Living With A Pack Of Dogs...

Living with a pack of dogs is a lot of work. There’s a ton of barking to deal with, many mouths to feed and it seems like an endless stream of poop. There are also rivalries to deal with, the constant shedding of fur and the overwhelming amount of work that goes into it.

This is how you can make your life a little bit easier

Command respect

Every pack has an alpha dog, and in your home, it must be you. You must establish a set of rules and boundaries for the pack to abide by or else you will lose control. Each dog must be trained in basic obedience and should be clear on what you want. At the end of the day, you should also be a calming presence and give them the love they deserve.

Organize meals

While every dog is different in terms of eating speed and control, you should have some sort of organization and consistency. There will be at least one dog that will eat his/her own food, and look to the rest for more and will cause friction in the group. Identify these things early to prevent resource guarding.

Your dogs should be able to feel that they can eat at their own pace without feeling like their food will be taken away. One way to do that is by feeding your dogs one at a time or using crates and grates to separate food-aggressive dogs.

Keep them active

An active pack is a happy pack, and an active pack is unlikely to get themselves into mischief. There should be adequate playtime outside along with running time to get rid of all that energy and help them remain fit and healthy.

Establish a bedtime

It’s harder to allow four or more dogs to sleep in your bed, so you have to establish some type of bedtime rules. Do not play favorites by allowing one dog to sleep in your bed, and provide comfortable sleeping areas for all of them, appropriate for their age and size. They should also have areas they can retreat to if they should ever get overwhelmed by the pack.

Don’t play favorites

Playing favorites can cause tension in the pack. Remain equal in everything from food to toys, and also in the amount of attention you give to each dog.