, Sapphire, who Peek tolerates very well.

When Tink was in the hospital for a week, I noticed a definite change in the other 3. I wouldn't say they are closely bonded, they all act more bonded to me. They don't really sleep together, hardly touching each other if at all. Occassionally I walk them separately, and sometimes together. Tink will chase a toy, Finny waits for her to bring it back then steals it from her. Maybe because they were all older when I got them...IDK. The 3 remaining were all very good... too good while Tink was gone. The only thing I could think of was that they were thinking 'Oh no! Who's next? We better be good or she'll get rid of us too!' My poor babies! Whenever they heard a squeak toy, they looked around for Tink. No one wanted to play. Talk about a happy group when Tink came home!

I do want my dogs to be able to function on their own, and with other people, so I don't see where separation training would hurt. When I took my first Yorkie to obedience training, all the dogs were barking at each other the first few weeks. During the last class, we put them in a sit, stay while all the owners walked behind a wall. You could hear a pin drop, and they all stayed! I would never have imagined this during week 1, Lol!

I have seen dogs pass shortly after their owner or housemate has passed. Heard of it happening with people too. I think it depends on each individual.

Maybe a more gradual approach would be easier. Instead of all the way across the room, start 1/4 of the way around...IDK.

Georgie and Coco were always together. When Coco passed away nothing really changed with Georgie. He sniffed around and I am sure wondered where she was but he adjusted fine. I don't agree with what your instructor said honestly. I think the bond that Sophia and Brody have is amazing and I don't think there is anything... time or space that would change that...JMO.

What a nasty thing to say!
I do walk my 3 separately.
Always 2 together.
I beleive in the pack mentality.
While what tge trainer said has instances of happening its not a given that was unnecessary and quite freaking rude!

I do train my separately as well and bring them together after they 'get it'.
I cant walk mine together they feed off eachother's naughtiness. But if there's more than just me we do take all 3 just one dog per person.

My suggestion get a third then rotate special time so no one is alone!

Our dogs are together but get separate time from each other, especially since our boxer is the same age as Ramsey and still very much a puppy, I think Harley enjoys when he boxer is separated lol

Animals grieve but in time they do move on. My Moon Shadow had passed and the boys moped around and looked for him in all of his special places he would be. His scent diminished. And they started going back to their usually routine.

They do grieve. When my cattle dog was put down, I had never thought of letting Bella be a part of it. But after we buried her, I had Bella out in the area Cheyenne passed and she was smelling around, my husband told me not let her, but I thought it would be best for her to smell around. She looked for her for days, and looked in the are where Cheyenne slept. THey had been together for only 2 years.

Question: Do dogs grieve ? Answer: Yes
All dogs like children need individual attention. But keeping dogs apart so they won't get too attached, has little merit. Should a husband and wife be apart so that they won't grieve when one dies ?
I do advocate that a new puppy is cared for and tethered to a human, during the very early bonding and potty training period. I want new puppies to look to the human as the PLP (Provider, Leader, Protector) not the older dog. There is a critical bonding to humans time window, which should be firmly established before age 16 weeks. But that is another subject and not an answer to the question about grief.
Dog do miss companions ? How they cope is very individual. Some seem not to be bothered, and others get very sad and act depressed. And some dogs like some people, get angry and act out for a short time. I also think Yorkies are especially sensitive to what their human is feeling. If we feel sad, they react to that as well. I think dogs are blessed because they mostly live in the moment, they enjoy every good moment in life. They enjoy every tasty meal, stroke of affection, greeting, nap, and play session. Perhaps that is the lesson they are supposed to teach us. Cherish the moment !

I think they are going to morn no matter what whether they are together all the time or not and I think some dogs will grieve worse then others. We have had to see two dogs go through it and although not easy both made it but they also both had another dog to kinda help. I think if the dog has to be put to sleep or dies because of a bad illness I think the other dog can smell and sense it and knows that the other dog is very sick.

Just reading the little bit I did has me all choked up...YES they do grieve, witnessed it myself...it was so sad...my Blue literally howled for almost a week in anguish for his nemesis (yet his leader) Shine...it was awful...the girls we had then all snuggled together and watched as Blue howled and CJ paced and cried...it was a nightmare for my kids to see their dogs like this...however; they are very passionate now about their pets...because they know what we all know...they do have feelings and emotions.

