Caution Areas in Multi-Dog Households
Written By Lauren Tsao, MS, CDBC, CPDT-KA
Spring is almost here - which means it is time for spring cleaning! While completing my spring cleaning this year, I noticed that I do something that probably most normal people don’t do: I arrange my furniture and spaces in a way to prevent dog fights and disagreements in my home.
You may be thinking to yourself, “What? How could your furniture arrangement cause dog fights?” There are many reasons this could occur like spatial resource guarding, dogs bumping into each other by mistake, or even dogs becoming conditioned to get overexcited, fearful, or frustrated in certain spaces.
As a certified professional dog trainer and certified dog behavior consultant, I would dare say this issue is one of the top causes of fights in multi-dog households that I see. It can happen whether your dog has been aggressive before or not. This issue is also one of the least discussed and talked about, in my opinion.
However, prevention is SO easy if you know what to look for. Arranging your spaces to be more dog-friendly and safe is the most important step toward avoiding dog fights in the home. So, here are a few of the things I consider to decrease fight risk in my own multi-dog household:
Arrange furniture with optimal space in mind.
One of the first things I reassess every year is the furniture arrangement in areas my dogs will be hanging out together or traveling through during high-excitement times like feeding time, going to the door for walks, or potty breaks in the backyard.
In my opinion, tight spaces are the absolute worst thing you can have in a multi-dog household. They are a daily hazard and increase your risk of a dog fight within that space.
In my practice, we see dogs fight between furniture like the sofa and coffee table, in the hallway, or in the cramped entryway pretty often. When I come into clients’ homes with dogs with aggression histories, I often ask them to move their coffee table elsewhere, so the dogs have more space to move around because it is such a common hazard area.
Dogs don’t like being bumped into any more than we humans do. If bumps are happening to the dog all day long from the same dog, eventually they can reach a boiling point where they tell the other dog to back off and give them space. If you are seeing growling or snapping in certain areas of your home, you should consider the layout of the space and how much room the dogs actually have in that space. Often times these things don’t mean the dogs are aggressive in and of themselves. It can be an indicator of many other things as well, like pain or discomfort in the dog, exhaustion, and even being done with social time for the day.
I recommend giving your dogs as much space as possible and limiting furniture pieces in rooms you want the dogs to hang out in or play in. Entryways and doorways should remain as clutter-free as possible because they are not only a risk for dogs but also for humans entering and exiting the house.
2. Consider the type of flooring.
Flooring type sounds like a strange thing to consider, but it is especially important for senior dogs, young dogs, and dogs with any joint concerns. If you have slick or slippery floors in your home, this increases the risk of falls and dogs sliding into each other. This often happens with younger dogs who are just learning their brake system on different flooring types and they mistakenly slide into an older dog or a dog with possible pain issues. Then all hell breaks loose!
Some dogs can even become startled if another dog falls down in front of them and it isn’t uncommon for the startled dog to attack at that moment. This is more a knee-jerk reaction in these situations, not the attacking dog being “mean” or a bully.
Consider getting rugs, welcome mats, or stairway anti-trip treads for better traction on these types of floors to bring down the risk of an accident. Tile, hardwood, and laminate are especially risky when wet.
3. Consider the amount of clutter in high-risk areas.
When organizing and cleaning a space, you should consider the amount of clutter that can build up and either introduce new organization systems for these items in less-risky areas or plan to clean the spaces more often to lower risk.
Clutter can start causing the space to feel smaller and smaller over time. It can also cause plenty of hazards that can trigger dog fights like falling items, tripping hazards, and novel items that dogs can pick up and then fight over.
The entryway is definitely a space to consider an anti-clutter system because items like shoes, umbrellas, and more can build up in these spaces. Shoes can be considered high-value chews by some dogs and umbrellas are notorious for being “scary” to dogs. If your dog has issues with any household items in particular when possible remove them from the dog spaces to further reduce risk. Even something like a bumped vacuum, even when off, can cause a bite to occur if the dog is fearful enough of said item.
4. Remember that entryways, doorways, and gates are high-risk areas.
While most of us can’t avoid our doorways or entryways being smaller areas, it is important to keep in mind that these spaces are usually fairly small. These areas are prone to cause a lot of excitement in dogs due to past learning history and conditioning. It is hard to avoid.
If you have a multi-dog household, it isn’t unusual for dogs to bump into each other going through doorways or gates either. It becomes a “Me first!” situation quickly. And while pet gates are seen as a solution in multi-dog households, they can carry these same risks, so choose wisely where you put your pet gates, and keep in mind you shouldn’t be allowing dogs to run over each other in these spaces when you can help it. If a bump does occur, praise the dogs once in a safer space if they tolerated this bump. I also try to give treats, food, and snacks away from these areas when possible, so that all the dogs don’t gather and linger in these small spaces.
To lower risk in these areas, consider training your dogs to go through gates and doorways only when they are called by name or to sit politely as other dogs pass them at gateways/doorways if one dog is already outside the threshold waiting to pounce on the other dog. This is a simple issue a certified professional dog trainer can help you solve before it becomes a problem. Even if you don’t have a multi-dog household, it is also a great way to reduce the risk of your own dog at the dog park or when friends with dogs visit.
I hope you found this article helpful in lowering your household's risk of dog fights. Another big thing to consider is simply letting your dogs have breaks away from others and never leaving two dogs alone in the same room when it can be helped. Being proactive about the prevention of aggression between dogs will benefit you, your stress level, and your dogs!
If you need professional help making household changes to decrease dog aggression in your household, contact me, a certified dog behavior consultant and dog trainer to help you do so. I offer virtually worldwide and in-person dog training and behavior consulting in Jackson, MS metro. Happy spring cleaning and training!