I don't think it's as appalling what the trainer said as some of you are making it.

I think it's very important for each dog to have alone time. They should be able to function without each other.

A close friend just got a second dog and they were getting too "obsessed" with each other at daycare. So she started bringing them on separate days.

I also have seen people at the dog park who have littermates and they will bring one up for 30 minutes, take that one home, come back up with the other one... just to give them time without each other. Makes perfect sense. Doesn't mean they're supposed to be separated all the time... but it wouldn't be a bad idea to take them to training classes individually.

However, about the grieving thing, I don't agree with that reasoning. But I think taking them to their own training classes may be beneficial.

I agree with you. This thread made me sad thinking about mine and how one would be without the other I hadnt really put thought to it and mine get very little alone time so maybe I need to do something about that

Grief is a part of our human life and also of dogs. I work with hospice patients and you do not avoid this process by choosing not to be around the person. Same with the dog. Any dog raised with another will have grief when the one passes. My brown mini poodle howled when my little silver poodle passed away. When my Yorkie, Teddy Peanut passed, my Yorkie Spud was not himself. We got a new Yorkie, JoJo which helped Spud. Dogs have strong bonds with their human friends and we can expect them to grieve just like we do. Lots of love and attentiion really helps.

I give my boys individual time, individual outings. As others said above, I think it is beneficial in many ways....but not relative to grieving a loss. They will grieve no matter what.

I often worry that Teddy would be devastated without Max. When I took Max in for surgery, Teddy was so upset that he didn't want to go walking -- his favorite activity. He pulled me back to the house and waited by the door for Max to return. :(

All of mine are perfectly fine when they are separated. But always throw a party when reunited!

My two, get time apart, because Snow was an only dog for 4 years then I got Max. She seemed a little overwhelmed with having a new little critter running around the house nonstop. So I'd just separate them, I'd take her on walks by herself, and him by himself. Cuddle them separately, etc. I still do it to this day. But, they do love each other and they really enjoy being around one another. But, I think they both value their alone time.

I’ve read this many times, and do try to spend some alone time with each dog. I’ve heard of many dogs grieving horribly when the dog they spent their entire life with dies, I guess it depends how closely they’ve bonded. When there is more than one dog in a pack, I don’t think it’s as important, or if there is a great difference in ages. When you go to the obedience glass, why not take one dog one week and the other dog the next week? They aren’t really training the dogs in class; they are training you to train the dog, so you could practice with both dogs during the week.

Thank you for all of the responses. We have decided to no longer go to obedience class. Not just because of this though ( squirted Brody with water, telling us training isn't working because we're using harnesses and not collars and being very adamant about us using one, etc.)

Yes, I agree with you, you need to find someone who's experienced in positive reinforcement, it takes longer, but it doesn't bring out bad side effects. You don’t need a collar in order to train a dog, they are taking too many shortcuts. Too many humans want to see results fast, and this type of training often brings fast results, but it's not always long lasting and can produce an anxious dog. Hope you can find a trainer that you like.

Yup, I agree. I hope I can find a trainer that we like too. I'm really disappointed with how this class turned out :(

and did you ask her if she is going to take one of them for a few days. That's ridiculous. I didn't live at home anymore but when my dad died I was completely devastated. She's talking out her beep beep. Yorkies are social creatures and I cannot imagine keeping my two apart. They may be together every day, but they have we naps separately and they have individual play times, then they have together wrestlemaniac days.
What is your purpose of training class? perhaps you could find another group

I've never done doggy classes all my friends have though, don't believe my dogs require it they are healthy and happy and hey they don't behave all the time but 95% of the time they are brilliant. It is totally about patience and they aren't going to learn all the rules in 5 minutes. Heck I don't abide by all the rules and I've been around a lot longer than these wee munchkins

I was hoping to do training class to get the "talking" under control. Specifically they love to bark when they see other dogs, they bark until they get to say hi to the other dogs. We've been going to the park a lot and they have really improved.

I'm happy to hear the park is helping.

Sorry that the class did not turn out so well. In my humble opinion, a trainer is not qualified to train a small dog unless they have raised one, and hopefully more. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to dogs. The collar thing frustrates me to no end. I've had people insist that I put collars on my boys to train. Forget it.

I am an advocate of positive reinforcement training -- and that doesn't always mean sticking a treat in the mouth and forgoing corrections.